Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I just wanted to throw some props out for this cookbook as I never see it getting much play on these boards. It is really one of my favorites - everything I make from it is really good. I made the Indian Quinoa yesterday and it was outstanding. The Tempeh & Potato Salad is another one of my favorites (really, any of the tempeh dishes) and the Peanut Butter & Jam cookies are pretty much my favorite cookies ever.

It's a real shame, I've had this book for almost 2 years but haven't made much from it. The tempeh cutlets (not their real name - the ones where you make little patties of a tempeh-gluten mix and then bake them) are tasty though. And her peanut-sesame dressing is my favorite peanut sauce ever, I make it monthly. And the golden gravy too, delicious. Ooh I am looking for some new quinoa ideas so maybe I'll try the Indian one - thanks for mentioning it!

I love the mac n' cheese, nachos, and tortilla soup. ooooo, that tortilla soup!

oh, yeah, the golden gravy is my go-to gravy recipe.

She has a new cookbook out now, called Vegan Family Meals. So far I've made three recipes from it: My Nicoise (amazing), Maple Dijon Tempeh and Vegetable Stew (good) and Kung Pao Tofu and Vegetables (turned out almost as excellent as the RFD restaurant special).

I've also been thinking that the vegan chevre, unbaked, would make an amazing and healthy cheesy spread with some fresh herbs added to it. I had to make it for the Nicoise salad and it was a very simple recipe.

I live in Los Angeles so I have had the opportunity to eat at RFD. One of my favorite dishes from the restaurant which I have not made yet but which can be found in the RFD cookbook is the nachos (or not-chos as they now call them), esp. with the seitan taco stuff added and with the jalapeno "cheese."

Mine too!

I also love the tempeh and potato salad, and the mexicali chop salad. I think I made and liked the caesar too.

Some of the recipes put me off with all the sub-recipes (the supreme burrito has SEVEN other things you need to make), and the fact that the amounts don't match up (it will call for 3 cups of something, but the sub-recipe makes 4 cups). Also some of them are pricey (tofu ricotta uses 2/3 cup of miso, which is most of the little tub I have). BUT, everything I've made has been great! I've been meaning to try the tortilla soup.

I like that book. The cashew cheese is amazing. The soups are great. I really like all of the condiments and salads. I bought my mum Vegan Family Meals because it seemed like the kind of book she'd get great use out of (she loves making salads and soups and though she isn't vegan, likes cooking vegan).

Excellent restaurant. Coming up on 20 years! Had no idea there was a cookbook.

The nachos are indeed formidable. I'll be eating them again next week.

I love the cashew cheese. Although out of laziness I usually turn it into a sauce by leaving out the agar -- then I can just throw everything in the Vitamix and a few minutes later have warm cashew cheese sauce ... so good! And I use their method for the chicken-style seitan all the time, although I usually use the white seitan recipe in VV and triple it. I do need to make more out of it, I tend to go back to my favorites every time.

I was just going to ask if anyone had done this! Agar and I have a rocky relationship, and I tried and failed to make this cheese once before. (Though there's an agar-less version of this recipe in The Vegan Table, so I figured it would be ok). I think I need nachos this weekend.

Thanks for this! I have always wanted to make the cashew cheese but I always get put off by having to buy agar. It is $75 a lb at my local coop! I just can't see spending $8-9 dollars on one ingredient.

Yeah, Collen Patrick Goudreau's adaptation in Color Me Vegan and Vegan Table uses cornstarch to thicken it.

I was just going to ask if anyone had done this! Agar and I have a rocky relationship, and I tried and failed to make this cheese once before. (Though there's an agar-less version of this recipe in The Vegan Table, so I figured it would be ok). I think I need nachos this weekend.[/quote]

Thanks for this! I have always wanted to make the cashew cheese but I always get put off by having to buy agar. It is $75 a lb at my local coop! I just can't see spending $8-9 dollars on one ingredient.[/quote]
Yeah, Collen Patrick Goudreau's adaptation in Color Me Vegan and Vegan Table uses cornstarch to thicken it.[/quote]

Great, I have Color Me Vegan! I'll check it out. thanks!

We went to RFD for the first time last weekend! Wowzers, it was amazing! So amazing that I bought the RFD cookbook and Vegan Family meals this week.

Anyone have clues to how they make their sea cakes at the restaurant? I was bummed there wasn't a recipe for it in either cookbook because they were sooooo good!

I haven't tried their sea cakes so I'm not sure what they are, but I think this might require a recon trip up to LA.

a way late reply, but i found the "telephone brand" of agar agar (the kind isa and terry recommend in their vegan pies book) for $1.49 a pack at my local asian store.

i love this book so much. over the years I have made sooo many recipes from it.
just off the top of my head, here are a few of my favorites:
TORTILLA SOUP (insane) (and those little tortilla crisps are awesome too)
Asparagus soup
Broccoli soup
Mexicali Chop Salad
Spinach Filo Triangles (and the butternut ones too)
Grilled Herb Tofu
The Club Sandwich is a lot of work, but totally delish!
Quinoa Veg Soup
There's some sauteed veggie dish that's really simple and also super tasty...
... and so on and so forth!

No idea what's in the seacakes but I agree they are excellent. RFD is one of my favorite restaurants here in LA. Which location did you go to? I haven't been to the Pasadena one yet, but I spotted celebrities the first couple times I ate at the one on West Hollywood (this was five years ago--not sure if it's still that trendy). I mostly eat at the Santa Monica location, which I love.

We went to the West Hollywood spot. It was great! Maybe I will try to make my own version of the sea cake. I need them in my life!

Guys, the best recipe in this book, hands down, is the tempeh loaf. I dream about it, covered in golden gravy.

The quinoa veg soup is a staple at our house, as are the black beans.

I really like both of Ann Gentry's books. I think my favorite recipe in The Real Food Daily Cookbook is Black Bean Soup with Jalapeno-Lime Creme. It's absolutely amazing and is, hands down, my favorite black bean soup recipe of all time. Her recipe for Southern-Style Skillet Corn Bread is another favorite.