The official La Dolce Vegan! review thread (to be updated).
Add recipe reviews for La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy by Sarah Kramer here, and they will be added to the list. Thanks again to dannibazaar for this list!
Breakfasts
Freedom French Toast
Apple Pie Pancakes
Raspberry Walnut Pancakes
Banana Pecan Pancakes
Coconut Pie Pancakes
Daniyell's Banana Pancakes
Economy Maple Pancake Syrup
Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake
Very good! One of my favourite coffee cakes to make. I always replace the walnuts with almonds. (dannibazaar)
I liked it, but my bf not so much. (haricot)
Black Beans on Toast
Eeny Meeny Chili Beany on Toast
Wolffie's BLT Brunch Casserole
Sleepy Sunday Morning Scramble
Salsa Scramble
This makes a good tofu scramble but nothing special in my opinion; I think I prefer the recipe for Sleepy Sunday Tofu Scramble. I love avocado but it blended in with the scramble so much that I could hardly taste it anymore. BTW I didn't use the salsa recipe from La Dolce Vegan for this scramble but another homemade salsa picante. Of course it's important which salsa you use since it has such an important role in this dish. (gnoe)
Cajun Tomato Potatoes
Vegan Sausage Hash
Monday Morning Muesli
Toasted Oil Free Granola
Apple Cinnamon Granola
Cranberry Almond Pecan Granola
Simple Crunchy Granola
Baked Aporridgy
Breakfast Couscous
Uber Quick Breakfast Oats
Quick Breakfast Quinoa
Apple Walnut Pudding
Excellent (haricot)
Breakfast Brown Rice Pudding
Pretty good. A bit too liquidy, but that could be on my part. (dannibazaar)
This was healthy, and tasted healthy... but I would not eat that for dessert! Perhaps for breakfast. (haricot)
Breakfast Banana Smoothie
Anything Goes Fruit n' Nut Smoothie
On The Run Breakfast Smoothie
Banana Date Smoothie
Appies and Snacks
Appies
Nana's Pesto Pin Wheel Rolls
Shoosh n' Cook Breading
Shoosh n' Cook Pickles
Shoosh n' Cook Zucchini
Shoosh n' Cook Tofu
Melissa's Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes with Olivada
Wolffie's Magnificent Baked Bean Chip Dip
Mushroom Pate
Oh Baby Onion Dip
Gillian's Lentil Dip
Edamame Hummus
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Betty's Salsa
The only difference I made to this was no cilantro, as I didn't have any - I thought this would be major, but the salsa turned out great without it. I also just eyeballed the amounts for the canned chilies, as was not making a full recipe, and we don't have same sized cans as she recommends. I loved this salsa - I tried a bit on it's own and it was really good - much better than expected. I would never have thought of putting celery seed in salsa but that gave it a great flavour. Will make again. (shelloid)
Fish Friendly Tapenade
Snacks
Vesanto's Choco Currant Cranberry Squares
Fruit Dipping Sauce
Danica's Popcorn Balls
Didn't work out for me. That is probably because I used tub margarine (smart balance lite with flax). I might try this again with EB. (dannibazaar)
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls
Spicy Corn Chip Popcorn
Cajun Popcorn
BBQ Popcorn
Hot Nuts
Spiced Nuts
Carob Covered Mini Pretzles
Cold Coconut Curried Noodle Salad
This wasn't bad, but I wasn't really impressed either. I couldn't find curry paste so had to season it with some curry powder. I ate mine with sriracha to amp up the flavor. (kristinv)
Claire's Macaroni and Cheeze
Makes a nice creamy sauce. Had to reduce the milk to one cup to get a thick enough sauce. The milk dilutes a lot of the cheese flavor, but it's a good way to stretch out your vegan cheese budget. I usually add some nooch and cayenne to make up for it. I also use a dash of dry mustard instead of the dijon. (kristinv)
Curry Fennel Cauliflower Bake
This was disappointing. Turned out really dry and lacking flavor. (kristinv)
Jae's Peanut Butter Fudge
This was the first fudge I've ever made that I didn't completely screw up. It was sooooooo tasty too! Would definitely make again (and again, and again). (kristinv)
Basic Instant Gluten
This is only sort of a recipe, because it's the first step to the faux meats. The measurements worked fine, but I've found I prefer to use some kind of broth or add seasonings instead of just using water. (kristinv)
Faux Chicken
Tastes good but not that "chicken"-y. I'm okay with that. I do like the nooch flavor here. Be VERY careful not to let it boil at all...only simmer. Otherwise the texture gets rubbery and squeaky. (kristinv)
Veggie Goulash
Not too bad. Didn't expect a whole lot, but wasn't disappointed. I did the recipe fairly closely, but added some garden green beans, and some penzey's smoky seasoning (with the smoked paprika). I used the 2 tsps paprika. I did it with the brown rice. Pretty good meal. Healthy.
Wolffie's Nutritional Yeast Cheese Sauce
This is not very good. I wasn't expecting much because the ingredients seem bland, and it was. I was hoping maybe it would just be a nice mild cheeze, but it's just blah with an off flavor. Doesn't taste like much, but what flavor is there is not that enjoyable. Not worth keeping the leftovers.
Wolffie's Nutritional Yeast Cheese Sauce
My boyfriend, my dad and I just love this sauce. We've been eating it at least once a month for the past few years. I've tried several nutritional yeast-based "cheese" sauces over the years, and this is the best by far... but I am a nooch-lover. And that sauce only takes a few minutes to prepare. I sometimes eat it with a spoon.
Maple Streusel Muffins: Mehh. Not all that great at all. Downright tasteless, actually. I threw them out...the topping was cruddy and didn't stay on, the actual muffin was tasteless...just not good.
http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq138/XxDanniDarcyxX/DSCN0897.jpg
Wolffie's Cocoa Cake with Chocolate Fudgie Frosting: (Just the cake) Very good! It's like a combination of a wacky cake and a mayo cake. I subbed soy yogurt for the pureed silken tofu, which worked out just fine. I like the texture.
Wolffie's "Cream Cheese" Frosting: Very good! I added 2 tbs of cocoa powder to make it chocolate cream cheese frosting to go with the chocolate cake. I liked it, especially since there isn't too much margarine as compared to some frostings. I halved the recipe as well considering I made 1 9" cake rather than two.
http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq138/XxDanniDarcyxX/DSCN0906.jpg
Teriyaki Marinade: Good! I never tried any of the bottled stuff at the store so I have nothing to compare it to...but it as tangy, sweet, salty...good. I liked it.
Mock Beef and Rice Noodle Toss: Okay, well I kind of just used this as a sort of inspiration. Instead of using seitan, I marinated a cup of chopped tempeh in the teriyaki sauce. I used a half of a vidalia onion rather than a small red onion, added 2 cups of steamed broccoli, and used two cups of cooked brown rice in place of the rice noodles. So it was kind of like a stir fry sort of deal. It tasted really good! I'd like to try it with noodles sometime, but the rice was just waiting to be used up. Next time will be noodle time.
http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq138/XxDanniDarcyxX/DSCN0912.jpg
Desserts
Delicious Treats
Jae's Peanut Butter Fudge
I've made this recipe twice. The first time I thought it was amazing. It really had the same texture of store-bought fudge. It was overly sweet, but I mean, this is fudge. I was less successful the second time, but I blame my skills and my candy thermometer for it. (haricot)
Breakfast Brown Rice Pudding
This was healthy, and tasted healthy... but I would not eat that for dessert! Perhaps for breakfast. (haricot)
Mixed Berry Puddin'
This was good, but not enough for me to make it again. (haricot)
Mom's Chocolate Pudding
I've made this recipe countless times for my boyfriend who loves this, even though he's not vegan. I find it just okay though. It is a very easy recipe to make pudding at home with few ingredients. (haricot)
Brownies and Cookies
Espresso Brownies
I love these, they are very moist. Would definitely make them again. (haricot)
Hal's Maple Chocolate Flax Brownies
I've had two people sample these brownies and they were very popular. (haricot)
Maple Flax Squares
Amazing. This is one of my favorite square recipes. The flax seeds really give this an amazing texture that reminds me of a non-vegan dessert my mom used to make. I omitted the maple extract and it still tasted great... like maple syrup squares. Highly recommended. (haricot)
Wolffie's BNanner Bars
Good recipe. It tastes like banana bread, nothing more. (haricot)
Berry Oat Squares
Amazing. (haricot)
Wolffie's Snickerdoodles
I love these snickerdoodles. I was overwhelmed by their taste. (haricot)
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
These tasted like heaven. The addition of coconut is a great idea. (haricot)
Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies
I really liked these. The addition of cranberries and pumpkin puree make these cookies very original and yummy. (haricot)
Daniyell's Peanut Butter Cookies
Excellent cookies. (haricot)
Mama Mayhem's Perfectly Easy No Bake Cookies
Freaking good. Couldn't get enough of them. (haricot)
Nutty Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
These oatmeal cookies are very good because of all the spices mixed into them. My bf really loved them. (haricot)
Wolffie's Peanut Butter Cookies
These hold their shape and stay firm. I like them a lot, but they were not incredible. On the other hand, my bf fell in love with them. (haricot)
Desserts with Fruit
Apple-Walnut Pudding
Excellent (haricot)
Roasted Pears in Maple Garam Masala sauce
Simple, quick and healthy. (haricot)
Blueberry Dilip
Would not make this again. Came out undercooked and runny. (haricot)
Wolffie's Peach Shortcake
Very good. (haricot)
Muffins
Double Chocolate Muffins
These muffins are terrific... good enough to be considered cupcakes. The frosting suggested is far for necessary. (haricot)
Maple Streusel Muffins
These muffins have a subtle "maple" taste. They are sweet, but not too much. (haricot)
Lindsey's Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Yummy (haricot)
Sweet Loaves
Chocolate Walnut Loaf
This loaf is wonderful with the walnuts, and not too sweet. (haricot)
Pumpkin Tofu Cheesecake
Excellent (haricot)
Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream Cake
Impossible not to live this cake, but then again, you need to buy ice cream and cookies to make it. (haricot)
Rene's Tomato Soup Spice Cake
This is the only tomato soup cake I've tried, and I liked it so much I've done it many times. It is great with the vanilla frosting from the same book. (haricot)
Yella Cake
Great cake. I've done it many times. (haricot)
Sharon's Black Pepper Coffee Cake
Excellent cake. (haricot)
Tara's Chocolate Cake
Great. (haricot)
Wolffie's Cocoa Cake with Chocolate Fudgey Frosting
Amazing with and without the frosting. Last time, I baked the whole batter in a Bundt pan and I topped it with fresh strawberries once it cooled down. We couldn't get enough of it. (haricot)
Chocolate Puddin' Cake
I much prefer the upsipde-down pudding cake from How it all vegan. (haricot)
Cinnamon-Walnut Coffee Cake
I liked it, but my bf not so much. (haricot)
Peach Crumbcake
Excellent (haricot)
Pies
Fudge Pecan Pie
Extraordinary. (haricot)
Wolffie's Derby Pie
Wonderful (haricot)
Frostings
Chocolate Fudgey Frosting
Great frosting. (haricot)
Toronto Tara's Chocolate Frosting
Didn't like it. (haricot)
Butter Cream Frosting
Excellent (haricot)
Crusts
All Purpose Crust
Excellent and easy to make. It's flaky and a bit salty. (haricot)
Crust to Love Basic Pie Crust
Didn't work out for me. (haricot)
Wolffie's Quick Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Excellent (haricot)
Mama Mayhem's Perfectly Easy No Bake Cookies
Made these thanks to the review above ^, and so glad I did! These are perfect for summer. So good and quick, and no heat, except a little stove. Yum. I was surprised there are no chocolate chips in the recipe, so I added a handful. I don't know how they are without them, but loved them like this. Chocolatey, with a bit of peanut butter, and oat texture. I used pecans for the nuts. She says you get 8 large cookies, but she must be making cake sized cookies. I think I made like 15 tablespoon sized cookies. Will make these again, and try variations.
Entrees
Noodle Dishes
Claire's Macaroni and Cheeze
I love this recipe. I made it with Follow Your Heart Cheese, which doesn't melt as well as Daiya, and it tasted amazing. (haricot)
Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta with Kalamata Olives and Capers
Surprising recipe. I added toasted nuts as suggested in the intro. I would definitely make this again. (haricot)
Pasta with Fresh 5 Minute Basil Tomato Sauce
Excellent and healthy. This recipe is easy to make, not too hearty and different from the pasta dishes I usually eat. The sauce is raw. (haricot)
Gerry's Quick Broccoli and Hot Chili Pepper Pasta
Quick, simple and excellent. This is a four ingredient recipe. I made it with flax oil and I loved it... but you have to like the taste of that oil. (haricot)
Punk Kin Pasta
Excellent and different. I often don't know what to do with pumpkin purée, so I often end up making this recipe. It's fun to eat, very saucy and full of sausage crumbs. It doesn't take a long time to prepare. (haricot)
Spaghetti and Tofu Balls
Excellent. (haricot)
Dilip's Stuffed Manicotti with Roasted Red Pepper and Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Instant love. This was my first time making and eating manicotti. I had a hard time finding those pasta in the store, but the rest of the ingredients are easy to find. It doesn't take such a long time to prepare either. (haricot)
Gerry's Artichoke Heart and Basil Pasta
Great recipe. It stands out from other recipes and I thought it looked fancy. (haricot)
Peacefrog's Artichoke Heart Pasta
Very good. (haricot)
Jen's Creamy Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Very good. I added more salt and some vegan bacon bits though. (haricot)
Marianne's Goulash
Amazing! (haricot)
Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut and Kale Pasta
Terrific. I think that was my first time eating kale, a couple of years ago. (haricot)
Mock Beef and Rice Noodle Toss
Wonderful. I like eating this with chopsticks. (haricot)
Phebe's Mushroom Stroganoff
Wonderful. (haricot)
Red Lentil Pasta
Very good, but kind of bland. (haricot)
Rice Entrees
Teresa's Garlic Shoot Stir Fry
This is a great recipe to cook a lot of garlic scapes. The sauce is absolutely out of this world, although a tad too salty. (haricot)
Cinnamon Spiced Roasted Veggies with Couscous
Excellent. The tastes are not too strong. (haricot)
Wendy's Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole
Delicious and filling. (haricot)
Veggie Goulash
Just okay. (haricot)
Aloo Gobi Potatoes and Cauliflower
Very good. (haricot)
Aloo Mattar Potatoes and Peas
Excellent. (haricot)
Cousin Natasha's Everything but the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Curry
I didn't know what to except I really enjoyed this dish. (haricot)
Inder and Vandna's Punjabi Peppers and Tofu
Very ordinary. (haricot)
Eggplant Bharta
Sublime. The eggplant just tastes wonderful. (haricot)
Blessed Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry
Delicious. (haricot)
Bountiful Beans and Brown Rice
Excellent. (haricot)
Curry Fennel Cauliflower Bake
It's good, but nothing more. (haricot)
Emira's Speedy Gourmet Kale and Tofu Delight
Excellent (haricot)
Magnificent Mixed Beans and Bulgur
Just okay. (haricot)
Vegetable Biryani
Extraordinary. (haricot)
Shirley's Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Just okay. (haricot)
Miscellaneous Entrees
Veggie Pot Pie
Perfect. This is my go-to pot pie recipe. I've made it countless times. (haricot)
Tip Top Tofu Loaf
Excellent. (haricot)
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
Not that long to prepare. Excellent recipe and filling. Make sure you put the full amounts of spices. I replaced the cheese with nutritional yeast. And I cooked the burritos in the oven. (haricot)
Sloppy Jane's
Very tasty.... but healthy more than sloppy. (haricot)
Tu no Open Face Sandwich
Yummy. (haricot)
Mama Mayhem's Tofu Extravaganza
Incredible recipe. My mom always makes it when she as guests over and people are always surprised to see that tofu can taste so good.
Coconut Curried Veggies
Excelllent. (haricot)
Festive Stuffed Butternut Squash
Excellent. (haricot)
Sarah's Chili Con Bulgur
Excellent and easy. (haricot)
Tasty Tempeh Chili
Very good. (haricot)
Sherri's Black Bean Chili
Excellent. (haricot)
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
I've made this several times and it was always a hit. It's just perferct, and on the fancy side. (haricot)
Emily's Meat Loaf
Excellent recipe. My bf finds it tastes like real meat loaf.
Jay Lo's Fried Chicken
One of my favorite recipes from this book. I make it using the chicken style seitan from the same book. It's real comfort food. (haricot)
Mushroom Sausage Pizza
Amazing! (haricot)
Portobello Pot Pie
Absolutely yummy and easy to make. (haricot)
Wolffie's Southwestern Corn Casserole
Genius. Quick. It tastes cheesy even though it doesn't contain any fake cheese or nutritional yeast. It's also quite spicy. (haricot)
Tofu Roast
A keeper. It takes a while to prepare, but it is totally worth it! Make this for the holidays. (haricot)
The Joint's Cheeseburger Pizza
I was skeptical about the combination of pickled, mock ground meat, and mustard, but it rocks. (haricot)
Tomato Walnut Crusted Fried Chicken
Freaking awesome. I could eat this every week. (haricot)
Baked Chili with Cornbread Biscuit Topping
I really enjoyed this chili, but my boyfriend thought the biscuit topping was too sweet. (haricot)
Mom's Chocolate Pudding
This is pretty good. Not really much better or worse than other vegan chocolate puddings I've made. I need to perfect my own recipe, because all others seem too gelatinous to me. The flavor was good here, and very quick and easy to prepare, but texture not right for me. Super quick dessert, though.
Emily's Meat Loaf
We loved this! I probably haven't had meat loaf in like 25 years, but I had a craving for it. This recipe totally satisfied the craving. Instead of burger crumbles, I crumbled 2 packages of tempeh in the processor and browned it in a skillet. I also added about 1/2 tsp browning sauce. Other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe. I served it while it was still really hot and it did not hold together well at all. The leftovers were much firmer and sliced nicely. The next time I make this, I will cook it a day before serving. Seriously delicious!
http://i55.tinypic.com/28jkw89.jpg
Looks great, lotus!
Thanks!
Baked Goods
Kalamata and Sun Dried Tomato Soda Bread
Excellent bread, very tasty. (haricot)
Sarah's Sandwich Spelt Bread
I liked this bread a lot, although my boy friend did not. I liked how the sunflower seeds turned green after cooking. I left the bread in the oven for 55 minutes, and that was more than enough. (haricot)
Kissing Cousins Oat Bread
This was just alright... (haricot)
Wolffie's Buttermilk Cornbread
Excellent. I like to serve it with chili. (haricot)
Jen's Raisin Soda Bread
Wonderful. It's great for breakfast, toasted and with margarine... the suggested addition of a teaspoon of grated orange zest is a must. And don't bake it for more than 40 minutes. (haricot)
Simple Sassy Soda Bread
Excellent. It's important to add the optional sesame seeds, so that the bread is not too boring. (haricot)
Sassy Sandwich Bread
I loved it. I made it in my bread machine. (haricot)
Basic Baking Power Biscuits
Quick and super good. I also recommend adding poppy seeds. (haricot)
Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins
Mine didn't turn out well. The muffins were way too dry. (haricot)
Hayley's Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Amazing. A nice change from the muffins I usually bake. (haricot)
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
These are to die for. (haricot)
Cumin Rice Flour Muffins
Not good. (haricot)
Fragrant Onion Dinner Rolls
I really liked these, despite them being a tad too dry. (haricot)
Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins
Mine didn't turn out well. The muffins were way too dry. (haricot)
These didn't work for me either. The texture was awful. I ended up making bread pudding with them because I didn't want to throw a dozen muffins away, too much waste.
I really want to like the Kramer books because they are fun to read and the recipes seem to work for others. For me, though, they are just consistently bad and seldom ever come out the way they are supposed to. It makes me sad.
Then, you should definitely try the soups... they are so good!
And I'll remember to make bread pudding next time I have a fail with muffins. Thanks.
Wolffie's Pumpkin Pie
I normally don't really like pumpkin pie, I find they do not taste like dessert, but this is definitely the exception. I enjoyed every single bite of this pie, and the topping is just perfect. It adds a bit of crunch to the pie and it is mighty tasty. (haricot)
Cinnamon Doughnut Holes
These were melt-in-your-mouth... I really enjoyed those little doughnut holes with all the sugar and cinnamon they are dipped in. I did rolled them too big, but it didn't matter in the end. (haricot)
Emira's speedy gourmet kale and tofu delight - Fail. Did not like this at all. I'm not sure what I didn't like, but I think it's just the plainness of it all and that balsamic vinegar just wasn't right and that kale and tofu are a bad pair. I used a whole lb of tofu instead of a 1/2 pound and didn't add any pine nuts at the end. To make it taste better I drenched it with Maggi seasoning and that helped some.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/300295_2270434919180_1197836956_32069790_1121570444_n.jpg
Magnificent mixed beans and bulgur - Fantastic. Everything came together real well for a very tasty main course meal. I used 2 15 oz. cans instead of one 19 oz. can of mixed beans but otherwise followed the recipe. I liked the method of sauteeing the eggplant and then not simmering but 10 minutes, which kept the eggplant from becoming mush. I like how the fresh tomatoes were added at the end rather than cooked, it added a great dimension of flavor. Total redemption from the fail mentioned above.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/374005_2270434559171_1197836956_32069789_1975580113_n.jpg
Stephanie's White Diamond Cookies
I finally got my hands on white chocolate chips, so I had to try those. They were good, nice and puffy, but I would only recommend them if you're in the food for chocolate cookies AND peanut butter cookies at the same time, because they taste like both types of cookies. (haricot)
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