Jayme's Profile

From: Vancouver, BC Canada

Joined: June 10th, 2011

About me: I love cooking, reading, swimming and bugs. And talking about all those things.

Favorite cookbook: Just one?

Favorite recipe: Can't do it!


Latest review:

May 28th, 2012

Superfood Chia Chili from The Thrive Diet: Whole Foods to Thrive

Raw food still baffles me sometimes. This recipe sounded gross, but when all the ingedients were literally just thrown in a bowl and stirred together, I wound up with a totally tastey raw chili. Much lighter... read more >


recipe reviews (248)
book reviews (3)
useful review votes (229)

Jayme's Reviews


Search Reviews:

247 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food

By Ani Phyo
Da Capo Lifelong Books - 2010

Crunchy, sour and a little bit sweet. Minimal ingredients, but kinda messy to make. (Purple fingers and shredded cabbage everywhere...)

useful (0)  


Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

By Ani Phyo
Da Capo Press - 2007

Beautifully colourful crispy salad. The dressing was the best part. I've remade this dressing to go with other salads a few times.

useful (1)  


Salad is really all about the dressing and this was a great dressing...and the beets didn't hurt either. Beets are underused in salads if you ask me.

useful (0)  


I feel like Gazpacho should have been an easy one for a raw book...it's already raw. But this one failed for me somehow. Trying too hard? I don't know.

useful (1)  


This was the first time I ever ate raw asparagus. And it was so good! A nice garlicy, nutty cheeze sauce plus crisp, fresh asparagus rolled in a little olive oil and salt. So refreshing.

useful (1)  


26th June 2011 (edited: 26th June 2011)

Thai Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce

I cut the spice back by at least half for this recipe and my face was still on fire. That's just not my idea of fun...but it could be yours?

useful (0)  


23rd April 2012

Cauliflower Miso Mash

I was surprised how fluffy the raw cauliflower got in the food processor. But I wasn't super crazy about the flavour. It wasn't bad, and I'm glad I tried it...I can imagine doing variations of this, but I'm happy not eating this again.

useful (0)  


28th May 2012

Very Blueberry

Good flavour but the water needs to be cut back by at least half a cup. Love the use of whole vanilla bean in these smoothies.

useful (0)  


The Artful Vegan: Fresh Flavors from the Millennium Restaurant

By Eric Tucker, Bruce Enloe
Ten Speed Press - 2003

26th June 2011 (edited: 26th June 2011)

Grilled Vegetable Terrine with Arugula-Toasted Almond Pesto

I absolutely loved the pesto. It gets extra points for using almonds instead of pine nut$! I had a bunch of Arugula from the farmers market that was on its last leg so this was a perfect fit. It made quite a bit more than I needed so I used the rest on pasta with sun dried tomatoes and it was beautiful!

Lacking a grill I broiled the vegetables like the book recommended and while this worked well I know it would have been that much more special if it had that BBQ char on it.

The only problem I had with the recipe was the agar. It called to pour the agar on top of the terrine before baking. I did this, but it stayed on the top and ended up overcooking into big lumps of gross agar. They were easy to pick off the top and the terrine turned out beautifully anyway so I think next time I would skip the agar entirely since it didn't have any trouble sticking together when I took it out and sliced it up.

useful (0)  


This has four different recipes in it. They all need their own pots plus some more pots for good measure. I think there was about 4 hours of active cooking involved and many more hours (mostly for bean soaking and boiling) of waiting.

It was very good though and pretty fun to make. The seitan, the beans, the cashew cream, the braised garlic, and the purse filling could all be made in advance though to make it not a daylong adventure. Then all your doing is filling and baking the purses, making the sauce and the polenta.

For the purse filling there is a minor typo where they forget to tell you to add the beans. So don't forget! Add the beans!

useful (0)  


I picked this because I think it's by far the quickest thing to make in here. It's just a simple and delicious marinade followed by 5 minutes of broiling. Yum.

useful (1)  


Such a simple thing to do with your garlic, but really turns any garlicy dish up a few notches. A sprig of rosemary, a head of garlic and some olive oil plus a little oven time and you have the perfect garlic. I made these to go with the soft garlic polenta but they'd be great in anything, I'm thinking mashed potatos here. And no need to waste that beautiful rosemary garlic oil you just created. It would be so nice on salad or just cooked into whatever goes in your pan next!

useful (2)  


7th July 2011 (edited: 7th July 2011)

Cashew Cream

Barely a recipe, but something every vegan needs in their cooking arsenal. Why buy gross, sweetened soy cream when you can blend up your own delicious cashew cream in a flash for super cheap!

useful (3)  


7th July 2011

Seitan Sausage

The addition of fennel seeds to this sausage is what really makes me love this one. My only note on the recipe is that the cheese cloth was annoying and unnecessary. I wrapped the first sausage and left the other three to skinny dip in the braising liquid and it made no difference.

useful (2)  


15th July 2011 (edited: 15th July 2011)

Key Lime Tart

This has a prebaked pistachio crust. Heads up on the bake time, it's too long. I'd start checking it after about 15 minutes. The key lime filling is so freaking good I could eat it as pudding all by itself. It's topped with a white chocolate mousse, which was pretty easy to make and could be used with other desserts as well. It needs to be chilled overnight though so plan ahead. There's also a scrumptious mango drizzle to go with some fresh strawberries on the side. Very fancy schmany, a little time consuming, but not terribly difficult. A+

useful (3)  


Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion

By Taymer Mason
The Experiment - 2010

5th July 2011 (edited: 5th July 2011)

Coconut Rice

Great recipe with lots of flavours. It calls for 2 1/4 cups of coconut milk, but a can of milk gives you a little less than 2 cups so I subbed the rest with water and it was still super creamy. I also used brown rice with this instead of white so I added another 1/4 cup of water and it took more like 35 or 40 minutes to cook.

It also says to put the chopped fresh herbs in and cook it with the rice, but the next time I make this they will go in near the end so they look a little fresher.

useful (2)  


7th July 2011

Bajan Pepper Sauce

The front of this book is filled with Caribbean seasonings that are super easy and fun to make. You throw a huge list of indredients into a food processor and you put it in a jar and it's on hand for your recipes for the next year!

This sauce is very hot! I couldn't find any scotch bonnets or habenero peppers so I just subbed in the hottest peppers I could find at the store. Since I'm a wimp, this sauce turned out plenty hot enough for me, but really yummy and full of flavour.

useful (1)  


7th July 2011 (edited: 7th July 2011)

Eggy Tofu Open-Faced Sandwiches

This is a Caribbean twist on egg salad sandwich. The twist? Why heat of course. I got to use my freshly made Bajan Pepper Sauce in this as well as lots of minced pickles, peppers, and chiles to go in the tofu mixture. It was really delicious and easy to fiddle with to get the right amount of heat for your personal preference.

useful (2)  


Some really great flavour combos here. This was my first hearts of palm experience and I really liked them. They have a nice soft texture and flavour that goes well in a scramble. I did change a couple things for this. I crumbled the tofu instead of frying it in cubes for a more "traditional" scramble. Used roasted red peppers instead of tomato, and didn't have any vegan Worcestershire sauce to add either. And it was awesome! It could have been a touch spicier, but this was my light hand's fault, not the recipe.

useful (1)  


11th July 2011

Fried Plantains

My first plantain! Plantains are not readily available here and when you do see them, they tend to be a little worse for wear. So when I saw these perfect plantains yesterday I jumped on them (not really, then they would be squished) and ran home to fry them up. So good! I paired it with my spicy tofu scramble and the sweetness goes really well with the heat from the other dish.

useful (1)  


Made in three parts. The tofu cheddar, a cheesy roux, and the pasta, mix together and bake. The roux seemed super thick to me. Not sure if it was my mistake or there was too much flour listed in the recipe. Either way, it didn't matter and the pasta was awesome. A very grown up take on Mac & Cheeze with lots of Caribbean flavour.

useful (0)  


17th February 2012

Rum Punch

This stuff is dangerous. It has a ton of rum in it, but goes down like water. Super delicious and I definitely recommend getting the bitters.

useful (0)  


Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You

By Terry Walters
Sterling Epicure - 2009

50% hit 50% miss for me. The black bean patties were very bland. It seemed like they had a lot of great flavourful ingredients packed in there, but they came out tasting very beany. But, to save the day, pineapple guacamole comes out of nowhere! It was delicious and when piled 3" high on your boring bean patty it becomes an awesome meal.

One note on the flax in the burgers. This was a new thing for me, but instead of beating the water and flax to make it gooey, Walters just sits the flax in the water, by the time you're ready to add it to the patties it's turned into a gelantanous blob of awesome. I'm going to remember that one!

useful (5)  


I'm all for throwing a few recipes that barely qualify as recipes into a book so newbies have somewhere to start, but if you're going to do something simple then I feel it's even more important that it be perfect. The dressing for this was way way too vinaigery for anybody to possibly like. It was easy enough to fix, it's just a dressing, but if I were a newbie I would have been really discouraged that even this simple salad I was trying to make failed so terribly. This recipe did pair strawberries with mustard vinaigrette though, something I wouldn't have done myself and which ended up being delicious.

useful (3)  


Website: Closet Cooking

www.closetcooking.com
 

26th February 2012 (edited: 26th February 2012)

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This falls into the sandwich genius category. I made a veganized version of this with maple smoked tempeh bacon and pepperjack Daiya cheese. Tomatoes would have gone well in here too. Super decadent.

useful (1)  


Color Me Vegan: Maximize Your Nutrient Intake and Optimize Your Health by Eating Antioxidant-Rich, Fiber-Packed, Color-Intense Meals That Taste Great

By Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Fair Winds Press - 2010

These are three star cookies that get bumped up to four for being sugar-free and super healthy. They're also a kitchen sink type recipe and could easily be played with to change ingredients and flavours, while still keeping the healthiness in tact.

useful (2)  


This recipe has a typo in it for sure. The batter was waaaaaay to thick. These were hearty green tea muffins. I would add another half cup of milk at least if I made these again. But I probably won't since Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World has the most perfect Green Tea Cupcake ever.

On the plus side, the flavour was still great and they're certainly not getting any complaints from the munchers, but if you're going to call something a cupcake, it's got to be melt in your mouth fluffy deliciousness.

useful (2)  


3rd August 2011 (edited: 12th August 2011)

Kiwi Banana Muffins

A little too moist for my taste, but it's hard to pack this much fruit into a muffin without that happening. Great kiwi flavour though, but overall this muffin wasn't awesome enough to justify the $4 I spent on kiwis for it.

useful (0)  


Very moist and flavourful. I baked half and fried the other half and they were great both ways.

useful (0)  


An awesome twist on PB&J! This opened up a whole world of delicious sandwich possiblities for me. I never thought of putting fresh berries in with your sandwiches before, but it makes sense and tastes even better. This one had almond butter, strawberries, banana, and berry jam in it, but you can use any nut butter to fruit combo that you can think up. I ate these for my two weeks of field work since they travel so well. You can also leave out the berries, then when you stop for lunch you just make sure you're next to a berry bush and you top it up with whatever amazing fresh berry is sitting next to you. Yum!

useful (1)  


15th August 2011

Beet Burgers

So freakin' good. Vey soft burgers with some crunch from all the seeds. So much flavour!

useful (1)  


15th August 2011

Carrot Fries

Cooking time is way off for these. They were starting to burn about halfway through. They also didn't crisp up very well.

useful (0)  


16th August 2011 (edited: 16th August 2011)

Blackberry Breakfast Bars

I used blueberries instead of blackberries for this. I imagine any berry would work well with this recipe. These are what I wish those awefull blueberry bars tasted like at Starbucks!

useful (1)  


This is my new favourite porridge recipe! And I am a porridge fiend who doesn't say this lightly. It's soft, creamy, sweet and delicious. I used fresh blueberries, which exploded everytime I even thought about biting them. Yum!

I will leave the maple syrup out of the recipe next time and just use it as a drizzle. The recipe didn't taste overly sweet, but I suspect itisn't totally necessary either. Therer's also aminor typo that lists water as a drizzle for on top of the porridge, but that should be milk.

useful (0)  


21st August 2011

Walnut Basil Pesto

A great basic pesto recipe. I'm always a fan of pesto that leaves out pine nut$.

useful (2)  


21st August 2011

Kale Chips

This uses chili powder and nutritional yeast for flavourings. Could have held quite a bit more chili powder though. I will double it next time.

useful (1)  


22nd August 2011

Blueberry Croutons

I like the idea of these better than I liked them in reality. They are very hard to get just right. The cookbook talks about this, but I thought she was exagerrating. On one side your oil is too cold and your bluebries explode before the outside crisps, on the other side your oil is too hot and your ouside crisps before the berries are done. I erred on the side of cold and as a result had semi mushy berries. :( I would recommend erring on the side of hot. At least you will have crispy croutons!

useful (0)  


This is listed in the Mains section of the book, but it is totally a dessert soup. Amazingly yummy though! I made the blueberry croutons to go on top of it, but they were underwhelming and I'll leave them out next time.

useful (3)  


Forget dessert, I had this bad boy for breakfast! CPG is a sandwich genius. Grilled and melted chocolate with my almond butter and banana sandwich? Yes, please!

useful (1)  


23rd August 2011

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Amazing! I wouldn't change anything about these. I made this into two mini loaves (30 min. bake time) and seven muffins (20 min. bake time).

useful (2)  


A beautiful blended vegetable soup. Very straightforward until you get to the miso and say, "Really, 1/3 cup miso?!" But I out it in anyway, despite raised eyebrows, and I loved it. Carrots heart miso.

useful (1)  


27th August 2011

Caramelized Bananas

I ate these on top of cashew ice cream. Super rich and decadent.

useful (2)  


28th August 2011

Peanut Butter Pancakes

Batter came out a little thick, I will add more liquid next time. Otherwise, these were fracking awesome! Had it with sliced bananas and maple syrup on top.

useful (2)  


27th December 2011

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Delicious and versatile dish. You can never go wrong with beans and rice.

useful (1)  


I didn't have any dill for this, so I replaced it with a little tarragon. It was a delicious, very green, blended soup. It's a shame about the dill though, i kept thinking while I was eating, how much more amazing it would have been with it. The potatoes in it made this a very filling meal.

useful (0)  


17th February 2012

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

A hair on the side of too moist, but very nice and lemony otherwise.

useful (0)  


The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat

By Tal Ronnen
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2009

This is what you make when you want people to think you spent an hour making just a salad (when really you didn't...shhhh). If you've got leftover quinoa this is the perfect thing to make. Toss it with some lemon juice, herbs, cucumber, and red onion. Then make a vinaigrette. I used red wine, never seen champagne before. Toss some green salad with your dressing, put some orange slices on top, add your endive leaves and fill them with your quinoa salad! Done, so yum!

Oh yeah, too much lemon is called for in the quinoa, I would half that amount.

useful (3)  


Dutch Oven Cooking: with International Dutch Oven Society Champion Terry Lewis

By Terry Lewis
Gibbs Smith - 2011

27th July 2011

Coffee Cake

I did a veganized version of this with Ener-G eggs and a silken tofu sour cream I made. The flavour was great. I loved the layor of sugar and nuts inside the cake. Very clever. The recipe called for this to be made in a greased dutch oven, but I still had major sticking problems. I would use parchment paper to line it next time. Also, by the time the middle of the cake was cooked through, the outside was a little overdone.

useful (2)  


Website: Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

blog.fatfreevegan.com
 

This is my go-to recipe for Mac and Cheese when I'm feeling beyond lazy. It's the only vegan version that I've found so far that is similar to making stuff out of the box. All you do is throw evereything in a blender while your pasta is cooking, then throw it in the pot, stir, and reheat through. Done! Also, it's freakin' delicious. I always have a heavy hand with the spices though, since Susan's recipe is made with boring child tastebuds in mind.

useful (2)  


Website: The Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com
 

14th October 2011 (edited: 14th October 2011)

Thai Cucumber and Radish Salad

Nice, crispy, sweet and spicy salad. Whips up in a snap while you're making the rest of dinner or lunch.

useful (3)