Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm

A Review of the New Cookbook From the Popular Vegan Blogger

Oct 27, 2009

Vegan Yum Yum is a cookbook full of simple, tasty, and vegan recipes. The book is suitable for both beginning vegan cooks and those with more experience.

In 2006, Lauren Ulm went vegan. Shortly thereafter, she started the blog veganyumyum.com, which soon became incredibly popular and won the 2008 Veg Blog award. Flash forward to 2009, and the cookbook Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining & Every Day is released. Featuring over 100 recipes, the book is a treat for long time readers of the Vegan Yum Yum blog as well as for beginners who are just starting to explore the world of vegan cooking.

Simple, Accessible Recipes

Vegan Yum Yum contains everything from recipes for breakfast, soups, and desserts. There is even a chapter dedicated to sauces. Several of the recipes are designated as "Under 30 Minutes," meaning that even the most rushed cooks will be able to get something on the table in record time.

Ulm's writing is fresh, friendly, and encouraging. Instead of just writing the recipes, she offers a personal story to each, explaining what inspired and gave her the idea for each recipe.

Breakfast is Best

The Breakfast and Brunch chapter is the most fun in the book. In it, Ulm offers her versions of the basics, including pancakes, tofu scramble, and muffins, with a twist. Her pancakes are made with spelt flour and her tofu scramble features black beans. In addition to the vegan standard recipes, Ulm also includes a recipe for crumpets, breakfast sausages (just like at a famous fast food restaurant, only vegan), and a crispy, "cheezy" dish called Chard Florentine on Toast Points.

Soup's On!

Ulm also introduces some tasty, original soups to the vegan cooking world. Her Creamy Broccoli Dal is delicious, incredibly simple to make, and perfect for a cold fall or winter lunch. Other exciting recipes include Chinese Broccoli Wontons in a Ginger Soy Broth and a Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup.

Vegan Yum Yum includes a recipe for vegetable stock and Ulm really encourages her readers to make and use that instead of commercial broths and stocks. Her stock recipe is easily adaptable to whatever vegetables the reader may have on hand. Ulm stands out from other cookbook writers in that she encourages experimentation. Her encouragement is perhaps due to the fact that she taught herself how to cook and how to photograph the food she makes. From this, it is evident that writing Vegan Yum Yum was a labor of love.

Get Cooking

Vegan Yum Yum is a great collection of tasty, easy to prepare recipes. The only issue with some of the recipes is that the ingredients may be a little difficult for some home cooks to find, especially those new to veganism. Ulm provides a brief pantry list, but this could expanded upon. Otherwise, Vegan Yum Yum proves to be a cookbook that will delight and inspire vegans and non-vegans alike.

Reviewed:

Vegan Yum Yum by: Lauren Ulm. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2009.

The copyright of the article Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm in Vegetarian Cuisine is owned by Amy Freeman. Permission to republish Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.