I love zucchini noodles so I'm always looking for new ways to dress and eat them. The avocado gave this salad dressing a lovely creaminess. I may cut down a touch on the dijon next time around. I had to add double the amount of water to get the ingredients to blend but I'm very happy with the flavour and zip in this salad.

Easy, basic, Sloppy Joe recipe. I like the contrast in textures between the pinto beans and quinoa. Good flavour, kid friendly, not spicy.

Our whole family enjoyed this vegan version of the classic Mac 'N Cheese. The sauce uses a base of cashew cream with veggie stock and vegan cheddar cheese added. It was very creamy and simple. A definite make again, this dish is especially kid friendly.

The smell of this curry simmering on the stove was amazing! The sauce was very creamy with a combination of coconut milk, peanut butter and veggie stock. The curry consisted of garam masala, cayenne, ginger, garlic, shallots, chinese five spice, turmeric and salt blended together to make a paste. I loved the combination of potatoes, tofu, broccoli and onions cooked together in this slightly spicy, one pot meal. I was slightly disappointed in the lack of depth but I'm pretty sure this curry will taste even better as leftovers once the flavours have had more time to meld. And perhaps I didn't add enough lime juice at the end. Definitely a make again.

I thought I'd give these vegan fishcakes a try in order to tempt my notoriously picky daughter with something new. I had a feeling that the Panko encrusted, pan fried coating would appeal and I wasn't wrong.

The "fishy" flavour comes from kelp powder, something I've never used and it did give these patties a distinct seafood taste. Texturally, the mixture was quite uniform and sticky. I think adding the cooked potatoes to the bean mixture in the food processor may have been overkill. Next time, I'll mash the potatoes by hand. I had to add double the amount of gluten flour in order to be able to handle them.

We all enjoyed these, a definite comfort food!

Edited to add: I accidentally used 1kg of potatoes instead of 1 pound! They still turned out great but that may be why I needed double the flour.

Very simple ingredients that I use often, tofu, peppers, soy, garlic, chile, hoisin, and ginger. Sometimes preparing them in a slightly different manner or order makes a subtle but yummy difference in the finished dish. We enjoyed this stir fry with a slightly sweet and spicy sauce over soba noodles. It would also be great served with rice.

A definite make again for an easy week-night supper.

Awesome, fast and easy.

I was fairly happy with this miso based sauce. It's quite similar to other vegan "cheese" sauces I've made in the past and since I did not expect it to taste like actual cheddar sauce, it didn't disappoint. Quick to prepare on the stove-top, I served it mixed with pasta, broccoli and cauliflower for an easy lunch.

This is quite a liquid-y dish, more of a soup than what I had anticipated. The coconut milk adds a lovely creaminess to the curry that I love. I almost halved the amount of liquids, both coconut milk and water. I also cut the oil from 4 tablespoons to one to make the dish more calorie friendly. For the Thai soup paste, I used Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste which has almost identical ingredients and my final change was to up the amount of peas from 1/2 cup to a full cup.

I think this would have been much too thin without the above changes. The flavours were nice with just a touch of heat. Lovely served over noodles or rice.

This pudding was far too rich for my taste. It took me three days to eat one portion and I have a sweet tooth. I think cutting the one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips by a third or even one half would still make for a nice pudding. On the plus side, it's very simple to make with only four ingredients.

The flavour was nice but not outstanding. I made these in a square pan and thought there was far too little of the date filling and too much oatmeal base and topping.

I was very curious if the black bean flavour would be noticeable and I must say I don't think I could have guessed the main ingredient. These brownies are very moist, there is no flour in the recipe and I found the banana and cinnamon to be the dominant flavours. Next time I make these, I'll increase the amount of cocoa and cut back on the cinnamon. On the upside, they were extremely simple to make, everything went in the food processor except for one ingredient at the end.

A very hearty and simple winter soup. The recipe calls for french lentils which I love but I had to substitute mung beans because that's what I had on hand. The soup is seasoned with thyme, tarragon and garlic and I always find tarragon to be a little overpowering as was the case here.

This was my very first bread-making attempt and I'm fairly pleased with the results. I made the butter-flake rolls with this recipe and they were surprisingly easy to make. I cheated on the proofing time a little but they turned out fine if a little denser than I expected. I'm encouraged to continue with more recipes from this book.

These patties have great flavour with a bit of kick from the cayenne. I used 1/2 cup of cilantro in place of 1/4 fresh parsley. The mixture was quite moist before they went into the oven but not so much that I couldn't form patties. I didn't love the texture after baking, they were a little dry on the outside and mushy like mashed beans on the inside but since I have no quarrel with the taste I'm giving these a four out of five. They would probably be improved by pan frying in a bit of oil and perhaps not processing the hell out of the beans to start with.

Note: I did not make the accompanying tahini sauce as I had other saucy sides so the review is for the patties only.

Very good. Not quite as moist as my regular recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking but there were no complaints from the family. I like that it was not too sweet and half the loaf was gone within an hour of it coming out of the oven.

This is a yummy way to dress up green beans, bathed in a tomato, garlic sauce with a hint of basil.

I wavered between 3 and 4 on the rating. They have a fairly mild flavour with ingredients I wouldn't normally think to add to this type of bean cake. Along with the chickpeas, coconut milk, nutmeg, cumin and curry powder are the main seasonings. Tasty but not outstanding.

This was my first attempt at a vegan shortbread recipe. They were good, not too sweet but they could have been a touch flakier. I'll keep working on the recipe.

A really simple and delicious side with only four ingredients. The crushed coriander seeds pair really well with the sweetness of the squash. I left mine in the oven without flipping as per the directions and the dish still turned out fine.

The smell of the almond extract while these were baking was amazing! I didn't have dried cherries and had to substitute maraschino cherries which added a nice sweetness. They were quite dense, not light and fluffy and I think they need more fruit or something to jazz them up a bit. Good but not out of this world.

This was my first time making biscotti and the spicy scent of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves filled the air. I was really pleased with how easy it was to make these crunchy cookies dotted with pecans and crystallized ginger. Great flavour.

Yummy, moist bars with an interesting combination of peanut butter and pumpkin. These were eaten up quickly in my house and also enjoyed by guests.

This is one of my favourite quick suppers. I can whip it up while the pasta is cooking and use whatever fresh herbs and nuts I have on hand. I love the versatility and simplicity.

This review is for the Sage-Scented White Beans which is part of the total dish. I was missing a key ingredient for the Cheddar-Spinach Sauce so I'll leave that for another day.

The beans were fantastic. The orange pepper gave them a lovely peachy colour and the fresh sage added a distinctive flavour. I pureed the bean mixture in the food processor so my onion-phobic daughter would try some. We ate this slathered on toasted baguette and I didn't want to eat anything else all day.

These beans are excellent! The only change I made to the recipe was blending the cooked onions and garlic with the sauce and putting it back in the pan with the beans. No chunky bits always increases the chance that it will get eaten by certain members of the family. My guess paid off and my daughter loved them! I also did not add cayenne but just a little chili powder.

I thought I was making falafel but these delicious patties had a very unique flavour. The whole coriander seeds ground up in the processor with the rest of the ingredients added an interesting floral taste. I really loved the combination of ingredients which included chickpeas, green pepper, garlic, onion, whole coriander seeds, fresh cilantro, sesame seeds and bread soaked in lemon juice.

The batter was very, very wet. In fact I had to add triple the amount of flour called for in the recipe (originally 2 tablespoons) before I was satisfied that these might hold together in the pan without falling apart. They fried up very nicely and despite their initial, wet, goopiness and the whole family devoured them as they came hot out of the pan.

Light, fluffy cupcakes with a hint of chocolate. The recipe called for chocolate extract which I don't have so I substituted a bit more vanilla and almond extract instead. The almond extract gave it quite a nice flavour. I topped the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing and they were delicious.

I'm a little on the fence about this crisp. It uses lemon zest in the topping along with oats, granola, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown rice syrup. I'm not sure I dig the combination of lemon zest and peaches. It tastes a bit funky to me but I'm eating my second bowl as I write this so I guess it's tasty enough.

Also, I like less topping and more peaches/fruit but I find myself thinking this every time I make a crisp so a note for myself next time - make less topping!

Moist and sweet with surprise raspberry flavour.
It's the first time my daughter has eaten anything with zucchini in it. Yay!

Yields 10 muffins.

I substituted tofu for tvp in this recipe and was very happy with the result. It has just the right amount of chili powder and seasonings for my taste. I thought it was interesting how the sauce ingredients were blended raw in the blender first and then added to the fry up. Very good!

Very moist muffins, the orange zest lends a wonderful aroma combined with carrot and pineapple. Lovely texture and not too sweet.

This was a light, summer soup but lacking a little zip. I think it needed a little more complexity or a few more ingredients.

It's kind of strange but the first time I made these I forgot half the flour and I ended up wolfing down all but one of the muffins in a single day. They were extremely moist and flavourful.

I just made them again because the recipe is up on my blog and I thought I'd better check with the proper amount of flour. I also used canola oil to see the difference and I must say the coconut oil adds great flavour and I much prefer it in this recipe. So, second time around they are still delicious and slightly dense. Not a light and fluffy type of muffin but again that maybe my fault (over mixing) because I forgot to add the strawberries (duh!) and had to chop them quickly and re-mix them in at the end.

Hearty Stew is aptly named. Simple ingredients - potatoes, carrots, onions and tempeh seasoned with thyme, marjoram and tarragon in a savoury broth. Good stuff. Preparation was uncomplicated and cooking time relatively short at 25-30 minutes. It would be almost impossible to mess this recipe up.

The only thing that had the potential to turn me off was the disctinctive smell of the tarragon while cooking but that's just one of those personal things. Tarragon and I don't always get along. Thankfully, when I tasted the stew, the flavour was not at all overpowering.

This is a tasty, no-fuss meal that can be made all in one pot. It's the second vegan sloppy-joe type recipe that I've made in the last week and the sauce ingredients were very similar. The other one featured lentils and this one crumbled tofu which gave it a completely different texture. I enjoyed the flavours in both. The addition of a chopped pickle at the end was fun but my husband wasn't didn't love it as much as I did. (I love pickles!)

A definite make again for casual, comforting suppers.

These are a variation on the golden vanilla cupcakes (page 33) with some added lemon zest and lemon extract. I chose to make these with the canola oil option instead of Earth Balance out of pure laziness and the texture was somewhat spongy. Next time I'll try the other way. The recipe name describes the flavour perfectly, a balance between vanilla and lemon.

These muffins are entirely sweetened with dates so if you are looking for a sugar free muffin these are a pretty good bet. They were moist with a fairly mild flavour. I think I would have liked them to be a touch sweeter so next time I may add a bit of maple syrup to the date mixture.

The whole family enjoyed these lentils, they had very good flavour and a little bit of heat. I only used 2 tablespoons of chili powder instead of three because I thought that would be plenty for our palates and I was right. I also let everything sit in the pot for a while (30 minutes) before serving to give the flavours a chance to meld. I think this is something that could be easily made ahead and taste great after a little rest.

Overall I thought this was a hearty and satisfying dish piled on top of some crusty, toasted rolls. My husband enjoyed it without any accompaniment at all!

This was good but not outstanding. I think I had too much cauliflower in the pan because even though I left it in the oven for double the time stated in the recipe, it didn't brown. We became impatient and just ate it as it was. The flavour of the breadcrumb and herb mix was fine but again, I think my execution was poor because it just clumped and was a bit wet.

I was looking to make a pasta salad yesterday that didn't require a ton of fresh veggies. Since I had a bag of orzo and a jar of artichokes in my pantry I was able to put this together fairly quickly. The only thing I was missing from the ingredient list were the sundried tomatoes in oil. My rating of three may very well reflect the missing ingredient. The salad was good but lacking a little zing. The chickpeas provided a nice bite. And I did add in some red pepper to give it a little colour.

This was not as successful as I'd hoped. I think to acheive that delicious melding of spices with the tomato gravy that Indian sauces so often have, five minutes is nowhere near enough time to cook down fresh tomato with the spices. I added the chopped tomatoes a little early, near the end of the potato cooking process and it still had no effect. I also added a touch of sweetener because I found the fresh tomato too acidic. I'm hoping the leftovers taste better once the flavours have more time to combine.

Excellent and kid-approved! I think I added a touch too much lemon juice because I just eyeballed the amount but otherwise the flavours were nicely balanced. I like that this recipe calls for a mix of my favourite herb cilantro along with basil and I was also able to use up some of the sliced almonds in my pantry. A definite make-again!

My husband and I really enjoyed these beans. Unfortunately, because I didn't have the required light molasses, I had to use a very strongly flavoured dark molasses and my daughter couldn't get past the overpowering smell and flavour. I cut the amount in half and added some agave nectar to replace it but it did not mask the strong smell. I will definitely have to re-stock my pantry because these simple baked beans were very satisfying and we enjoyed them paired with fluffy steamed rice and veggies.

This is a fairly quick recipe to put together and then throw in the oven for an hour while you prepare the rest of your meal.

Crispy, tender strips of seasoned pan-fried tofu. I wasn't sure if I would like the suggested smoked paprika but it added an interesting flavour. I intended on making a dipping sauce but we managed to finish most of the plate as a snack before that happened.

I cut the tofu into approximately 1/4" wide and thick strips, like french fries. The recipe did not specify a size but this worked well.

Tender-crisp broccoli, barely wilted red onion and tart apples, coated with a delicious mustard based dressing. I loved, loved, loved the simplicity and perfection of this salad! I substituted maple syrup for the honey and it was perfect.

I created this recipe as a way to get my 5 year old daughter interested in eating lentils. She is very sensitive to bits of onion and other veggies so I left them out. Although this recipe uses some traditional Indian spices for flavour it tends to have a slight sweetness and no fire in order to appeal to a child's palate. The whole family enjoys these lentils whenever I make them and they go very well paired with some steamed rice.

This dip is a vegan version or variation of the delicious Greek tzatziki. I was unsure when I read the ingredients but gave it a shot and was really happy with the results. It's definitely richer than tzatziki because of the cashew base but the cucumber adds a lovely freshness to balance that out. We enjoyed this dip with some toasted pita triangles and then I slathered the remains on some toast. Yum!

ETA: As I wasy typing in the ingredients I realized that I forgot to add the garlic when I made it. I also chose to use the optional fresh dill which added a nice flavour.

This quiche was very rich. My husband and I both enjoyed the flavour and texture. While eating it I thought mushrooms would be a great addition along with the asparagus and perhaps a few herbs. My local grocery store doesn't carry Daiya vegan cheese so I used a rice based product which has good flavour but doesn't melt as well. As usual, I want to tinker with this recipe to cater to my own personal taste but if you make it as written, I think you'll find it very satisfying.

Also, I used fresh steamed asparagus in place of canned asparagus (yuck!).

I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. It's very simple and quick to prepare. The zucchini was very juicy and flavourful. There was a perfect amount of spice and the mixture of cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne is always a winner for me. I left out the garam masala out because I'm not a fan of cinnamon in savory dishes. This is a great side dish for any meal.