Kestrel's Reviews
229 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating 
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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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My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method
By Jim Lahey, Ron Manville, Mark Luinenburg, Rick Flaste
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2009
A good way to make olive bread. Can use less expensive olives with good results.
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Flour, Too: Indispensable Recipes for the Cafe's Most Loved Sweets & Savories
By Joanne Chang, Michael Harlan Turkell
Chronicle Books - 2013
Really good soup, easy to make and tasty.
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Website: Food.com
A really simple skillet recipe that takes about half an hour to make. Results are excellent. The only change I make is to use regular decent quality supermarket balsamic vinegar. Great with grain salads for a nutritious supper.
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Website: Chinese Grandma
My go to vinaigrette for green salads as well as grain salads. Easy to make, emulsifies well.
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Website: King Arthur Flour
Like Jen I really enjoyed this bread. I didn't use any yeast, going with my very active starter for the rising only. I also omitted the apple, and I made it in the overnight, no knead style. Baked in my cast iron pot again in no knead style. Excellent, soft tender bread. Will freeze some to use later, and will try the grilled cheese idea too.
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Website: Food.com
This is a great recipe. See the comments on the web page for many adaptations of this recipe. I use a good quality cheddar, and make my own baking mix for this. Also can use lower fat milk if you wish. Excellent to use smaller amounts of garden veggies.
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Website: Cooking Light
Excellent recipe! Very easy and adaptable. Beans are delicious. Can use cooked dried beans in place of canned. I recommend this highly!
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Cooks Garden 135 Recipes/Expert Growing Advice
By Canadian Gardening Magazine
McArthur & Co - 2003
This recipe is great! I love the sauce used on the green beans and use it with all sorts of vegetables, from cucumber and carrots to snow peas and sugar snap peas from the garden. It also goes well with tofu, and makes a good dip for summer rolls. I thin it out a bit for dipping and usually serve in small bowls. It's also adaptable and takes well to additions or substitutions. Very simple to make. (I use tahini instead of grinding my own sesame seeds)
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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: JamieOliver.com
A great recipe from Mr Oliver, I use just the peas and omit the broad beans since I never have them. Great on bread as suggested but also with fish, noodles, or other cooked veg. Very easy to make and uses fresh peas from the garden.
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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: Food.com
A really good recipe for socca, one of my lunch time favourites, especially in the winter. I make half the recipe in a smaller cast iron skillet. Preheating the skillet is key as is letting the batter rest to fully absorb the water.
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Website: Food.com
Such an easy sauce using primarily pantry staples. I omit garlic and I often use powdered ginger. I also use black rice vinegar. It's versatile and adaptable. Takes 10 minutes to make, if that.
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My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories
By David Lebovitz
Ten Speed Press - 2014
Very nice and easy to make. Buckwheat crepes were made ahead, and the assembly was quick. I made mine vegetarian omitting the ham and using some pre cooked veggies from the garden with the cheese and egg topping. Next time I would fold the sides up after just a couple of minutes while they are still flexible. I used regular buckwheat and liked the taste of the crepes. Will definitely make again.
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Made the crepes without the seaweed butter. Very easy, good taste. Added 1 tbsp olive oil to the batter, made as regular crepes in the blender. These can also be made without the blender as the author states. One hour of resting the batter is enough for the water to be absorbed. The small amount of oil helps them not to stick.
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Easy to make and good. Used it on grains and lentils as well as egg dishes. I used my spice grinder to do the peppercorns and corriander seeds and put everything else in the large food processor, and that worked well. I definitely cut back a little on the salt. I didn't have hazelnuts so used cashews and almond for the nuts and sunflower for the seeds. Worked great!
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Everyday Whole Grains: 175 New Recipes from Amaranth to Wild Rice, Includes Every Ancient Grain
By Ann Taylor Pittman, Hugh Acheson
Oxmoor House - 2016
Loved these bars. Sweet enough without being too sweet. I subbed a combination of spelt, rice flour, all purpose and sorghum flour for the whole wheat pastry flour, and lime juice for lemon juice. Baked at 350 convection for 35 minutes and they were done perfectly. This recipe is available on the cooking light website http://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/blueberry-streusel-bars
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Website: Cooking Light
Loved these bars. Sweet enough without being too sweet. I subbed a combination of spelt, rice flour, all purpose and sorghum flour for the whole wheat pastry flour, and lime juice for lemon juice. Baked at 350 convection for 35 minutes and they were done perfectly.
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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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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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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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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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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: 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: Grow forage cook ferment
I first made these using butter for the fat and to use up my sourdough starter (unfed). I'm always looking for recipes to use up the excess starter and these are very good. The tortillas came out great; very tasty and pliable without being soggy. I made 8 tortillas instead of 6 and kept the dough in the fridge over several days and just cooked them up when needed. I've also subbed different flours such as buckwheat for some of the wheat flour. I don't buy tortillas any more, I just make these instead...
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Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
By Jamie Oliver
Hyperion - 2008
I made this with my last 2 honey nut squashes (mini butternut) from the garden. It was straightforward to make and took about an hour from start to finish. The only other changes I made were to use my own roasted tomatoes for the sundried tomatoes, and to sprinkle the goat cheese on top. This is a very nice and tasty dish, it is quite filling, and would be a good choice for a vegetarian supper.
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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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Fast, Fresh & Green
By Susie Middleton
Chronicle Books - 2010
This came together easily and was delicious with the dipping sauce. I didn't make the garlic butter this time. Cooking time was about 16 minutes 450 convection.
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Excellent stir fry that I make often. Very easy.
Note: I have the kindle book so I don't know the page number.
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Website: Food.com
A great bread recipe. Works every time and tastes great. This bread has a very crispy crust and a soft interior with large holes.
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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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Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi
By Yotam Ottolenghi, Jonathan Lovekin
Chronicle Books - 2011
Like the other reviewers, I found this to be really good. It's very easy to make. I used a combo of potatoes and eggplant in mine along with the tomatoes, onions and cheese. I had to reduce the amount of cheese substantially since about 30 g was all I had. I imagine it would be very rich with all the cheese, but we found the reduced amount to be enough. Mine turned out of the pan perfectly, much to my surprise!
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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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Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
By Jamie Oliver
Hyperion - 2008
This was fantastic! I did make some changes, using peas from my garden and no broad beans. I also subbed the pecorino with a strong cheddar and used lime juice because that's what I had. The acid at the end really did bring it all together as Jamie says. The paste tasted amazing and would be good on practically anything; fish would be wonderful I think. I made it by hand, but I would try in the food processor if I did a larger amount. Can't wait to make this again and I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could!
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Website: Clean eating veggie girl
cleaneatingveggiegirl.com/home
This is a very simple way to cook a sweet potato in the microwave, which I found as I was scouring the internet looking for a simple preparation for this nutritious vegetable. I don't usually go for anything with the "clean eating" label, a title I heartily dislike, however I'm glad I tried this one. I also had to buy paper towels specially for this...worth it though as it's something I will definitely repeat.
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Delia's Vegetarian Collection
By Delia Smith, Victoria Wood
BBC Books - 2002
Excellent and easy. Makes a good lunch or brunch dish and kids tend to really like it. One of my all time favourite dishes for company. I usually add a tiny bit of liquid to the goat cheese to make it more spreadable, and sometimes I omit or reduce the garlic, but otherwise make it as written.
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Sweet: Desserts from London's Ottolenghi
By Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh
Ten Speed Press - 2017
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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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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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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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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The Moosewood Cookbook
By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press - 1977
One of my favourite ways to cook squash. I raise the oven temp to 400 to shorten the cooking time and use various types of squash such as acorn and butternut. I also score the flesh of the larger ones such as bigger butternut. I've added the optional currants/walnuts and both are good. Timing for me is usually to bake unfilled squash about 20 minutes, then filled about 15 minutes more.
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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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Website: Food.com
This was excellent. I changed the method slightly, cooking it on the stove top completely as this takes much less time. I also used mushroom stock cubes since I had no chicken stock on hand. The flavour is wonderful; I added a little hot sauce to increase the spice. Made a great dinner and I will definitely make this again.
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Website: The Kitchn
These rolls are fantastic! They are very easy to make and taste great while involving a minimum of work. You can use squash for the sweet potato if desired. I place mine closer together than stated on the recipe and they come out taller and "pull apart" in style. They freeze really well. I would like to experiment with some whole grain flour added and also may adapt these to use sourdough culture.
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A Bird in the Hand: Chicken recipes for every day and every mood
By Diana Henry
Mitchell Beazley - 2015
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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The Lighthearted cookbook
By Anne Lindsay
Key Porter Books Limited - 1988
I always come back to this recipe when I want a tasty, easy stir fry with chicken. Works every time and tastes great.
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Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
This was excellent and very easy to make. Chicken breasts are lightly bashed, topped with cheese, herbs,and Parmesan and then pan fried. I made this as shown in the YouTube video using both thyme and rosemary. I would increase the herbs next time (just personal preference). The one caveat is the size of the chicken breasts; North American chicken pieces are much bigger than British so needed to be split before cooking. I served on a bed of greens, cherry tomatoes and shaved fennel fresh from the garden for a delicious meal.
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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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Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas
By Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2008
This has become a family favourite. We sometimes sub dried cranberries for the sultanas.
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