I first heard of the author, Kathy Patalsky, when she was in a You Tube video with Eco-Vegan Gal last Christmas. I started following her channel and shortly after that, she came out with this book.
Before jumping into the details, I'll give my overall opinion. I tested a lot of recipes in this book and really liked pretty much everything we tried. I think we will get quite a bit of use out of it. Kathy's cooking style and taste seems similar to mine which is good but also means that I already created my own favorite versions of the meals included in this book. But you can always find something new and in this case, there are two recipes that we have already repeated because we liked them so much the first time. I've also replaced two of my old versions of recipes with hers as our new favorites. These alone make the book well worth the money! There is nothing fancy here but there is plenty of really tasty "normal" kinds of foods that anyone would like.
One of my favorite things from the start was that this book stays open, no matter what page you open it too. I hate having to prop cookbooks open. It is so frustrating!
The book starts with a three part introduction which includes some background information, suggestions for kitchen items (tools and ingredients), and 10 wellness tips. Nothing new here for me but I always enjoy reading these sections in books, if for nothing else, to be able to make sure I'm not missing out on anything new and exciting.
From there the book has 14 chapters of recipes and a final chapter of suggested menus. I made something from just about every section. Keep in mind that we are currently in late spring and the weather is finally warming up so that influenced which recipes we picked, Plus, for most of the meals, Kayleigh was doing the majority of the cooking. She had no problem following the recipes except for one night which was not the book's fault and I'll explain below. Also, it was very rare that we were all home at the same time and everything warmed up well later in the evening or the next day.
Breakfast
"Save the Day" Toast - This was breakfast number two on that same day. Yum, yum, yum. I wasn't able to keep my banana in long slices but it was still delicious. Obviously, I made two!
Bakery
Sandwiches
Burgers
BBQ Peanut Burgers - I loved this. I'm a big fan of BBQ anything so this made me happy. I ended up putting extra sauce on mine but Bill ate his plain.
Veggie Sides
Roasted Beets with Ginger and Citrus - Bill heard that beets help you recover after a bike ride so he keeps asking for them. Therefore, I jumped on this recipe because I was getting tired of plain roasted beets. These were pretty easy and a nice change.
Cakes Balls and Fritters
Green Island Fritters - Mine weren't really fritters because I baked them. Bill and I thought they were OK. These are Kayleigh's kind of thing but she had to work that night so I'll have to make these again sometime. They were really crumbly but not in a bad way. It mimicked the texture of fish fritters.
Salads
Blueberry Farro Spinach Salad - As I was preparing this post today, I came across this recipe and decided to add it to our dinner. We were working in the yard and Kayleigh had a friend over so I was very distracted and completely forgot about the almonds. They sound delicious but it was still really good without them.
Bowls
Appetizers, Sides, Snacks, and Party Platters
Pink Beet Walnut Dip - More beets so I had to try it. I made pita chips to go with it and we liked it but I don't know that I'll make it again. The texture bugged me a little. By the way, we didn't think it tasted like beets or walnuts so that may be a plus for some people!
Entrees
Favorite Vegan Mac and Cheese - This recipe is well named because, after trying at least 10 million vegan mac and cheese recipes, this really is our favorite. It is super creamy and warms up well the next day.
Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles with Veggies - Here's our big dud. Kayleigh and I have a great fondness for peanut sauces but something was off with this one. We ended up throwing it away and making something else. I don't know if we did something wrong or it just wasn't too our taste but this was a giant no for us. Plus I forgot to take a picture so it was a bad night all around.
Soups
Rainy Day Tomato Soup - I already had a favorite tomato soup. This one is better! I had a picture but it didn't look anything like in real life and, really, it is tomato soup. Everyone knows what that looks like!
Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies - Ginger and molasses? I have to try them! Very good, as expected.
Peanut Butter Brownies - I knew I had messed this up somehow when the recipe said to "pour" the batter into the pan but I had to press mine like a pie crust! I continued on though and they actually tasted good even though I don't think they were at all what they were supposed to be. Still haven't figured out where I went wrong.
Drinks, Sips and Smoothies
Watermelon Frosty - I remember watching one of Kathy's videos where she talks about putting frozen watermelon in a smoothie. My thought was "there is no way I'm buying a watermelon, chopping it up, and freezing it". Then Kayleigh's friend stayed the night and she likes watermelon so I ended up buying one. Since I had it, I figured I may as well freeze some of it and try this smoothie out. Seriously?!?! I've now bought two more watermelons and have had this almost every morning since. I can't even describe the taste other than to say it is delicious and perfect for the warm weather.
For The Kids
This is the only section we didn't try anything from. More evidence that my kid is now officially an adult. I feel old. Better go make more chocolate chip cookies to cheer me up!
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