Scrumptious, heartwarming, and totally animal un-influenced, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s menu in Vegan Brunch is sure to win over every kind of eater.
My favorite vegan recipes are the ones that are effortlessly able to slip into social gatherings of omnivores, earning oohs and ahhs for their sheer yumminess. And for my money, nobody is better at writing recipes like these than Isa Chandra Moskowitz. She has won over legions of palates since her first book, Vegan with a Vengeance, hit shelves in 2005, and now, with her fourth collection, Vegan Brunch, she’s focusing on the most social meal of them all and giving compassionate cooks oodles of new ways to impress their friends.
There is some reprinting of recipes from past books, like an exact duplicate of VWAV’s pancakes. But even for obsessives like me who gobble up all of Moskowitz’s books like bonbons, there’s still plenty more to learn, in chapters that cover “Sweet,” “Savory,” “Sides,” “The Bread Basket,” and “Drinks.” I decided to test one sweet and one savory, with varying results.
Starting with the savory, I dove into the ambitious-looking Mom’s Morning Casserole, a baked breakfast feast of layered roasted potatoes, herbed tofu, sausage-y tempeh, and vegan cheese. Making all the layers was pretty time-consuming, and unfortunately, my potatoes came out limp and soggy after baking underneath the other ingredients, and the vegan cheese wouldn’t melt (despite an enthusiastic claim on the package that insisted, “It Melts!”). These issues, however, seemed more like my own errors than the author’s. And besides, the oh-so-satisfying Peanut Butter Waffles I tried next were so blissfully easy and delicious, they totally made me feel like a culinary rock star once more—and definitely deserving of one of Moskowitz’s signature Pink Grapefruit Mimosas.
