Dishes That Didn't Make the Cut
I like to blog everything I make, but I don't like sharing recipes that I didn't love because I feel like it's recommending something that I actually wouldn't. I did a couple of "unbloggable" posts before, and so I guess this is another one. These dishes were not bad at all, and certainly edible, just not my thing.
Janet loved these mango BBQ beans from Appetite for Reduction, and I love pretty much everything Janet posts, so I tried them. I thought they were just okay and was disappointed to not taste the mangoes. I didn't have liquid smoke though, which Janet says is an essential ingredient. So I'll give these another try some day and hopefully they'll be better.
This goddess niçoise salad (also from Appetite for Reduction) is gorgeous. I love the presentation! But for all the work that goes into it, the taste wasn't good enough for me to do it again. The salad WAS good though, and had someone else served it to me I'd be happy. The dressing was just okay and I'd try it with another dressing.
This vegetarian pasta bolognese from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health was alright but not too flavourful. And I should've added more vegetables and less pasta. I haven't come across many recipes in this book that I love so if you have the cookbook, please please tell me which ones you like.
This is the olive oyl pasta from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. There's nothing wrong with this pasta, it's okay just nothing special. It has garlic, basil, oregano, tomatoes and olives. Though I must mention that ED&BV is one of my all time favourite cookbooks.
This is baked white beans with roasted garlic, lemon and herbs from Janet who adapted from Affairs of Living. For a bean lover I'm sure this dish is lovely. And I did enjoy it on the first day. But it lasted forever and was just too high in the bean to other stuff ratio. I don't fault the recipe though. If you like beans, I do recommend you try it because it's something different.
This is pad see ew from Vegan Yum Yum. It wasn't bad, I just think there must be better recipes out there. Maybe it had too many noodles or not enough sauce. Though this wasn't an amazing recipe, Vegan Yum Yum is fast becoming one of my favourite cookbooks.
10 comments:
This is the vegan Pad Thai recipe that I use: http://www.kalewithlove.blogspot.com/2011/12/vegetable-pad-thai.html
Maybe it can be an alternative to the pad see ew.
I might try that white bean recipe, thanks for sharing!!
Best,
Sasha from Kale With Love
The Moosewood Cooking for Health is not my favorite Moosewood book either. I haven't tried a lot of the recipes, but my favorite by far has to be the Tofu, Leek and Almond Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. They're fantastic! Vegan Yum Yum is one of my favorites as well, I just happen to be eating the Potato-Leek Soup right now!
Oh no! I feel responsible for 2 of your unbloggables!! Ack!! But yeah, the mango baked beans don't taste like mango but they give a nice sweetness.
great post even if they aren't all your cuppa tea - love the goddess salad picture - it is gorgeous - and I must look up the vegan yum yum pad see ew as I tried this last year and loved it but had never come across this dish before
I've made the pasta with tomato-peach sauce (SO good) and the pasta with chard and cranberries (which you know about already) from that book...but I'm usually pretty uninspired by it when I flip through it. Everything sounds good but not blogworthy.
Thanks so much everyone for your recommendations! :) I will check them all out.
Love your photo of the goddess salad, what a shame it didn't taste as good as it looks. I wasn't a fan of the mango BBQ beans from AFR either as I found them too sweet for my taste. Have never felt compelled to try to the pad see ew from Vegan Yum Yum, probably because I prefer spicier types of noodles to these ones.
I always post about dishes I wasn't fond of...I like being able to remember what dishes I didn't like and why, and I also think it might be helpful for other people who might be considering making the dish.
I have to say, those pasta salads do look pretty tasty though...
Hey! I left my cookbook at home and was searching for the recipe for the Goddess Nicoise so I can make "tuna salad" sandwiches tonight... the full salad is a bit of a pain, but that tuna is yummy!
But I caught your question about Cooking for Health--yeah, I've had such underwhelming results from that book, too. The only two recipes I've really tried and liked have been the Pomegranate Tofu (which is one of my hands-down favorite, go-to, super-easy, low-chopping, impress the omnis kind of recipes, esp. if you up the soy sauce and mustard) and the Date-Pecan Stuffed Apple recipe (which is a little straightforward, but a nice, yummy idea).
Can't wait to explore your blog more!
Samantha: Thanks so much for the suggestions for what to try from Cooking for Health! :) I haven't tried either of those so will have to check them out.
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