I have been looking forward to The Complete Guide to Even More Vegan Food Substitutions since I first heard Joni Marie Newman talk about it at Vida Vegan Con III in May in Austin. I thought I first heard about Joni Marie Newman when I reviewed her books Vegan Food Gifts and Going Vegan, the latter of which she co-wrote with Gerri Lynne Adams. However, as I looked through my bookshelf, I found another book of hers that I didn’t realize was hers when I bought it, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. Ethan and I had the pleasure of meeting Joni on the first day of the Vida Vegan Con III at the Vegan Bazar. We were walking around, looking at all the merchandise and sampling some delicious food when we passed the table of books published by Lantern Press. As we were walking by we heard someone call out, “are you the Vegan Mos?” We stopped and were immediately greeted by none other than Joni Marie Newman. After all the emails Joni and I sent back and forth, I felt like I was seeing a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. Having now met Joni in person, I can confidently say that the easy, light, fun tone in her books reflects exactly who she is. We saw Joni again at her talk on writing a cookbook. During this talk, she shared her experiences of writing and told us that, The Complete Guide to Even More Vegan Food Substitutions was about to be published, a companion volume to The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions. Joni co-wrote both of these books with Celine Steen. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I got an email from Joni a few weeks ago asking for my address to send me a copy of her newest book.
You might wonder why, if Joni and Celine aleady wrote the “complete guide” why would they need to do a follow up. As they explain in the introduction, in the 5 years that have passed between the books, their cooking styles have evolved to use more natural and less processed ingredients in their cooking. The Complete Guide to Even More Vegan Food Substitutions reflects this shift. Joni and Celine are here to give us the tools and techniques we need to replace dairy, eggs, meat and seafood with natural, plant based ingredients. While we can easily buy vegan substitutes for almost everything, homemade always tastes better and more importantly, when it is homemade, we know exactly what is in it.
The book is divided into three main substitution sections: dairy, eggs, and protein. The fourth and final sections is a handy chart of vegan food substitutions. The main sections are subdivided into specific foods and uses. Dairy is broken into two parts, milk substitutions and cheese substitutions. The section on eggs is divided between savory dishes and baking/sweets. The protein section is divided into four chapters: beef and chicken, seafood, bacon and no mimicking meat. This last chapter is less about substitutions and more about just letting the foods be themselves rather than stand-ins for something else.
Each chapter begins with non-vegan recipe on one page and then a veganized version of it on the facing page. The substitutions are highlighted to show not only what was changed, but how it was changed. In addition to teaching you how to substitute, the book has recipes for making many of these substitute ingredients at home. In this book are vegan substitutes for almost any food you can think of. From basics like almond milk and vegan butter, to more advanced foods like deviled eggs and chickpea teriyaki croquettes. Need a vegan version of chicken nuggets, that doesn’t contain all the processed ingredients of store bought ones? There is a recipe for it. Need bacon? Joni and Celine have you covered with 5 different options and even a recipe for making your own bacon grease!
Here is a sample recipe from the book, just to whet your appetite (reprinted with permission from Fair Winds Press (c) July 1, 2015).
Wee little (but power-packed) chia seeds are a great substitute for eggs when combined with water, as they do expand and create a “goopy” mixture (what is more technically called a mucilage) that’s similar to the texture of an egg. You can observe their mad binding skills in action in these scrumptious, tropical-flavored cookies. A little trick to chop sticky dried fruit like mango and banana: use clean kitchen scissors to cut the fruit, for a less frustrating “chopping” experience.
6 tablespoons (72 g) light brown sugar (not packed)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) liquid coconut oil
1 tablespoon (10 g) chia seeds (regular or white)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) lukewarm water, divided, more if needed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (96 g) extra-thick rolled oats or old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup (90 g) whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup (35 g) chopped dried (soft) mango
1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons (20 g) chopped dried (soft, not chips) banana
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Use 1 packed, slightly heaping tablespoon (22 g) of dough per cookie. Place on the prepared sheets, and flatten slightly as the cookies won’t spread much while baking. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown around the bottom edges. Remove the sheets from the oven and leave the cookies on the baking sheets for another 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Store in a cookie tin at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Yield: 20 cookies
Whether you are a seasoned vegan or new to veganism this book belongs in your kitchen. You will want to refer to it constantly. Joni and Celine are leading the way in helping people transition to veganism and making it fun along the way. Do yourself a favor and get two copies of The Complete Guide to Even More Vegan Food Substitutions: one for you and one for the non-vegan who always says, “I never know what to make for you.” Thanks to Joni and Celine, there is no good excuse for not cooking vegan.
