Cookbook Review: The Oh She Glows Cookbook

I love Oh She Glows.

I discovered this plethora of plant-based deliciousness several years ago, when I was avoiding animal products in my diet. Her website has concise recipes, beautiful food photography, cute commentary ... and the recipes DELIVER! There are so many recipes that I have bookmarked on my computer, and I refer to them frequently. Here are a few of my favorites:

• High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto
• Two Layer Raw Chocolate Brownies
• Curried Lentil Soup

Angela Liddon is a self-trained chef, whom found herself seeking inventive and delicious ways to incorporate nutritious plant-based meals into her life. She had previously struggled with an eating disorder and chronic IBS, and had overcome these challenges and created her blog. Years later, she is now an author - and a mommy-to-be (her pregnancy updates are pretty darn cute - check them out here).

Thusly, I had high expectations for the cookbook. I was expecting the same beautiful photos, amazing recipes, and catchy commentary.

Visual Appeal

Beautiful photography. Throughout the book.

I wanted to eat the meals right off the page. Everything looks delectable!

Recipe Ease

I made two recipes for two separate occasions. The first was Luxurious Tomato-Basil Pasta ...

... and the second was Glowing Strawberry-Mango Guacamole.

The recipes are laid out in a simple manner, with clear instructions, and with tips for those who might want other alternatives. For the guacamole, I did not opt to add jalapeno!

Replication

The photo:

The reality:

The end results were not as glamorous as the photos from the cookbook, but they were attractive and smelled tasty. That was also the pasta sauce before the actual pasta was added - I promise it was much prettier when it was all completed!!

Flavor

Oops!

The Luxurious Tomato-Basil Pasta was so delicious, that my dinner partner and myself inhaled it before any photos could be taken. It was really that good. Creamy texture, flavorful, filling. I may have even had seconds!

The Guacamole was prepared the evening before a work potluck/BBQ. I prepared all of the ingredients and tossed them together before I headed for the gathering the next day.

It was a hit. I was told by several co-workers that they enjoyed the mango guacamole/salsa, which is an impressive feat considering the amount of cookies/cupcakes/dip, etc that was available.

Since I had doubled the recipe, I had some leftovers. I used them atop salad as a "dressing", and it was FANTASTIC.

Taste Test

The pasta was enjoyed by my dining partner, although he added some chili peppers to it. He tends to be fond of spicy foods, so I think it's more an ode to his own personal tastes than him disliking the pasta. 

The salsa was enjoyed by my co-workers. As well, I shared some with a friend who was raving that he enjoyed it - eating it by the spoonful, or with chips!

I continued to be impressed with the Oh She Glows cookbook, as I continue to try other recipes with great success. For anyone who's never been (you're seriously missing out!) - check out her blog as well: Oh She Glows

HIGHLY recommended, especially for anyone looking to incorporate more nutritious, plant-based meals into their repertoire that also tastes fantastic.

Cookbook Review: Gluten-Free & Vegan Bread

As promised, a post about gluten-free bread!

I tend to avoid the store-bought bread options, as they have eggs and/or dairy, which I don't tolerate well. Thus, I am left with the option of either forgoing bread forever or making my own loafs.

A life without toast? Sandwiches? FRENCH TOAST?!?!

Not a fun life whatsoever!

I used the cookbook Gluten Free & Vegan Bread: Artisanal Recipes to Make at Home by Jennifer Katzinger.

Jennifer is the founder and former owner of Flying Apron Bakery in Seattle, which is certified gluten-free and vegan! This is her third cookbook.

In reviewing this cookbook, I considered Visual Appeal (aka photos), Recipe Ease, Replication (aka did it turn out?), Flavor, Taste Test.

Visual Appeal

One of my favorite parts of a good cookbook is lots of attractive, delicious photos. I find it helpful in guiding me in the right direction of how my food SHOULD look, and an appealing photo makes me want to make the recipe even more! This book has very, very attractive photos, but not very many.

However, due to the fact that gluten-free and vegan cookbooks are a rare find - I let this slide.  And drooled over the photos that ARE in the cookbook.

Recipe Ease

I chose to make the Quinoa Sandwich Bread.

I followed this recipe to point, and I found it fairly simple. This is one of the yeasted breads in the cookbook. There are some recipes that seem more complicated, such as the ones which require a wild starter and breads that need to be carefully watched as they rise, but I figured those can await another day. I did trial the Holiday Irish Soda Bread, which is considered a 'quick bread', but it mostly resembled a hockey puck. 

Being a Canadian girl, I can appreciate anything hockey ...  but I don't want to eat a puck.

Replication

While there is no photo in the cookbook for comparison to the recipe, but I'd say the outcome was a success:

My home was filled with the scent of warm bread, and I waited impatiently for it to cool so that I could try it.

Flavor

This bread was nice and dense, as to be expected with gluten-free bread, but tasted light a lighter bread. I had it regular and toasted - it was great both ways... and I was pleasantly surprised it toasted fairly well (I like my bread very lightly toasted).

I trialled freezing the bread, as I don't eat bread very often so I usually freeze loafs. I sliced the bread, wrapped each slice in plastic wrap, then put into a large freezer bag.

And waited three days.

It was solid as a rock, but once it was popped into the toaster ... good as fresh!

My favorite way to eat this bread is toasted, with organic PB and honey. Delicious!

Taste Test

My favorite people to taste-test my recipes on are my friends, and in this case it was a gluten-eating, non-vegan friend. 

He approved, said it tasted as good as regular bread. Success!!

I will be making further recipes from this book and will post to review, my next plan is to create this:

Yum.

I'd better hurry off, as I have a plane to catch to Canada's capital city: Ottawa, Ontario!

Have a fantastic weekend!!