Kestrel's Reviews
234 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
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Website: 101 Cookbooks
Loved this! I don't usually make things with raw garlic, but this was a good use for it. Easy to make, and keeps well in the fridge. The leftovers made good lunches. Healthy too.
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300 Best Bread Machine Recipes
By Donna Washburn, Heather Butt, Mark Shapiro
Robert Rose - 2010
This makes a very nice bread that rises well. It rose almost too much, so I had to watch it carefully towards the bake time on my machine. Next time I would probably cut the yeast by a quarter teaspoon. The resulting bread is light and has a fine texture. A good all purpose bread.
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Excellent bread, once extra flour was added. Will reduce liquid when I make it again. Used pumpkin seeds and poppy for the seeds, and omitted skim milk powder. This would make an excellent sandwich bread.
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750 Best Muffin Recipes: Everything from breakfast classics to gluten-free, vegan and coffeehouse favorites
By Camilla V. Saulsbury
Robert Rose - 2010
Very easy, adaptable recipe. Muffins are grainy without being too heavy. They freeze well, will definitely make again. This recipe contains 2 eggs; I used 1 plus a flax egg substitute which worked well.
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Really good, and basically Bara Brith in muffin form. I used oil instead of butter in mine.
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We grow blackberries in our allotment; they’re abundant so I always flash freeze the extras for baking or jam. I used half einkorn flour and a flax egg for one of the eggs in this recipe. I omitted the glaze this time. Will definitely repeat these.
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Very good muffins. I made changes; used einkorn flour for half the flour, added some spices (extra cinnamon, cloves, allspice), used 1 egg only. Baking time stated was too long, should probably be 18-20 minutes. An excellent way to use some extra mincemeat, with changes in bake time I would give it 5 stars.
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These muffins were very tasty. I used the full amount of crumble and it really added to the finished muffin. First use of my Oxo muffin cups was a success, took 25 min to bake. Next time I would increase plums a little.
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The ACE Bakery Cookbook
By Linda Haynes, James Chatto
Whitecap Books - 2003
This makes a very good nutritious soup. I enjoyed the light spicing and the lemony flavour. I used a light chicken stock instead of water (with water I found it too thin), and cut down quite a bit on the coconut milk. Also I made a half recipe as this makes a lot of soup.
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We enjoyed this hummus type dip although I expanded on the basic recipe adding a fair amount of cilantro, some extra lemon juice, and several drops of hot sauce. I often make a variety of these dips (regular hummus, beet hummus, and sundried tomato dip), and serve them with my homemade crackers. As the author says, this freezes well.
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Advent
By Anja Dunk
Quadrille - 2021
These were easy to make and very good. I made the quark the day before in my instant pot (buttermilk on yogurt setting for 8 hrs, drained overnight). I mixed the butter, egg, and quark in my stand mixer, then added that with fruit to dry ingredients. I forgot the lemon zest, I’m sure it would be a good addition. Baked about 22 min, turning once. She says they store for a week in a sealed container so I will try that. A good alternative to making traditional stollen which takes a full day to bake and cool.
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Website: Allotment Garden Recipes
www.allotment-garden.org/recipe
This makes a good chutney with the apple and raisins balancing out the beetroot and the ginger adding a spicy note. It's ok when first made, but I think it improves with a few days of aging.
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Website: America's Test Kitchen
This was on the program recently so I thought I would give it a try. A 3-4 lb chicken is butterflied and then placed in a hot pan and broiled. My chicken was almost 4 lbs so I went with the slightly longer cooking time. Even so, my chicken wasn't completely cooked and had to go back in for an additional 10 minutes. By this time the breast meat was slightly overcooked. If I make this again, I would add about 5 minutes to the stovetop time before putting it in the oven. On the plus side, the taste was good and I enjoyed the pan sauce/gravy with the addition of thyme and garlic.
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Website: America's Test Kitchen
This recipe was featured on a recent program and involves brining salmon fillets for 15 minutes and then starting them in a cold pan with salt and pepper on the bottom. I had bought some not so great salmon and decided to give this method a try. It really did seem to improve the taste and texture of the finished salmon. It's a bit too salty for me so I would reduce the salt next time. An interesting technique that's definitely worth a try.
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Anne Lindsay's light kitchen
This quick cucumber salad goes with everything. A great summer dish, very quick and simple.
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Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Everyday Cooking: Fabulous Recipes for a Healthy Heart
By Anne Lindsay
John Wiley & Sons - 2004
This makes an excellent cake, (not too sweet) and is also an adaptable recipe. I bake in a tube pan for about 40 minutes and also use spelt flour for about half the flour called for. Small amounts of dried fruit and nuts can also be added if desired. A tbsp of rum makes it extra delicious. Have made both with and without the icing. Used butter instead of margarine.
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This is a really tasty pasta with great umami flavour. The combination of tomato, feta, and basil is excellent. I usually skip the olives. Quick and easy to make and keeps well for several days.
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Appetite
By Nigel Slater
Clarkson Potter - 2002
This is an outline for a warming soup that can be adapted as to what you have on hand. I’ve done many versions as written and have also added aromatics such as ginger, sesame oil, garlic, or curry paste, or by switching out the veg with ripe tomatoes or shaved fennel, beets etc. See page 196 for a full list of possible adaptations.
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I use these directions often, I use a 3-4 lb chicken and some additional wings as stated. I put chicken in breast side up and remove after approx 1 hr. I sometimes take breast meat off a bit early to avoid over cooking it. I do salt lightly as I go with this, but with restraint so the resulting stock is lightly seasoned. Very versatile and used in a variety of soups and other dishes.
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Very easy and delicious fish cakes. Started with the canned salmon variation with dill and parsley from the garden. Made quite a few of the variations since then, all delicious.
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Artisan Sourdough Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide to Delicious Handcrafted Bread with Minimal Kneeding
By Emilie Raffa
Page Street Publishing - 2017
I make lots of crackers so I thought I’d give this sourdough version a try. The dough was way too dry after mixing so I had to add about 1/3 cup of water to bring it together. After resting the dough I rolled the crackers I. A seed mixture and baked as directed. The resulting crackers tasted good. Will probably make again with my adaptations.
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My second recipe from this book, and again I had a major problem with the proportions. The recipe calls for 60 g of flaxseeds soaked for 45 minutes or so to be added to the dough. After soaking, the flax is so gelatinaous that it is impossible to drain, regardless of how much rinsing you do, so I added just a bit of it and used some other seeds instead. Even so, the dough needed a bit of extra flour to make it workable. I managed to get a nice loaf in the end, but I would not recommend this recipe to others. (I froze the extra soaked flaxseeds, and will be using them up for quite some time!)
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BBC Good Food
(August, 2009)
This cake is really fantastic and it's one of my favourite quick cakes. I first made it when I had a lot of blackberries from the garden and decided to make this cake and substitute them for the raspberries. The resulting cake was really good as it was not too sweet and had a subtle almond taste. I used all purpose flour plus 1 1/4 tsp baking powder plus a pinch salt for the self raising flour and baked at 325 F for about 45 minutes convection. Also, I mixed the batter in my stand mixer instead of using the food processor as stated in the recipe. I think this would also work with blueberries. The cake also froze well and tasted good reheated. This recipe can be found online at the BBC good food website.
Edited to add: made again with cherries, raspberries, blackberries all in the same cake. Liked all but raspberry is my favourite. Recipe available on bbc website.
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Website: BBC recipes
These bread sticks tasted great! I made half the recipe in my mini stand mixer (half recipe with 500 g flour makes enough to serve at least 6-8 people). A mixer is a good idea for these since the dough is very wet. I added an extra 1/4 cup of flour to the dough and used the olives plus a few sun dried tomatoes as well. It's important to oil the proofing container very well before the rise, and to use lots of flour when cutting the sticks. Baked at 425 convection for 15 minutes. Don't be alarmed if you make these; the dough will be very wet and will basically flow everywhere. Just stretch them out and bake. Since they only need one rise, they don't take long to make, about 2 hours from start to finish. I wouldn't make a full recipe of these as half yielded lots and they are best served fresh.
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The Best Bread Machine Cookbook Ever: Ethnic Breads
By Madge Rosenberg
Harpercollins - 1994
A lovely bread that rises well in the bread machine. I have made this one many times and found it to be adaptable. The egg can be omitted and replaced with a little extra water. I usually use water instead of milk along with some dried milk powder. Fairly sweet due to the honey.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken recipes for every day and every mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
Really liked this dish. I used chicken thighs and made a smaller amount but otherwise followed the recipe. It took about 1.5 hrs from start to finish. I think this could be streamlined somewhat; for example, chicken goes in and cooks 15 minutes before the shallots then later the chicken comes out and onions cooked further...I think I will change that next time I try it, hopefully making it quicker with no loss of flavour. Love the addition of pears at the end, and the fact that it uses ingredients that I usually have in stock.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
Really liked this dish. I used chicken thighs and made a smaller amount but otherwise followed the recipe. It took about 1.5 hrs from start to finish. I think this could be streamlined somewhat; for example, chicken goes in and cooks 15 minutes before the shallots then later the chicken comes out and onions cooked further...I will change that next time I try it, hopefully making it quicker with no loss of flavour. Love the addition of pears at the end.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken recipes for every day and every mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
This recipe yielded a good chicken dish but I was surprised that it really wasn't all that flavourful. I adapted the instructions (made up to sauce as per recipe then cooked in the oven with chicken on the top) to avoid soggy skin, but otherwise followed the recipe. May try again with different mushrooms.
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This is a very nice salad. I found the flavour very mild and subtle (perhaps too subtle for some), and so I added some extra radishes to it. I didn't use the asparagus since my garden has stopped producing it and instead added some arugula from my friend's garden. Otherwise I followed the recipe. The headnote states that green snap beans or sugar snap peas can be substituted for the asparagus when it's out of season. I will definitely make this one again. Update: I've made this a few more times with snap beans as well as the radish and arugula. A really good salad.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
A very easy recipe that makes a tasty chicken dish that was done in just over 30 minutes. I didn't have any tarragon so I used some dill from my garden. Leftovers heated up well the next day too. Will definitely repeat.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken recipes for every day and every mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
A very easy recipe that makes a tasty chicken dish that was done in just over 30 minutes. I didn't have any tarragon so I used some dill from my garden. Leftovers heated up well the next day too. Will definitely repeat.
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The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood 80+ Recipes
By Sharon Hanna
Harbour Publishing - 2012
A nice vegetarian meal. I added some extra cheese and I didn't use the chard. Instead I put in more kale. Baked 35 minutes at 400 convection. Would make a nice lunch for guests.
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Bread Illustrated: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results At Home
By The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
America's Test Kitchen - 2016
Very good bread but with a few caveats. This is a high hydration bread (I calculated 79% hydration), and as such I found it a bit too wet and had to add extra flour. I'd say this is a recipe for bakers with some bread baking experience, since handling wet dough can be tricky. The resulting baked loaf tasted really good and had an excellent structure so I may make this one again. I loved the technique of soaking and grinding the whole wheatberries. This recipe is available online.
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Bread Machine Baking Revised
By Lora Brody, Millie Apter
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2011
This book is full of really good bread recipes and I've made many of them. All the breads can be baked in the oven rather than the machine.
This makes a very good bread. I used olive oil for the butter and soy milk powder since that's what I had. This makes a fairly small loaf so I make the larger recipe option.
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This is an excellent potato bread; I especially like it with fresh herbs from the garden (I often use rosemary and thyme). I do find that it definitely needs more flour, so I add about 1/4 cup more than stated. This one rises well in the machine, makes great rolls, and is great with soups or for sandwiches. One of the many good breads in this book.
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Bread Revolution Rise up and Bake
By Duncan Glendenning and Patrick Ryan
Murdoch Books Ltd - 2012
These are delicious multi grain buns. I used purple barley and a rice blend for the cooked grains. I mixed and proved the dough in the bread machine; I had to add 1-2 tablespoons extra water, used red fife for the wholegrain flour, and used dry yeast. I reduced the salt to about 12-13g since I like my salt in breads just a bit over 2%, and that was plenty for my taste. Baked at lower temp than required but I will change that next time as I had to increase bake time. Took about 4 hrs start to finish. Definitely will repeat.
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Bread Toast Crumbs: Recipes for No-Knead Loaves & Meals to Savor Every Slice
By Alexandra Stafford
Clarkson Potter - 2017
Unlike many others, I disliked this recipe. It was easy to put together, and the overall taste was fine, but I found the texture completely unappealing. As a result, I will not make this bread again.
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Breakfast Book
By Marion Cunningham
Knopf - 1987
These muffins are amazing. I use crab apple/apple fruits that I get from my friend’s tree in these. Don’t be put off by the “raw” in the title, since the apples cook by the time the muffins are done. With the nuts, raisins, and spices, these muffins are delicious little flavour bombs.
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This is the first waffle I’ve made or eaten and they were really good. I successfully halved the recipe and made on my mini waffle maker. I plan to reduce the butter somewhat, and try a combo of butter and veg oil next time. Lots of batter left over so I held it in the fridge as suggested, and cooked them as needed (just added a little baking powder). That worked well.
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Website: Budget Bytes
This was very good and quick to make. I cooked my chicken a little longer since the pieces were quite large and made the pan sauce as written. The sauce was very nice. Served with some couscous and fresh veggies from the garden. This would make a good midweek dinner...tasty and fast.
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Cakes: River Cottage Handbook No.8
By Pam Corbin
Bloomsbury USA - 2011
This recipe makes a very tender and not too sweet muffin. The author gives lots of variations and adaptations; I used apple and blueberries and also substituted sugar for the honey and oil instead of the butter. Very nice muffins that froze well.
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Canada's Best Bread Machine Baking Recipes
By Donna Washburn, Heather Butt
Robert Rose - 2008
Excellent bread that uses one cup of sourdough starter. I added a bit more water to the recipe since my starter was a bit thicker than usual.
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This bread has excellent taste and texture, and is a great way to eat more carrots! I did have to add quite a bit more water to the dough (probably 1/4 cup more) and omitted the orange zest. This bread slices well.
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Rose well and bread was nicely spiced. I used one medium sized sweet potato and made the larger sized loaf. I sometimes leave out the spices for a more savoury bread.
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Love this bread. It's a great way to use up leftover cottage cheese. I've made it as written (olive oil for the fat), and also done adaptations. Good with any herbs such as rosemary, Greek oregano, etc. Can add other soft cheeses in small amounts to make up the full amount of cottage cheese, and I've also replaced 1/4 cup of the flour with ground flax for a bit more fibre. Usually needs a few more tablespoons of flour. A light bread that rises well and is delicious.
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This makes a very nice bread, but I do make several changes. I use ground flax for at least half the flax seed called for, and I use half white and half whole wheat flour. I also increase the yeast by 1/2 teaspoon to 1.5 teaspoons for the 1.5 lb loaf. This results in a grainy loaf, very good with soups etc.
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Excellent bread, once extra flour was added. Will reduce liquid when I make it again. Used pumpkin seeds and poppy for the seeds, and omitted skim milk powder.
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I usually make hamburger buns using this recipe. The buttermilk powder can be omitted, and they will still turn out well. I like the addition of whole wheat flour in these, and they are always more popular than any store bought options. They’re delicious!
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Very nice garlic loaf that uses pre roasted garlic. I used about half whole grain flour.
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A nice bread that incorporates oats, bran, and wheat germ. Can sub part sifted red fife for part on the all purpose.
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