The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion

This is a wonderful book for Vegans and Non-Vegans alike. Here is the review I placed on my website: [...]If you are old enough to remember the New York City ad, "You Don't Have to be Jewish to Enjoy Levy's Rye Bread," with an Asian person eating the bread, then you will understand this next statement. You don't have to be a vegan to enjoy The Vegan Table, a cookbook that I like so much I feel like Julie Powell in Julie & Julia and want to create all of author Colleen Partrick-Goudreau's recipes in one year.While this book is geared for entertaining family and friends, or as the author states, to "reclaim food traditions steeped in animal exploitation," you need not save this book for guests. I certainly won't, because the recipes look good enough for every day as well as special occasions.I liked reading this book for several reasons:1. The recipes are divided into the seasons, which means I can use local produce as it becomes available and work on my goal to be a "locavore." (Defined in my website Glossary)2. The chapters are interesting, and include cooking romantic dinners for two, casual meals, party foods, and of course, recipes for holidays and other special occasions. But you needn't use the recipes only in these categories. They cross match quite well.3. The author includes compassionate cooks' tips, food lore, and "did you know" questions that add special meaning to the recipes. You know that the author has done her homework.4. The colored photos and colored borders with icons that reflect the seasons (blue with a snowflake icon for winter, orange with a sun icon for summer, green with an umbrella icon for spring, and tan with a brown leaf for fall) make the book visually pleasing and easy to navigate.5. The recipes are enticing, even the ones with more ingredients than I would normally choose to try. (The desserts list more of the sweet stuff than I normally use, so I may have to adjust that.)6. Because the recipes are vegan, people who have allergies to dairy can use them; people who avoid eggs for health reasons can enjoy them; and people who want to incorporate more fruits, veggies, and whole grains in their diets can certainly prepare these dishes.When I read a cookbook, and I do mean read, I always like to know the author's philosophy. In the case of Patrick-Goudreau, as a vegan I already know she will have no animal products in her recipes. In her "Intimacy of Food" (pages 14 & 15) she says:"I didn't stop eating animals because I didn't like the way they tasted. I stopped eating animals and their `products' because I didn't want to contribute to the violence and exploitation of another when I didn't have to. It is an empowering way to live." The author's passion for good food and her dedication to eating consciously "show up" throughout the book. She lives her philosophy every day, in the kitchen and in the rest of her life.While going through the book, I made a list of the recipes (200 in all) I wanted to try and my list has about 50 recipes on it. So I may not accomplish what Julie Powell did in Julie & Julia, but I am going to have a great time with these 50!The book is published by Fair Winds Press, costs $19.99, and is available at all major bookstores and online. I love it so much I bought one for my older daughter, who also is not a vegan, but avoids eggs and dairy, and also loves the kinds of foods Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has chosen for The Vegan Table.Today I am including the recipe for Carrot Ginger Soup, which I made last week and loved it. It is very gingery, so if you love ginger, you will love this gorgeous looking and spicy tasting soup. I hope to include other recipes from this book in future postings. EnJOY!

I really like this author's baking book, the Joy of Vegan Baking, so I thought I would like this book too. Listed below are the reasons why I don't. Overall, I gave this book 3 stars because I did get a few recipes I love out of this book.1. I like cookbooks with a purpose (meant for the slow cooker, meant for a budget, etc.) but I didn't like the purpose of this book (or rather the organization of this book). I didn't like the layout and the recipes weren't even good enough for me to want to serve company as many were bland and too healthy tasting for omnivorous company. It was just hard to look up recipes for a regular dinner. I wouldn't have organized it the way she did.2. As I flip through the book and look at my notes, there are very few that say "repeat worthy" and many that say "bland". Overall, there are only a few recipes I have found that I really like (the Sloppy Joes, Pumpkin Curry, and the gravy), and you can see from the long list below that I have tried a few. I first thought maybe I was cooking the recipes incorrectly because they were all turning out poorly, but how could I possibly incorrectly cook so many? For example, the Spring Vegetable Risotto was bland, the pan-fried asparagus took longer than suggested to cook and was unimpressive, the Tofu Scramble is good but nothing amazing, the Basil Eggplant was incredibly bland (and I am an almost vegan who often likes the "healthy" taste that others don't like), the Garlic and Greens Soup was just OK (I expected it to be great since she has a video of it), the cashew sour cream was gross, the Better than Tuna Salad was OK for me but too healthy tasting for my omnivorous husband, the Balsamic Strawberries were super yummy but also an easy recipe other people already probably have, the honey mustard salad dressing was bad, the fruity spinach salad was OK for me but my husband didn't like the dressing, the kale and cauliflower salad is really yummy, but that is hardly a new recipe as I know others who have made it without ever hearing of this author, the pumpkin curry is delicious, African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew was great for me but too healthy tasting for my husband, the Aloo Gobi is repeat worthy with my own modifications, the Channa Masala is good, Masoor Dal was boring tasting and husband did not like, the Chocolate Cake with Coffee Ganache was an embarrassment as I served it to my husband's family and everyone was grossed out (by the glaze), the eggless egg salad is good but not amazing (but good as a dip with tortilla chips), the no-queso quesadillas are superb but have also seen other authors write about them so I'm not sure if she came up with this idea or not, the homemade hummus doesn't compare to the hummus recipes by Dreena Burton in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, the southwest Tofu Burgers are good, the Borscht was meh, Lentil Loaf was OK and I have found better versions (like the Thanksgiving Loaf over at [...]), the Golden Mushroom Gravy is amazing, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese was gross (but then, I find all vegan mac n cheese recipes gross), three bean chili was good but I have a better chili recipe, the Tempeh Sloppy Joes are the best recipe I've found yet (I've tried about 5), and the Tantalizing Thai Slaw I didn't like but fiance did.3. I wish it included estimated cooking and prep times, as I find that information very helpful. I know it can differ from person to person but after doing a few recipes you get a feel for how much time it will take you based on what the author says it takes them.Not my favorite cookbook by far, but glad I have the few recipes I love.

This is my favourite cook book and I'm only half way through. Along with the recipes it has tit bits and anecdotes and a personal touches from Colleen. I'm reading it cover to cover like a normal book and it's inspiring. I've already made a handful of the recipes and they are delightful.I'm a new vegan and family entertaining was getting stressful. I feel the pressure to show friends and family that food without meat eggs and dairy is filling, delicious, nutritious and beautiful. This book fills the void. I love the layout, chapters for dining style (romantic dinner for two, casual dining for 4-6, more formal dining for larger crowd etc) which are then divided by suggested menus, further divided by season. This is fantastic. I wanted this book to help me with entertaining and showing of a vegan diet in the very best light. This makes it so easy. Pick your kind of dinner, find the season and there are a couple of menus to choose from. Each chapter has each recipes listed as soups, sandwiches, mains, desserts for example so you can just cherry pick that way.It's an extremely warm and heartfelt book full of compassion which has made my decision to make my table vegan, an easy decision indeed.

Bought my copy via betterworldbooksltdIt arrived safely, thank you! Been wanting this book for months - renewing Cardiff library's only copy over and over until someone else wanted it. Thank you for the very reasonable price - this woman's books are normally expensive to get sent over from the US. Did not mind the condition it was in so the ex-library one you sold me is fantastic. :)HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I really like this book it is nicely designed and lots of the recipes are very tasty! The author gives some great tips on surviving social occasions for both vegans and non vegans. The only possible drawback is that there is not more special occasion main dishes, however I still highly recommend this book.

Really good book with diverse range of recipes and menu ideas. The recipes are fairly simple, yet effective and I'm particularly pleased that they are made with 'normal' ingredients, unlike so many vegan cook books which require many costly and hard to find ingredients. This booked has really helped my transition from omnivore to veganism. I also recommend checking out her food for thought podcast.

Great book full of original and delicious recipes. The tempeh pate is amazing and ridiculously easy.