Notes about Recipes in this book

• Gentle morning kitchari

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    2.5 stars. This was just okay. We used mung beans and I loved the texture of them mixed with the rice. I’m not a fan of gruel so I asked my husband to leave out one of the cups of water so he could stop cooking a bit earlier in the process. That aspect turned out well. However I found it way too heavy on the cloves! I like cloves, but in moderation. There was also more carrot than I would have preferred. There was a little bitterness so I added a teaspoon or two of agave to the pot, but I’m not sure I should have because it came out very sweet yet still a tiny bit bitter. Adding the optional lemon juice and cilantro helped. We probably won’t make this again.

• French toast

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    MY FAVORITE! If using regular bread, don’t soak it that long. Even 1-2 minutes is plenty. I made a single batch and got about 10 slices of regular bread out of it. Worked perfectly!

• Roasted cauliflower salad with lentils

  • SugarFree_Vegan on March 18, 2018

    I loved the combination of cooked and raw veggies, this time I used Romanesco cauliflower which worked fine, plus I'd already got lentils in the fridge so I popped them onto the roasting tray for the last 10 minutes of baking to warm them through and to pick up some of the spices. I also substituted spinach for the rocket/arugula as that is what I had to hand. Totally delicious and very nutritionally sound too!

• Sweet potato salad with tempeh and maple mustard dressing

  • Apollonia on May 15, 2025

    We really liked the dressing on this! It read like it might be a bit too intense, but was actually really lovely on the sweet potatoes and tempeh. The salad is light, and really serves only 2 (not 2-3) even then.

• Masala lentil salad with cumin-roasted carrots

  • SugarFree_Vegan on February 10, 2024

    I cooked the lentils from dried for this as I wanted ones that weren't squishy which you often get from canned ones. I just soaked them for an hour in cold water and then steamed them for 15 mins. This way they keep their texture and shape. You can then freeze any left over lentils for another recipe.

• Warm tofu chop salad with peanut dressing

  • Londonyankee on July 18, 2018

    Prep can be done ahead. Very filling. Sauce is really good, too. Stats per MFP - 520 calories, 24g protein, 36g carbs, 34g fat (5g sat fat)

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    OBSESSED!! Doubled and liked the portions of the salad and dressing - should make for plenty of leftovers

• Zucchini pesto pasta salad

  • mharriman on August 16, 2019

    This was the first recipe from this cookbook that I’ve made, and it was okay but not anything I’d rush to repeat again. I liked that she suggested alternatives to the zucchini. I used cauliflower florets, and as roasted, they were the best part of the dish.

• Sesame citrus soba salad

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    3 stars. I liked the textures—the creaminess of the sauce (we chose the tahini over the almond butter option), the crispness of the cabbage, the silky al dente feel of the edamame, the moistness of the shredded carrots, the lightness of the scallions. I like all the colors too. We added tofu as she suggested you can (rather than buying baked tofu, my husband sauteed super firm tofu cubes marinated in a little soy sauce and sesame oil) and that made it even more filling. The only thing is…a tablespoon of orange zest is waaaaay too much. Way too much. I’m not sure but my husband may have packed it into the tablespoon. Regardless, it tasted like marmalade so unless you really love orange zest, I recommend putting in only a teaspoon, lightly packed. The dressing is mild so a little is necessary. I’m thinking we might try it again despite the overwhelming orange zest flavor since everything else in recipe was so lovely and harmonious.

• Beluga lentils and tomatoes with tempeh bacon and turmeric mustard vinaigrette

  • Apollonia on March 14, 2022

    I liked the turmeric dressing, but I've made far better tempeh bacon, and I wasn't crazy about the way the lentils worked in the salad.

• Smoky red lentil stew with chard

  • Judymorris1 on February 17, 2023

    This is one of my favorite stews ever. I make it regularly. As a vegan, it reminds me of childhood and bean with bacon soup!!

• Cheesy cream of broccoli with smoky roasted chickpeas

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    1.5 stars. Eh. This didn’t taste very much of broccoli or “cheese.” I thought it had too much potato in it and that was a pretty dominant flavor and texture. It was really bland but for a little sprinkle of smoked paprika. The chickpeas do elevate it some. At my request, my husband made them in a pan rather than in an oven, so that they didn’t get all the way to crunchy. I like them better that way. They are pretty good but also pretty dry. They do help with the soup but I like Isa’s cheesy broccoli soup in IDI so much better. I doubt we’ll make this one again.

• Curried tomato stew with chickpea dumplings

  • SugarFree_Vegan on February 10, 2024

    I found the dumplings tasted a bit too much of chickpea flour, I think that if I'd made them into much smaller dumplings that this would have been nicer, they also needed a bit more seasoning I think too. I wonder if they were made with vegan yoghurt instead of water that this might make them tastier?

• West African peanut stew with sweet potatoes and chickpeas

  • Lalamzo on November 08, 2025

    I used some substitutions she suggested like extra chili powder for harissa and ground ginger for fresh ginger. Probably would’ve been better with the other options. I added cayenne since it really needed something. Wouldn’t make again.

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Doubled the recipe as written but had to move it to the giant school cafeteria pot. I don’t know if it was the harissa or what, but the flavor profile was so wonderful!! Didn’t do the green onions and peanuts on top and didn’t miss them. Used quinoa and it was a nice addition. Couldn’t get collard greens but kale was very good. Recommend making over and over again!

• White bean ribollita

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    4.5 stars. This was excellent even though we had to use gluten-free (sourdough) bread for the toast. We’re not huge fans of celery and so only put in one stalk. Hamshaw suggests that you can make it with her tempeh sausage or store-bought vegan sausage and to save time we used Impossible Sausage. So good. I think it would have been even better if we had used the spicy Impossible sausage instead of the “Savory” kind—the sausage needed a bolder flavor. This has nothing to do with the recipe of course. The recipe was very, very good.

• Curried Jamaican stew with kidney beans

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Delicious! Held back a little on the spices and I don’t think that was necessary. Seemed like a lot of beans and sweet potatoes, but it worked well. Used immersion blender a little too much I think?

• Yellow split pea chowder with sweet corn

  • Churchim808 on August 10, 2025

    This is good but there is one glaring problem with this recipe. There is no way your split peas will be cooked in the 45 minutes it gives. If I make this again, I’ll put the split peas in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes first.

• Mushroom miso barley soup

  • skpurdue on October 02, 2022

    Very good!! Definitely don’t skip the lemon juice at the end, makes the whole soup so much brighter and even more delicious. A great warming fall/winter soup

• Mulligatawny

  • Carrie84 on March 10, 2026

    This is outstanding!

• White chili with butternut squash

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    It was nice, but not one of my all time fav’s - not enough balance in flavors

• Golden rice bowls with tofu paneer and vegetables

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Golden raisins were the best part but every component had great flavor. Loved this! Doubled it and glad I did. Pressed the tofu and only marinated while I chopped the veggies and the tofu was totally fine. DELICIOUS.

• Thai peanut noodle bowls with spicy lime tofu and crisp vegetables

  • mharriman on November 29, 2020

    Excellent. This recipe requires more prep, steps, pans, bowls,etc., than I prefer, but the outcome is healthy and tastes wonderful. My husband remarked, “This one’s a keeper!” One of the better vegan meals I’ve made in awhile. Will definitely make again when I’m not in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    3 stars. Interesting having both curry paste and peanut butter in it. I haven’t seen that combination before. All right but not wow. It needed more peanut butter and some sweetening, and also less lime zest and maybe even less lime juice. Or maybe it’s just that the curry paste already contained lime leaves and the recipe needed less than we put in for that reason (we used Thai and True Panang curry paste). If making this again I’d start with no more than a teaspoon of lime zest instead of the zest of a whole lime, a tablespoon more peanut butter, and at least a tablespoon of agave nectar. Then I’d taste and see if I should use less or more of any of these if making a third time. I probably won’t do all that though; too much effort and there are a lot of other good peanut sauce recipes out there.

  • acwebb2 on May 01, 2025

    This was fine, not memorable. As written, the tofu will never get crispy, it was very wet.

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    LOVE this. I don’t know that red curry paste is the magic ingredient for pB sauce, but it was good enough in there.

• Sweet potato falafel bowls with freekeh pilaf and roasted cauliflower

  • lizbot2000 on August 11, 2018

    A pretty decent meal, overall. The falafel tasted great, but their texture was a little mushy. Next time I think I'll put the oven on higher heat - I like cauliflower a lot more brown, anyway, and I think the falafel would also benefit from something more like 400 or so. We'll see!

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Falafel is excellent, freekeh was meaty, lemon zest on roasted cauliflower was so nice, but flavor was gone on leftovers. Makes great wraps. Honestly didn’t need the fresh veg.

• Deli bowls with smashed chickpea salad

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    We didn’t end up making a bowl with this but the chickpea salad was delicious! I don’t think i used as much pickle as it called for - and would use the full amount next time.

• Rice, beans, tofu, and greens

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    2.5 stars. This wasn’t bad but not wow either. I liked the combination of tofu and beans (I often find that appealing) but the tofu was a bit bland. I felt there was too much rice and not enough veggies. The collards were a nice twist, so it would have been good to have more of them. It was also a little bland; I wish it had a bolder flavor. I would put in more spices if we wanted to have this again, but since it wasn’t particularly special we probably won’t.

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Delicious! The tofu is pretty simple in there but the dish is worth repeating, especially for batch cooks. Corn chips are the most fun topping!

• Spanish quinoa with tempeh chorizo

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    I made this today, “Spanish Quinoa with Tempeh Chorizo” was a little skeptical cuz I didn’t picture artichokes in this dish, but it was so good and Alex raved about the artichokes. It took a little longer than I thought, but was super easy and is all made in one skillet. I could see like a Chipotle cream sauce on top but it was delish as is. I made a regular batch, I think 1 1/2 batch would be nice? Double batch wouldn’t be awful especially with a cream sauce. 2nd time: Blended 1 cup cashews, 1 c water, 1 chipotle pepper in adobo-could do 2, juice from 1/2 lemon or 1 lime, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt

• Balsamic-glazed tempeh and vegetables over soft polenta

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    2.5 stars. This wasn’t great. My husband bought pre-made polenta by mistake so I can’t judge Gena’s polenta since that’s not what we ate. The problem though was with the vegetables, primarily the broccoli rabe (rapini).This is a bitter vegetable. I’ve made it before and it almost always comes out bitter for me. I don’t know if we’ll eat the leftovers. The balsamic sauce was good though. I recommend substituting regular broccoli for the rabe.

• Pasta and broccoli rabe with creamy roasted red pepper sauce

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    I felt like the sauce could have been warmed or something first to cook the garlic. Joe and Alex liked it better than I did so maybe I just wasn’t that hungry? Felt like it was a bit lacking, maybe salt.

• Spinach and gnocchi with white beans

  • LFL on October 29, 2022

    4 stars. I really liked this one. We wanted more protein and veggies, so we put in a full pound of spinach and around 4 cups of white beans, and doubled everything else but the gnocchi, going on the low side with the vinegar. My husband also add an extra three or four sun-dried tomatoes. This came out very pretty intense, but I imagine that with the normal amount (the proportion she suggests, IOW) of sun-dried tomatoes it would have been perfect. It was very good even otherwise, and very satisfying. The basil garnish was nice but not necessary. I also tried adding some parmesan and it didn’t add anything. This can be eaten without a garnish and still be very good IMO. Would definitely make again.

• Baked potatoes with lemon garlic broccolini and white beans

  • MMarlean on July 16, 2020

    Food 52 suggested that pine nuts make a good substitution for hemp seeds, so that's what I used in the topping.

• Black bean enchiladas with roasted butternut squash

  • etcjm on January 19, 2022

    A number of elements which you compile. Looked for a recipe searching butternut squash and came across this. Honestly looks like a dogs dinner and a photo will not be uploaded, but it was very tasty. Bit of kick to the sauce (I used chopped tomatoes), used frozen spinach which I defrosted and some edamame beans (nice because they gave a bit of texture), I used corn tortillas rather than the big wheat ones - whether this meant they all fell to bits I have no idea. Filling, tasty vegan dish and I will do again when my son visits.

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Excellent! Came together easily. Forgot toppings, but used a little sour cream and loved. A little hot sauce would be nice, too. Made 1 1/2 X batch in a 9x13 dish with flour tortillas.

• Creamy penne primavera bake

  • CharlaChicarla on July 16, 2023

    Really liked this! I used a bit more pasta (because I hate having random amounts of pasta leftover in my pantry) and an extra Tbsp of tomato paste for more flavor. The cashew cream was great in this recipe!

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    EXCELLENT! Made a double batch, put a few shreds on top - can’t say they added a lot.

• Skillet chili mac

  • patioweather on March 06, 2025

    Eats very rich but is healthy! I added more salt to everything. Next time, I might leave out the tomatoes which were juicier than I wanted this to be.

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    EXCELLENT! I double batched it and only had crushed fire roasted tomatoes which worked perfectly. I used one big white onion, one big red bell pepper, and one large jalapeño pepper. I also didn’t have enough beans, so I did 2 black beans, 1 kidney beans, and a little better than a cup of frozen corn. Really doesn’t taste like much until you add the queso - it all came together then!

• Coconut and scallion rice with glazed tofu and bok choy

  • Lalamzo on November 05, 2025

    Good but not something I’d rush to make again. The rice was my favorite component so I’d make that again.

• Dinner toast with savory mushrooms, chickpeas, and greens

  • lynne_998zi4 on February 27, 2026

    Easy, savory, super flavorful. It’s served on toast, but would be great on mashed potatoes too.

• Spicy chickpea quesadillas with caramelized onions

  • sherri_xcf6n4 on April 10, 2026

    Very good. Hummus was on the dry side, I thought, but added water. Carmelized onions could have used maybe 15 more minutes. Used once adobo pepper per batch. I could see queso or cheese addition being good. Was a lot of work for such a small amount of ingredients.

• Books for Better Living by Jenny Hartin

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