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.
Another winner from ExtraVeganZa: Diana's Artichoke Heart Dip. Artichoke heart, garlic, mellowing in oil with a bit of heat from chili flakes. It can't go wrong. It says to serve chilled, but I nearly gobbled it all up while it was still warm from the stovetop. :P I found the dip paired extremely well with the olive oil and pepper triscuits.
Nonna's Italian Kitchen
Eggplant timbale - This was really tasty! I thought I always hated eggplant but I guess I like how it tastes when it is broiled. This recipe takes some time to put together because you need to salt the eggplant, let it drain, rinse it, etc. Totally worth it though and it made a ton (That's even after cutting the recipe to use a 8oz of pasta instead of 16oz).
Caribbean Vegan
Bajan macaroni pie with tofu cheddar - This has amazing flavor and is the only mac and cheese I've made as a vegan that I can really enjoy. It takes awhile to put together but it is so worth it.
Dakshin: Vegetarian cuisine from South India
Cauliflower sambar - I thought the taste from this was kick ass. It's a bit time consuming since the spices need to be tempered, a paste needs to be made, etc. I didn't have red chili so I just used a serrano and it came out great.
Bean poriyal - This was cut up green beans with coconut flakes, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. It tastes soooo good, I miss it already.
Thought I'd give a shout out to Lorna Sass' "Vegetarian Kitchen". All the recipes are vegan, and the cookbook is geared towards pressure cooking, but standard stovetop directions are always included. I mention it, because my go to tofu recipe is from this book "Oriental Baked Tofu", as well as my go to "healthy" cookie recipe"Oatmeal Raisin Cookies". I also like her "Scrambled Tofu" recipe, and her "Kamut with Limas" which is a simple yet flavorful cold salad perfect for summer.
Thanks for the review p_p....nice to meet another cookbook addict. Hope you stick around and keep reviewing as time goes on.
Toasted pepitas and cranberries from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health:
I liked this snack. It is unassuming. Few ingredients, but they worked well together. I liked the addition of thyme. The dried cranberries make this sweet without other sweeteners.
Carribean Vegan
White sweet potato shepherd's pie - I didn't use sweet potatoes since I don't like them and used a regular russet. This was divine! There ended up being no leftovers since everyone went back for seconds.
Buddha's Table
Pad thai - This has been the best version I've made at home so far.
Stir-fried wide noodles with sweet soy sauce - Awesome!! I used some Asian baked tofu and this was a great addition.
Wide noodles with gravy - Fantastic again but the problem is that the gravy makes a TON, enough for 1 lb of dry noodles so it needs to be halved if that much isn't wanted.
I recently bought Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson. I have only made a few things from it, but I'm already super impressed. I love Julie's recipes & website (Everyday Dish TV - think Food Network-style cooking segments, but online & all vegan!).
Earlier this week, I made the Herbed Breakfast Sausage Patties with Two-Pepper Golden Gravy. YUM!!! Both were super easy to make, low(ish)-fat, and incredibly delicious.
Yesterday I made the recipe for brownies - and these are, hands down, my favorite vegan brownie recipe! I have been on a hunt for the best brownies for years, and I thought I had found them in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar - but nope, these are better. AND easier to make!
I can't wait to cook more from this book! Definitely comfort food at its finest.
Just earlier today I added Vegan Diner to my wishlist!
I preordered Vegan Diner for my kindle and it won't be available till March 22.. boo. That looks so good JessaCita!
Aw, that sucks about the Kindle version delay.
This book is great! I actually bought it "for" my boyfriend as a birthday gift because he loves comfort food - but I'm the cook of the household, so the book was equally "for" myself. ;) He'll just be in charge of picking out some recipes to make! There are so many recipes I want to try that I stopped marking the pages I was interested in. :)
The book looks awesome from what I've seen on Amazon. Keep the reviews coming gurl!
If anyone is interested in an "official" review for any books that I don't have, feel free to type me a list of the recipes, and I will format, and keep it updated.
Caribbean Vegan
Salt bread - This is a really light bread that rises nicely. I just threw everything in my bread machine so all I really had to do was shape it.
Island burgers - Really good! I accidentally overprocessed the mixture since I didn't cut the green onions fine enough but it was still great. I baked them in the oven and they still held together. I used some homemade bbq sauce with pineapple like she suggested.. so good!
Rum punch - I used Malibu since that's what I had on hand. If you like fruity drinks, wtf are you waiting for?! This tastes like something you would order at a bar.
Caribbean Vegan
Bajan "beef" stew - This was decent but I wouldn't bother making it again. It didn't really stand out to me as something that was good, it was just fine.
Pigeon pea rice - Lots of garlic in this means it's fantastic! I didn't taste any of the seasonings that went into this but who cares? It was still awesome.
intheend, I think I have some pigeon peas in my cubbard, and will have to look at that recipe.
The Veganopolis Cookbook - I got this at Christmas, but due to the challenge I haven't gotten around to using it yet. I'm not terribly exited about it, but it has some intriguing recipes. One thing I don't like is that sometimes in order to make one recipe you have to make another recipe first. Veganopolis evidentally is a restaurant somewhere.
Brunch tofu salad - As I had a tofu dish the prior day I decided to use tempeh instead. I calls for diced, but I crumbled instead. This wasn't a bad dish at all. Nothing to get excited about, but good. It has bell peppers, shallot, parsley and celery. For spice you mix mayo with garlic, onion powder, tumeric, white and red pepper flakes or cayenne.
Super noodle soup - Somewhat of a fail for me, but I don't think I can blame the recipe here. It calls for own version of chicken patties and I used Gardien. I also used "better than boulline no chicken base" for the stock. Just kind of meh for me, but I can't really put my finger on it.
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The above soup tasted somewhat better the next day with a lot of water added.
Veganopolis again:
Old fashioned French Lentil Salad - Good. I used brown lentils which probably didn't need as much cooking time as he said the French green lentils needed because they cooked about half the time and I over cooked them. They call for you to just add whole veggies while you cook the lentils and this creates a nice mild veggie stock that I liked. The dressing calls for a whopping 2/3 cup of olive oil which I was hesitant to do, but did anyway and should have cut back some. Nonetheless it was quite tasty. It called for some toppings like shallots, croutons and parsly that I omitted. It also called for tofu bacon review below. Which tasted very good in the dish.
Fly facon - Marinated tofu in seasoned rice vinegar (I used plain), a whopping 1/4 cup of liquid smoke which my instincts told me not to do, but it actually tasted fine and didn't overpower the dish, oil, maple syrup, paprika, and cumin. This was quite tasty. VwaV tempeh bacon marinade is hands down better than this though.
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Buddha's Table
Stir-fried cashew nuts - This is a great dish that has tofu, onion, mushroom, and cashews. It's a sweet dish if you add the optional sugar that tastes delectable with some sriracha. I used a full block of tofu and 8 oz of mushrooms so it made a good amount.
Stir-fried flambe morning glory - I didn't add the water until it was already cooking because I didn't care to create a spectacle like the dish is supposed to. This was sooo good, the best way to eat some Asian greens in my opinion.
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