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.
I've been wanting to get Kansha! It looks great from what I've seen. Hopefully I'll be posting some reviews here soon for it ;)
I found this recipe through google books but I really want to get the book as well. I love that it is all vegan and her recipes are so homely, but still flavourful. :) I will love to see what you make. :)
World Vegetarian
cabbage with garlic and shallots (I got a sense of deja vu eating this, so if I've reviewed it already forgive me, I'm too lazy to scroll through this thread, but I didn't market like I mark recipes I've cooked already). This nice side dish has shallots, garlic, chile (I had jalapeno), scallions, cabbage and celery leaves cooked in a veggie stock. Nothing to get excited about, but good.
carrot and cilantro salad - Simple salad of carrots (blanched for 10 seconds), fresh cilantro, lemon juice, oilive oil, cayenne and paprika. Loved it.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/224647_1772718716586_1197836956_31590790_6121934_n.jpg
Vegan Fusion World Cuisine
Shiva Shakti's Himalayan Stuffed Bread
I don't know how authentically Himalayan this is (do they eat yams and jalapenos in the Himalayas?), but it was absolutely delicious. The dough recipe just says to add whatever herbs you like, and since it was getting a curry-type filling, I used cumin seeds, fennel seeds, garam masala, and some ground coriander. The filling was so good, it could have been a side dish on its own. The recipe looks complicated, but it didn't really take too long, and the stuffed bread was easy to put together once the ingredients were prepped. I will be making this again. We dipped ours in tamarind chutney.
Gift Of Govinda Curry
I made this with the optional veggies added in, using peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. It was okay, but pretty bland. I had to douse it in chutney to give it much flavor. I probably would not make this again.
Mysterium Tremendum Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
I'm not a fan of mint, so I replaced the peppermint extract with vanilla. I also used wheat flour instead of spelt and did the toasted pecan option. They turned out incredibly soft and tender, more like little cakes than cookies. They're not too sweet, but they have a lot of flavor. The recipe says to make 8 large cookies, which would have been ridiculous. I ended up getting about 2 dozen nice-sized cookies out of the recipe; if I had made them bigger, they wouldn't have fit in the cookie jar. I will definitely make these again, and I'd like to try them with the spelt flour.
Caribbean Vegan
Barbadian Pelau - Meh. This was alright but that's all it was. I seem to have hit or misses with this book.
World Vegetarian
Stir-fried dry green beans with tien jing preserved vegetable - Needing to use a pound of green beans, I tried this recipe and loved it. I didn't have the tien jing, but used pickled greens instead and it was good.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/227701_1783837234542_1197836956_31606247_4120159_n.jpg
Since it looks like at least 3 of us have Buddha's Table, how bout a review thread for that? I can manage it. Eh? Eh?
I'm thinking of also doing one for Japanese Cooking: Contemporary and Traditional, as well as Vietnamese Fusion... Since I have made a ton of those recipes. Does anyone have the Vietnamese one?
I have Buddaha's Table and would love to read reviews, either in a thread of it's own or here because I don't use it all that much and need the inspiration.
I love Buddha's Table and think we should have a thread for it! I'm up for a Japanese thread too. I have that book and have made a few things from it but need to try some other ones. Don't have the Vietnamese Fusion one but I do have Authentic Chinese Kitchen.. does anyone else?
I have Authentic Chinese Kitchen. HMMMMmmm
I made the cauliflower and potato burrito from this month's Vegetarian Times.....it also has tomotes and chipolte peppers and was very good.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/230965_1806064150201_1197836956_31630285_2956329_n.jpg
Veganopolis
French Seven Vegetable Soup - This was extremely good...it called for potatoes, carrots, green beans, tomatoes (peeled which I was too lazy to do), leeks, turnips and peas (which I eliminated). It's pure vegetable goodness without spices and herbs....I only added some crushed red peppers. He calls for purreeing the soup and I used my immersion blender to thicken it up just prior to adding the green beans at the end, but didn't want it purreed much.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229322_1813311851389_1197836956_31641840_2650987_n.jpg
I made the cauliflower and potato burrito from this month's Vegetarian Times.....it also has tomotes and chipolte peppers and was very good.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/230965_1806064150201_1197836956_31630285_2956329_n.jpg
Are you taking review requests? Can you please make that lentil and rhubarb stew and the tofu dengaku and report back to the group?
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
World Vegetarian
Stir-fried dry green beans with tien jing preserved vegetable - Needing to use a pound of green beans, I tried this recipe and loved it. I didn't have the tien jing, but used pickled greens instead and it was good.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/227701_1783837234542_1197836956_31606247_4120159_n.jpg
Is this World Vegetarian the Madhur Jaffrey book?
I made the Caldo Gallego two weeks ago and it was sensational. She uses swiss chard and I was worried it would be tough but it was so soft it just melted in your mouth.
I made the cauliflower and potato burrito from this month's Vegetarian Times.....it also has tomotes and chipolte peppers and was very good.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/230965_1806064150201_1197836956_31630285_2956329_n.jpg
Are you taking review requests? Can you please make that lentil and rhubarb stew and the tofu dengaku and report back to the group?
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
You are too funny!
My friend tried the lentil and rhubarb recipe and here is her post about it: http://marcussamuelsson.com/recipes/indian-spiced-chickpeas-with-rhubarb-and-spinach-recipe
I have made a similar dish, Mark Bittman's lentil and rhubarb stew and wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/lentil-and-rhubarb-stew-with-indian-spices/
I would omit the mustard seeds next time.
jkl, that is indeed the book. It's awesome.
I'd better not start taking requests, because then I would be swamped by my fans. LOL
Although lentils and rhubarb sound intriguing. I've never cooked with rhubarb before.
Is there a review thread for recipes from a magazine that isn't on a blog or in book? There probably isn't a need though between the internet and cookbooks not many people use an actual paper magazine. I do subscribe to VT and have for years and make myself make at least one recipe an issue, but I'm obviously more of a cookbook addict. I made the Greek lentil salad from this month's VT's. It was your basic salad with lentils, cukes, shallots, lemon juice, fresh mint, olive oil, etc. and it was very good. I omitted the feta cheese of course. Very tastey!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/250983_1832218044032_1197836956_31666749_1751201_n.jpg
From the new cookbook Everything Vegan published by VT, I made the following. First my overall impression of this book is a good one. The recipes seem uncomplicated and there is quite a variety. I like how the chapters are divided it has an easy to follow index.
Casablanca Quinoa Salad - Good tasting salad with apricots, fresh orange juice and zest, and raisons for sweetness, along with fresh herbs like mint, parsly and cilantro.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/253957_1825906566249_1197836956_31658261_599367_n.jpg
From the prolific cookbook writer Robin Robertson's book "Carb Conscious Vegetarian" I made a very good "Ragin' Cajun tastes-like-chicken sald". It calls for mayo, Dijon muster, lemon juice, cumin, herbs, celery, tempeh and chickpeas...as well as jalapeno (optional which I chose) and tobasco for heat.
I like this book a lot, it came out in 2005 when low carb eating was all the rage, and bought it mainly because my potential new BF is a low carb eater, and I can prove to him that being low carb doesn't mean eating meat. Still, I do tend to not eat white foods, or baked stuffed, and gravitate towards these types of dishes anyway. So if we don't work out it still will be one I will use. It's a good cookbook with easy to make recipes that aren't obscure in their ingredients. I now own five of her cookbooks, so I must be a fan.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251602_1826019529073_1197836956_31658429_5023695_n.jpg
Seared Tofu with Chives and Pepper from This Can't Be Tofu by Deborah Madison. My daughter loved this.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/VegWeb/060.jpg
Tomato, Corn and Roasted Potato Salad from Jump Up and Kiss Me, Spicy Vegetarian Cooking by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. It is dressed with dijon balsamic vinaigrette and was awesome. The cookbook isn't technically vegan but it contains many vegan recipes and many others can be veganized. If you like spicy food it's definitely worth picking this up.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/VegWeb/027-4.jpg
Storm, those dishes look sooooooooo good.
From Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons by Nava Atlas by made Swiss chard stew - This is a very light but delicious stew that uses chard, canned diced tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes, along with veggies and tortellini. To my irriration I found a gazzillion vegan ravioli, but no tortellini, so I used a vegan gnocci store bought instead and seemed to add a little heartiness to the otherwith light and healthy stew. Loved it.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/250386_1832212403891_1197836956_31666743_4060238_n.jpg
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