Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

She tells readers how easy it is to prepare a brunch for a crowd by preparing Waffles the night before. Out of frustration while going to brunch with friends and feeling deprived watching them eat egg-laden waffles and omelets while she poked at her oatmeal, she came up with the idea of creating her own Brunch Cafe. One example of Isa's energy and creative spirit is the section Start Your Own Brunch Cafe. One can hardly tire of the evolving basic dish. In addition to the basic recipe, she includes a Broccoli and Olive, an Indian, and a Mushroom Frittata variation.

Many of the recipes contain creative variations, like the Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomato Frittata. Rather she gives readers leeway to substitute favored ingredients for those in the recipe or to add additional veggies if they like.

The book is written in a very reader friendly casual style-you know early on that Isa is not rigid about her recipes. The same principles hold true for home chefs. Professional chefs study the culinary arts to learn cooking techniques, but the real talent comes from a sensitive palate and the ability to create foods with pleasing flavors. Like most of us, Isa is not perfect and admits her shortcoming when discussing The Post Punk Pantry that is actually 'what her mythical well-stocked pantry would contain' if she always had all the listed ingredients on hand. In the section on Tools and Kitchen Stuff, Isa employs a light touch while advising a practical approach to equipping the vegan kitchen with tools she considers essential and those that are not. The show was not filmed on an elaborate set, but in her own small New York apartment kitchen. The cookbook is the product that evolved from her Post Punk Kitchen cooking show on Brooklyn Community Access TV.

While watching cooking shows after 911, she had an epiphany and was inspired to create her own vegan cooking TV program. What she gained from the punk rock period is the 'do-it-yourself' attitude that led the way to pursuing cooking with a creative freedom. Her sincere aspiration is to make 'a great cook out of each and every vegan.' Rather, Isa is a 30-something woman who grew up during the punk rock scene, frequently cooked at a vegan cafe, and realized she had a bent for cooking. Her down-to-earth, no-nonsense plain speak communicates she is not trying to impress anyone with high-minded language or flowery adjectives. Like a diamond in the rough, author Isa Chandra Moskowitz displays her unpolished edges beginning with the introduction to Vegan with a Vengeance.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz