snoopy's Reviews
81 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
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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
This is not a recipe-tester quality review. I cooked this in the pressure cooker instead of as directed, and I made a few changes in ingredients based on what I had around (russet instead of yukon gold potatoes, french du-puy lentils instead of red, mirin instead of red wine). I forgot the bay leaves, and I couldn't find my marjoram so I added extra thyme.
I sauted the initial ingredients as directed then added the rest (except olives and tomato sauce) and cooked it under pressure for 12 minutes. Next time, I will cut back on the cooking time, but the soup wasn't harmed. The potatoes were very well cooked and broke up some into the broth -- not an unhappy result, for my tastes. I added more water based on the description of the water level in the cooking instructions, and this came out decidedly as a soup not a stew -- again, not an unhappy result.
I do think that next time I will omit the olives (it would be fine to add them as a condiment to individual portions). I liked them, but I think that I might even convince Mr. Snoopy to try this soup if it didn't have them in it.
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In my mind, I like eggplant, but I always struggle with how to cook it. I had high-hopes for this Japanese-style dish (broiled eggplant with a "slightly sweet miso sauce"). On its own, it was only ok. Maybe that's where I went wrong -- it is just a side dish, overall. Scallions are listed as optional, but I would not omit them; they improved the dish considerably. I ended up sauteeing some thinly sliced kale with the white parts of the scallion and serving the dengaku over the kale mixture, topped with black sesame seeds. All, in all, I was happy with the final composition and would make it again.
Edit: I boosted this by a star because I liked the leftovers better on their own (but with the optional scallions) than I had the original.
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One component of this salad is a simple mashed chickpea mixture with capers. The mixture gets its flavor from Green Goddess Garlic Dressing. I up the amount of dressing (4 tbs vs 2 tbs), and this mixture is great on its own.
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For a relatively low fat, vegan "cream" soup, I was really happy with the results. Before I added the broccoli, I used my immersion blender to thoroughly blend the other ingredients (I had added all of the ingredients up to the parsnips and then pressure cooked it for 4 minutes, so everything was soft). After the broccoli cooked, I pureed part again. The result was a creamy broth with bits of broccoli. The taste was subtle, but the parsnips and almond milk gave it a nice sweetness. I thought it was lick the bowl good, but Mr. Snoopy found it tasteless. (for this review, I'm going with my vote!)
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I took a number of liberties with this recipe to speed it up for a weeknight meal. 1). I cooked the bulgar in the pressure cooker, reducing the time from 40 minutes to less than 15.; 2). I cooked down the eggplant and tomatoes in my other pressure cooker (I also added a can of chickpeas), which took about 10 minutes total.; 3). I served the eggplant mixture on top of the bulgar but skipped the final baking.
I was happy with this as a healthy weeknight meal. I served it with lemon-tahini kale.
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Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet
By Christy Morgan
BenBella Books - 2011
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs
By Neal D. Barnard M.D., Bryanna Clark Grogan
Rodale Books - 2006
I'm always looking for new recipes to justify the purchase of my high powered blender. This recipe is pretty amazing.
You take whole wheatberries and flax seed and blend them up on high power with a few other ingredients including chickpea flour to make the pancake batter. There is no added oil in this recipe, so I expected them to stick horribly. I cooked them on a non-stick crepe pan and they came out perfectly - no sticking. They were surprisingly fluffy, too.
They do taste "healthier" than a classic diner pancake, but I actually prefer that taste.
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All this is is tender cooked greens stuffed into pita and dry toasted in a cast iron skillet. Somehow the completd product is exceptional. (maybe I just needed a new way to eat greens!) I used beet greens,spinach and arugula.
Actual recipe was downgraded for not specifying size of pita and amount of filling per dumpling.
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This is really nice on toasted pumpernickel bread. I was really impressed with the flavor.
I followed the recipe as to the ingredients but not the preparation method. Here's how I made it - I used a pressure cooker for the initial cooking step (my pressure cooker is OK cooking beans without oil but I used my larger one to allow more room in case of foam). About 20 minutes in the pressure cooker got everything smooth and creamy with no need to transfer to a food processor or blender (I skipped the last clove of garlic). I cooked it a bit on low on the stove to thicken it a bit. After it had cooled, it thickened up to spread consistency.
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Website: Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
This isn't a fat-free recipe, but it is oil-free (I used the whole sesame seed option). I made a half batch, and I did not include the additional spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder). The resulting hummus had a creamy texture - not quite the same as traditional recipes, but still very good. I liked that the hummus has a nice sesame taste (after all, why add any sesame if you can't taste it).
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The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great
By Neal Barnard, Robyn Webb
Da Capo Lifelong Books - 2010
This is described as a lowfat sub for pad thai with a Japanese twist. I would make it again. Only craved the missing peanuts and fried tofu a little bit. Coworkers complemented the the nice appearance with different colored veggies included.
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I'm not sure it's fair to rate this recipe because I really messed it up. But the reason for that is that it makes way too much spread for just me (or even me and my spouse together) to eat, even over a few days. It calls for two cans of white beans. So I used one can, but then I forgot to halve the other ingredients. Oops! The consistency was thin (more dip than spread) and taste way too smokey with a sharp raw garlic bite. In retrospect, I'm not sure a smokey tasting spread is really my thing, so it's not high on my list to try again.
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I find that my day is just better when I have oatmeal for breakfast. Plain steel cut oats cooked in the pressure cooker is what I have most days. This recipe makes me feel extra special. I do make some changes -- steel cut oats, cook in pressure cooker, no agave because the raisins make it sweet enough -- but I'm still giving this 5 stars because of the inspiration. The dried cranberries used in this recipe give it an extra sweet-tart zing. Yummy.
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Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure
By Lorna J Sass
Cookbooks - 1994
Pretty! Bright magenta with purple bits of beet. This had a nice orange flavor without the cloying sweetness of many sweet potato recipes. I was lazy and mashed this in the pot instead of pureeing, so my bits of beet were larger.
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I've made half or quarter batches of this soup several times to use up extra eggplant from other recipes. It is delicious. I would make this more often than I do except that it is more of a side dish soup than a main dish. I inevitably put in a lot of chili pepper flakes relative to the reduced batch size - good for clearing out the sinuses.
I ignore the instruction about a food mill and discarding the eggplant seeds.
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This soup smells amazing and tastes great too. It's on the lighter side with a very flavorful broth.
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I haven't made this in a while, but it used to be in my regular lunch soup rotation. There's no reason for it to have been dropped; it's a great main dish soup. I usually substitute jarred roasted red peppers for the red pepper (slice them up and add at the end after cooking) to make it a completely pantry soup (assuming you have frozen corn on hand as well).
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I love the sweet variation of this soup (replace carrots with parsnips) combined with the suggested addition of beet greens. Instead of the green split peas called for, I make this with yellow split peas. For a split pea soup, it comes out rather lovely. Tastey too. As with most split pea soups, this one will firm up in the fridge so you'll need to add some water when reheating to make it more soup-like.
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This is a pretty basic recipe, but the fact that it can be made in 12 minutes under pressure makes it a standout. Creamy and comforting, this is one of my lunch-time staples. I love the addition of fennel seeds. More often than not, I will substitute roasted red bell pepper (add at the end) for the fresh since that's what I have on hand.
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This is a very worthy recipe that I've been making a lot lately since I usually have squash on hand and the great thing about adzukis is that they don't need to soak. But, I rated this down because the instructions are written for soaked adzukis. Instead, I add all of the ingredients except the squash and cook for about 18 minutes under pressure. I release the pressure, add the squash, and cook for 5 more minutes. If you are more organized than I am, by all means, try this the way it is written.
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I have made both the original and the light versions of this. I didn't notice much difference with the light version, so that is my preference. The first time I made this, my spouse thought it was way too hot so I usually tone it down a bit. The main negative with this recipe is that I end up with a dried/burnt crust on the bottom of my pressure cooker that is difficult to remove without a lot of soaking. This recipe doesn't have a lot of liquid and I have an electric stove.
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This is a solid recipe. Pretty basic, versatile. In retrospect, I should have saved some florets for garnish as suggested. The cauliflower is the only source of creaminess. My spouse found it lacking in that regard. I liked it, though.
Edit: In retrospect, I decided to downgrade this to a two. I found myself dreading the leftovers, and I don't think I'll be making it again. There are better tomato soup recipes out there that can be adapted for the pressure cooker.
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I used the "elegant" variation since I had some black sesame seeds on hand. The taste wasn`t anything special (it's pretty much just rice, after all; I did not add the optional sesame oil) but the texture was good - cooked through but chewy. The main effect of the sesame seeds was to turn it black. I used the high amount of water because I was concerned about sticking and that turned out to be the right amount. All in all, this made a nice base to an Asian-flavored grain salad so I was happy with it.
Edit: I added two pictures: 1). The rice salad I made with this recipe as an ingredient; 2). The actual rice produced.
Edit: I originally rated this a 3, but I've decided to promote this recipe to a 5. I've seen a number of stuffed vegetable recipes calling for forbidden rice, and I think this variation would make a teriffic lower cost and easier to find alternative. Pressure cooking makes a sticker rice which is desireable for those types of recipes, so I see myself making this more in the future.
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Red lentils cook up to a lovely color. (In this soup, the color was enhanced by the apricots and tomatoes.) They don't need soaking, and they cook up fast (4 minutes in pressure cooker or about 20 without). It would be difficult for me not to like a red lentil soup.
This recipe reminded me that red lentils shouldn't be forgotten, even when the pressure cooker opens up a world of other beans to fast cooking. It was light and fresh. Since I have a modern type pressure cooker, I liked that the oil was optional, and I left it out.
I would make a few changes next time, though. I used Blenheim variety dried apricots, which I adore. But the Blenheims have a tarter edge than the Turkish-type that would have been more traditional here. (The recipe did not specify; although it probably wasn't necessary since the Turkish are by far the most common). Extra sweetness would have been welcome, so I would try the Turkish (or a half and half mix) next time. I also would have tracked down my kitchen snippers and snipped the apricots vs. trying to chop them with a knife (too sticky to chop very well). Finally, I would have used more apricot. I used toward the high range, but the apricot was the star here, so a bit more would have been welcome.
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Hmm... I'm not sure how to give this recipe a fair rating because I have not had a history of eating or making risotto, whether traditional or with a pressure cooker. I also made a few substitutions -- I used fennel instead of aniseed and almonds instead of hazelnuts. For the "milk," the author offers some choice. I went with half soy and half almond.
Postives - Mr. Snoopy and I agreed that this recipe smelled absolutely heavenly. Also, the rice came out al dente, which I understand to be the proper consistency for a risotto. (Personally, for a dessert, I would have preferred this a bit softer.) I liked the very subtle undertone of fennel, which I understand to be milder than aniseed.
Negatives - Mr. Snoopy thought the fig pieces looked like mushrooms (not an entirely baseless guess for a risotto). It would be worth trying to blend the dried fig in with the "milk" for a more refined appearance. Also, it just didn't taste rich and creamy enough for what one might expect of a dessert.
As a "special" breakfast, this is much more impressive.
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Fortuitously, I happened upon a properly-sized heatproof bowl at a discount store on my way home from work today, and I also picked up some dates on sale from the grocery store with no clear plan for their use. Back home, I had some whole wheat couscous in the pantry and leftover brown rice in the fridge. Enter this recipe.
After my experience with the fig risotto, I made this thinking a make ahead breakfast. That in mind, I whirred up some rice and water (1:3 ratio) in my blender for the rice milk and added vanilla but no sweetener. I measured out a cup of dates and then chopped them, so the total used was about 2/3 cup.
Everything came together very easily, although I made the mistake of trying to add the water to my pressure cooker after placing the bowl inside. After the pressure came down (much faster than the 10 minutes listed), it was necessary to stir the couscous well as it had compacted in the bowl, but the result was delicious! I had forgetten about the unique sweetness of a date. The result is plenty sweet enough for a breakfast.
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I'm so glad I tried this recipe. The seasoning on this wasn't my favorite, but the basic technique is top notch.
Although there was some slicing involved, this was still the least messy and most efficient way by far I've seen for making pickled beets. You slice the beets with the skins on and before they have been cooked. That makes a huge difference in the amount of beet juice going every which way in the kitchen. Plus, time under pressure is very short and the pickling liquid is used both for the cooking and the marinade.
I will definately be digging out some other recipes to adapt using this technique.
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Creamy, homey, comfort food... meets seaweed? I've been on a bit of a seaweed kick lately, so I decided it was time to try this recipe. It greatly surpassed my expectations. It's difficult to describe how good this was because it sounds so... weird. Somehow, the briny wakame elevated and enhanced the taste of the potatoes and balanced well with the sweet carrots and bell pepper.
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I made the "sushi brown rice" option, and I used short grain brown rice. The pressure cooker makes great sticky rice (fluffy rice, not so much -- although, I admit that I have not dabbled too much into the casserole method described).
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This uses the glass casserole technique. I was very happy with the result. The bulgar came out fluffy and well-cooked but still chewy. I added some optional flavoring options (raw garlic, sliced onions, spices), and this method helped to infuse the bulgar with flavor.
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The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes
By Lindsay S. Nixon
BenBella Books - 2011
I have this cookbook on loan from the library, and I wanted to find at least one recipe to try. This is a spicy quinoa recipe to replace high-fat, processed soy (or meat) chorizo. The recipe was simple, although I had some trouble with the water amounts (this may have been my fault). Also, it tasted more like chili (there is a lot of chili powder) than sausage. All in all, though, I would make something like this again. It was good over steamed greens.
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The Indian Vegan Kitchen: More Than 150 Quick and Healthy Homestyle Recipes
By Madhu Gadia
Perigee Trade - 2009
I like okra but have a tendency to let it spoil. This recipe avoids that with the option to use frozen cut okra. Very tastey for such simple ingredients.
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The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets
By Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Fair Winds Press - 2007
The first time I made this, I did not like it. The texture was poor - very dense. A few years later, having initially forgotten the poor results, I made this again. It was terrible.
I have always had delicious results with the Pumpkin Bread recipe in Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak.
Conserve your pumpkin supply and steer clear of this recipe.
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This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The result is consistently superb. It took me a while to find a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that I loved, but this is it. It earns rave reviews whenever I make it.
You will need an electric mixer for this recipe (my hand mixer works just fine) to cream the vegan margarine and sugar and then to make the dough.
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Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian: Great Taste in No Time
By Lorna J. Sass
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1997
This recipe and I were best of friends in college. Really yummy and good for the soul. Problem was I had trouble finding the quick cooking barley so my mom would send it in care packages. These days I make barley soup in my pressure cooker so I no longer need to search for the quick cook kind.
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I've used this very basic technique for microwaving kale a few times when trying to pull together a few different side dishes for a meal. The instructions produce a lightly-cooked (California-style) kale. Stiring the kale well (such as to add a dressing) helps with the last bit of cooking. I like serving this with lemon-tahini dressing.
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Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals
By Moosewood Collective
Clarkson Potter - 1996
Delicious! I fiddled with it a bit to make it a pressure cooker recipe (short grain brown rice and wheatberries went into the pressure cooker with some water, I think it was about 3 cups or maybe 3.5, and cooked on high for 35 minutes). The rice came out wonderfully sweet and creamy, studded with chewy and nutty wheatberries. The mushrooms are cooked in a separate pan and developed a nice sauce as they cooked. I used vegetable broth instead of wine. The cooked mushrooms are stirred in at the end.
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Pressured Cook
By Lorna Sass
Cookbooks - 1999
This stew is incredibly good. I make it often since it uses adzuki beans, which do not need to soak prior to pressure cooking. The shiitake mushrooms help to create a rich, umami broth.
One suggestion - the beans usually need more time than called for. I usually cook for 22 minutes (vs. the 18 minutes specified) prior to releasing the pressure. This cooks the carrots a bit longer, but I don't mind.
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For black bean chili, this one is fancy. I like basic black bean chili but sometimes a change is good. The squash is a welcome addition, although I sometimes omit it (saves time by not needing two periods under pressure). I have always made this with vegetable broth only.
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Ripe from Around Here: A Vegan Guide to Local and Sustainable Eating (No Matter Where You Live)
By jae steele
Arsenal Pulp Press - 2010
Wow! So pretty, and the taste is amazing with rich carmelization. (And these are rich. A tablespoon each of olive oil and sweetener, I used maple syrup, for the batch which is so addicting I could easily eat it in one sitting.) I will be making these again. They would be great used as a garnish.
A few notes about the recipe. I have a set of graduated heart cookie cutters. Even with a big beet and my smallest cutter, I could only get 1 heart per slice. I got 6 hearts out of my beet. So, I used different sized cutters centered on the beet slice to make a positive and a negative heart, and I cooked them both. The negatives didn't hold their heart shape too well, but they tasted great - chewy/crispy with lots of carmelization. Also, she mentions using a toaster oven, but that would have worked only if I cooked the 6 hearts alone.
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This was my first experience with spelt flour, and I am very happy with the results. The spelt has a sweet, nutty taste that worked well with the pecans and peaches. The texture was lighter than I had anticipated (that's a good thing!). I used maple syrup for the liquid sweetener. Mr. Snoopy gave this recipe an A+ as well.
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This came out pretty...and tasted...healthy. I liked this salad a lot, but it required a lot of chopping and was time consuming for a grain salad. I sped things up a little by pressure cooking the barley. It came out a very light peachy/pink color. I used the suggested variation of sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts.
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I'm new to rhubarb, so I thought I would give this recipe a try. It was very easy -- just some maple syrup and rhubarb. I was concerned that there wasn't enough liquid, but the rhubarb released a lot of water once it started cooking. I followed the author's suggestion and tried it over granola -- tasty.
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