Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans

Hmm, so I really like the inventiveness of these recipes, and they're definitely living up to the title of "good food for bad vegans." Problem is I was hoping these recipes would be a tad bit more practical. A lot of them I'd only want to make for special occasions like Thanksgiving or parties where I need an awesomely impressive dessert or whatever, but a lot of that could be I generally try to limit how much "bad" foods I eat.I was actually pretty hesitant to go through and pre-order this cookbook, because it was around the time I started a quest to lose weight and get healthy, but I was hoping there'd still be some good treats to indulge in once in a while, and there definitely is. There are even some relatively healthy recipes that are so delicious (especially "BBQ Salad" which I tried the other day).But, overall there are only a few recipes I wanted to rush to make on my first look through the book, and those all have difficult to grab a hold of ingredients or gear. For example, cacao nibs in the Candy Bar Smoothie, or a canoe pan for the "Fruit punch winkies" (she does give an alternative to a canoe pan that you can supposedly diy, but it doesn't quite make sense and I worry it wouldn't work too well).Also, the jackfruit might be difficult for many to get, but I was able to get it online and tried the "Cannibal Corpse Crock-pot" pretty quickly.I love the names for the foods, most are very funny/creative. I also love the illustrations and that the desserts come first in the book. There are plenty of pictures (usually cookbooks don't have enough pictures much to my chagrin) and the presentation is quite great.The cookbook is not exactly intuitively laid out though, I've been looking through it a lot trying to find certain dishes I've been making or want to make for reference and I always end up using the index or whatever because I keep getting lost, usually I don't have problems with other vegan cookbooks because they're laid out in a certain type of intuitive order. Not a big deal, but it could be different, although I still love the unconventional and most likely on purpose decision to put desserts first instead of last like I said earlier.Overall though I'd say I really like this cookbook and it warrants 4 stars. I just like to be constructive and focused mostly on my criticism. But yeah, I'd recommend it to vegans looking for a funky, hip, fun, and creative cookbook who aren't too concerned with only eating healthy foods (because otherwise you're not going to be too happy, I've seen you vegan health freaks complain on other vegan cookbook reviews assuming all vegan cuisine is healthy---that's a huge myth, duh).

I really love this book - and if you are a medium to skilled Vegan home chef the recipes here are interesting, creative and fun. (I had never in my life used Jackfruit - and don't panic it comes in cans in most good grocery stores - so that was fun new ingredient to try).But I feel as if this should also get a cautionary warning: This is NOT a cookbook for a brand new chef or to pick up after a long day when you just want to eat something vegan, healthy and easy. (For that I'd recommend anything in the "Happy Herbivore" series of "Vegan with a Vengeance"The challenge for the novice Vegan is that, while MS Slater is an excellent chef and really knows her stuff - she is not a corner-cutter and many of her recipes involve complex (and sometimes needless) steps. Her breakfast "Honky Tonk French Toast" recipe calls for baking a loaf of banana bread first (Yikes!); a snack recipe for a vegan pig in a blanket ("Pretzel Dogs of the Dead") has you making your own pretzel dough that has to rise in four steps that take over an hour and her "You Don't Know Jack Hash" involves multiple steps one of which involves sauteing a single ingredient for ten minutes THEN moving it to cook for over an hour in a slow cooker and THEN putting it in the fridge overnight. (This is recipe is actually really worth it - but I admit I skipped the slow cooker part and just cooked it very slowly in a skillet over low heat).On the plus side her recipes are worth the extra steps and some of her more eccentric combos are really quite tasty (Her French fry tacos are far more delicious than they sound) and an experienced chef will know when to cut some of the needless steps she requires.For those looking to expand their vegan repertoire and some creative things to really show off at the next pot luck or bake sale (So you can happily stick it to the meat-eaters who sneer and ask "Is this Vegan?" as if you had brought a plate of grass clipping for everyone to eat!)this is a winner.One BIG annoyance and I'm not sure if this is just the KINDLE version - no list of recipes in the Contents! SO for us Kindlers we have to scroll through every single recipe in a chapter to get to the one we want. Uncool to the max.

There are some really awesome recipes in here. My favorite so far is the "Banana Bread French Toast Cupcakes" OMG those are killer! Super moist, flavorful, and downright delicious. I brought them to work & all of my non-vegan coworkers were amazed. Four of them said it was literally the best cupcake they've ever had. I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe' based on what was in my cupboards at the time. I used coconut milk (not coconut water!) instead of soy or almond milk, and for the frosting I used Nutiva Coconut oil in place of the vegetable shortening . I also didn't have maple flavoring so I substituted it for an extra 1/2 tsp vanilla & increased the maple syrup from 2 TBSP to about 3-1/2. I also dipped the finished product in ground up toasted walnuts to make 'em pretty. This recipe is a keeper. Even if you don't buy the book try the cupcake recipe (you can see it for free if you click on the "look inside" feature). However, I recommend buying this book because it's really that awesome.I also love the way the book was bound. It stays open to the page you want, without having to hold the edges down with a weight, or bending the heck out of the spine. Thank you to the publisher &/or author for that attention to detail. Very important when you've got your cookbook lying on the counter & you're trying to read the recipe' with dough all over both hands. Nice touch!

My daughter wanted this cookery book for Christmas, so I bought it for her - best present yet as she's now quite happy to cook for us! The recipes are well detailed and fairly easy for a first time cook. It's written in a nicely informal way so it's not as intimidating as many others. The author has a website where she gives tips and help too. The recipes, although suitable for beginners, are absolutely delicious and the Samosa Pie is a firm favourite. I would definitely recommend this book to both new and experienced cooks.

Absolutely delighted with this book which I bought as a Christmas gift for my daughter. Was a little wary as I couldn't decide whether 'bad vegans' meant that they would eat non-vegan foods…. not so! Bad vegans means eating chocolate and other 'naughties'! The presentation of this book is great fun and it has lovely recipes that are very tempting, especially the pizzas! Would not hesitate to recommend this book.

Not impressed with this purchase I was looking for new inspirational ideas on vegan dishes but felt the book was aimed at the university student level cooking for the first time to impress their friends and most of the content was quirky desserts sorry

I'm not a vegan, but the food tastes good.

Es un libro de dulces y comida rápida para fiestas estilo americano. No es el libro que comprarías si quieres mantener una alimentación sana y no ponerte cual gorrino en un chiquero. Cupcakes, pasteles, tacos...Eso sí: para coger una receta y hacerla el día de tu cumpleaños, es perfecto.