Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I love the idea of her books, but I'm never really inspired to make anything. Maybe it's the layout? Lame, I know. I've got Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, Vegan Italiano, and Supermarket Vegan. Any recipes I need to try?

The Ligurian pesto recipe from Vegan Italiano is wonderful. It is so fresh and light.

I have to admit to having the same problem. I have Vegan Italiano, Tropical Vegan, and Supermarket Vegan, and other than a couple disastrous bombs from Tropical Vegan, all I've made is that pesto.

I've used Vegan Italiano and Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen probably more than any of my other cookbooks. But I usually prefer recipes with few, easily available ingredients and relatively short prep times, and most of the recipes in those books fit the bill. Also, I do eat an inordinate amount of pasta.

A few things from each that I've tried and liked:
VI - farfelle with sun-dried tomato-mint pesto; fusilli with caramelized onions and walnuts; linguine with parsley, garlic, coarse salt, and red pepper oil; spaghetti with red wine and rosemary marinara sauce
MVK - bruschetta with tomatoes and basil; fettuccine with spicy raw tomato, herb, and caper sauce; "enraged" penne; radiatore with herbed oven-roasted tomatoes; eggplant-couscous rolls with black olives and minted tomato sauce; orzo-stuffed peppers with basil and mint

I absolutely adore the Apple Cake recipe from Vegan Italiano and really liked the Thai Pumpkin Soup frm The Tropical Vegan Kitchen.

I agree, I have Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen and never really feel that compelled to use it, but everything I've made from it has been great. Most of the times I've used it have been when I've had a lot of one vegetable I've really needed to use and I've looked it up in the index. Every time, I ask myself why I don't use it more. Oh, and the currant cake is fantastic (but I skip the glaze, way too sweet for me).

It's especially great for cooking for vegan-skeptics. No sub-ingredients, and generally familiar flavors, but still exciting. Gonna go flip through it now.

I was originally turned off by Supermarket Vegan because the recipes looked too easy to be good. Like... if that only takes 20 minutes, it can't be that good. Buuuuuuuuuuuut.... I have made at least 5 or so things from it now, and they've actually all been great and super quick. The portions are kind of small though. It will be an entree and say 4 servings, but the fiance and I will demolish the entire thing. I suppose that's good when you're only cooking for 2 people though.

Some good'uns:

black bean & sweet potato burritos
gnocchi with red pepper sauce
jamaican coconut bean thing with cornbread topping (I forget the actual name of this one)
asian tofu/veggie stir-fry with hoisin sauce (probably not the exact name of this one either)

I really like the Baked Barley and Mushroom dish from MVK, but I love barley in general.

I have Tropical Vegan Kitchen but have only ever made one recipe from it (the African Bean and Potato Stew - very simple but also very tasty).

I just got Tropical Vegan out of the library but haven't tried anything yet. Any recommendations?

From Mediterranean Vegan, I absolutely ADORE the tomato/lentil stew. Very easy to make with canned ingredients.

I like the soups. I don't have my copy handy, but I know there were a number of delicious recipes in that section.

I see a lot of recipes I like in her books, but I can't stand the font and layout, so I don't use them as much as I want.

I like MVK because it doesn't use soy/meat subs, which can be uneasy on my tummy. I've made some soups and salads, nothing specific is coming to my mind. The lay-out is unappealing so I don't cook from it as much as I should considering how easy and cheap the recipes are.