By Josette Keelor -- Daily Staff Writer

WOODSTOCK -- If anyone could make a living by spreading the word about vegetarianism, Robin Robertson of Woodstock has done it.

Robertson, author of 17 vegetarian cookbooks, just won the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' fifth annual Proggy Award for her book, "Quick-Fix Vegetarian." This is her second win in the category of Best New Cookbook of the Year. The Proggy Awards, short for "Progress," recognize animal-friendly achievement in 21st-century culture and commerce.

Other categories for this year's Proggy Awards included Company of the Year, Best Humane Wildlife Innovation, Most Vegan-Friendly Coffee Chain and Best Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Line.

"It was the vegetarian cookbook that blew all of us away," says Bruce Friedrich, vice president for campaigns for PETA. "This book won the best cookbook that anyone at PETA got this year."

Robertson was completely surprised when, right after Christmas, her award arrived in the mail.

"I'm thrilled," she says. "It's an honor to be recognized by an international organization."

Her intention, when writing "Quick-Fix Vegetarian," was to make recipes that are accessible to people.

"Quick and easy is really the thing," she says. She felt that people are looking for "great-tasting food that doesn't take all day to prepare."

All of the recipes in the book can be made in less than 30 minutes, but most take only 5 or 10 minutes.

"That's what's so fun about the book, and that's what people like about it," she says.

Robertson draws her knowledge of food from her years as a chef in Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

"It was really a hectic lifestyle," she says. "I kind of burned out."

She started getting into vegetarian cooking and later taught some cooking classes, which gave her ideas for writing a cookbook. She wanted to write about healthy food and help others to design their own healthy meals, she says.

Robertson became a vegetarian 20 years ago, and within a year, she had become a vegan. All of the recipes she includes in her books make use of foods that contribute to a vegetarian or vegan diet.

"Most of the time, they're both [vegan and vegetarian]," she says.

She says she always makes her recipes vegan, without meat, dairy or eggs, and has vegans try them. She also offers ideas for how her readers can substitute dairy products or eggs, if they are vegetarians who just avoid meat.

She says that the recipes taste the same, whether made with soy milk or dairy milk, so she encourages others to become vegan.

"It's the best way to eat for good health," she says, adding this is true not just for vegetarians, but also for people with dairy allergies.

In another step to remove herself from a hectic life, Robertson and her husband, author Jon Robertson, recently moved to Woodstock from Virginia Beach. Since both are writers, they were looking for a more peaceful place to live.

Now, about eight months in their country home, Robertson and her husband have also decided to begin their own publishing company, Vegan Heritage Press, so that they can publish their own books.

"We're gonna see how it goes," says Robertson, who eventually wants to publish other writers' books, as well. "It's sort of an experiment to see if we can make a profit," she says.

The company's first book, "Vegan Fire & Spice," was just released on Jan. 2. The book offers recipes from around the world with varying levels of spiciness.

"It can be how spicy you want it to be," she says.

Though all of Robertson's books are geared toward a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, they do not all contain only recipes with vegetables. One of her books, "Peanut Butter Planet," offers recipes that contain peanuts, which are a good source of protein when meat is avoided. Robertson researched how cultures around the world incorporate peanuts into their diets.

"It's around the world in 80 recipes," she says of the book, which offers recipes for three, square meals, as well as desserts.

"People give peanut butter kind of a bad reputation because of the fat," she says.

Peanut butter does not have transfat, she says, nor cholesterol or saturated fat. The peanut recipes also incorporate vegetables and whole grains.

"That was the most fun book I wrote," she says.

Robertson says she enjoys helping her readers to find new ways to eat healthy foods.

In her book "The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook," which won Robertson her first Proggy Award in 2003, she explains how people can substitute vegetables and other foods for animal products. She often tells people the story of her husband being a "meat and potatoes" guy, who was spoiled from her habit of making restaurant-quality meals when she was a professional chef. She has since turned him onto a solid vegan diet, and the two co-wrote the book "Apocalypse Chow!," which offers people vegan recipes to use during a power outage, so they will not have to make do with dry cereal.

Part of her goal in writing the cookbooks is to help people to know that they can eat a balanced, great-tasting diet as a vegetarian.

"People don't know how to make the transition [from eating meat]," she says. "My recipes really do help with that transition. It's not only healthier, it's more economical."

Because fresh vegetables also can be expensive, Robertson grows a lot of her own.

During the winter months, she buys frozen veggies, which are less expensive than those from the produce section, but still have a lot of nutrients because they are often flash frozen after being harvested. Though Robertson will buy some food items from a health food store, most of what she buys for her recipes, she gets from Food Lion or Wal-Mart.

Robertson is finishing her next book, "1,000 Vegan Recipes," which she expects to publish next year. All of Robertson's books are available on her Web site, www.robinrobertson.com, or at www.amazon.com. She also writes a column for VegNews magazine out of San Francisco, called "The Global Vegan," which offers recipes for food from around the world.

Since writing the books, Robertson has received e-mails from people thanking her for helping them to start a vegetarian diet. She says she enjoys knowing that she has had a positive influence on her readers.

"That's one of the reasons I do it," she says. "It's really gratifying."

Some Quick and Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Ginger Sesame Noodles with Broccoli

This satisfying dish is loaded with flavor and nutrients. Instead of making this recipe with sesame paste, try it with creamy peanut butter instead — it's even more kid-friendly that way. You can then sprinkle on some crushed peanuts instead of sesame seeds as garnish.

2 tablespoons sesame paste (tahini) or creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tamari soy sauce

1/4 cup water

8 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces

12 oz linguine

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced ginger

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Put the pasta water on to boil in a large covered pot. In a small bowl, combine the sesame paste, brown sugar and hot red pepper flakes until well blended. Stir in the tamari and water until blended. Set aside.

When the water comes to a boil, salt it and add the linguine. Cook the linguine until it is al dente, about 10 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, add the broccoli florets and cook until just tender. When the noodles and broccoli are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with the sesame oil and set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the reserved noodles, broccoli and the sauce and toss to combine and heat through. Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Variation: Substitute broccoli for asparagus or green beans and cut into 2-inch pieces.

Serves 4

Chocolate Cherry Truffles

These rich-tasting truffles look adorable when presented in little foil or paper candy cups. Use a high-quality cocoa for best results. Sweetened dried cranberries may be substituted for the cherries, if desired. Peanut butter can be used instead of almond butter.

1/4 cup sweetened dried cherries or cranberries

1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup pure unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coating of choice: cocoa, ground toasted almonds, toasted coconut

Place the cherries in a heatproof bowl and cover with 1/4 cup boiling water to soften. Place the cherries and their soaking liquid into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the almond butter and process until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Blend well, then transfer to a bowl.

Shape a small amount of the mixture into a ball, rolling with your hands into a 1-inch ball. Repeat until the mixture is used up. Drop the truffles, two or three at a time, into a shallow plate containing either cocoa, almonds or coconut, depending on your preference. Roll the truffles in the coating, covering completely and pressing the coating lightly onto the truffles. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 3 dozen

— Source: Robin Robertson, cookbook author

* Contact Josette Keelor at jkeelor@nvdaily.com