Vegan Junk Food: 225 Sinful Snacks That Are Good for the Soul by Gold Lane (Adams/F+W Media, $16.95)
Lane Gold, a Los Angeles-based personal chef and caterer, specializes in preparing home-style vegan food. She claims that being vegan doesn’t mean austerity and adds that some of the most popular junk foods such as Oreos, Fritos, and Baked Lays are free of meat and dairy.
Needless-to-say, this isn’t the healthiest cookbook available but some of the dishes will satisfy that occasional craving for sugary, salty, fried goodies. The secret is, of course, moderation.
The recipes in this collection are divided into ten chapters: Breakfast of Champions – Something Savory, Lots of Sweets; Deli Favorites – Sandwiches, Wraps, Burgers and Sliders; Comfort Food Meets Takeout – Temping No Meat Entrees; Crust and Carbs – Pizza Pies and Badass Breads; Festive Grub – Vegan Party Essentials; Dips for All Seasons…and All Reasons; Savory Treats – With A Touch of Sugar and Spice; Cakewalk (Pies, too) – Who needs Butter; Candy and Cookie Fix – For the Ultimate Sweet Tooth; and Grab ‘n’ Go Sweets – Sinful Bars, Brownies and More.
As Gold points out, her favorite vegan junk food is anything that can be eaten with a chip, or peanut butter and chocolate in any form. Some of her featured recipes include a rather tasty Garlic-Onion Cheese Bread Loaf, a quick-and-easy Tortilla Chip Soup, and several delectable cheesecakes such as a tropical-inspired Pina Colada Cheesecake made with pineapple juice, tofu, coconut rum, and pina colada mixer.
I tested two recipes from this collection, a zesty Chicken Salad with Walnuts, Apples, and Celery which interestingly did not contain actual chicken but textured veggie protein, broth, and vegan chicken base. It was tastier than you might think. The second recipe was a delicious Baked Onion Dip which I served with baked tortilla chips.
The thing to watch when using this cookbook is to pay close attention to both salt and sugar content. Be careful. I must confess that I occasionally go off the rails with my diet but I try and not make it a habit.
BAKED ONION DIP
Serves 4-6
1 large sweet onion, cut in half and sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
1 Tbs olive oil
½ c vegan mayonnaise
1 8-oz container vegan cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 c vegan mozzarella shreds
Sliced baguette or crackers
Preheat oven to 350F. Have ready 1-quart baking dish.
In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté onions, garlic, and salt in oil until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, cream mayonnaise and cream cheese, then add parsley and half of the mozzarella cheese. Add onion mixture and stir to combine.
Spoon into baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve with bread or crackers