From the Author

Jo Stepaniak:

I’ve been cooking and developing recipes ever since I became a vegetarian as a young girl in the sixties. At that time, vegetarian cookbooks and natural food stores were virtually nonexistent, so I was on my own to figure out what and how to eat. I’ve been buzzing around kitchens ever since, doing a brief stint as a chef in a natural foods restaurant in the seventies, honing my recipes in the eighties (when my husband and I became vegan), and pioneering vegan cheese and meat alternatives in my cookbooks since the nineties. The Uncheese Cookbook was a breakthrough for conquering what often is considered "the final frontier" in becoming vegan — parting with cheese. Now vegans, people with dairy allergies, and those just seeking more healthful options can have their (un)cheese and eat it, too. For Vegan Vittles, I teamed with Farm Sanctuary to provide delicious, exciting, plant-based alternatives for traditional animal-based dishes. Our goal was to give the "meat and potatoes" guy and gal hearty, satisfying, "meaty" dishes, similar in taste and texture to their old favorites, but better, of course, because they are cruelty-free and healthful.

To date, I have written or co-authored over fourteen books on vegan living and cuisine. Although my cookbooks each have a slightly different focus or theme, they all include nutritional analyses and recipes that are simple to prepare, contain a minimum of ingredients, use wholesome and inexpensive whole foods, are tried and true, look impressive when served, are a joy to make, and are an absolute pleasure to eat.