Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I made the savory chutney muffins this morning and they are fab.

Carrot ginger burgers - the flavor of these is really complex and I need to make them again. I've been dreaming about them since I tested them
Bacon Cheeseburger - this, and variations of are the go-to burger when we're grilling
Pepperoni - I think we ate this for pizza night Fridays for months. I really need to make it again. The spices are perfect.
Brie - I really want to stuff this into some puff pastry for a fancy appetizer. Even the cheese addicts loved it.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake - This was surprisingly tender and moist (hehe, moist), with a really nice crumb. I don't recall needing any super special ingredients.
Sweet Potato Bars - Holy crepe, these were amazing, I had to restrain myself
Sesame Orange Tempeh with Caramelized Onions Pizza was really tasty
Cherry Glazed Tofu - It sounds weird, but if you love cherries, give it a try, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was, and since my husband doesn't like cherries, I had to eat it all myself - poor me!

That's all I can remember for now.

I really need to make those hot dogs and the corn dogs. Maybe I'll make mini ones if we have a party.

Still waiting for my copy to arrive! I am so impatient. Especially reading what you guys are saying.

This just pushed me over the edge, this is definitely the book I'm getting myself with this week's pay.

I've had this in my Amazon cart for awhile...I think I'm going to get it pretty soon!

I picked this book up last week and have read through it multiple times already. What an adorable book.

So far I've tried two recipes -- the hot dogs and the chili con carne (for chili dogs!). The hot dogs looked like hot dogs, which was pretty exciting. I ate my first dog right out of the oven though and it was not as flavorful as I expected. I think these will improve from sitting in my fridge so that the flavors can develop. (I'm planning to foreman grill them, unless someone would like to propose a superior method.) The chili was good, but I think next time I will thicken it with tomato paste instead of flour.

I think next up will be the pepperoni sprinkles.

How effective is this book when it actually comes to veganizing recipes? I have a family recipe with 12 eggs and a pound of butter for black cake, and I can't figure out how to veganize it without ruining it. Would this book be thorough enough to help me with that?

Niev, I think your best bet would probably be to gauge some opinions on this board. The substitution info is good but if you've already been at the vegan thing for a while a lot of it is old news, e.g. standard egg replacers like yoghurt, silken tofu, flax, banana, starch, apple sauce. It's pretty comprehensive but relies on you knowing what the 'egg' is for, binding, leavening, or moisture. It doesn't really give any hard and fast rules and allows you to pick the one you like. 12 eggs is a lot to replace, I would consult the baking experts! My gut feeling says soy yoghurt with some apple sauce but I'm not anything near professional and I still shudder at how that could replace 12 eggs. Butter should be simple enough to sub with non-dairy marg.

I'd also ask, do you have to separate the eggs and whip the white? Because that adds a whole layer of complexity.

How effective is it? I mean...it tells you what you can use, and how to use it, and gives examples, and recipes, the rest is sort of up to you...

I would say that I didn't learn a whole lot in the veganization sections, which are spread throughout the book. Granted, I've been vegan for over a decade; a newbie would probably get much more use out of these parts.

I found the sections on replacing eggs and milk products particularly helpful. It gives you an idea of how to determine the function of these ingredients in a recipe and suggestions for which substitutions work best based upon the function of the original ingredient. It also tells you how to make items like sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk that you can't just buy vegan versions of. There are also icons in the recipes that show you which ingredients are "substitutions" in a particular recipe so that you can get an idea of what ingredients work in what type of recipe.

I guess it will depend on your level of kitchen knowledge, but I've been baking my whole life and still picked up some new information.

I never even thought of that. I don't have the recipe with me right now, so I'd have to check at a later date. I probably will ask the board's opinion. I really miss black cake at Christmas time, so I'll probably ask around summer when I have time to test it.

My copy finally arrived! I am only about half way through reading it, but wow! I am so glad I got it. I can't believe there was ever a time where I thought I would not get it. *love*

The egg substitution info consists of 'the usual suspects' that are good for replacing 2 or 3 eggs. I was a bit disappointed that meringues - which require methods that are at best works in progress - weren't mentioned. The number one questions I hear about egg subs involve things like divinity where common egg replacement techniques just don't apply. I understand wanting to be positive and upbeat but the one brief mention of the limitations was probably insufficient in a 'complete' guide.

But, on the positive side the information given is good and reasonably thorough. Plus, even if someone has a handle on the hows and whys this book has a lot of recipe value. Just great, useful recipes. I was pleasantly surprised. It is uncommon for a book to pay for itself with a single recipe that proves SO useful I can't remember life before it. :) TCGTVFS has 'sorta yogurt'. I use soygurt all the time in baking but never have it on hand when I need it. Now I do. Sorta.

I got all reviewy there, sorry ...

I really love the dry mix for mac n cheese sauce - the only veg mac n cheese I really loved before was (I think) Vegan Dad's, baked, so it's great to have a quicker and simpler mac n cheese. It's probably the first really nooch heavy thing I love too. I can't get over how simple but good it is.

The socca look amazing, I hope I try them before tomatoes aren't in season anymore.

The socca IS amazing.

Make the socca! Tomatoes aren't in season here for months and months and I want to live vicariously through you!

I'm way too lazy to get up and look at what it's called but there's a totally brilliant red pasta salad dressing that I always
have when I've got silken tofu to use, which is often. It's fab on pasta but you can use it as a slaw dressing or dipping sauce too.

Just got my copy! I've been cooking vegan for just about a year now (and had just about zero cooking experience prior, unless you count throwing frozen entrees from the freezer to the microwave). So far, I've been living out of vegan cookbooks, but I'm really excited to start experimenting with veganizing some of my old favorite recipes. I think this book will be invaluable. I already learned something new - the buttermilk trick (non-dairy milk and lemon juice or vinegar). I can make my old favorite Irish soda bread vegan! Whee! :)

Looking forward to digging into this book!

For the buttermilk thing you get best results with soymilk. The only reason I keep it on hand since I prefer almond milk for most uses. In biscuits at least soured soy works better than other common nondairy milks.

I've been following Celine's blog for years now, and I was so excited for this book! The pictures are beautiful and I love how small the book is -- after I bought it, I was carrying it around in my purse and reading it when I found time. I love the gluten and sugar substitutes sections of the book, because I am currently avoiding both! I can't wait to try the raw cocoa bars. :)

Also, if you haven't already, try the smoky potato wedges -- yum!

I hadn't planned what to make for dinner yesterday, so on the way out the door for work I just threw the book in my handbag and flipped through it on my lunch break. I love it!

Anyway, we have a friend staying with us for a few weeks while she does an internship in our town, she's omni but yesterday she told me that she's decided to give up meat. And after looking at all my cookbooks, she's decided to buy this one first! It might have been the toffalo wings and wedges that I made the other night that persuaded her.

I have made the macadamia brie. I had to cook it for about 10 minutes or so longer because it was still super wibbly wobbly, and the top didn't brown quite as much as the photo in the book, so next time I might need to bake for a bit longer.
It was delicious though, and so pretty.

I made the Danish pastry things yesterday afternoon for a quick snack. So good, but the filling is like molten lava when it runs down your chin, so try to let them cool a bit. It's difficult though, because they're so good.

I really want to make these! Would you say they would go over well as a savoury option at a bake sale?

I made the eggs benedict last night. I loved the "ham", but the hollandaise was kind of weird...I think I don't understand what hollandaise is supposed to taste like and I wanted to keep adding lemon juice and cayenne to mine.