Let's be frank about this; neither of us is an accomplished cook, and for many years we have subsisted on easy vegan food. McVegan food. Endless plates of pasta with beans in tomato sauce, supplemented with boiled greens, or depending on Linda McCartney to provide a diversion. All very nice, but it can get a bit boring after a while. Last year, we were inspired by our friend Anna's cooking to try something involving an actual RECIPE. Enter the world of vegan cookery books.

It started, as all good things should, with a recipe book devoted exclusively to desserts. Cupcakes, to be precise. "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" Click Here. If you are prepared to purchase a minimal set of ingredients, namely a lot of sugar, oil and chocolate, you can make an astonishing array of gorgeous and delicious cupcakes that are the envy of your neighbours and make people you give them to love you forever.

After we had made ourselves feel a bit sick with these, and gained a few kilos, we felt the need for a savoury recipe book or two, and the following are now our favourites: "Another Dinner is Possible" Link here is, as it tells you on the cover, more than just a cookbook. It also contains a fair amount of enligtening advice, background and insight into veganism, as well as just being fun to read. I recently made their mushroom roulade as part of a Christmas meal for my very non-vegan family and they didn't leave a crumb. Little subtexts scattered through the book give you the benefit of the authors' wisdom about, well, everything from how to sharpen a knife to how to toast nuts. There is a special section on Korean food. We haven't tried any of those recipes yet but they look great.

"Veganomicon" Link here describes itself as the ultimate vegan cookbook and it has a lot of lovely recipes from all different cuisines. I never expect much of any savoury recipe, always expecting them to be a bit boring compared to cupcakes, but this book can take very unassuming ingredients and make something delicious.

If you living alone, then as well as being able to eat ALL the cupcakes you make, you could also use "Vegan Cooking for One" Link here. This, as you might expect, doesn't leave you with five servings to try to cram into your bedsit's freezer shelf. It even acts as a surrogate nagging mother by giving you a shopping list for the start of a week, and then takes you step by step through what you will do with that food each evening.

"Vegan with a Vengeance" Link here is another brilliant book. It is especially rich in recipes for cookies, scones, waffles... you get the picture, but also many fantastic savoury recipes too. It also provides important stuff for people like us who have never had formal cooking lessons, such as how to make pizza dough.

If you are a fanatical stay-at-home parent, with an occasional desire to put a LOT of effort into your children's packed lunches, you will love "Vegan Lunch Box" Link here. Alan bought this for me after he realised that during the day I only ate bourbon creams (when I could find them). Even if you are not an insane parent, there are some gorgeous recipes in here, and a lot of attractive dishes that we think will be fantastic if we ever get round to having a house-warming party with a buffet.

If there was a Nobel Prize for vegan cookery books, we would award it to Isa Chandra Moskowitz . You'll see her name appear several times above. If you ever make a Tiramisu cupcake you will agree. For the best ever recipe website, just click here and enjoy.