Kestrel's Reviews
229 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbook (Well-Filled Series , No 2)
By Victoria Wise, Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 1996
These beef meatballs have been a standby for years. Great with fresh mint and very quick and easy to make. I often serve them with the smoky tomato-chili sauce on P. 35 which I make either on the stove top on in the microwave.
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I make this to go with the meatballs from the same book. Mildly spicy. Can be made on the stove top or in the microwave.
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Website: The Wednesday Chef
www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef
Everyone should try this recipe! It uses frozen peas, has very few ingredients, and works well every time. It's delicious; I make it just as written with no changes.
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Website: Waitrose Cooking and Recipes
www.waitrose.com/food/cookingandrecipes/index.aspx
Very good and easy to make. Keeps very well.
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Website: viet world kitchen
I love quick pickles. This one is good, easy, quick, and uses white vinegar. I use it when I have extra veg from my garden; tastes great with barbecued meats as well as in bahn mi. It's also found in her Banh Mi cookbook.
The carrot and radish combo works well (great colour too as the veg is not cooked first). I want to try fennel next.
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Website: Vegetarian Times
One of my favourite soups ever. The combination of squash, sweet potato and orange with the curry paste and ginger is excellent. I used the recipe as a basic guide and made several changes. I used a butternut squash from my garden and replaced the water with a homemade light chicken stock. I used madras curry paste instead of the curry powder and also added a tablespoon of dry sherry at the end. This made a delicious soup that froze well. Everyone loved this soup!
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Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No.4
By Mark Diacono
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2009
I made this for a work event and everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe and used spelt flour for half the flour. I also ran out of carrots and substituted some grated golden beets from the garden and that worked perfectly. I baked at 325 F. Will definitely make this again.
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Website: Time to cook
timetocookonline.com/recipe-index
After watching the Christmas Great British Bake Off on TV, I looked up these cookies and was happy to see them on Mary-Anne's blog. I made the cookies as stated in the recipe, however I had to substitute some of the topping ingredients due to availability. I used dried cranberries for the barberries and omitted the coating on the white chocolate. Also, I did have to chill the dough before rolling out. A very tasty and pretty coookie that I will definitely make again. (These got a "double handshake" on the show from both judges!)
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Website: thekitchn.com
I’ve been trying many different hummus recipes in an attempt to find a good creamy one that’s not too much work. This was a very good basic recipe. I used the darker chickpeas (which have slightly tougher skins) and it was still creamy. I followed the recipe as to salt and timings, but added a pinch of baking soda while cooking in the instant pot. I didn’t add all the water either, opting for more lemon juice. At the end I did increase the salt a bit (just personal taste). Will repeat as it’s very easy and very good. Much easier than the recipes where you remove the skins and just as good IMO
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Website: thekitchn.com
I love these wraps. It's a bit of work to make everything, but it is so worth the effort. All the parts can be refrigerated for a few days (except the shredded cabbage which must be prepared fresh). I streamlined by using a bottle of prepared red peppers instead of the fresh ones. I'm pretty sure these are vegan too which is a bonus. A few extra notes:the recipe makes a lot of filling and leftovers can be frozen. Shredded carrots make a nice sub for the cabbage if desired.
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Website: thekitchn.com
Very easy rolls that taste great and involve a minimum of work. You can use squash for the sweet potato if desired. I placed mine closer together than stated on the recipe and they came out taller. These freeze very well. A definite repeat.
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Tender: Volume II, A cook's guide to the fruit garden
By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate - 2010
Really delicious cake! I used lemon zest instead of the orange and it worked well. I made 2 smaller cakes; one was 6" and the other 7" in diameter. These smaller cakes took about 30-35 min to bake at 350 convection. As others have said, this dessert is a bit like a crumble pie/cake. Loved the polenta in it. I'm going to try freezing one of them for later. Will definitely repeat this cake. Edited: slices froze perfectly.
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Sweet: Desserts from London's Ottolenghi
By Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh
Ten Speed Press - 2017
My first recipe from the book, this is definitely a dessert. It's very sweet and I would possibly reduce the sugar slightly next time. The flavours are excellent and I liked the toasted almonds with the orange and raisins. I used 3 small loaf tins instead of cans; for this, the baking time needs to be reduced to about 35 minutes. I'm disappointed that the book (Canadian edition) calls for self raising flour which we don't have in Canada so I used 2.25 tsp baking powder in the flour, and this seemed about right. I froze one loaf and it reheated beautifully. Great with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack; will definitely make again.
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These cakes were very good. I liked the method of heating the dates with the sugar, butter and water since that softens the dates making them easier to cut in the finished loaf. I'm glad I made the date mixture ahead of time as it takes quite a while to cool. I cut back the sugar by about 10% and it was still plenty sweet. Again there is self raising flour in this recipe so I used all purpose plus 2.25 teaspoons of baking powder for the flour. Along with the extra baking powder as stated in the recipe, this seemed about right. Three mini loaves took 40 minutes at 350 convection in my oven. In the future I will make this again when I want a sweeter loaf and/or I have only 1 banana, and I will continue to make the Smitten Kitchen banana loaf for a less sweet/more bananas version.
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I wanted to make a gluten free dessert so I chose this cake to try as it has relatively little flour in it. The resulting cake worked well and tasted very good. I subbed the flour with the gluten free blend from bulk barn and added 1/2 tsp of baking soda in my half recipe. This smaller cake took 30-35 minutes to bake at 350 convection. I also used unsweetened coconut.
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I've rated this as "very good", as this was a nice cake, but it didn't blow me away. I'm not sure if I will make this one again since I have other rhubarb recipes that I like a bit better. I reduced the sugar in both the cake and the crumble and it was still more than sweet enough for me. I made a half recipe and baked about 40 minutes at 375 convection. I also covered with foil for the last bit of baking. I found the crumble topping to be quite hard so maybe I overbaked a little.
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These are so so good. I made my meringues way ahead of time as I was sure they would last well in an airtight tin. I did the chocolate hazelnut coating the night before and they held up well. That being said, these are quite fragile and are really finicky to dip and coat so be sure to have plenty of time set aside to finish them. They are very sweet, but are as light as air and the flavours blend beautifully. Everyone loved these! These are worth the time and are definitely on my repeat list for special occasions.
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These were nice cakes with a very nutty flavour. I used the almond extract option and would slightly reduce the amount next time. In the recipe, a silicon loaf pan is recommended. I don't have this so I used metal tins of the same size, and found lining with parchment was important to extract the cakes after baking. Very pretty little cakes.
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I liked these a lot. I didn’t have any white chocolate so we had them unadorned, my second batch had the chocolate and that made them really stand out. These cookies are quite a bit of work to make, more than your average cookie. I cut them at 3” and the recipe made 23 cookies.
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Made this yesterday to compare it to my family’s traditional recipe. I soaked my fruit for about a week and cut back a bit on the raisins and currants so I could add some pecans and crystallized ginger. Baked at just under 300 fan and covered for first 1 hr 40 min to control browning. I used a 7” springform pan and did the double parchment they recommend. Recipe says to cover near the end but I find covering at the start works better. Cooked the full 2.5 hours; check frequently towards the end of baking time. Extremely easy to make, will update when we eat it. For now I’m rating 5 stars since it was so easy and baked beautifully.
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Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen
By Heidi Swanson
Ten Speed Press - 2011
I didn't really care for this, which was surprising since I like all the ingredients separately, and have liked some of this author's recipes in the past. It does involve a lot of chopping and I found it quite labour intensive. The taste was quite good, but for me not really worth the effort. I had some of the leftovers the next day, and I didn't like it as much as the day before. This is probably not something I will make again since this particular combination of flavours did not agree with me.
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I found this too heavy for me. I prefer regular oatmeal with fruit on top so I won't make this one again.
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Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
By Moosewood Collective
Fireside - 1990
We really enjoyed is soup. Made a few changes due to our pandemic supplies, omitting the celery and using powdered ginger. I also decreased the peanut due to personal taste, and used my home made chicken stock for the water. The soup was delicious and makes a very nutritious meal. Definitely will repeat this one
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Still Life with Menu Cookbook
By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press - 1988
As the author notes, these are very easy and quick to make (I skipped the processor and mixed mine totally by hand). I made a half recipe, and my yield was much higher than that stated in the recipe at 11 medium sized scones. I used sifted red fife for the whole wheat flour and skipped the egg topping. These are barely sweet and very tasty. I would definitely make them again. Baked about 12 minutes 400 F with convection.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I also love this recipe. It's convenient since it uses no dairy products (helpful if you've run out of them). I use olive oil for the butter and switch the add-ins depending on what I have, and I also use the lower amount of sugar. It freezes well.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I made these in my new instant pot (meat setting 5 minutes pressure then 10 minute natural release) as suggested in one of the comments. I found these to be fine and very easy to make, however the flavour was a bit bland. The next day they tasted better. I might make again and would try sautéing the meatballs first. In the IP they took only about 25 minutes after chilling. Second time around I garnished with some grated cheese, avocado, and arugula and that improved things.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
This is a snap to make and can be very good, depending on the chocolate used and the amount of sugar. Be sure to read the notes that precede the recipe. For me, semi sweet chocolate and 1/2 cup sugar is just a bit too sweet, although the kids liked it. Grated orange zest is a nice addition. I found the instructions accurate as to timing. Serving size is huge; a half recipe gives 6 small servings, which is fine since it's pretty rich with all that chocolate. A definite repeat.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
This is more of a bread than a cake as it's not too sweet. Mine rose well, tasted good, and had a nice texture. The spices could probably be increased although I'd keep the cinnamon the same. Very easy to make and uses pantry staples that I always have on hand. Definitely will make again. Took 60 minutes at 350 convection.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
As noted by the other reviewers, this loaf is excellent. When I first made it, I used cherries, rhubarb and toasted almonds instead of the strawberries, rhubarb and pecans; otherwise I followed the loaf ingredients as written. This combination remains my favorite. I now use frozen cherries if I have to, and increase the fruit content a little. Green apples make a good sub for the rhubarb when it's out of season. I use cinnamon sugar or coarse sugar for the topping instead of the butter topping in the recipe. I like that this loaf is not too sweet, can be made with oil instead of butter, and uses a bit of whole wheat flour.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
These were super easy to make and were very good. I browned the butter and added 3/4 cup of chocolate chips which seemed like enough to me. I also made gluten free using 1 to 1 flour and some sorghum and rice flour (I ran out of the 1 to 1 and made up the rest with the other flours.). Baked at 350 fan for 22 minutes in 8 inch pan. Very rich and sweet (almost like candy) so I cut them a bit smaller. They freeze well.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
This recipe is easy but I found it labour intensive. After oven-roasting vegetables, cooking grains, grating cheese, and sautéing onions and garlic, it then comes together quickly and is baked in the oven. If I make this again I would make some of the components ahead. I subbed quinoa for the rice and used a mixture of good quality cheddar and smoked mozzarella as the cheese and also increased the cheese somewhat. I found this was a nice way to eat zucchini and it had a very mild flavour that probably most people would enjoy. Could be eaten as a brunch, lunch, or dinner dish. While this recipe was fine, I probably won't make again.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
A good solid recipe for a savoury tart. Used tomatoes, garlic, and herbs from my garden and a mix of cheeses I had left over. I didn’t have the basil and parsley called for so I made an arugula pesto and that worked just fine. The pastry was crisp and flaky. This would make a good vegetarian company dish. I made a smaller tart and it took 45 minutes to bake.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I made a half recipe to take to a group function. Mine rose a lot and wasn't all that attractive; It would probably look better if made in the pan called for; I think it needs the surface area to place the berries. Tasted nice though and very easy. Not sure if I'd make this again.
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Website: Skinny Taste
I only made the cheesecake (no crust or topping) and cooked sous vide at 80* C for 60 min in jars. The recipe made 5 medium jars (probably would be about 8 4oz jars). I did sub regular cream cheese, and used 1 whole egg instead of egg white. The result was a very nice cheesecake that had a nice tang due to the yogurt. I will top these with crumble and fruit for a reverse cheesecake. Will make again.
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Website: Skinny Taste
Really good, very easy recipe that uses cucumbers from the late summer garden. I also adjusted the sriracha to taste and used a bit more cucumber.
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Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables
By Joshua McFadden, Martha Holmberg
Artisan - 2017
Delicious way to cook up broccoli and potatoes from the garden. I used lime juice instead of lemon which worked well. Will definitely repeat.
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I really loved this simple salad. I subbed prunes for the dates which worked fine. Easy way to eat a substantial amount of celery.
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Website: Simply Recipes
Very nice use of cucumbers and chili crisp. The recipe gives several choices for the noodles so I used rice noodles. Really delicious summer recipe.
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Website: Seasons and Suppers
Very quick and good. I have used udon or other Asian noodles. Veggies can be adapted depending on what you have.
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Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
By Samin Nosrat, Wendy MacNaughton
Simon & Schuster - 2017
Really enjoyed this salad. I have fennel, parsley, celery etc from the garden, and also added a bit of dill. Used almonds as the nuts. As the previous reviewer said, the currants and nuts go very well together. Excellent salad, a definite repeat for me.
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Website: Sally's Baking Addiction
A lovely summer cake. I used peaches and some fresh blueberries and split the batter between 2 cakes. (One 7” and one 6” cake). My smaller cake was a bit less deep but that was fine. Small took 45 min, larger took 50 min tented for the last 5 minutes. This cake was delicious and very easy. Will definitely repeat this one. Slices froze very well.
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Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More
By Cory Schreiber, Julie Richardson
Ten Speed Press - 2009
One of my favourite desserts! The ginger and rhubarb work very well together, and the resulting cake is moist and delicious.
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River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day)
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2011
Really good simple coleslaw. I used red cabbage and more cilantro in addition to the carrots. I also added some black rice vinegar to the dressing and scattered some seeds on top. Peanuts would be a nice addition. Keeps well in the fridge, I will definitely repeat this.
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This makes a tasty and nutritious soup, and it’s easy to put together. I used small red beans instead of the cannellini beans (soaked overnight in lightly salted water, then added to soup and simmered 40 minutes). I made my own chilli oil and also added a whole bunch of fresh spinach at the end. I used my homemade chicken stock for my soup, since I’m not a fan of veg stock.
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River Cottage Veg: 200 Inspired Vegetable Recipes
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Appetite by Random House - 2013
I made an adaptation of this with carrots and spinach substituted for the leeks and kale, and I also used my own chicken stock. The result was a very good speltotto although the texture is different from a traditional risotto. Very easy to make and I'll definitely make again.
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A great way to eat beets. I make a selection of different hummus of various colours to have with homemade crackers. This one freezes well. If you don't like cumin, reduce the amount by half.
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This is a very simple recipe and is very tasty. I kept the garlic whole and kept an eye on it as the veggies roasted, since others have commented that it can burn. I used my preserved salted herbs on this after roasting which added a nice herby flavour.
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Really good simple coleslaw. I used red cabbage and more cilantro in addition to the carrots. I also added some black rice vinegar to the dressing and scattered some seeds on top. Peanuts would be a nice addition. Keeps well in the fridge, I will definitely repeat this.
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This makes a tasty and nutritious soup, and it’s easy to put together. I used small red beans instead of the cannellini beans (soaked overnight in lightly salted water, then added to soup and simmered 40 minutes). I made my own chilli oil and also added a whole bunch of fresh spinach at the end. I used chicken stock for my soup, since I’m not a fan of veg stock.
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A delicious easy tart that makes good use of heirloom tomatoes. My only change is to bake the tart much longer than stated. Perhaps there are differences in puff pastry, but mine takes at least 40 min to be fully cooked. I increase the initial bake time accordingly to about 30 min, and the second to about 15 min.
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