My husband and I have decided to convert our family from a vegetarian diet to a vegan diet (we will use up the rest of the dairy in the house- it's actually almost all gone, but all new items coming into the house are vegan), so from this point on, this blog will probably be vegan (maybe with notes for vegetarians?)
It's been relatively hectic over the holidays and I took a break (went 2-4 days in between online time!!) I have some pics and what recipe they are/ what cookbook they are from coming up in the next couple of days...for today, I will review some books I have acquired- Well, new-to-me...I tend to buy used.
The New Farm Cookbook by Hagler and Bates- Not new at all, most vegans and vegetarians have heard of, if not owned a copy of this sacred tome :) Even though the cover says vegetarian, it is actually vegan. It's from The Farm- an intentional community in Tenn. that's been advocating a vegan diet for many years. My copy is from 1989, the original version was printed in 1975 (the year I was born!!) So far we have loved the recipes we have tried from this book...my mac n' cheese addict loved their macaroni and "cheese" casserole (PPK has the recipe online, do take the suggestion to cut the oil down, though) and my husband absolutely loved the banana tofu creme pie (was upset that he was expected to share it :) )
Simply Heavenly! The Monastery Vegetarian Cookbook by Abbot George Burke-
This was the hardest cookbook to get my hands on. Was $19.99 when printed and sellers are looking for a hefty $35-$60+ on Amazon.com or eBay for this one. Do what I did, have patience and check allbookstores.com frequently. It is worth the wait. I was able to snag it for $14.99 plus shipping. This one is another one that although subtitled "vegetarian" it is actually all vegan. There are a ton of recipes in this hefty volume (361 pages). From dressings to gluten, salads to dessert, as well as a bunch of faux cheese recipes, it has it all. He uses the old fashioned way of doing gluten, but you can just incorporated the additions into your gluten dough batch and cook it in his seasoned broths. I reccomend this one for all vegans, and really do think a new edition (maybe with vital gluten in mind) is due (may help vegans to get their hands on it), the original printing was in 1997.
The Compassionate Cook by PETA and Ingrid Newkirk- My copy is the 1993 edition. I am one of those veg*ans who is not a big fan of PETA, but this cookbook is great. I had Kevin Nealon's Chili recipe from this book at a friend's house and asked what book it was from. She told me that she and her husband have been through 3 or 4 copies of this book (from wearing them out). The recipes are all pretty simple and so far we've liked them all immensely. The Mock Chicken Loaf with Chickenless Gravy is to-die-for, try this one first. The Ratatouille, the above mentioned chili, and the Indian Chickpea Casserole were very good, too. It is a handy volume to have.
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak- 
(2003, tenth anniversary edition) We haven't tried any recipes from this book, but they all look intriguing. It has very mixed reviews on Amazon, so I got a copy on the cheap on eBay. I will give reviews of recipes from this one soon (I will be utilizing some of these recipes in this week's meal plan).
Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas- This is the 1996 edition. Now, I know it's title says it is vegetarian, not vegan...but she writes about vegan alternatives and how some of the dishes/menus are vegan. I am disappointed that she never mentions alternatives, either in the front or in the menu descriptions- that many of her cheeses can be replaced by tofu and seasonings (feta and ricotta) or brand name equiv. And eggs have several replacement options (tofu, EnerG, etc). I realize that they weren't as mainstream back then, but the tofu cheese and egg replacement recipes have been around forever (see The New Farm book, lol). I am going to make some of the vegetarian recipes with replacement ingredients for the dairy and will post on here. Maybe a newer edition does include this?
I have Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World coming from Amazon and will be sure to post reviews. If the freebie recipe I got last year for vanilla cupcake and "buttercream" frosting from VCTOtW is any indicator, we will love the rest of the recipes :p I actually used that recipe for a cake for dd birthday and got raves.
