Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For by Isa Chandra Moskowitz


Aug 25, 2010

Vegan BrunchDespite what my other reviews have covered, I do have friends or occasions where special diets are needed.  Vegan Brunch was just what I needed when vegan & vegetarian friends stopped over for a weekend.  It’s arranged by type of food, divided up in chapters such as The Savory, The Sweet, and The Toppings.  There are many tips on buying and preparing vegan ingredients, setting a table for brunch, and tips for certain recipes.  The recipes are not overly complicated nor are they extraordinarily time consuming.

The first meal we had was a Caramelized Vidalia Onion Quiche, Red Flannel Hash, and a Cinnamon Fig East Coast Coffee Cake for the less-adventurous stomachs.   As a tofu virgin, I was pleasantly surprised at how the quiche with a full pound of tofu in it turned out.  Of course, I love onions, so I’m sure that helped out some.  I really should have made a second batch of the hash, as it was easy and the best loved recipe of the morning.  Who would have guessed that beets, onions and potatoes would be so good together?  Don’t skip the Liquid Smoke step; it really adds to the flavor.  Lastly, the coffee cake tasted just as good as it smelled, and was quickly devoured.

Brunch on day two consisted of Pumpkin Pancakes, Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins, and Mom’s Morning Casserole.  Both of the sweeter items had ginger in them, which would have been much better on a cool fall day instead of a 103° scorcher.  At least I had fresh blueberries to add to the muffins.  My second attempt at using tofu also included my first use of tempeh, and even though I really miss real cheese in this type of dish, it was still tasty.  Be aware that the casserole makes a TON of food and could have been a whole meal by itself.

Many of these recipes were made with ingredients I had on hand or out in my garden.  I was also amazed at how versatile the recipes were; I could change up a few ingredients to make it a non-vegetarian meal by adding meat but keeping it dairy free, or I could make several of the recipes gluten free by swapping out the flour for another product.  These recipes also helped me use up lots of my potatoes and onions, too.  While I’m still not jumping for joy over tofu, I know now that it won’t kill me and tofu and tempeh were pretty much the only ingredients I didn’t have on hand!

Reviewed by Jed D.
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