From Publishers Weekly
With 400 recipes, this is probably the biggest vegan (no animal products-meaning dairy- and egg-free) cookbook on the market. It's also one of the best. Robertson (The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook) is a likable guide to possibly unfamiliar ingredients such as flaxseeds and sea vegetables, and the recipe choices are almost overwhelming. Robertson relies on the usual trick of digging into ethnic cuisines (Thai-Style Leaf-Wrapped Appetizer Bits, Baked Sweet Potato and Green Pea Samosas are among the appetizers) for vegetarian options, but she also innovates in clever ways, as with Here's My Heart Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette with hearts of romaine, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and celery hearts. Some of the most versatile options appear in a chapter dedicated to sauces and dressings, such as Eggless Hollandaise and Vegan B‚chamel Sauce. Chapters on breakfast ideas, sandwiches, wraps and burgers-with six different veggie burger options-ensure that all bases are covered. Occasionally, Robertson relies on packaged products like the soy sausage and mozzarella that appear in "Sausage" and Fennel Cannelloni, but most of these recipes simply make the best of vegetables, legumes and grains. A cogent foreword by Barnard (president of the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine) reports the startling fact that Americans-apparently misled into believing that switching from red meat to white will improve their health-now eat one million chickens every hour. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This ambitious new cookbook from the author of The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook offers dozens of imaginative vegan recipes inspired by a wide range of cuisines, from Five-Spiced Portobello Satays and Lebanese Fattoush (bread salad) to Cajun-Style Collards and Moroccan Fava Bean Stew. There are also vegan versions of such meat dishes as shepherd's pie and chili, as well as sandwiches like Curried Chicken-Less Salad and Seitan Reuben. Robertson's style is more down-to-earth than Crescent Dragonwagon's in Passionate Vegetarian, but Dragonwagon's book, which includes recipes made with eggs and dairy products, complements Robinson's. For most collections. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
When a vegetarian graduates to the more advanced status of vegan, all dairy products, eggs, and animal products disappear from the table. Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson appeals to the novice vegan with its simplified approach and whimsical typeface. She advocates that vegans be aware of nutritional issues such as incomplete versus complete proteins. She offers a surprising list of vegetables that originate in the world's oceans. Robertson understands the importance of using multiple and varied spices to prevent the vegan diet from becoming dull, boring, and tasteless. She uses plenty of seitan, a wheat gluten product that simulates meat's texture. Robertson even proposes a block of seitan stuffed with chestnuts and cranberries for a vegan Thanksgiving dinner. Bakers will recognize the vegan possibilities inherent in breads as Robertson offers a hearty multigrain yeast loaf as well as simple skillet combread and pumpkin biscuits. She finds a way to improve candy's general lack of nutrition by substituting ground dates for refined sugar in Chocolate Macadamia Clusters. Mark Knoblauch
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Book Description
This book introduces a world of delicious choices to the millions of Americans who are vegans, vegetarians looking to move away from dairy, or non-vegetarians who have food sensitivities.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

With 400 recipes, this is probably the biggest vegan (no animal products-meaning dairy- and egg-free) cookbook on the market. It's also one of the best. Robertson (The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook) is a likable guide to possibly unfamiliar ingredients such as flaxseeds and sea vegetables, and the recipe choices are almost overwhelming. Robertson relies on the usual trick of digging into ethnic cuisines (Thai-Style Leaf-Wrapped Appetizer Bits, Baked Sweet Potato and Green Pea Samosas are among the appetizers) for vegetarian options, but she also innovates in clever ways, as with Here's My Heart Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette with hearts of romaine, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and celery hearts. Some of the most versatile options appear in a chapter dedicated to sauces and dressings, such as Eggless Hollandaise and Vegan B chamel Sauce. Chapters on breakfast ideas, sandwiches, wraps and burgers-with six different veggie burger options-ensure that all bases are covered. Occasionally, Robertson relies on packaged products like the soy sausage and mozzarella that appear in "Sausage" and Fennel Cannelloni, but most of these recipes simply make the best of vegetables, legumes and grains. A cogent foreword by Barnard (president of the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine) reports the startling fact that Americans-apparently misled into believing that switching from red meat to white will improve their health-now eat one million chickens every hour. (Jan.) Forecast: This is a serious entry in the field, and should fare well in its target market-this country's estimated 10 million vegetarians. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal