Vegan Cooking & Cookbooks discussion

Is anyone using Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week, the latest look by Isa Chandra Moskowitz? It's still brand new. Do any of you have it yet?

I'm waiting to borrow a copy at the library but I can't imagine that it won't be great. I'd love to hear about any of your experiences.

Mine just arrived, and although I haven't had a chance to cook from it yet, it looks at least as good as all her other books. It's huge, and full of photos. I'm looking forward to using it next week.

Thanks, Emily, and Don.

I just found out she's doing a signing at a cookbook store in my city in mid-November, and might go with a bunch of my veg*n book club members. I hope I can arrange it. It's on a Friday evening, and we'd go out to eat after, most likely. The parking situation where I live makes it hard to return home with my car on evenings or weekends...I'd love to go too, though that means I'd buy the book vs. just reading my library copy. Full price as it's an independent bookstore.

Don, Thanks. I can't wait. I'm sad that I missed her appearances in my city, especially since I know several people who got to go. I'm looking forward to the book. She's always one of my favorites, and I love beautiful cookbooks.

I met Isa on Friday night, and then spent the weekend going crazy in the kitchen.

Don - one thing she said at the book signing was that her point was to make "ordinary" recipes. She lives in Omaha now and can't always get pink rock salt on a moment's notice, so she make this book so people wouldn't have to search hard-to-find ingredients. That said, the recipes I made this weekend called for seitan, coconut oil, miso, flax meal - things I know most people wouldn't call normal ingredients (sigh - I had two kinds of coconut oil, two kinds of miso...)

Anyway, here is what I did this weekend:

Wild Rice Soup
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Rosemary-Chocolate Chip Cookies
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Chicky Tuna Salad Sandwiches
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Puffy Pillow Pancakes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Sinfully Wholesome Waffles
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

I also made one component of another dish, but I'll post that tomorrow when it's done. Overall, everything was really really good. In all my years cooking from her books, I think there has only been one recipe that I didn't like: the awful white bean tart:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

I'm sure there will be more to come, as I haven't seen a recipe yet that I don't want to try.

Thanks for that report, Monica, and I agree that many people wouldn't consider those easy to find ingredients, not if they're not used to them or if they live in certain areas.

I'm glad it's so late and I'm not hungry. In all the photos, the food looks great. I want to try those waffles, and pancakes, and I'm more of a savory food breakfast person, usually.

Good Gravy Bowl with broccoli and seitan

This is SUPER good. The gravy is made out of pureed lentils. I made the gravy the night before, and then quickly assembled everything for dinner tonight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl

YUM! This really very good. It was fairly easy to put together, and I will certainly make this again. The sauce could easily be made on its own for other things, like noodles or spring rolls.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Omaha Yakisoba

I've never had Yakisoba before so I'm not sure what it should taste like. This was good, but not what I was expecting. I think maybe I too much in my pan so the noodles were just heated and not really pan fried, which is what I was expecting it to taste like. Next time I will good the noodles separately and then combine the noodles and veggies when serving.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43181191...

Thanks, Monica. The Curried Peanut Bowl dish looks wonderful. If thee is vinegar, I've found that for myself I can leave it out. There's still a queue at the library for this, but I'll get it soon.

I've been waiting to dig into this one. Always love Isa's recipes. Pictures and descriptions here look great... thank you all for sharing!

I've made two dishes so far from this book. I think the next thing I make will be the Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl, after seeing your photo, Monica.

I made the Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese first, and it was delicious. (I almost always start with a mac & cheese recipe if there is one, and this book actually has two.)

I also made the Island Black Bean Burgers, but I made the suggested variation using just black beans (instead of half black beans and half black-eyed peas) and chili powder and cumin instead of Jamaican curry powder. This allowed me to make a half batch (4 burgers). I was really happy with this recipe. I've only attempted veggie burgers a few times, because I'm usually so disappointed in how they turn out. These had just the right amount of spice and didn't fall apart, in part because they get baked.

Emily, I love vegan burgers and this one looks wonderful.

Curried peanut sauce bowl with tofu and kale is one of my perfect dishes. Can't wait to make this. And I can see loving it with spinach/other veggies, and leaving out the agave anyway. I don't need sweet in my savory dishes, except for chutneys, etc. relishes, sometimes. That looks delicious, Don.

Don, Does it have mustard (still waiting for my library copy of the book)? I hate that it's an ingredient in so many vegan cheese recipes and always leave it out. I also use nutritional yeast the few times I've made a vegan cheese type sauce, or just want a cheesy taste by sprinkling it on top of dishes.

Don wrote: "She uses 1 tsp of dry mustard powder. Not a strong flavor in the dish. It does seem an odd ingredient in cheese."

I could taste it. I could taste 1/6 of that, or even less. It's in 95% of vegan cheese recipes, up until Artisan Vegan Cheese, at least. I think it's for the yellow color, but the flavor is so strong and, to me, not at all cheese-like.

I took a good long look at this in the bookstore the other day and was very tempted to use my Christmas gift certificate. I love how beautiful it is! So many photos and I love the coloured pages. I think I'm going to post about everyone's fave cookbook(s) from 2013 before I make my decision.

I'm a new vegan (August) and am just learning how to cook. I've been leaning hard on the simple happy Herbivore books, but as I'm gaining confidence I find my two Isa cookbooks calling my name. This book is absolutely gorgeous and the four recipes I've made so far have all been great. Goddess noodles (I used chickpeas instead of tempeh - not there yet!), pesto soup with gnocchi , beans & greens, cheddary broccoli soup, and my new favorite sandwich - chicky tuna salad sandwich - so simple but SO good! As far as the dry mustard in cheese dishes discussion - I'm a fan. Even my mom's non-vegan Mac and cheese called for it... I love that you are attaching pictures, I will start taking pics as it's so nice to see how things turn out for others.

Thanks Don. I was thinking the Chicky tuna would be my new "go to" lunch as well.

Hi, Tracy. Welcome to the group. Well, your post in the other thread and the one in this thread are making me hungry (except for the mustard; interesting that a dairy mac & cheese recipe called for mustard - maybe it's mostly me. I don't like mustard in any form) and so I think you seem to be doing well with cooking! Yes, photos are always a fun and helpful addition.

Thanks for your posts, and I hope you find this group helpful. We have many nice members here, and many are excellent cooks.

Welcome, Tracy. :-)

Thanks, Don! (I do like mac and cheese though, when done right. I like one kind that relies on nutritional yeast.)

Just bought sunflower seeds yesterday to try this, so am glad to hear you liked the sunflower mac! Have cashews soaking right now though, as i planned on making the roasted butternut alfredo today. Will try to remember to take a photo if it turns out...

I made the Roasted Butternut Squash Alfredo tonight and it was a success. (Shhh...I used canned Organic Butternut Squash which made the recipe much simpler). It's not a beautiful picture because I didn't add any vegetables so it's a monochrome dish, but the taste is good. I'll definitely add this one to my repertoire. Update: The leftovers tasted great for lunch.

I love butternut squash. This looks great to me. I'm still waiting for the book. I actually have 3 cookbooks at home I need to finish but I suspect this one is going to be a favorite.

No work today due to the cold, so cookies were made! Kitchen Sink Chocolate Cookies to be exact. The recipe was followed exactly except mixed nuts (chopped up because some were quite large!) were used instead of just peanuts. Excellent! Isa Does It is now officially my favorite cookbook.

Tracy, It's 11 pm and I'm now hungry for both breakfast and dessert. I'm sure I'll love this book.

I love Isa Does It! What a beautiful book with amazing looking recipes. I made the Wild Rice Soup with a few changes. Delicious! I chose not to add the seitan and added close to 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms instead. I also added a can of white beans and four loosely packed cups of chopped kale. I did need to add another cup of water at the end because of all the solids in the soup. To reduce calories, I have been sauteeing with no oil, just adding broth or water to keep vegetables from sticking. Since my package of wild rice suggested a 55 minute cook time, I sauteed the onions added the broth and wild rice and simmered them for 25 minutes. Then I added everything else to the pot except the white beans and kale and continued cooking for 25 more minutes. Lastly, I added the beans and kale and cooked for 5 more minutes. The fusion of flavors is excellent!

Deborah, I love wild rice soup, but have never eaten seitan (still a little scared), so i love your substitution of mushrooms. It sounds absolutely delicious, so this may have to be the next soup I make...

Also, if anyone is an instagram user I just saw this FB update from Post Punk kitchen talking about a photo contest of recipes from Isa Does It!

http://www.theppk.com/2014/01/isalove...

Don wrote: "sunflower mac - I liked this. It had a good flavor of vegetables from the broth and carrots. I liked that it uses sunflower seeds instead of the usual cashew.

I don't think, or I hope she doesn't ..."

I made this the other day and I really liked it too. I was surprised I could taste the carrots on day 1. When i had leftovers for lunch today the flavors had melded more and I could no longer distinctly taste carrots. I love carrots, but preferred this dish on day two- even though it didn't look quite as good... I liberally sprinkled paprika over it just before eating. Don't think I've ever done that before...

Don wrote: "Those cookies look awesome!"

Thanks! They tasted even better!

Deborah, I think I'd love that soup the way you made it. It sounds perfect. I love all those ingredients.

I'm really looking forward to getting this book. I suspect I'll wish to own it, but I don't have books in my budget this year, so I may have to keep borrowing it from the library.

I will try this recipe, Don. Looks so tasty..

Seitan and Wild Mushroom Stew. Wow! I know Don made this earlier,but I needed to comment as well. I did not have dried wild mushrooms but had dried shiitaki mushrooms on hand, so I used them. I also used just two sausages instead of three (Trader Joe's). The flavor was incredible! I had leftovers tonight--just as good. I was happy that the seitan sausages did not absorb liquid and become mushy. I will definitely be making this again!

Don, or anyone, Have you ever tried leaving out the coconut milk, or substituting something else for it, in these kinds of recipes?

I made the Borscht recipe a few weeks ago and plan on making it again tonight. It was very tasty and satisfying. I believe I added some herbs (dill and something else) for extra goodness.

Thanks, Don. I am a huge curry fan too, but while I seem to be able to take some coconut milk in Thai dishes I've had in restaurants, I'm not really a fan and never buy it for dishes I make.

Any ideas what might be a good substitute for the liquid?

ETA: LIke you, Don, I like my soups, stews, and other dishes thick, so I'm thinking that for some recipes simply leaving out the milk might work. I'd have to look at the recipes and I think I could tell if doing that would work.

That looks very appetizing!

I just made the seitan and wild mushroom stew and I agree with Deborah. It is amazing. I'm having a lot of fun with this cookbook.

Hi, Susan. I see you commented in another Isa Chandra Moskowitz thread too, but I wanted to officially welcome you to the group!

Thanks, Lisa. I think almost everything I make comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's website. I just realized the stew recipe I mentioned is on there under the name seitan porcini beef stew, so no one has to wait for the book if they want to try it.

Susan, You eat well then. Her recipes are wonderful!

Looks delicious, Don. I may try it out this week as I have frozen cooked lentils on hand.

Don wrote: "Hope it turns out good Deborah..let us know.

Seitan & broccoli with pantry bbq sauce - I used Beyond Meat chicken strips which was very good in this recipe. To me the outstanding flavor was the pe..."

I like this recipe a lot too. It is very easy. A lot of times, I use vegetarian duck from the Asian market and sometimes tofu. I love your pictures.

Just wanted to say that I bought this book at TJ Maxx for only $10. I have not tried any recipes from it yet but her Vegan With a Vengeance is one of my favorites.

Carol wrote: "Just wanted to say that I bought this book at TJ Maxx for only $10. I have not tried any recipes from it yet but her Vegan With a Vengeance is one of my favorites."

Carol, Welcome to the group. That's a real bargain. I hope you enjoy the book. If you have any experiences you'd like to share when using it/with the food/recipes, please post.

Thank you, Lisa, for your warm welcome.

Just FYI: She's opening up a restaurant in Omaha!:

http://www.modernloveomaha.com/

I haven't been in Omaha since I was 3. This restaurant will make it a destination place for me and some other vegans. I hope this one restaurant becomes many, including one closer to where I am.

Don, I'm certainly enjoying your pictures! Thanks.