Cookbook Challenge Week 40 - The Vegg Cookbook

This week I have been cooking from the Vegg Cookbook by Rocky Shepherd/Sandy Defino, and I am completely divided over this book.
The recipes are not written by one specific person, but are a collection of recipes from different cookery writers/bloggers or chefs using the Vegg. The are a couple of advantages to this, the first being that there are several recipes in the book for similar meals (3 Omelets, 2 scrambled tofu/vegg recipes, a couple quiches) so if you don’t like one you can always use another, the second advantage being that if there is a recipe that you don’t like it won’t mar the book for you as the rest of the recipes are from other people.
However there is also the disadvantage that there can be a lack of consistency (different contributors may be using US cups/UK cups/Australian Cups and some of the recipes use grams and ounces as well).

I was going to make 10 recipes but didn’t want to run out of Vegg so cut it down to 8, 2 of which were a failure with the other 6 being wonderful:

The Bad:

Vegg Omelet - page 15:
This was awful, a combination of firm tofu (recipe didn’t state to use silken so I didn’t), Vegg, soy milk  and oil. It didn’t cook very well and was basically a tasteless lump of blended tofu:

Spaetzle German Vegg Noodles:
This was one of the recipes that I was really looking forward to and disappointed me the most.
The batter looked ok but as soon as it got through the ricer into the hot water it turned it to a weird lump which tasted awful:

The good

Tofu Vegg Omelet - page 23:
This was a really good recipe using Silken Tofu, it was full of flavour and had the consistency of a egg omelette without the chicken periods, the only omelette that I have made which surpassed this was the Denver Bitchette from Skinny Bitch:

 
Broccoli Quiche:
I have mad loads of recipes for quiche in the past and this was a really good one. It had a strong egg taste that I’m not used to so I may try and water it down next time (maybe add some extra tofu in), but other than that it was a definite winner, although the Real men eat quiche Lorraine from Hearty Vegan Meals is still my fave:

Scrambled tofu:
This recipe is perfect for those vegans who really miss eggs, its probably the closest thing to scrambled eggs that I have tried since turning vegan and was quick and simple to make using only a handful of ingredients, sometimes I prefer scrambled tofu not to taste like egg (but rather just a savoury scramble) but for those times when you really do want something eggy its perfect.
Just the thing for a lazy Sunday morning:

Pots O' Chocolate
This was a really excellent recipe, it could have done with a bit more time in the fridge as it was a bit sloppy, other than that I really can’t complain. It’s a really decadent dessert without being stodgy or too filling:

Summer Veggie Casserole
This was unexpectedly good, its basically a load of veg mixed with vegg and breadcrumbs (recipe stated Panko but I could not get them so used Tesco golden) and it was great and really easy to make (most of my prep was carried out the night before). I don’t know what I really expected from it but it tasted fantastic, kind of a cross between a pie and a casserole (tasted like pie with a thick eggy casserole consistency):

Lemon Curd:
So I have saved the best for last, I have not had lemon curd in the 6 years since turning vegan and even though its not something that I have really missed it has always bugged me that I couldn’t buy a vegan version.
This recipe is outstanding, it had quite a strong lemon flavour  - I’m not complaining about this (this was probably due to my juicer which is extremely effective at juicing lemons so I may have used a bit more juice than was called for) so I might add some extra water and extra cornflour next time to make it go further, but I will definitely be making this again. Its the best recipe I have tried in weeks, delicious, easy to make, lower in calories than normal jam and completely brilliant:

Overall I really liked the book, its a bit like a treasure hunt – you have to keep trying recipes until you find the hidden gems (like the angelic lemon curd or the scrambled Vegg) so I will be getting some more Vegg next time I get paid and will be trying more of the recipes to see if I can find more treasure!

Cookbook Challenge Week 37 - The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

This week I have been cooking from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook from Joanne Stepaniak. I wanted to buy this book for a while but it was always quite expensive (£18 range), however I decided to splash out a few weeks ago and unfortunately I have to say that although the recipes look brilliant, some I found disappointing.

The Uncheeses -

Muenster - I have never had Muenster before I became Vegan so I don't have anything to compare this with, I found it a little bland and uninspiring.

Swizz - I was going to make the Monterey Jack but the recipe was almost identical to the Muenster so I opted for the Swizz instead and I'm glad I did. I had a lot more taste and was far better than the Muenster.

Colby - This was my favourite of the 4 I made, flavoured with pepper and garlic it tasted really lovely and I will be trying it again although possibly with more red pepper. The only fault I found with it (I also found it with the Gee Whiz Spread which I made on the same day) was that it tasted too much of lemon. I used to specified amount in the recipe but it was a little too sharp and lemony, I will definitely use less next time.

Gee Whiz Spread - This was a nice spreadable cheez with a good taste, it worked really well spread on sandwiches or on toast and got better the longer it was left in the fridge, a reviewer on Amazon recommended making this with chickpeas instead of the white beans which I might try as I think they would be an improvement.

Overall I liked the cheeses, the only thing I didn't like was the texture. They didn't contain as much agar as other vegan cheese recipes so I found these a little crumbly/watery. This might be down to my agar or it could be intentional by the author to help the cheeses melt but if I use these recipes again I will throw a bit more in to firm them up:

Above is Muenster (Bottom right with the red tinge to the top) and Swiz Cheese (Top Right)

Above is Gee Whiz Spread (Small tub on the left) and Colby (Big chunks in the centre)

Gooey Grilled Cheese - I was really looking forward to this, I followed the recipe to the letter and ended up with a very lemony tasting grilled cheese (maybe my lemons are just a bit too strong?). Very disappointing.

Classic Quiche - The texture of this was really good (chickpea flour helped with that) but I found the taste disappointing. There was was bit of nutritional yeast and nutmeg in this for flavouring, but other than that it was missing out on a lot of taste. I put some mushrooms and vegan ham in but they didn't add much flavour either, it really could have been improved with some onion & garlic powder and maybe some soya sauce/tamari/liquid aminos:

Traditional Macaroni & Cheese - I was really looking forward to this but it really was as fantastic as I expected. It certainly wasn't bad, but I have had far better vegan versions in the last few years (I topped mine with some vegan parmesan for extra taste):

Cheezy Rice and Broccoli Casserole - this was quite good, the texture was nice and it was quick and easy to make, the only improvement I would make would be the addition of some onion powder, maybe some soya cheese and a bit more nutritional yeast: 

Philly Potato Chowder - This was really good, a thick and cheesey soup topped with fake bacon bits. Lovely and definitely one to make again:

Cheez-A-Roni - The best recipe that I tried, it was a combination of tomatoes, Gee Whiz Spread, nutritional yeast and pasta. It was a very tasty, quick and easy to make comfort food which I will definitely be making again:

Overall I did like this book, some of the recipes weren't great but they were really quick to make and it gave me some great ideas for making Vegan cheeses that are a lot faster to make than those in Artisan Vegan Cheese, with a few tweaks I think they could be really great (that notwithstanding my favourite is still the Smokey Mountain Cheese from Vegan Diner). I also now have a few new items in my "to cook regularly" list from this book so thats always a plus and there are some other recipes that I really want to try from it (peanut butter fudge pie anyone?).

Cookbook Challenge Week 28 - The Vegan Boulangerie

This week I have been cooking from The Vegan Boulangerie by Marianne & Jean-Michel.
I have been wanting to cook from this book for ages (I once made the profiteroles which were excellent), but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in some of the recipes that I tried:

Tomato & Herb Roule -
I was exited to try this recipe as I love tomato breads but I was disappointed, the herbs were too powerful and the texture was very doughy:

Sandwich Jardinier - this was actually quite nice, it was carrot, mushrooms, tomato, sunflower seeds, celery, soy sauce, mustard & chives.  It wasn't the best or tastiest sandwich in the world, but it filled a hole.

Sandwich Parisien - Gherkins, vegan ham, lettuce, marg & salt. Bit of a disappointment really, I expected something a bit better and found this very lacklustre:

Quiche Lorraine  - I was really looking forward to this and again was disappointed. It tasted overwhelmingly of French Mustard & nutmeg. However it didn't look much like the black and white photo in the book so I decided to try it again the next day. The recipe states you should layer the onions & fake bacon in the case, then put the quiche filling on top and bake, which led to the quiche having a big layer of egg style filling with a base of onion & facon. When I made it a second time, I mixed the onion & facon into the filling, placed it in the case, baked it and let it cool first. The result was far far better. Much more like quiche Lorraine.

Onion Tart - this was one of the recipes that I did like, it was a layer of pastry covered with a creamy tomato sauce, topped with fried onions and baked. It was delicious, very plain and simple but sometimes the best things are:

Croque Monsieur - this was my favourite recipe, I have made this sandwich before using my own recipe which I prefer, but this was still really good - fake ham, vegan cheese & pasta sauce between layers of "buttered" bread toasted:

Overall as I said before I found most of the recipes a bit disappointing, maybe thats because I had such high expectations for the book?  I won't be making any of these recipes again (with the possible exception of the last one) but I will be trying some of the other recipes  - some of the cakes look and sound divine, fingers crossed they turn out better.