The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons

by Laura Wright

National Winner for Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2017 - Blogger category

Shortlisted for the 2018 Taste Canada Awards - Health and Special Diet Cookbooks

The creator of the popular Saveur award-winning blog The First Mess shares over 125 seasonal, plant-based, and beautifully prepared healthy recipes in her eagerly anticipated debut cookbook

Home cooks head to The First Mess blog for Laura Wright's simple-to-prepare, seasonal vegan recipes, but stay for her beautiful photographs and enchanting storytelling. In her debut cookbook, Laura presents a visually stunning collection of heirloom-quality recipes highlighting the beauty of the seasons. Her 125-plus produce-forward recipes showcase the best each season has to offer, and as a whole, demonstrate that plant-based wellness is both accessible and delicious.

Wright grew up working at her family's local food market and vegetable patch in the Niagara region of southern Ontario, where fully stocked root cellars in the winter and armfuls of fresh produce in the spring and summer were the norm. After attending culinary school and working in one of Canada's original farm-to-table restaurants, she launched The First Mess blog at the urging of her friends in order to share the delicious, no-fuss, healthy, seasonal meals she grew up eating, and quickly attracted a large international following.

The First Mess Cookbook is filled with more of the exquisitely prepared plant-based recipes and lush photography that fans of the blog have come to expect. With recipes for every meal of the day, like Fluffiest Multigrain Pancakes, Meyer Lemon Romanesco Glow Salad, and Eggplant "Bolognese" Pasta, and desserts like Earl Grey Tiramisu, The First Mess Cookbook is a must-have for any home cook looking to prepare nourishing plant-based meals with the best the seasons have to offer.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Vegan, Reference, Health

296 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2017

About the author

Food blogger "The First Mess"

Reviews

[PorshaJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how this book ended up at my library for me. I order so many cookbooks and probably don't remember ordering it. I get a couple a month from the library to peruse. When I started it, I was immediately hooked. The author first had a food blog which in turn this book was born. I don't know the blog but plan on visiting soon.

The breakdown:

Mornings and Breakfasts
Soups and Stews
Salads and Dressings
Hearty Mains and Big Plates
Vegetables and a Couple of Grains
Energizing Drinks and Small Bites
Desserts and Small Treats

What amazed me most is that I went to soup section first to try recipes instead of the dessert section. I tried a couple soups and loved them. The one that stands out for me is a detox soup (Deep Immune Cup of Soup). So easy and tasty and enough for multiple meals plus some in the freezer for later. Easy to make recipes are what entice me. Something that I can make quickly on a weeknight that is tasty and filling. Recipes are vegan, or as it says plant-based, but no crazy hard to find ingredients. Bonus...gorgeous photos with each recipe. Love it.

Overall, I really liked this cookbook and see myself checking it out over and over again from my library. I have so many recipes lined up to make already. Why only a four? Not a book I would buy (I have no shelf space left) as I would not cook from it everyday. I have my tried and true book. And a big section on breakfasts which I rarely make. What can I say...I'm lazy first thing in the morning, I'm lucky I can make toast at that hour of the day.

[reading is my hustle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is really a 3 star cookbook for me based on content b/c the recipes are a bit fussier than i want for a weekday meal. however, this is a cookbook that i would use when planning a meal for friends or special occasions. extra star for presentation; the photos & paper quality are top notch.

[Liana Kreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've made several recipes from this cookbook and they were all delicious (and healthy - bonus!).

[Bridget]

When I look for new recipes, I have 3 criteria:

1.) Is it healthy?
2.) Is it FAST? (I don't actually like cooking. I do it because it's healthier. In a perfect world, I could eat fast food and I would look and feel great and I would be healthy and thriving. Also, when I'm ready to eat, I'm READY TO EAT. NOW. RIGHT NOW. So the less time I spend in the kitchen and the more time I'm eating and/or doing other things I'd rather be doing (like reading), the happier I am. My max allowance on any meal prep is 35 minutes. And that's pushing it.
3.) HOW DOES IT TASTE?

I found a few recipes here that fit that criteria, and that makes me happy.

[mairead! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started jotting down recipes I wanted to make first on the back of receipt... ran out of room by desserts! Cannot wait to start cooking from this inspiring book. Especially: maple-baked beans, beet hash, chipotle pumpkin chili, caramelized onion potato salad, BBQ mushroom toast, spaghetti squash noodle bowl with lime peanut sauce, glowing vegetable tangle, sunshine everything crackers. Can you even with the recipe names? MAGIC.

[Ambur Taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious pictures and easy delicious recipes full of fairly easy to find ingredients...great to own just for the soups, salads & smoothies for daily consumption.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Beam, this one's for you and yours! Great healthy veggie recipes that sound easy and delish. I've marked so many pages of my library copy, I think I need to buy one for myself.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recipes here are a bit too involved for my skill level. They sound very tasty but I probably wouldn’t try any.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just made Broccoli Caesar with Smokey Tempeh Bits. It is so delicious!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yummy

[Minette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do this thing were I sign out cook books from the library as a preview to see if they're order worthy...this one definitely purchase worthy. Gorgeous pics and very unique options from my other vegan cook books.

[Shipshapeeatworthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What The First Mess Cookbook strives for is to really inspire people to get into the kitchen to cook and enjoy seasonal produce. Having grown up in an agri-culture (she speaks about her beginnings at her family farm in the intro to her book), Laura offers recipes that look to seasonally engage people at mealtimes with wholesome, truly delicious meals that are worth making. She has wonderful sections regarding stocking your plant based pantry and what kitchen equipment/tools you might need. I didn't need to make any special trips to the grocery store but if you're new to vegan cooking you may need to add pantry items here or there. Even costlier ingredients (PINE NUTS!) are used purposefully and sparingly. If you ever look at an ingredient she uses and wonder "Is it worth it?" I wholeheartedly say "Yes!" There are times when she offers alternative/substitution ingredients in the header of her recipes. Laura is the last person who would want anyone to waste time or money. All of her recipes are simple to make and as you can see have the most beautiful results. I have already made over 25 recipes from this cookbook and have really found success with all of them. While not a vegan, as a vegetarian I really appreciated how flavourful and satisfying each dish was -- especially when I was serving them to some non-Veg family members. Although I received a free review copy of this cookbook, I did not receive monetary compensation and the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. This review is a small excerpt of my review on www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com.

[RL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally wouldn’t rate a cookbook because there isn’t always that much reading involved, but I kept this one from the library for longer than expected. It is an absolutely gorgeous book full of delicious recipes that are accessible and healthy and easily modifiable. I really appreciate that the author is actually a trained culinary chef. Nothing against the bloggers-turned-recipe creators, but if I know someone has actually gone through the rigors of testing how to cook everything, I’m going to have a lot more faith in their recipes.

The recipe I was really excited to start with was the mega clump granola. Her method is, bar none, the best I’ve found for creating delicious sheet pan granola that clumps into whatever size you wish. I just reaffirmed this by testing a very popular recipe blog’s clumpy granola and it was nowhere near as tasty or clumpy as Wright’s. The weeknight curry recipe is great. I would be careful about modifying any pancake or waffle recipes as the flour balance is delicate (all gluten free ones) and I found that the what I thought was small and inconsequential modification I made to the Spelt Pancakes ended up making them nearly inedible. I know it was my fault rather than hers! I’m excited to try the lemongrass noodle soup next.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was attracted by the title but read it for the contents. This is a vegan cookbook that has a fair amount of novel recipes, at least I haven't seen them before. Most use fairly common ingredients but you may have to mail order some spices and other ingredients. I'm especially interested in the use of chia seeds and other ingredients as a substitute for dairy, I have friends who are lactose intolerant.
I plan on trying at least a few of the recipes, I can't give a full rating until after a taste test, but it looks promising.

I did make the pepperoncini salad dressing, milder than I was expecting, it was tasty and a nice change of pace.

[Joanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was lovely to look at, but many of the dishes reminded me of things I have seen before.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why can't all cookbooks contain content like this? This was so great!

The first few pages in, I was grabbing pieces of paper to bookmark recipes I wanted to make. I started off in the breakfast section where I'm usually unimpressed by the non-unique recipes. But the next morning I made the vanilla coconut coffee creamer. Later that day I made the fresh instant almond milk. Both were so yummy!

Adaptations to the recipes.
For the vanilla coconut coffee creamer, I added 3 dates instead of 6. And I added a bit of water to thin it out. Overall, I probably used 1/3 cup water until I was happy with the consistency. But it was so yummy I also add it to my cereal and oatmeal.

For the fresh instant almond milk I love this idea of using almond butter instead of soaking almonds which takes forever and never tastes as good, in my opinion. I ended up adding a bit of cows milk to thicken it up and my kids devoured it. Totally going to make again with other variations like hazelnut butter for a chocolate consistency.

I've flagged a few more recipes to make. All of them use healthy, fresh ingredients which I love. And most of them are vegan or plant based which I love.

The soup section looks amazing. Lots of unique flavor combinations that I can't wait to try in the winter.

Totally recommend.

Photos are beautiful, of course. So that's always a plus.

[Jamie Langes · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites!

Healthy, delicious and easy meals - what more do you want from a vegan cookbook? I did take away one star because there is inconsistency (in my opinion) in the strength or weakness of seasoning (some you need more, some you need a significant amount less). Other than that, once you find your way to the middle on the seasonings for this book, you will emerge the victor on delicious home cooked meals.

I love that there are interesting flavor combinations, and since I already have a heavily stocked vegan pantry, making these recipes is easy (with little to no additional investment). That said, if you don't have a mostly gluten-free pantry, multiple nuts and nut butters, or certain seasonings, you might have some misgivings about purchasing what you need to cook your way through this book.

This cookbook is definitely one of my favorites and I use it often for inspiration and healthy meals. I've been vegan for years, and have explored a variety of authors, recipes and flavor combinations; The First Mess is one of my core cookbooks and provides filling dishes for all seasons.

[Julie lit pour les autres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Est-ce qu'un livre de recettes compte comme une lecture?

Si l'auteure est Laura Wright, oui. C'est drôlement étonnant comme l'auteure crée une atmosphère sereine tout au long de son recueil et de ses présentations: on se croirait presque au mois d'août à la campagne, à apprécier le bruissement des graminées et les stridulations des cigales! Le design du livre est épuré et les photographies particulièrement alléchantes: légumes, fruits, grains, légumineuses sont photographiés avec soin dans une belle lumière, souvent sur fond bois et couleurs de terre. J'en suis à essayer les recettes qui s'avèrent réussies et goûteuses jusqu'à présent. Les fèves au lard-pas-de-lard contiennent des dattes qui leur donnent un goût caramélisé irrésistible. La salade de chou à la thaï et sa vinaigrette épicée à la sauce sriracha a conquis toute une tablée pour la fête des mères.

Pour le.la cuisinier.ère souhaitant cuisiner végétalien avec simplicité et raffinement.

[zeknir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. The recipes are simple, delicious, and beautiful. It’s real food, not a single “weird” ingredient. I’ve made many of the recipes and they all turn out oh-my-goodness-dog-ear-the-page delicious. The book, physically, is bound wonderfully in a sturdy, matte hardcover, with pages you can easily write in. The photographs are gorgeous. Another perk: Laura Wright is a wonderful person. I heard her speak on a podcast and she is one of the most normal, down to earth, and non-judgmental vegan book writers i’ve ever found. i’ve read a bunch of vegan books that include a bunch of meat-and-dairy-shaming propaganda in their writing, and Laura does none of that. She’s even totally cool with non-vegans utilizing her dishes as accompaniments to meats, or on their “meatless monday” stints, or whatever pleases you. I think she genuinely just wants people to eat more plants hahahaha i love it.

[H.C. Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a mess (pun intended). As a plant-based eater, I was excited for a cookbook with so many healthy and fun recipes that appeared to have a similar vein to my own cooking: new flavor combinations and cooking methods for bistro-ready plates. However, many of the recipes, though appearing tasty in appearance and ingredient list, turned out really really gross. The hemp fuel was slimy and unpleasant. The ginger mango kombucha “mimosas” were little more than a “different” version of what the kombucha was on its own. By the time I got to the “Energizing Drink” section, lots of the recipes looked interesting but I was already too traumatized to take another gamble on liquids. We also tried out some of the meals for date night, such as the winter mash with mushroom gravy, and they were underwhelming—little flavor, nothing special.

Last but not least: hopefully it was a small-scale misprint, but the book I got was actually missing some pages in the middle. There was one recipe I wanted to make where the next page was the continued page of a different recipe.

I do hope to continue making some of the recipes from this book and will update my review if any other notable thoughts arise!

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of delicious vegan recipes! Very helpful, useful introductory section on stocking one's kitchen. Equipment suggestions include basics needed, nice-to-haves, to splurge items (high speed blenders, which she uses regularly, as do I). Good basic ingredients to keep on hand lists, & suggestions to store things where they are visible so you'll know what is on hand and be more likely to use it. Detailed index is a plus. Tasty, accessible recipes that use easy to find ingredients, categorized by meals, occasions, desserts. Highly recommend.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a refreshing perspective on food and seasonal eating, I follow a predominately plant based diet so this was a great book for recipe ideas and more healthy takes on your average meals. I loved the different and interesting flavor combinations that seem unexpected, yet perfect. I can't wait to actually try some of the recipes. It's also worth mentioning that Wright takes such beautiful pictures of her food, you could tell she truly loves what she does!

[Amelia R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the title of the book implies that it addresses seasonal eating, I couldn't find a clear exposition on the topic. I would appreciate more in-depth or clear indication of what produce is in season for a given recipe. Also, considering seasonality, I thin more discussion of produce substitutions were in order. All in all, I like some recipes, others haven't turned out perfectly. I enjoy the author's blog, though.

[Deodand · Rating 2 out of 5]

This recipe book seems to use a lot of ingredients I don't care for, so it's a pass for me. The beginning is sort of a memoir that outlines the links between the recipes. This author was completely new to me, so I wasn't looking to read her memior - I was just interested in plant-based recipe ideas.

[Millicent · Rating 5 out of 5]

After completing just three recipes (Moroccan Stew, Deep Immune Cup of Soup, Wedge Salad with Avocado Citrus Dressing), this book is already a favorite. If you are looking for new ways to incorporate vegetables in your life, these recipes do it with a ton of flavor. I can hardly wait to work my way through many more recipes.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about this book going it, and really enjoyed it. Her approach to food is similar to mine-- no processed anything, simple and healthful ingredients, and flavorful recipes. Found something in there I hope to make for dinner tonight! Uncertain if it's one I'd want to have on my bookshelf permanently, but I'll play around with it a bit more and see.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum.
This cookbook was everything I look for - good food, good pics, good summaries. Just enough personality and asides to make it interesting, but not so much to distract from the main point: the food.
It had more than the usual number of starred recipes by the time I was through with it. A few definitely going into my permanent rotation.

[Sarah Hissong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally the best cookbook I have ever used in my life!!! It’s one that actually is messy from being on my counter, has folded pages, and every single recipe is amazing. Many staple recipes are in this book that we use weekly! I recommend it to everyone looking to go vegan. Best recipe book eva. ❤️

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs and a wide variety of dishes. I am so excited about the baked goods without eggs! I saw the gluten-free waffle recipe and decided then and there I needed this book for my own collection.

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a vegetarian/vegan's best friend. I am neither one of those, but I do love eating plants. I'll be making a lot of these recipes. The pictures are beautiful and lovely. A nice addition to the collection.