Notes about Recipes in this book

• Carrot-banana muffins

  • mharriman on January 24, 2019

    These were good. I especially like the walnuts in the otherwise fairly soft muffin ( eaten five minutes out of oven). I was worried about two things: 1) that the dough came a bit over the top of the muffin cups and 2) the bake time of 40 minutes seemed very long for muffins. However, as stated, the muffins didn’t rise much , if any, so my fears about exploding muffins didn’t happen. The 40 minutes was a tad long for my oven. The tops of my muffins were quite browned and a cake pick inserted came out clean at 35 minutes. They were moist and delicately flavored. My husband and I liked them.

• Tofu-shiitake lettuce cups

  • mharriman on September 25, 2019

    I made this as a main dish for two of us, instead of as an appetizer for 8. It was very good, but took quite a while to put together... so much time that I'm not sure it’s ‘that’ good for all the effort. I’ve made other Asian lettuce cups that were as good, as healthy, and didn’t take nearly as much time. For me, it was another recipe from this book that requires the making of additional recipes beyond the main recipe. I made the aromatics (recipe elsewhere in book) and then the teriyaki sauce ( recipe elsewhere in book). Then I made the sugar/ vinegar liquid for the finishing topping. The actual stir frying of the shiitake mushrooms and tofu was a snap once all the other components were made.

• Smoked salmon with caper yogurt and tomato-onion relish

  • Alowishs on April 02, 2016

    (on page 58) Super, duper good! Everything easy except pickling onions takes time. Do it a day ahead or early morning. We doubled the recipe and ate it throughout the week. Becomes more flavorful over time. Yummo!

• Kale salad

  • leila_ub57fe on May 19, 2026

    Easy to modify to what you already have in your kitchen and it still comes out delicious.

• Quinoa tabbouleh

  • WFPLCleanEating on March 11, 2016

    The picture in the book looked nothing like the recipe I made. For starters, mine was very dark with red quinoa and red beets whereas the photo is much lighter in color. The recipe also did not list strawberries which could clearly be seen in the photo. Anyway, it was OK, perfectly adequate as a quinoa salad but not my favorite and not going to repeat it. - Jane

• Sweet potato-poblano soup

  • amcandelmo on November 27, 2022

    I found this to be really really flavorless

• Southwest bison meatball soup

  • mnaught on January 22, 2013

    This one is tasty but terrifically spicy. Cut them back to half if you don't like things too spicy.

• Bison chili

  • TrishaCP on December 17, 2013

    A perfectly spiced (for me) chili recipe- the chocolate notes were perfect with the bison. Watch the salt though. I used kosher salt, in the amount called for, and it was just on the verge of too salty.

• Seafood fideo

  • TrishaCP on April 07, 2014

    This wasn't bad, but I don't think I would make this again. The fault lies in the broth, which was just ok. The saffron was overpowered by the heat of the jalapeño, and it would have benefited from an alcoholic component to it, like sherry or Pernod, to add more depth of flavor.

• Albacore tuna with sweet and sour sauce

  • mharriman on March 09, 2021

    I ordered the fish from a Seattle fish company just to change up the fish we normally eat in our house. The albacore tuna took basically no time to pan sear and was tasty. We liked the sweet and sour sauce for the fish although it does call for a special Chinese vinegar that I ended up ordering just to make the dish. Husband liked this more than I did. I eat albacore tuna fish sandwiches all the time, but having albacore tuna as a fillet in a dinner entree isn’t something I can remember ordering at a restaurant or making at home. I think it’s a personal mindset thing- I associate tuna with lunch time sandwiches. Served with suggested steamed rice and a lettuce/ cucumber salad. This recipe is also in Weil’s Fast Food Good Food cookbook.

• Halibut with fingerling potatoes and umami sauce

  • Mollyh on May 10, 2014

    Can sub broccoli for Brussels sprouts as well.

  • mharriman on January 05, 2020

    Good but pricey and time consuming to prepare. I’ve made this three times now, and today was reminded one needs to be prepared with money, cooking ingredients, lots of time, and several pieces of equipment. First, this dish costs $$: halibut, maitake mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, lemon grass, and nutritional yeast flakes are the more pricey ingredients in a long list. Recipe requires making 3 separate add ins: wok aromatics, umami sauce, and roasted mushrooms in addition to roasting fingerling potatoes, blanching Brussels sprouts, and broiling the fish. Needs 1-2 baking sheets, large pot, oven proof skillet, stove top skillet, blender, and food processor. Whew! Sense of humor and lots of free time helps immensely. Update: sautéed chicken tenders, the heated up vegetable leftovers and umami sauce are wonderful together.

• Bison umami burger

  • mharriman on January 07, 2019

    A nice change from regular hamburgers but it takes some grocery planning and time to make. Changes: My local Whole foods had Shitake mushrooms but not the other two mushroom types so I just used those. WF also didn’t carry flaxseed buns, so I used whole wheat. I made the umami sauce, carmelized onions, and roasted mushrooms ( all in same cookbook) ahead of pan grilling the bison burgers, and that helped speed the plating- and what beautiful burgers on the plates- just like the photo. They were very good. Served with a green salad.

• Stir-fried Brussels sprouts with umami sauce

  • imaluckyducky on September 10, 2013

    This is a fantastic way to cook b. sprouts! I used to be a sprout hater until I discovered roasted b. sprouts, but with the heat of summer, roasting was out of the question. This method allows a good char without over-cooking and is incredibly quick. The umami sauce makes b. sprouts insanely good, and it surprised me how nicely the sprouts could stand up against strong flavors.

  • mharriman on November 24, 2017

    I have made the Umami sauce for a couple recipes in this cookbook and loved it with them (halibut comes to mind) but we didn’t like it very much with Brussels sprouts. We thought the sauce took over too much. We love Brussels sprouts with a bit of olive oil or butter only, so this added sauce didn’t do it for us. That being said, the quick stove top sauté part of the recipe was perfect for Thanksgiving when nothing else could fit in the oven (roasting sprouts would not have worked). Next time I’ll just omit the sauce or make it an optional side.

• Lemon-ginger frozen yogurt

  • WFPLCleanEating on March 11, 2016

    Very fresh tasting with good lemon and ginger flavor. Some found it too sweet. - Jane

• Teriyaki sauce

  • monica107 on January 17, 2014

    When you are making this you might think to yourself, this seems totally weird and I don't know if this is going to work... but it DOES work and it is DELICIOUS. If I had infinite time in life, I would make this all the time. We used almost all of it up right away, but I have a feeling it would hold up in the freezer if you want to make it ahead of time... I might test that theory next time I make it.

• Umami sauce

  • imaluckyducky on September 10, 2013

    Almost a tad too salty for my taste but oh my lord is this sauce satisfying! Keeps well in the fridge and tastes great (so far) on brussels sprouts, fish, and sweet potatoes. This is going to be a mainstay in my rotation!

  • Mollyh on May 10, 2014

    I used soy sauce instead of tamari; it was still very good and something I plan to make again.

• Way to Garden

  Weil is a keen cook, and it shows in the not-hippie, not-boring, not-weird cuisine that he created with [his restaurant partners]. Their approach... “delicious food that is also good for you.”

  Full review

• Kitchn

  The book leads with pleasure, flavor, beauty, freshness, and innovation. Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who is interested in making delicious, satisfying food that, oh, just happens to be healthy.

  Full review

• 101 Cookbooks

  ...full of inspired, clean-eating recipes, beautiful photography & design, printed on uncoated paper. It's nicely done on many fronts. I think it will resonate with many of you...

  Full review

• Yum.Fi

  ...cannot put his finger on what is exactly wrong with this book. It is more a feeling. There is a lack of soul. Now that can sound ludicrous as if you just look at the recipes things aren’t bad.

  Full review