Beginner’s Guide to Everyday Vegan Cooking

BASIC EQUIPMENT AND INGREDIENTS

You don’t need lots of fancy equipment to cook vegan food. For many recipes, a cutting board, knife, and pot will do, but if you want to invest in cooking equipment, a high-powered blender for creamy soups and sauces or a food processor for “nice” cream and quickly chopping veggies may be worth looking into. We have raided our pantry, fridge, and freezer and written down our pantry essentials for you. If you have these basic ingredients on hand, you will be able to make most of the recipes in this book.

Kitchen Tools

Being vegan isn’t that difficult and you won’t need many big items to create your favorite dish. However, sometimes a little help is a great way to get cooking. So, besides the usual things that make a good kitchen great, we wouldn’t want to miss these three things in our lives.

A high-powered blender makes it easy to make creamy sauces, soups, smoothies, and shakes.

A food processor is a great addition for any kitchen. You can chop up veggies, make a base for falafel or pesto really quick.

Nut milk bags or fine cheesecloths are a great investment if you’re making nut milks at home regularly.

Pantry Essentials

Pantry essentials that you should always have at home include garlic, onions, ginger, lemons, bananas, and cocoa powder. However, there are many more things that will make it easier for you to create a vegan dish from scratch. Here’s a list of items that we think should be a part of every vegan’s pantry.

Grains and pasta are things you should always have at home for spontaneous cravings and to make quick veggie bowls. We like quinoa, couscous, white and brown rice, and different kinds of pasta such as penne, spaghetti, and lasagna sheets.

Oils such as coconut oil for baking, olive oil for pesto and breads, and canola oil for frying at home are usually on hand at our house.

Canned legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, and black beans are a great base for stews and curries. We also use canned chickpeas for hummus and falafel. Of course, you can soak and cook dried legumes instead.

Nuts and seeds are a great source of protein, fats, and fiber. We use cashews, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds in our recipes.

White sugar is not necessarily vegan since bone char is often used to decolorize the sugar. Make sure the white sugar you buy is organic, because these are not filtered through bone char. You can always research if your favorite sugar brand is vegan. Beet sugar and coconut sugar should be a safe bet, too.

Tomato passata is great when you are in need of a quick pasta sauce, but it also does well in stews, curries, or soups. You could also use canned crushed tomatoes in most of our recipes.

Spices and herbs such as salt, curry powder, paprika powder, onion powder, and garlic powder are basics. To make tofu taste like eggs, we use kala namak, which is a Himalayan black salt with a high sulfur content that gives tofu scramble its typical smell and taste. As for herbs, dried or fresh oregano, rosemary, basil, dill, and thyme are good to have at home. These will make any meal better.

Nut butters are a great source of protein and fiber. We love using almond butter to make our caramel sauce, and peanut butter for sauces and our African-inspired peanut butter stew.

All-purpose flour is a great starter for everything bread-related. You should keep it at home at all times. If you want to use whole wheat flour or spelt flour in the recipes, oftentimes a mix of all-purpose flour and whole grain flours makes the best, workable doughs.

Activated dried yeast is the rising agent for yeasty doughs such as pizza and cinnamon rolls.

Other great foods for vegans with a sweet tooth to have available include dried fruits such as dates, raisins, and cranberries, oats, and liquid sweeteners such as maple/brown rice/agave syrup.

On the savory side, nori is an edible seaweed and the perfect way to give your dish that fishy flavor you maybe sometimes crave. Plus, you can also use nori to make maki sushi.

Nutritional yeast is the secret ingredient in vegan cooking to make things taste cheesy. It is deactivated yeast that can be bought in flakes or as a powder. Don’t confuse this with baker’s yeast or brewing yeast.

Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It’s quite bitter on its own but delicious in dressing and dips when balanced out with maple syrup.

Liquid smoke is a very potent liquid that adds a smoky flavor to all kinds of protein such as tofu or tempeh.

Vital wheat gluten is a hydrated form of gluten that can be found in wheat flour. It is used when making seitan. Note: if you’ve got a gluten intolerance, this one isn’t for you.

Fridge and Freezer Staples

Of all the vegans we know, there are certain foods most of them always have in their fridge.

Tofu is rich in protein. Silky tofu is great for desserts, while firm tofu is best for tofu scramble and stir-fries. Smoked tofu adds a lovely new flavor component to a dish.

Plant-based milk such as rice milk is our favorite for baking and cooking, while almond milk is our favorite for cereal. Oat milk, hemp milk and many nut-based milks are great, too! Make sure you use unsweetened plant-based milk when you use it in savory dishes. Try out different types of plant-based milks and brands, you’ll definitely find one you’ll like!

Miso paste is a traditional Japanese paste made out of fermented soybeans. It’s very salty and sweet and great to add flavor to soups.

Vegan puff pastry might not be available everywhere, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for it because it’s a pain to make from scratch. Pepperidge Farm’s puff pastry dough is vegan but it is always a good idea to check the ingredients before buying in case they change the recipe.

Try to always have frozen peas, spinach, and bananas at your disposal. While peas and spinach are a great addition to almost every dish, frozen bananas make a great treat if they’re being put in a blender, dipped in hot chocolate, or used as an alternative for eggs when baking a cake.

HOW TO COOK GRAINS

Here’s a simple overview of the ratios and instructions we follow to cook the grains used in this cookbook.

White Rice

Ratio: 1 cup rice to 1½ cups water

Add 1½ cups water, 1 cup rice, and a dash of salt in a pot. Put the lid on and cook it on medium heat. Let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until the rice has completely absorbed the water.

Brown Rice

Ratio: 1 cup rice to 2 cups water

Add 2 cups water, 1 cup rice, and a dash of salt in a pot. Put the lid on and cook on medium heat. Let it simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes until the rice has completely absorbed the water.

Couscous

Ratio: 1 cup couscous to 1½ cups water

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Take the pot off the hot plate, add in the couscous, and put the lid on. Let it sit for a few minutes until the couscous has completely absorbed all the water. Then fluff the couscous with a large wooden spoon. Pro Tip: Add any spices you want into the boiling water. That way, the couscous will absorb the spices, too.

Quinoa

Ratio: 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water

Rinse the quinoa. Then, add quinoa and water to a pot and cook it on medium heat with the lid on. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the quinoa has completely absorbed all the water.

SUBSTITUTES THAT WILL MAKE YOU (ALMOST) FORGET ABOUT NON-VEGAN FOOD

We know that many non-vegan food items are delicious. As a matter of fact, a great number of people don’t go vegan because they dislike the taste of chicken fingers, late-night kebabs, and grilled cheese, but for ethical reasons. This is why non-vegan cravings are a common and completely normal thing. But don’t worry, there are many foods that will help you fight the urge to order cheese pizza, buy a meatball sub, or get yourself a treat of buttered popcorn.

Meat: If you’re looking to substitute meat, there are many great choices, the obvious and most well-known option being tofu. However, you should give other meat substitutes, such as tempeh or seitan a try. For maximum protein, check out textured vegetable protein, which comes in different shapes and sizes and can be used to substitute (almost) every meat product.

Fish: This is a tricky one. Alternative products never seem to get fish right. But that’s okay. We recommend mixing tofu with nori (a seaweed) to fight sudden seafood cravings.

Eggs for baking: Many people think that eggs are indispensable for baking a cake. They’re not. Add more baking powder, mashed bananas, or apple purée. Chia eggs or flax eggs are a great way to substitute eggs in both sweet and savory baked goods. Mix one tablespoon of ground chia or ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons water and let it sit for about 5 minutes until goopy, then you can use it just like you would an egg.

Milk: Easy. Plant-based drinks made from hemp, almond, cashew, hazelnut, coconut, rice, oat, or even pistachios and macadamia nuts have been around for a while. Try to experiment what you like most; it’s a fun tasting experience!

Butter: There are many varieties of vegan butter available in stores. Beware of margarine, which can contain animal products such as whey or lactose. Coconut oil is also great.

Cream: For heavy cream, try unsweetened coconut milk. For whipped cream, definitely check out whipped coconut cream. If you’re not into coconut, many stores offer a good variety of alternative products based on oats and rice.

Gelatin: Use agar-agar flakes. It’s easy and not even half as tricky as gelatin can be.

Cheese: Boy, there’s a whole book to be written about vegan cheese, but we’ll keep it short. For Parmesan, try our Cashew Parmesan (see on pg. 17) or neat vegan cheese sauce (see on pg. 18). There are also many people who try to create vegan cheeses on the internet, so if you need inspiration for an advanced endeavor like this, make sure to check out vegan cheese makers online.

HOW TO AVOID ARGUING WITH SKEPTICS

Dietary preferences are not just an issue for vegans or vegetarians. A huge portion of the world’s population has one reason or another for not eating certain foods, either for ethical or religious reasons, intolerances, or simply not liking something.

If you are someone who eats “outside the norm,” chances are that you have been confronted with some provoking one-liners or even ignorant mistruths about your choices by colleagues, friends, or family members. And if that happens, it’s not always easy to let it slide. Food is an emotional topic. Everybody’s an expert, everybody has an opinion, and everybody firmly believes that what they’re doing is the right thing. So do you, and so do they.

Even in countries where the mere need for food has become a non-issue, food itself still plays a very important role to the majority of people. Whether we talk about where, what, when, and how much to eat, how to prepare food, and who to share our meals with, choosing to eat or not eat a certain thing or prepare it in a special way can lead to a variety of social repercussions ranging from friendly banter to a full-blown argument and subsequently social seclusion. Party over.

However, sometimes you just don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you dispute over what you are (or aren’t) eating, when all you want to do is enjoy the company of your family and friends. So, if you’re prone to disputes over your dietary preference, here’s a list of pointers that will help you avoid being the center of attention just because of what you do or do not eat.

Try to See Where They’re Coming From

Chances are you haven’t been vegan or vegetarian for the span of your whole life. Maybe you’ve been an avid meat-eater for many years. Sometimes it’s hard to understand the other person’s position, especially when your dietary preference has become the norm for you. But remember, food is an emotional topic, so people don’t appreciate being told that they are responsible for the death and torturing of living, breathing beings.

They may do things that you find ethically questionable, but that doesn’t mean they’re evil. Some of them will take some lighthearted jabs at you, but a lot of it comes out of insecurity and curiosity. Be able to take a joke—even if you’ve heard it for the millionth time. And you will hear many jokes—millions of times. For a lot of people, this is a playful way to explore. Our advice? Let them! Be in on it.

Invite Them to Dinner

When you see that another person’s remarks about your preference come out of ignorance or lack of education, lecturing them is the worst way to stay out of trouble. We all know what they say about know-it-alls, so instead of telling them about veganism, show them. Invite them. Feed them a home-cooked meal or treat them to a quick lunch at your favorite falafel place. Give the other person a chance to have a taste of your everyday life. It’s a friendly way to defuse a situation that could easily ruin your socializing experience.

Tell a Little White Lie

It’s not a good thing to lie. It’s also not a good thing to betray the things you believe in. However, we all have those days where we really, really want to avoid discussing our dietary preferences. So, if the setting allows it, another option is to not talk about it or maybe even lie if the topic comes up. Sometimes you’re not in the mood for taking jokes. Sometimes you don’t want to invite your grumpy colleague for hummus. So, if the person you are talking to isn’t really that close to you, it’s no big deal to tell a lie or say nothing. Maybe you are lactose intolerant, maybe you’re still full from that big lunch you’ve had. Anything that gets you out of the situation. We wouldn’t recommend doing it for long, though.

Ask Them to Talk Later

You know the situation: it’s a buzzing party, the music is loud, there are drinks involved, and you thoroughly enjoy the company of your friends and family members. And then someone catches you reading the packaging of the potato chips, looking to see if they are vegan and ready to stuff your salt-craving face with. And you want nothing to do with debating your dietary preferences right now.

In this situation, try to leave the topic be, at least for now. Nobody wants to lose a debate in front of an audience. If you think that the other person really is curious about veganism, offer to talk about big topics like this another time if they’re interested. Of course, if you’re not a fan of small talk and enjoy lengthy, drunken conversations, go ahead!

Agree to Disagree

If the other person is obviously not interested in your point and just wants to talk, but not listen, let them. You don’t need to please everyone with your lifestyle. Neither do they. People have different ethical standpoints when it comes to food, and while it can be hard to accept that, sometimes the right thing to do is just walk away and move on.

HOW TO RESPOND TO SKEPTICS

As someone with a dietary preference, you will often find people who are curious, which leads to a wide range of reactions, starting from childlike curiosity to complete negation. Somewhere in between are the people who are willing to listen and learn, but they still have their own way of doing things; you might not see eye to eye when it comes to your individual preferences, and that’s okay.

People often want to know more about veganism, but are skeptical. And they should be. Changing your lifestyle like that is a huge change. It’s emotional, it’s personal and it’s messy. The skeptics in your life will repeat themselves and at times you may think that people will do anything just to annoy you with age-old questions and long-debunked myths. It’s not that. Just like you, they are on a journey somewhere, and these questions matter to them. So, try to give them some answers, even if you feel like an old cassette tape. To make things easier, we’ve provided you with our guidelines on how to respond to skeptics.

“Are you really a vegan if you buy vegan cheese and meat alternatives?”

You’ve heard it all before, at work, from relatives or friends. “Why’d you go for cheese alternatives if you’re a vegan?” “Shouldn’t you be sticking to veggies and stuff?” Well, as you may know, the answers are not always that easy.

First of all, to many people, going vegan is an ethical choice that has nothing to do with the taste of crispy bacon, goat cheese, or honey over frozen yogurt. Veganism is, first and foremost, about negating the use of animal products in your life. Sure, there are many things that go along with it—many vegans also buy fair-trade coffee, live a healthy lifestyle, and yes, many of us like to talk about it.

Savvy companies have come up with clever alternative products that are free of meat, milk, and eggs. These products often resemble tastes and textures of the non-vegan foods many of us grew up with, but also come with the same downsides as their non-vegan counterparts; rich in sodium, sugar, and fats, those vegan nuggets can come close to the real thing in more ways than one. For some people, this makes the transition easier. And that’s okay, because the level of enjoyment is not a factor in ethical decisions. Vegan alternatives can sometimes be a trade-off: Can you accept 60 percent of the original taste for good conscience? Your call.

“We are carnivores, we’re at the top of the food chain. We need protein to survive. It’s only natural.”

This is a point often made by hardcore carnivores and brings a lot of emotional baggage to the table. In many western societies, food has transitioned from a basic necessity for survival to a more sophisticated issue that is influenced by cultural background, individual dietary preferences, and/or restrictions. In other words, food is an emotional topic and since every person on earth has to eat, they might as well have an opinion about it.

The points to be made in that kind of discussion are almost too many to list. Carnivore? The human is an omnivore and can survive many kinds of diets—neither eating meat nor veganism are the only answer. Protein? Tempeh, tofu, and soy protein contain lots of protein. Not natural? Also, while we can consume meat, we’re the only known species that has to cook it first.

“You can’t change the world all by yourself, can you?”

Not only vegans get this question. Anyone who wants to be part of a global change finds themselves confronted with it. The answer is simple: Of course not. This book is not going to solve everything, you are not going to make veganism the norm, and veganism won’t end world hunger. Not immediately.

So why bother doing something, even though your personal impact is just a small one? Throwing in famous quotes to end an argument is easy, but I’ll do it anyway. Ever heard of that super-famous Gandhi quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world?” That’s why.

For most people, making the switch to veganism, working out, or getting creative can often be a gradual change without immediate results. And yet, many people keep at it. Eventually, intrinsic motivation leads to progress.

Baby steps. Make sure to take them.

“I get that you avoid meat, but milk and eggs?”

Milk and eggs don’t kill animals, so they’re good to go, right? Well, not exactly. While it’s true that animals don’t get killed directly to acquire milk and eggs, the industrial production is still often linked to suffering and death. For example, since male chickens can’t lay eggs, they are not seen as efficient or useful and the baby birds are often gassed or shredded. No, it’s probably not different in your country. Another widespread myth is that cows love to be milked. In order to give milk, a dairy cow has to be impregnated all the time, which is exhausting, painful, and leads to an earlier death. Many films such as Cowspiracy and Forks over Knives and literature such as Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer or The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan have covered this, so if you didn’t know about it, you’ve got tons of material to watch, read, and discuss!

“I could never go through with this.”

You don’t have to ask anybody to go vegan for this statement to come up. For many people, this is a conversation ender, so you might just want to leave it at that. However, if you’re getting a vibe that they want you to weigh in, there is of course always one question to ask: “Can you do one vegan meal per week? How about two?”

This is important, because almost nobody goes vegan in an instant. To most people, it’s a process, and intrinsic motivation combined with a basic knowledge about how to cook are the best helpers you can have. While intrinsic motivation gives you the edge to go the extra mile when reading lists of ingredients in the grocery store, knowing how to cook will let you stay away from guilty pleasures.

Nobody has to go vegan cold tofurkey. Take your time to adjust. Create habits that stick.