She has been cooking and creating recipes in the natural foods business since the mid 80’s. What began as a side job in college turned out to be a lifelong career, when she realized that her true passion lay in helping people discover healthy, organic food. After baking and cooking with whole foods in restaurants, delis and co-ops for many years, she started working as a private chef in the mid-90’s, creating fabulous food for fabulous people.

Robin has seven cookbooks under her belt, including Big Vegan, Sweet and Easy Vegan, and Juice It!

Chic Vegan: Tell me a little bit about your cookbook Big Vegan: More than 350 Recipes No Meat/No Dairy All Delicious and what motivated you to write it.
Robin Asbell: Big Vegan is big. It was the culmination of years of cooking vegan in the deli where I worked, for private chef clients, and teaching classes on vegan cooking, so it has sections on everything from breakfasts to desserts, sauces to grilling. I was seeing the tide move, for the first time in a long time, toward more people eating vegan. I really try to tempt the omnivores to eat vegan just a little, then a little more. I was making the dishes for clients who ate meat, and trying to woo them into filling up on plants, more and more. Because not everyone decides to commit, but we can do so much for the planet, for the animals, if we can get those millions of people to swerve a little more toward vegan every day.

CV: Do you have any favorite recipes in the book?
RA: That’s a tough one. The Spanish Chickpea Fritters with Romesco Sauce always go over well, and the Squash Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa, too. There’s a recipe in there for a Moroccan Chickpea B’Stilla that I love, too.

CV:What inspires you to create a new recipe?
RA: I’m immersed in the food world, writing articles, teaching to the public, and cooking for people in their homes, so I just trip over ideas all the time. I’m really into investigating the flavors and foodways of other cultures, and I am sure it shows. I skip around borrowing seasoning and cooking tricks and making them work in foods that people can enjoy.

CV: You also wrote Sweet and Easy Vegan: Treats Made with Whole Grains and Natural Sweeteners. Was it difficult to veganize recipes for baked goods?
RA: I’d say that the hardest thing in that book was doing all three things: making it vegan, making it whole grain, and not using refined sweeteners. It’s really pretty easy to make a cupcake with vegan sugar and margarine, and trickier with liquid sweetener and oil.

CV: What is your favorite natural sweetener to bake with?
RA: I’m completely in love with Palm Sugar, the paste form from the jar. I love the taste, and it’s really high in minerals for a sweetener.

CV: Do you have a favorite dessert?
RA: Pie.

CV: What dishes would you serve to die-hard carnivores to prove to them how delicious and satisfying vegan food can be?
RA: Since I do this all the time, I definitely have to get a feel for their tastes first- some might go for a chili, some for a Veggie-Edamame Potpie. If they love Indian food, a whole spread of dal, Cauliflower Puffs, Cilantro Mint Chutney, Indian Masala Brown Rice with Tomatoes, Curry Roasted New Potatoes with Date Nut Chutney, and Vegan Saag Paneer would be a good go-to.

CV: What’s your favorite vegan indulgence?
RA: Tofu Chocolate Pudding. Or my Avocado Lime Sorbet.

CV: What vegan product could you not live without?
RA: We go through gallons of Soymilk at my house.

CV: In your wildest dreams what will your life look like in 5 years?
RA: Pretty much the same, I like my life.

Food photos from Big Vegan by Kate Sears.

The post Interview Series: Robin Asbell appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Another reason I’m in love with the changing seasons… setting myself up on the couch with a blanket and new cookbooks! Thankfully, there is a now a huge variety of vegan cookbooks to choose from, and the next crop of cookbooks to be released this fall look like they will be amazing additions to the club. I’m sure many Chic Vegan readers treat cookbooks like I do: reading the recipes and little details like a suspense novel, and cooing over the gorgeous photographs.

Needless to say, I’m excited to discover new fall cookbooks, test out baking recipes and soups in a cozy kitchen, choose recipes for the upcoming holiday season, and share vegan cookbooks as gifts for family and friends.

Here’s my short wish list of cookbooks I hope to try this Autumn:

Sweet & Easy Vegan: Treats Made with Whole Grains and Natural Sweeteners

by Robin Asbell with photography by Joseph De Leo. Publication date: September 19, 2012 (image courtesy of Chronicle Books).

I adore sweet treats but I’m in favor of making them a little more healthy, so this cookbook with its promise of including everyone’s favorite treats from cookies and brownies to cakes and pies – using whole grains and natural sweeteners – sounds entirely delectable. Robin Asbell is a chef, food writer and natural foods cooking teacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her previous cookbooks include Big Vegan, The New Whole Grains Cookbook and The New Vegetarian Cookbook. Joseph De Leo is a photographer based in New York.

The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook: 125+ Delectable Plant-Based Vegan Recipes for a Fit, Happy, Healthy You

by Melissa Costello, with a foreword by Tony Horton. Publication date: October 1, 2012 (HCI).

Melissa Costello’s first cookbook uses a “keep it simple” and “make it tasty” approach to create over 125 recipes for appetizers, breakfasts, dinners and desserts. Costello is the founder of Karma Chow, creator of The Vital Life Cleanse, and personal chef to celebrity fitness expert Tony Horton (creator of the P90X® fitness system). She is also a Certified Nutritionist and wellness coach.

Gorilla Food: Living and Eating Organic, Vegan, and Raw

by Aaron Ash. Publication date: October 16, 2012 (Arsenal Pulp Press).

If you would like to experiment with more raw recipes (yes, please!) then this cookbook, with recipes for raw lasagna, soup, pizza, fruit pies and chocolate desserts might just be perfect. There are also recipes for dehydrated and cultured foods, which would be fun to test out. Aaron Ash is the founder and chef of organic raw vegan restaurant Gorilla Food in downtown Vancouver and he promotes sustainable, healthy culture. He was also a former personal chef to Mike-D of the Beastie Boys and is an in-demand caterer for high-profile events in North America.

Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread: Artisanal Recipes to Make at Home

by Jennifer Katzinger who lives in Seattle, WA. To be published October 30, 2012 by Sasquatch Books.

I’ve been on a bread baking mission of late. I enjoy making it from scratch and once you get the basics down, it’s therapeutic and fulfilling to see what you can create and share. This cookbook sounds fantastic with over 60 recipes, including ones for flat breads, sweet breads, savory breads, sourdough and more. Jennifer Katzinger is the former owner of the popular Seattle gluten-free and vegan Flying Apron Bakery. Her previous books include Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book and Gluten-Free & Vegan Holidays.

Would you like to try any cookbooks from this wish list? Are there other new releases you can’t wait to get your hands on? We would love to hear your thoughts.

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Featured image via zitherica

The post New Vegan Cookbooks Fall 2012 appeared first on Chic Vegan.