Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Review: The Vegan Divas Cookbook by Fernanda Capobianco

Book Description:

 The creator of the acclaimed Vegan Divas product line and the chef and owner of New York's Vegan Divas Bakery shares her award-winning recipes for creating decadent, flavorful treats adored by vegans and carnivores alike

For Fernanda Capobianco, eating vegan doesn't mean sacrificing divine taste. A vegan since she was seventeen, the native Brazilian chef and wife of acclaimed French Chef François Payard founded Vegan Divas, a New York City dessert company specializing in utterly decadent yet supremely healthy, vegan desserts. Her cruelty-free fare has been featured everywhere from Vogue to New York Magazine's "Grub Street," and her much buzzed-about low-cal, mini-desserts have been included in events for institutions like Martha Stewart, the New York Times, and Soul Cycle. In her first book, she shares more than 75 recipes for both sweet and savory dishes that are high in protein and fiber but low in fat and calories. Filled with dozens of four-color photos, The Vegan Divas Cookbook includes:

• Delectable treats like Mango-Pineapple Cake, Espresso-Lemon Panna Cotta, Spicy Carrot Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Spelt Brownies, and Gingersnap Cookies
• Brunch favorites like Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones, Eggless Scrambled Eggs, Sweet Potato Pancakes, and Detox Granola
• Hearty breads (some gluten-free) like Jalapeño Corn Bread, Spiced Pumpkin Bread, Eggless Whole Wheat Challah, and Tomato-Basil Country Bread
• Light lunches such as Smoky Tomato-Bean Soup, Walnut Paté Apple Sandwich, Roasted Pumpkin with Peanut Sauce, and Blue Potato Kale Salad

The Vegan Divas Cookbook also offers tips for creating a vegan kitchen, such as pantry essentials; basic recipes like for pie crust, whipped topping, and icing; and easy swaps for healthier cooking and baking, including how to replace animal-based oils and fats, chocolate, and thickening agents, for healthier and lower-calorie versions. Fernanda also provides entertaining and decorating tips for creating perfect plates and beautiful baked goods the Vegan Diva way.

 My Thoughts:

 As you have probably figured out, I can't resist a chance to try out new vegan cookbooks.  So, here's another one.  

 I found the recipes to be very creative and fun to make.  I tried the peanut butter and jelly scones, Jalapeno corn bread, the Chilled Sweet Corn with Red Pepper Coulis and Croutons, and other recipes.
The Chilled Sweet Corn soup (pictured above) was the most labor intensive.  It is not a recipe for a beginner cook.  Luckly, I have been cooking for many years.  You need to use fresh corn for this so it requres you to cut the corn off of many ears of corn.  Was the work worth it?  Yes and no.  It was a nice change of pace and good on a hot summer's day.  However, I actually preferred it warm which, is how we ate the left overs.  Would I make it again?  Probably not.  Though it was good, I usually only make outstanding recipes again, when they are that labor intensive.

 That said, I do recommend this cookbook for the other recipes.  Most of them are much easier to make than the soup and good.

 4/5

 I received the ebook for review from Edelweiss for my honest opinion.



Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:36 PM 0 comments  

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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Review: Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Book Description:

 Recipes, tips, and strategies for easy, delicious vegan meals every day of the week, from America's bestselling vegan cookbook author.

How does Isa Chandra Moskowitz make flavorful and satisfying vegan meals from scratch every day, often in 30 minutes or less? It's easy! In ISA DOES IT, the beloved cookbook author shares 150 new recipes to make weeknight cooking a snap. Mouthwatering recipes like Sweet Potato Red Curry with Rice and Purple Kale, Bistro Beet Burgers, and Summer Seitan Saute with Cilantro and Lime illustrate how simple and satisfying meat-free food can be.

The recipes are supermarket friendly and respect how busy most readers are. From skilled vegan chefs, to those new to the vegan pantry, or just cooks looking for some fresh ideas, Isa's unfussy recipes and quirky commentary will make everyone's time in the kitchen fun and productive.

 My Thoughts:

 I saw this cookbook on Net Galley and had to have it.  All my regular readers know that I am a sucker for vegan cookbooks.  Whenever I see a new one, I have to try it out.  I actually received it in August, so I'm late reviewing it.  Better late than never though!

 Soon after I downloaded this cookbook I decided to try making one of the salads because it was a hot day
and didn't require the oven.  I made the Sesame Slaw with Garlicky Seitan.  First you prepare the salad, then the seitan, and then the dressing and put it all together.  While Bill and I both liked the salad and the dressing, we did not care for the seitan with it.  It was a weird tasting combination that just didn't work for us.  My advise is to make the slaw with the dressing as a side dish but don't pare it with seitan and definitely do not add seitan to it. We rated it 2.5/5.
Ranch Salad With Red Potatoes & Smoky Chick Peas 
The next week, I tried a different salad, the Ranch salad with Red Potatoes and Smoky Chick Peas.  It was so good, I made it once or more a week until the weather cooled of.  It makes a great main course salad! We rated it 5/5 Pictures above.

 This fall, I made the Haria Soup.  I chose it because it had chick peas and eggplant, which I love.  It also has lentils and pasta so it is a nice hearty soup and would be especially good on a cold winter's day.  So, I will be making it again!  I rate it 5/5.

 I tried making some other recipes as well.  We liked some recipes better than others.  I would certainly recommend it highly for some of the recipes.  Overall, I rate this vegan cookbook 3.5/5.

 I received the ebook version from Net Galley for my honest opinion.


Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 3 comments  

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Vegan Stoner Cookbook: How to Cook Cheap, Fast, and Vegan by Sara Conrique, Graham I. Haynes

Book Description:

A collection of vegan recipes so simple to make that even a stoner could prepare them, this highly illustrated cookbook from the creators of The Vegan Stoner food blog proves that going vegan can be fun, cheap, and easy.

The Vegan Stoners, Sarah Conrique and Graham Haynes, write, cook, and illustrate in a world filled with eccentric--and slightly uncouth--vegetable characters. Now they invite home cooks into this universe of indie veganism, presenting foolproof recipes that will be a hit with every slacker, penny-pincher, and hipster on the block. With easy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and munchies, this is a gateway cookbook for anyone who wants to eat fewer animal products and more veggies.

My Thoughts:

This is a good beginner vegan cookbook and great for even skill cooks who want fast to prepare recipes.  

Most of the recipes are easy, such as the Orange French Toast but I wouldn't say that all the recipes are as easy as the description leads the reader to believe.  For instance, the sushi recipe.  It says to simply "roll it like a sleeping mat."  Um, if you have ever tried making sushi, you know it is difficult to roll.  I have made it many times with varying rolling outcomes.  It's rarely perfect, actually never for me and I'm not a stoner.  I am also considered a really good cook, if you ask my friends, family , and husband, Bill.  My dog, DJ thinks so too but he also likes really disgusting things, so he doesn't count. LOL!

I made the Peachy Crepes for desert, rather than breakfast, however used extra soy

milk and some maple syrup instead of the peach syrup from a can.  I don't eat canned peaches, I think they are disgusting.  The batter would have been perfect for pancakes but came out way too thick for crepes.  I just added a lot more soy milk to the batter for the right consistency. (Something that first time crepe makers may not know to do).  They turned out great!  I stuffed them with fresh blue berries, fresh peaches, and homemade vegan coconut whip cream. (The whip cream recipe is not in the book.)

I made the Bahnwich for an easy dinner one night and Bill and I really enjoyed it.  I have a different recipe for it however, we enjoyed this one even more.

I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate, so I had to try the peanut butter squares.  That was the easiest recipe I tried, it only has three ingredients, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar.  They were as rich as you would expect, so I cut them into about 1"x1" squares.  We still have some in the freezer.

I recommend the Vegan Stoner Cookbook.

4/5


I received a review e-copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley for my honest review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 7 comments  

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Fresh and Fast Vegetarian: Recipes That Make a Meal by Marie Simmons

When I saw this cookbook on Net Galley I couldn't resisting.  I love cookbooks and I love to cook.  The description said that a number of the recipes are vegan, so of course I was intrigued.

This cookbook is packed with useful tips such as preheating the roasting pan in the oven before you put the vegetables in, to cut down on cooking time.  It also has over 150 recipes.  I have tried 4 recipes so far.
The first recipe I tried was the Roasted Tomato Soup with Avocado.   It was a very simple soup that Bill and I have with my home made baguette and mixed green salad.  The avocado added texture and color to the soup but it could be left out easily.  I served it hot but it can also be served cold.  We both gave this recipe and 4/5.

Next I made the Tofu "Steaks" With Spicy Almond Butter Sauce and Baby Bok Choy.  I used organic peanut butter because that is what I had on hand.  This recipe is so delicious that I have already made it twice.  The second time I served it over rice noodles and it was awesome. Bill and I gave this a 5/5
Then I made Winter Vegetable Stew With Moroccan Flavors.  I served it with my home made focaccia bread and a mixed green salad.  It was probably my least favorite dish but it was still good.  Bill gave it a 4/5 and I gave it a 3/5.

I also made the Tomato White Bean Soup with Pesto.  It was said to leave the Parmesan cheese out to make it vegan but I used Soyco Parmesan as a vegan substitute.  This soup was divine!  It's the pesto that really makes it special.   We both gave it a 5/5.

The last recipe I made before writing this review was the Double Corn and Jalapeno Polenta Agratin.  This recipe was not vegan at all and there were no vegan options but I was able to make it vegan, easily.  Instead of cream, I used Silk Non-Dairy Creamer and for the cheddar cheese, I used Dayia cheddar shreds.   One of the serving suggestions was to top in with Black Bean Chilli and that's what I did.  It was delicious.  Bill and I gave it a 4.5/5.

The only thing missing from Fresh and Fast Vegetarian was the dessert.  Bill and I have a real sweet tooth.  I had to use my own recipes for that.  Over all I think this book delivers.  The description claims that most recipes can be made in a half hour or less.  The only one that I made that took longer was the Polenta A gratin, but that was because it had to bake for 30 minutes.  Prep time took about 30 minutes as well because you have to cook the polenta on the stove-top first.  All of the recipes were easy to follow.

4/5

Thanks to Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this galley.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:01 PM 7 comments  

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

101 Things I Learned in Culinary School by Louis Eguaras with Matthew Frederick

When I arranged with Anna Balasi to hold a giveaway of this book, I was offered a copy for myself. Since I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, I couldn't resist.


Louis Eguaras is a famous chef at the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the California School of Culinary Arts. In this book he shared 101 tips that can be used in the kitchen and for those who are trying to break in to the profession of culinary arts. 

The tips seem fairly random and not in different categories, so you have to read through the entire book to get to the tips that you are interested in. However, since the books is quite short to begin with, that's not really a big issue. I just prefer a little more organization. There are some very useful tips for the people who haven't cooked very much as well as tips for people like me, who enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen. 

I was hoping that this book would give me a few tips to improve my cooking/preparation techniques. The book delivered. For one thing, I found out that I was holding my knife incorrectly. I practiced the tip and am chopping a lot faster and safe now. There were quite a few tips that were geared towards restaurants and opening restaurants. Those weren't tips that I found helpful but people in the profession would.

There was one tip that I know to be incorrect and even dangerous. Tip number 73 had tips for first aid. One of them included a tip for choking. It said, "Alternate" five and Five. With the heel of your hand hit between the shoulder blades five times. Next give five abdominal thrusts as you stand behind the person (Heimlich manoeuvre). Repeat until blockage is dislodged." 

Since I am a social worker, I have to re-certify in first aid and CPR annually. DO NOT HIT BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!! This is an extremely outdated manoeuvre and can cause the stuck food to get lodged into a lung. That can be life threatening! The first thing to do is to tell somebody else to call 911. Then ask if the person can speak. If they can or they are coughing, just encourage them to cough more until the food dislodges itself. If the person can't talk or cough, perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, only if you have been trained on how to do it. If the person passes out and isn't breathing at all then you have to do CPR. Again, only if you have been trained to do so.

I would have given this book a higher rating if the first aid mistake wouldn't have been in it. It really scared me that millions of people could buy this book and use that tip unknowing the damage it could cause. I hope that it is corrected in future editions and that a warning of some sort is inserted into the current edition.

3/5

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for this book.

Have you reviewed this book? Please leave a link to your review in the comments so I can add it to this post.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:44 PM 3 comments  

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