Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen Cookbook Opens Up the World of Comforting Rust Belt Classics to Vegan Eaters

“I’ve struggled to imagine a dough that would mimic the egg yolk and sour
cream base of my grandma’s perfect kolacky. But the answer was there in front of me all along,” writes Meredith Pangrace, creative director at Belt Publishing and editor of the upcoming “Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen” cookbook.

The book, which will be released in early December by Belt Publishing, opens up the world of comforting Rust Belt classics to vegan eaters. Thanks to a stable of professional chefs and home cooks, cherished regional recipes like dumplings with gravy, Hungarian paprikash, matzo ball soup, sauerkraut balls and, yes, Pangrace’s grandmother’s prized kolacky have been refashioned into vegan dishes.

Written in the spirit of a wholesome community cookbook, the collection of 70 recipes is bolstered by family history and personal accounts that take readers behind the recipe and into the process of converting them to their present form.

The book also provides useful tips on stocking the vegan pantry with staple ingredients like agar agar, coconut milk, miso, nutritional yeast, raw cashews, lentils and vital wheat gluten, which are essential to prepare many of the recipes within. Another section walks home cooks through the process of making their own versions of popular store-bought products like aquafaba mayo, oat milk, nut milk, coconut whipped cream and tofu cream cheese.

You can pre-order copies ($16.95) directly from Belt Publishing.