Vive Le Vegan
Posted by biodancer on Jul 10, 2008 · Member since Jul 2007 · 978 posts
I've had this book for a little while now but haven't made anything from it since last night. I made the Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were wonderful. I think they as the best and easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe I've tried. The only problem is the recipe only makes 8-10 cookies (large ones, you could stretch it to a dozen if you made them smaller), but I guess it's no trouble to double the recipe.
Has anyone made anything else from this book? No recipe has really grabbed my attention.
The Lemon Herb Baked tofu is really really good if you feel like turning on your oven. I think it is the best recipe in the book that I have tried (and I've tried many of them). We also like the patty recipes. I make the Celebrity Aduki bean patties often since my children like them and they are pretty easy to prepare if you have a can of aduki beans and some cooked brown rice handy. The lentil patties are good too. Is that the book with the mommycakes recipe? Oh goodness, don't make those. And there is also a cookie recipe for something called Bill Friendly cookies which tastes like larabars in cookie form. My littlest one liked them but no one else did. I think there is also an apple hemp muffin recipe in there which is okay but we have other recipes we like better. Dreena is really into polenta fries and I think there is recipe for those in VLV as well as her new book and they are tasty and handy.
I know there is a thread in the past where a couple of people posted their opinions of many of the recipes.
I have all of her books and I find the recipes to be hit or miss. I stick with her because her heart is in the right place and she's very into good nutrition and she introduced me to hemp seeds.
That cookie recipe is the best ever. I double it all the time and either make really big cookies or a bunch of smaller ones.
I love dreena's way of using ingredients. I have made the Squirrelly Scones, which are very filling and very good. I also like dreena's chatty style, and her suggestions of how to put together menus with her recipes or substitute. Believe it or not, the Brown Rice Pizza is a hit in my house, with my omnivore husband and daughter; they ask for it often. I also have her newest cookbook but haven't tried anything from it yet.
I flipped through Vive Le Vegan at the bookstore today after reading the recommended recipes posted on this thread. I'm trying not to buy another vegan cookbook, but that one was hard to put down. The recipes look simple, delicious and healthy.
The Lemon Herb Baked tofu is really really good if you feel like turning on your oven. I think it is the best recipe in the book that I have tried (and I've tried many of them).
Thanks again, jkl. The Lemon Herbed Tofu was the first recipe I tried in Vive Le Vegan after buying it recently. Great recommendation.
I tried the Lemon Herb Tofu after reading this thread. (I have owned Vive for a while.) It was very good but a little too lemony for me. I had to cut the lemon taste with some salt. That could have been my fault, I only eyeballed the amount of juice, but next time I will use less.
I tried the Lemon Herb Tofu after reading this thread. (I have owned Vive for a while.) It was very good but a little too lemony for me. I had to cut the lemon taste with some salt. That could have been my fault, I only eyeballed the amount of juice, but next time I will use less.
That's funny. I tried the amount in the recipe and didn't think it was lemony enough. May also be due to the type or ripeness of the lemons you use too--or simply because I love lemons so much. (There's a big lemon poppyseed cookie from Robeks beside me as I type this.)
The Easy Pleasin' Oat Bars were easy to make and a great breakfast treat. They stored well in the fridge for a quick snack. And also tasted good before bed with a little apple butter, or blueberry preserves spread on them.
The natural oaty taste comes out without being too sweet, with hints of cinnamon and maple syrup.
You can also make this in your little toaster oven too, so you don't have to heat up your bigger oven. I reduced the recipe ingredients by 25% and pressed the mixture into that toaster oven tray, which I lightly oiled.
Squirrelly Scones - I felt like I ate a big oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for breakfast rather than a scone. And I'm not complaining. They tasted nutritious and delicious with a glass of soy milk.
This "scone" is made with oat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, flax meal, soy milk and canola oil ... with hints of cinnamon and maple syrup. I left out the dried fruit and raisins.
I like that this recipe, along with many others in her book, are small batches that I can pop in my little toaster oven. For these, I dropped the "scones" batter onto the "buttered" toaster oven tray.
Is there any way we can get the title of this thread/cookbook spelled correctly? It's Vive le Vegan! These things tend to bug me, but perhaps I'm the only one. I do think it's easier to find things in searching when they're spelled correctly.
You're not the only one Willwolf. :)
Maybe the administrator could make the correction if there's a way to contact her...
It would just make it easier for one to search this website thread for recipe reviews of Vive le Vegan! if the book title were spelled correctly.
http://www.amazon.com/Vive-Vegan-Delectable-Recipes-Everyday/dp/1551521695?tag=dogpile-20
fixed it. geez.
The Cannellini Bean Yam Hummus in Vive le Vegan! is fabulous. The flavor of toasted pine nuts blended with the cooked yams, chick peas and other ingredients comes through wonderfully.
Per the author's note on the recipe page, I used chick peas instead of cannellini beans. I didn't use chipotle hot sauce or cilantro and it still tasted great.
I will have to try that hummus recipe. It's almost time to start eating sweet potatoes again.
This week I made the Chickpea Ratouille, which I know I am probably misspelling. It was perfectly fine, but I think I was disappointed since she said it was her personal favorite--with an original spice combinaton! Essentially it came out tasting like chickpeas in a good pasta sauce. It was okay, but like I said I had high hopes. It was along the same lines as the chickpea romanesco in vcon, which is also a tomato/red pepper number.
I'd give it a B--B plus if there is grade inflation. And I probably wouldn't serve it to company.
I've had this book for a little while now but haven't made anything from it since last night. I made the Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were wonderful. I think they as the best and easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe I've tried. The only problem is the recipe only makes 8-10 cookies (large ones, you could stretch it to a dozen if you made them smaller), but I guess it's no trouble to double the recipe.
Has anyone made anything else from this book? No recipe has really grabbed my attention.
These were good, but tasted a little underbaked. They also were a little grainy. I felt like I was biting into some turbinado sugar granules that didn't fully bake in with the dough. What type of sugar did you use?
I know she stressed in her book not not to overstir or overbake, so I didn't and followed the recipe strictly.
These actually tasted better the next day. Still a little underbaked, a firm dunkable cookie with a cookie dough taste.
"Squrrelly" Scones - These are wonderful healthy breakfast scone to enjoy with your morning tea. They are soft, a cross between a muffin and a cookie.
I didn't have pumpkin seeds or toasted nuts. Instead I used just raisins and dried fruit bits. Also, I subbed half the maple syrup with agave nectar, because I ran out of syrup, and chose the whole wheat pastry flour option.
I also liked that this recipe was only for 6 or 7 scones.
The Cannellini Bean Yam Hummus is really creamy, tasty and "smoky-sweet" take on the chickpea-tahini hummus we are familiar with. This hummus blends cannellini beans, cooked yam, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, chipotle sauce, toasted pine nuts and fresh cilantro.
It's easy to make. I skipped the 45-plus minutes in the oven step to bake the yam and instead zapped my yam in the microwave until it was tender. Worked just fine. I've enjoyed this hummus with pita bread and raw vegetables and have yet to try the Hummus Tortilla Pizzas, also in this book, with this hummus recipe.
The Cannellini Bean Yam Hummus in Vive le Vegan! is fabulous. The flavor of toasted pine nuts blended with the cooked yams, chick peas and other ingredients comes through wonderfully.
Per the author's note on the recipe page, I used chick peas instead of cannellini beans. I didn't use chipotle hot sauce or cilantro and it still tasted great.
I made this and brought it to my family's Christmas gathering. (A double batch, no less.) I did not like it at all and was really turned off by the whole combination. However, I was in the minority. My mother couldn't stop eating it. My husband loved it. My brother accused me of actually purchasing it since I brought it in a re-used Chinese takeout container. It was easy to make but plan ahead if you are baking the sweet potatoes.
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