snoopy's Reviews
8 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 8Sort by: Title 
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Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet
By Christy Morgan
BenBella Books - 2011
key-lime soy yogurt : page 35
My primary motivation for trying this recipe was to see if I could make a lower sugar version of store bought Key Lime Soy Yogurt. The verdict: I would stick with the store bought. This recipe had good tart limeyness, but it has as much or more sugar than the store kind. (this recipe uses maple syrup and the store kind uses evaporated cane juice, but that distinction doesn't make a big difference to me) To start off, I cut the maple syrup down by half. The lime flavor was good, but there was a strong tofu undertone. Adding the rest of the maple syrup called for did mask the tofu taste; however, at least the store bought has some probiotics with the sugar.
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land and sea soba salad : page 169
Another great sea vegetable recipe from this book. I was super happy with how this recipe came together. It made a very blissful weeknight meal for me. Very pretty with different veggies, and it had a nice balance of flavors. I used the option of kale instead of broccoli. The recipe is reprinted with permission here: http://goodveg.squidoo.com/recipes/entrees/land-sea-soba-noodles
I used sriracha sauce instead of liquid smoke.
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lemon-roasted asparagus : page 112
I had a string of not so great reviews from this book, so I'm glad this one worked out! The lemon is sliced thin and almost melts into the asparagus as it cooks, leaving behind pieces of roasted lemon rind. As pretty as it is, I would recommend picking out most of the rind prior to serving, as some eaters may not appreciate it (I left a few pieces for myself). Don't throw it out though; save it to mince up for something else or use as a garnish. I also liked the addition of fennel seeds. I didn't have fresh oregano, so I used dried.
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Mustard Arame Saute : page 174
This vegetable saute had a really great balance of flavors with sweet carrots, nutty tempeh, lots of broccoli, etc. I liked that this uses a mustard sauce instead of a lot of oil for flavor (the recipe used 2 tsp sesame oil, which I used, but I think water would have been fine too). The arame (a kind of kelp) has a very mild taste and good texture; it also added a nice color contrast. Although I used the recipe from the cookbook, the author has this recipe available on the Recipes section of her website at: http://theblissfulchef.com/recipes/
I did make one change. I didn't have any celery on hand so I substituted a little bit of spring onion (the cookbook author avoids alliums).
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orange-wakame cucumber salad : page 172
The seaweed is front and center in this salad. It was very briny and the cucumbers even took on the sea vegetable taste after they soaked over night in orange juice, pickling lightly. I can't say this is a salad I crave, nor would I serve it to someone who doesn't regularly eat seaweed. But, I think it has its place, in small quantities, as an accompaniment/condiment. I left the tamari out because I didn't want something too salty, but that would have made it even more pickle-like.
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This is a raw kale salad. It was tolerable (think about how good it is for you!), but not very appealing. I admit that I'm a raw kale skeptic -- I love lightly steamed cooked kale, and this preparation seemed like a lot of fuss. You have to massage the dressing in for 5 minutes to wilt the kale. I used tender, fresh kale from the farmer's market, so it compressed down well. I usually like miso, but I didn't think the flavor of the dressing really enhanced this much.
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wakame tofu "bacon" quiche : page 172
I didn't dislike this recipe, but it wasn't the best either.
Flavor - With tamari, sea veggies, AND tempeh bacon, it was too salty. Beyond salt, the tempeh bacon didn't add anything to this recipe for me (I could hardly taste it). I didn't notice the wakame too much either -- that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would not have minded it having a bigger presence. Also, the directions for the spices were incomplete (a list of 8 spice with instruction to use "1/2 tsp each" of the spices of your choice; I don't mind choice, but I would have liked some guidance or suggestions).
Texture - This was fairly fluffy and delicate. It didn't have the dense texture I associate with quiche. It was crustless, which I didn't mind, but that probably also made it less quiche-like. I did like the way the bits of zucchini turned out - cooked through but will some bite left.
All in all, this wasn't worth the extra effort to make it quiche-like. I bet a tofu scramble with similar add-ins (wakame, zucchini, red bell pepper), but less salt, would be good so I might try that sometime.
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zucchini bread : page 214
I wanted to like this recipe, but it was the worst I've made in quite some time. There must be liquid ingredients missing from the ingredient list because the batter was very dry and not at all pourable. The instructions say just to add the wet ingredients to the dry without specifying the specific ingredients to be added, so I couldn't glean what was missing. I forged ahead with baking because I have a quickbread recipe from another cookbook that has a thick batter and comes out great (although, that author addresses the thickness of the batter in the instructions). This didn't turn out so great. It was dry, crumbly, and tasted like baking soda (probably because there was not enough liquid).
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