Cookbooks: Vegan Lunch Box Around the World by Jennifer McCann

I used to know a guy who brought a cheese sandwich to work every day. Processed cheese slice. White bread. A single leaf of iceberg lettuce. Every day. I didn’t know him well. Maybe I didn’t know him at all. I’d wonder about him, though. I’d wonder about what kind of guy would do that -- perhaps even find comfort in it. The same sandwich. The same processed cheese. Every day.

I avoided getting to know him too well.

The thing is, there’s just so much terrific stuff to eat for lunch. I know that. Really. I do. At least, I thought I did. But Jennifer McCann knows it better. Vegan Lunch Box Around the World (Da Capo) is her second collection of vegan lunches. Though I have yet to see the first one, 2008’s Vegan Lunch Box, I suspect that it’s terrific, because the sequel is no one’s idea of an also-ran: it’s really very good.

Though both books have that scary word -- vegan -- in the title, there’s nothing to be frightened of here. McCann’s success lies in her approach to cooking without animal products: she treats it like a big, fun challenge. As a result the food she creates -- and would help us create -- could be enjoyed by anyone. Potato salads, sushi rolls, tagine, African-style greens, orange couscous: 125 recipes in all. The fact that all of this great food is vegan makes us want to stop and think: in a world possessed of this much abundance and all of these wonderful possibilities -- without even eating meat products -- who would ever want to eat a cheese sandwich every day?

If you’ve ever wondered how to shake up your noontime meal, have a stroll through Vegan Lunch Box Around the World. It’s possible you’ll come away from it looking at many foods in an entirely new way.