The Unofficial "Other Cookbooks Not Listed" Thread
Posted by Tweety on Jul 27, 2010 · Member since Jan 2003 · 3135 posts
I thought I would start a thread for recipe reviews of cookbooks that don't have a thread, and probably don't need a thread.
So if you are using older cookbooks, or cookbooks without a thread, I'd love to hear from you here.
Vegan Italiano - Grilled asparagus spears (pic in the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen review) - Very simple recipe of olive oil and balsamic vinegar grilled. Since I'm not a person who grills, I appreciate the instructions and measurements. I wasn't expecting much but it was delicious.
Caribbean Vegan - Bajan "beef" stew
Amazing. This recipe calls for TVP and I used instead seitan made using my standby beef seitan recipe/method as found in La Dolce Vegan. After making the seitan I used her technique to marinate the seitan in a bit of marmite and Bajan seasoning. I was pretty faithful to the recipe from except for the cooking times. She calls for about 45 minutes cooking time and I simmered about 20 minutes and then turned it off and let it sit on the stove while I did other things. The broth was so freakin' good I was eating it by the serving spoonful ignoring the seitan.
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Quick Fix Vegetarian - Jamaican red bean stew - Fantastic. This is in the slow cooker section, but I fast cooked it on the stovetop. It was quick and easy....scallions, garlic, curry powder, thyme, allspice, coconut milk, broth, carrots, and sweet potatoes, tomatoes and beans (she calls for red kidney and i used pinto for personal taste preference). The sum of this dish is greater than the part, it was delicious. I'm thinking I really like the combination of tomatoes and coconut milk and curry. I seem to remember another dish with these three things that I was gaga over.
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Vegan Italiano - Italian Barley
Very good. This recipe calls for barley, onions, peppers, garlic, stewed tomatoes (again I think this is lazy as I never used stewed tomatoes but they were on sale so I got a can), broth, oregno and basil simmered with barley. It was supposed to be on the soupy side according to her but mine dried out which was fine with me as I didn't want soupy and wanted a side-dish to put on a plate.
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Paradise Casserole from Candle Cafe Cookbook:
I finally broke out this recipe for Thanksgiving. It was a nice casserole but WAY too much millet. I would suggest using even less than half of the millet and then cook it in a smaller 9x9 pan to get more height with the beans and sweet potatoes. The first time I made millet, it stuck all together. This time, I toasted it first in a bit of olive oil before cooking it with broth and it was so fluffy it has a hard time sticking together! There was no way I could get it presented as nicely as at the resto but it still tasted good. Btw, I thought the black bean mixture was a bit bland as written so I added 1 tsp of garam masala. :)
The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein
I'm not sure I've reviewed this book before, but I've had it about 10 years and have the 1st edition. It's a great little book full of simple to cook uncomplicated recipes. This recipe is "pasta with olives, artichokes, and dried tomatoes. Very very good. Nothing unique or imaginative here but the ingredients come together very well and are a natural.....I've made many similar dishes over the years, but lately I have a love affair with kalamata olives and Mediterranean/Italian food. This has garlic, fresh basil, chopped almonds, white wine, olives, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes. Yummy.
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World Vegan Feast
Golden cauliflower dal soup - This is a pretty easy soup that uses red lentils and Indian seasonings with roasted cauliflower. I've never roasted cauliflower before and it comes out so amazing and flavorful, I'm definitely going to do it again when I need a veggie side dish.
Caribbean Vegan
Creole red bean stew - I wouldn't say that I just hated this dish but I definitely wasn't a fan of it. Maybe it was my tomato sauce.. it wasn't Goya, it was some other Spanish brand. It mainly just tasted like tomato sauce with beans.
Creole rice - Fantastic rice! It has peanut butter, carrot, celery, seasoning, etc and it just comes together wonderfully.
Bajan soup with dumplings - I found out I don't like kabocha squash in large amounts which is odd because I do like it in Asian dishes. Anyway, I felt like there wasn't enough seasoning but the dumplings in this were fantastic and perfectly spiced.
World Vegan Feast
how do u like this book so far?
World Vegan Feast
how do u like this book so far?
It's awesome! It has a wide variety of recipes from all over the globe and everything I've made (I think 4 recipes so far?) have been delicious. I'm a fan of Bryanna's cookbooks and her cooking style in general.
Braised Daikon in Mirin and Shoyu from The Kind Diet:
Recipe here: http://www.thekindlife.com/user/recipe/braised-daikon-in-mirin-and-shoyu
I never would have guessed this was daikon.You braise it in water, mirin (I used half), tamari and kombu to create a plump sweet/salty treat. I couldn't get the liquid to be absorbed by 40 minutes with it covered, so I uncovered it and simmered another 30 minutes or so until all the liquid was gone. Very nice.
From Whole Foods to Thrive (aka Thrive Foods):
Quinoa Falafels:
I don't like falafels but I loved these! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with nice flavours. I served them with the Cheesy broccoli Bowl.
Cheesy Broccoli Bowl:
Not a fan of raw broccoli salads, I lightly steamed it for 5 minutes to get the raw edge off but still keep it nice and crisp. The sauce is delicious, more tahini than cheezy, imho. Definitely salty from the miso. Delicious as a dip. However, I found it didn't translate as well when used as a dressing for the broccoli. I think it would be best to drizzle overtop as opposed to mix it throughout. I put the falafels overtop with more dressing, and this worked really well.
World Vegetarian - Millet with cumin, browned onions and green beans
Very good. I already had some cooked millet so I changed up the cooking method a bit but used all the ingredients. Because the millet was done I just added a little veggie broth at the end and simmered it until liquid was absorbed. This has the above ingredients and I added some Thai chili peppers for heat instead of the cayenne she called for.
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Carb Conscious Vegetarian - ginger-sherry tofu with green beans and water chestnuts
I loved this. The tofu was marinated only 20 minutes in a mixtures of simply soy sauce, ginger and sherry. Then was stir fried with green onions, steamed green beans and water chestnuts. Quick, easy and tasty.
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Carb Conscious Vegetarian - Spicy creole gumbo with collards
I used the ingredients in this recipe: collards, tomatoes, celery, green peppers, onions, beans and thyme for inspiration and didn't quite follow the cooking instructions. I added a tablespoon of creole spice and omitted the suggested Tabasco, used a can of diced tomatoes and juice instead of fresh, and cut back on the broth to only about one cup instead of the six cups she calls for. This made for a thick and tasty meal that would be good over rice instead of soupy gumbo. Loved it.
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World Vegan Feast
Tahu goreng with edamame - Bryanna gives you a recipe to make your own ketjap manis for this recipe. This is a tofu dish with edamame and it has an interesting flavor from the ketjap manis and tomato paste. It's super fast to make and tastes great on top of brown rice.
World Vegetarian - Grated beets with shallots
Very good. This recipe calls for mustard seeds sauteed with shallots, then grated beets are added along with a green chile (I used Thai) and salt with some lemon juice splashed on at the end. That's it, but it's very good. I used yellow beets for something different.
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wow tweets that looks magical... i am not experienced in the beet department... canned ones are gross... i tried the fresh ones juiced (YUM)... but cooking hmmmm... what is your fave recipe to use them in and i shall try to see if i can fall in love with another veggie <3
wow tweets that looks magical... i am not experienced in the beet department... canned ones are gross... i tried the fresh ones juiced (YUM)... but cooking hmmmm... what is your fave recipe to use them in and i shall try to see if i can fall in love with another veggie <3
Definitely try both golden and red beets if they are new to you. I prefer the golden beets since they are sweeter and more mellow but others prefer the red ones and their earthiness.
wow tweets that looks magical... i am not experienced in the beet department... canned ones are gross... i tried the fresh ones juiced (YUM)... but cooking hmmmm... what is your fave recipe to use them in and i shall try to see if i can fall in love with another veggie <3
Definitely try both golden and red beets if they are new to you. I prefer the golden beets since they are sweeter and more mellow but others prefer the red ones and their earthiness.
thanks girly... i do remember the red ones being earthy in my juices... i like them spiralized (i think they call it) on top salad like at Native Foods <3
I like beets, but aren't crazy madly in love with them. This method above with the golden ones is definitely a winner. I like red beets raw but the yellow were bitter raw and left a bad aftertaste, but were mellow and sweet when cooked. I got a bunch of organic ones the other day at the HFS because they were a reasonable price. They are super healthy which is one good reason to eat them.
I like them mostly in salads raw. A good beet salad is from "Vegan Fire and Spice" and it's Syrian beet salad and it has scallions, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, orange juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. It calls for cooking the beets until tender but I actually used diced raw in this and liked it fine.
hmmmmm tweets i have fire and spice though i have not seen golden beets where i usually buy my cheapy produce... i am sure they're at the HFS but cost an arm and a leg
Vegan Italiano - Spinach-pesto sauce - Easy simple and very very good. All it has is fresh spinach, basil, olive oil and garlic, blended together. I used a bit too much garlic (is that possible?) and since it wasn't cooked made it a bit strong, but that didn't ruin the simply good taste.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/384151_2269702180862_1197836956_32069240_1030032846_n.jpg
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