Leeka's Reviews
232 recipes reviewed. Showing 201 to 232Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
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
The fragrance of this rice while cooking is extraordinary. It had wonderful coconut flavour and even though I used the same basmati rice I normally do the grains did not stick together which was nice. Great to accompany an Asian inspired meal.
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This stew was really beautiful and delicious. It's hearty, earthy, colourful, a little spicy and the yams add a touch of sweetness. I forgot the mango but it was fine without. I also had to add more liquid to the pot, at least a cup when I added the beans.
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Website: Chocolate and Beyond
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.
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Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings---And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally
By Neal D. Barnard M.D.
St. Martin's Griffin - 2004
Very easy treatment of tempeh. If you like barbecue sauce you should like this.
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Super fast and very chocolatey. I had to add a little liquid (soy milk) to get the blender to start and run.
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I didn't like these at all. The flavour wasn't bad with a hint of maple and walnut but these brownies were ruined by the texture which was extremely tough and chewy.
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Website: The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes
thebloomingplatter.blogspot.com
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.
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Website: The Blissful Chef
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.
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The Asian Vegan Kitchen: Authentic and Appetizing Dishes from a Continent of Rich Flavors
By Hema Parekh, Tae Hamamura
Kodansha International - 2008
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This recipe is from the Burmese section of the book and was very simple and tasty. I didn't have enoki mushrooms so instead used cremini mushrooms which tasted fine.
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My husband gives this dish a five, I say three and my daughter says zero because of the spice level - LOL. I cut the 1/2 tsp of cayenne in half and it was still plenty hot enough for me. This is a fairly simple dish to prepare once all the slicing prep is done.
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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.
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Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes
By Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Matthew Ruscigno
Da Capo Lifelong Books - 2010
These biscuits were moist and fluffy with a hint of sweetness provided by the sweet potato. Next time round I will cut the 1 teaspoon of nutmeg in half because it was too much.
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This soup has all the flavours I love; roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, chickpeas, coriander and rosemary. I found the rosemary a little too dominant and will reduce the amount the next time I make it. It’s a very hearty soup and made for an easy week-night supper and with a few, tiny tweaks it gets a big, thumbs up!
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A simple and effective way to make your mashed potatoes a little healthier. The author makes it easy to jazz up the flavour with 6 suggestions of various ingredient additions such as herbs, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon zest etc.
I made them simple the first time and think they would taste even better accompanied with some kind of gravy or served with a saucy dish.
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A good, creamy slaw dressing made with a blended cashew base and a hint of sweetness from agave nectar.
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I wasn't sure if I was going to like this Hoisin-Mustard combination but I was curious enough to try it and I'm happy to report it was delicious. If you like honey-mustard sauce then you will probably like this flavour combination with ginger, garlic, mustard and the Hoisin barbecue sauce making for a great sweet and savory mix. Wrapping the tofu mixture in lettuce provided the perfect crisp complement. I used Romaine instead of iceburg and my husband and I gobbled this dish up.
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These were the best brussel sprouts I have ever eaten. I would have never have thought to slice them up so finely but the result was a delicious and flavourful dish with garlic and onions complementing the nutty browned leaves perfectly. Yum!
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A remarkably easy cheezy-tasting sauce with a surprisingly creamy texture and the added bonus of having no added fat. My husband and daughter give this a 3 and 3.5 respectively but I'm bumping it up to a 4 for ease of preparation and good flavour.
The recipe called for 2 teaspoons of onion flakes which I did not have. Instead I used 2 teaspooons of onion powder which gave it quite an onion-y taste but I love onions so it didn't bother me.
We served this poured over and mixed with pasta and broccoli.
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The apples, ginger and cinnamon definitely added an extra dimension of flavour to these sweet mashed potatoes but I think I still prefer them simple without all the extras.
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This is a very simple soup with few ingredients - red lentils, onion, carrots, rice and a few spices. The lemon zest and fresh lemon juice added at the end provided a wonderful brightness to this otherwise earthy soup seasoned mainly with cumin.
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Another fairly quick dish to prepare using Thai red curry paste as a shortcut. Fresh ginger, garlic and scallions are always a hit with me and the curry paste added a good hit of spice. I didn't have any fresh basil leaves on hand so I chopped up and added fresh kale to the pan and served it over rice. Easy and yummy.
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This is the first recipe from this book that has been a disappointment. I found the flavours to be muddy and boring. I have used cocoa powder in other chili recipes which have turned out much better than this one. After my first bowl, I've had no desire to taste any more when usually a pot of chili in the fridge is a big draw.
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I had never previously made any type of sauce or gravy with pureed chickpeas and found this to be a very substantial, hearty and flavourful gravy. I'm not sure if I would agree with the silky part of the recipe name but I enjoyed the leftovers the second and third day with home-made oven fries and veggie loaf. I may reduce the amount of thyme slightly next time round but I will definitely make this gravy again. I also added a little extra water/veggie stock to thin it out a little as it was quite thick.
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Yum. Creamy, garlicky, dill goodness! I love making these delicious dressings with a silken tofu base. Who would have thought eating vegan would be so saucily delicious!
I used the dressing immediately in a delicous wrap with fresh tomatoes, grated carrot and some tofu balls. This would be fantastic as a dip for veggies or salad.
Note: I used soft silken tofu intead of extra-firm and I did not blanch it as written in the recipe. I also omitted the 2 Tbl of mayonaise because I didn't have any and it was perfectly fine. I just threw all of the ingredients in the blender and whipped it up!
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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.
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I did not think this was going to be as good as it was but wow, it was delicious. I think leaving it on the stove for an hour after it was done while I made biscuits contributed to the rich flavour that resulted.
The recipe called for 4 teaspoons of smoked paprika and I thought that was too much so I used 2 teaspoons of smoked and 2 teaspoons of regular paprika. I think it was the right decision. I also subbed a small can of plain tomato sauce in place of crushed tomatoes which I didn't have and added a bit more veggie stock. I left out the lima beans.
The resulting soupy stew had a deep, smokey, tomato flavour and lots of greens. I think this is the first tempeh recipe I've given five stars.
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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.
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Of course these would taste really yummy fried but that defeats the purpose! I did find them quite mushy and a bit sticky to work with but they baked up firmly. The flavour was nice, and for dinner we paired them with some chopped fresh tomato, stir fried greens and onions and a home-made vegannaise on tortillas.
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Website: All Recipes
Simple, down home, goopy, peach pie! I altered the recipe somewhat from the original on All Recipes by cutting the sugar, adding cinnamon and using Earth Balance in place of butter.
This was not a sophisticated or difficult pie to make but it sure was yummy.
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The 30-Minute Vegan: Over 175 Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes for Everyday Cooking
By Mark Reinfeld, Jennifer Murray
Da Capo Lifelong Books - 2009
This is a simple, creamy vegetable stew that's very easy to make in a short amount of time. I found it quite peppery and that's with only adding about half the called for amount of pepper. The great thing about these types of dishes is that you can throw in a variety of vegetables for variation in addition to the potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. I used cauliflower and think it would also be tasty with the addition of greens, sweet potato, squash or parsnips.
I found the dumplings a little bland but they could easily be spiced up with the addition of some herbs as the author suggests.
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Blended smooth, gingery and full of healthy ingredients, eating this soup had me feeling very virtuous. I had a bunch of kale to use up and this was the perfect solution. Without any fresh parsley in the house, I had to use dried so I added an extra handful of other fresh greens. This soup would probably kick a cold in the butt!
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