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.
From the book Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional
"Meat" and potatoes - This was really good! It had a soft sweet taste that paired really well with some extra soy sauce and white rice. I rehydrated the TVP using "beef" broth.
Does anyone have the book Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa? I'd like to see some reviews from there.
I have "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," which is a really nice, huge book. One of these days, I'll make some stuff.
http://www.bookhills.com/images/Vegetarian-Cooking-for-Everyone-0767927478-L.jpg
AC, that was THE cookbook back in the day. I never got it though, don't know why.
Maybe this should be your next mini-challenge to yourself. Dust off those old books.
Sweet Freedom
Don't know if anyone else has this book but I'm a fan even though the three things I have made are banana. I tend to buy a lot of bananas that I swear I'm going to freeze and then get lazy.
Oatbran banana muffins - I could have used a little more sweetness but that's what this book is all about - being healthy so I'm not going to complain. Everyone who tried them liked them.
Banana bread pudding - Super yum! I'm not even a fan of maple syrup and this was very good to me. Although if I were to make it again I would try substituting golden syrup which is my favorite.
Banana chocolate muffins - Not overly sweet and they poof up during baking. Lovely!
I dusted off a cookbook I've had since it came out in 1997, before the "low carb" movement when people still ate pasta Vegetarian Times Low Fat and Fast - Pasta
This dish is called "Spaghetti Western"....(a take on a type of movie from the 50's when some westerns were shot in Italy)....however, I'm not sure what is "western" about it. When I was making this I wanted to season it more, like some chili powder or something, but actually it's fine as is. It has avacodo, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, parsly, tofu. I used whole grain penne and not spaghetti. I added to optional mozzerella because I had some Daiya. The Daiya seemed to season it quite a bit too well, and I'm glad I added less than the 4 oz. it called for. This was a pretty good dish.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs367.snc4/45069_1414379118320_1197836956_30973573_1148706_n.jpg
From The Vegetarian Lunchbasket "kale and bean curd soup".....which is simply kale, tofu and miso soup. That's it. It's delicious in it's simplicity, it's a wonder I didn't think of it. It called for a teaspoon of salt when cooking the greens and tofu which is silly since miso is dreadfully salty.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs210.ash2/47334_1417158467802_1197836956_30980252_5107708_n.jpg
Looks good! And I love that spoon - it's so cute! (if you don't mind my calling your dinnerwear cute, that is!)
I love those spoons. They fascinated me when I was a kid in Thailand (lived there for a couple of years) and as an adult I've always used them, especially with Asian food.
Another cookbook I've had probably 15 years is Vegetarian Rice Cuisine by Jay Solomon....I'm pretty sure all the recipes are vegan, or at least what I've seen. This is called "West African Jollof Rice" and it's a powerhouse of nutritional goodness...with ginger, collards, carrots, tomatoes, black eyed peas, green peppers, jalapeno and onions. I was relatively faithful to his recipe, but used brown rice instead of white, and used my rice cooker, so I adjusted how I cooked it. It was very very good.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs432.snc4/47503_1417306151494_1197836956_30980596_228981_n.jpg
From: Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional
Curry Rice - I made a few changes to this. I didn't use that ridiculous amount of flour to thicken it and thank goodness. I also omitted the sugar and grated apple (didn't have it anyway) and instead used fresh shiitakes. I used 2 S&B Golden Curry Sauce cubes and added a can of chopped seitan "duck." This was inhaled in my house for dinner last night and now there's only a little left for lunch =( so sad.
From: The Single Vegan aka Vegan Cooking for One the latest version of this cookbook has been renamed "Vegan Cooking for One" It's probably the oldest vegan cookbook I own. I got it probably 1994ish. The recipes are relatively simple, and the servings are for one. I made a Mediterranian tomato and bean stew that was delicious. I doubled the recipe rather than use half-cans of tomatoes and navy beans. It simply called for sauteed onions, garlic simmereed with tomatoes, parsly, a bay leaf and oregano. The writer recommended eating it with bread, but I served it over rice and ate both servings in one sitting. Quick, easy, tasty and vegan.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs384.snc4/44696_1420393668680_1197836956_30990377_7936215_n.jpg
Another cookbook I've had since the mid-90's is The Kripalu Cookbook an ovo-lacto vegetarian cookbook, but still with some vegan recipes I need to try.
This is called Khicari, which is mung beans and rice. It called for sauteeing the spices in ghee, and I just used Earth Balance. I used cumin seeds instead of ground cumin, since this is how they'd cook it in India. Very tasty.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs411.snc4/47429_1421397493775_1197836956_30992033_1705526_n.jpg
Another Jay Solomon cookbook written in 1998 and one of my favorite cookbooks at the time is 150 Vegan Favorites
I made two yummy dishes. "Porotos Granados" which is a nice stew made from pumpkin or butternut squash, fresh tomatoes, beans and corn and spices. Very good. On the side is "lemon braised market greens"....which is a basic recipe of onions, garlic, lemon juice and greens (I used kale) with some sesame seeds to garnish. Greens and lemon are a natural combination which I love.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs315.snc4/41113_1427396843755_1197836956_31004191_6152317_n.jpg
OMG, except for the rice cookbook, I have all the others mentioned above.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is an amazing cookbook. Yes, a lot of the recipes have dairy but there are so many recipes there are a gazillion that don't or where the dairy can be easily swapped out. Her soups are amazing.
The Accidental Vegan is in its second or third reprinting I think. The recipes are simple and straightforward and most come out delicious. The Peanut Sauce recipe is my go-to simple peanut sauce recipe and ultra convenient if you are travelling and want to bring most of the ingredients with you or not sure what will be available when you get to your destination. It comes out great if you make it in the blender. I keep the tiny cans of coconut milk on hand to make this since you only need 2 tbls.
The Kripalu Cookbook was my first vegetarian cookbook. The recipe for the tofu fingers on this site is extremely similar to the kentucky fried tofu recipe in Kripalu. I have made a lot of recipes in that book and should post my reviews, but truthfully there have been other cookbooks since with recipes I like better.
The Vegetarian Lunchbasket is also something on my shelf. I tried a few of the recipes and they weren't a hit, including the tofu nuggets. I should give it another try, though.
I also have Jay Solomon's 150 Vegan Recipes. There are a couple of things I've tried but the one I make the most is the Ginger Scented tofu noodle dish. He seems to have been friends with the Moosewood people, because they mention some of his dishes in their cookbooks. Many of the dishes in that book are for chilis and stuff, which were never ideal for my kids.
Wow, I have a lot of cookbooks.
Wow, I have a lot of cookbooks.
jkl, it's amazing how the cookbooks pile up over time isn't it? I challenged myself to dust some off, since I now have quite an investment in cookbooks and I need to use them, some I bought right before I went back to school for my BSN when I didn't cook much and am just now discovering and don't want to waste my money on cookbooks I rarely use. Strangely enough my wishlist at Amazon has cookbooks on it, knowing that for Xmas I'll add more to the collection.
The cool thing is that since I finished school and committed to veganism I rarely cook the same meal twice since I have so many recipes to try.
I love cookbooks, but I'm still waiting for the cookbook that actually cooks the dishes itself.
True that....
I bought my daughter PETA's Vegan College Cookbook since she will be starting College in the spring and she's already using it (I can't remember what this tofu salad was called).
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii85/Stormflakes/VegWeb/016-1.jpg
Honestly, I wasn't particularly impressed with the cookbook, but for a college student with a small dorm fridge making meals on the fly, it might be useful.
Sweet Freedom
Classic peanut butter cookies - These don't taste 'healthy' at all but thankfully they are! The only problem is that they are crispy (I'm a crispy cookie hater) so I don't know if I'd make them again. The cookies are sweetened with maple and brown rice syrup but unless you told someone that they'd never know it wasn't refined sugar. I'm loving this baking book!
From The Vegan Gourmet expaned 2nd edition, put out in 1999....another of my old favorites that needed dusting off, I made Barley Cannellini Bean Stew with Broccoli and Tomatoes.
Very good, but not earth shattering. Very tomatoey which I like. It called for fresh oregano, but i used dry. It was quick and easy to make. Good with a sandwich and made about three times what you see. Been eating it for lunches all week.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs650.snc4/61018_1448728737039_1197836956_31049416_2649609_n.jpg
From Vegan Lunchbox Around the World
Easy Piecrust-good, too much salt to use in a dessert, I think, and I had to use a bit more water than called for. Nice and flaky.
Chik'n Pot Pie-this got rave reviews and requests for a remake soon. Only thing I'd change would be adding some herbs to the sauce. I like how she basically makes a roux w/ no oil.
Chik'n Paprikas-Meh, I've never had the real thing, but this mostly tasted of green bell pepper. I probably won't make it again.
Noodles with Poppy Seeds- good and weird. I think it definitely needs salt, and probably more eb, but we all thought it was weird and good!
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