Notes about Recipes in this book

• Smoky cabbage and tomato stew with tortellini

  • hbakke on June 15, 2023

    Very nice vegetable stew. The smoky flavor from the fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika were a pleasant change from the average veg stew. I did add a few more cups of broth since I used dried tortellini and that worked well. This would be a great meal for an autumn/winter day (or a cold and dreary early summer day).

• Romaine hearts salad with horseradish and dill dressing and homemade Old Bay croutons

  • louie734 on May 19, 2025

    The dressing, made with soaked cashews subbed for the cashew butter, was way too thick, thicker even than mayonnaise. Unsure what to thin it with, I tried increasing the acid + water, but didn't want it too tangy or bland; oil didn't seem right either. Somewhere the balance got thrown off and I lost the horseradish flavor, so I needed more of that. SIGH. I'll need to tinker cause the flavor combo of the croutons and the herbed horsey cause is something I need in my life, and I know we are on the right track. PS rye croutons with Old Bay would be really good here.

• Curtido

  • hbakke on April 09, 2022

    Made this to serve alongside this books pupusas. It tastes very similar to a slaw I love that my local Mexican restaurant makes. It's a little spicy and tangy from the jalapeños and vinegar and overall a delicious accompaniment to the pupusas.

• Pan-seared okra with lime

  • hbakke on February 07, 2022

    This was my first experience with okra, so I'm not sure how they are normally prepared. It was an easy, flavorful side dish that I would make again. I liked the combination of lime and tamari. It gave the okra a ponzu flavor.

  • louie734 on February 15, 2025

    Tasty and easy, different veggie for zujjing-up an otherwise boring meal of veg-on-rice. Used frozen cut okra and tumbled it in right from the freezer, this worked fine. The lime plus exuded-okra-goo kinda created a nummy sauce and it was all eaten up and I'm still thinking about it 2 days later - that spells WINNER in my book

• Orange peel cauliflower

  • hbakke on January 29, 2022

    Delicious! The orangey sauce was very good combined with the crispy battered cauliflower. Tastes like a veggie orange chicken. I would make this again.

  • mara_j25lf5 on February 10, 2026

    Pretty good.

• Shroom asada

  • mara_j25lf5 on February 08, 2026

    Definitely need to sub the mushrooms (I too did oyster), but I wish it were less liquid.

• Jackfruit pupusas

  • hbakke on April 11, 2022

    The jackfruit filling was delicious, but I really messed up the pupusa dough. I didn't use nearly enough water in the dough and it was very dry and crumbly, making it nearly impossible to flatten the pupusas without the filling peeking out. I struggled through to make the 24 pupusas and they weren't pretty at all, but were very tasty. I served these with this books curtido recipe, which was a delicious accompaniment. I would make these again. I found a video online of Rick Martinez making pupusas for Bon Appétit and I would use that as a resource next time for dough consistency and shaping.

• Sticky tofu with sweet sesame sauce

  • hbakke on March 01, 2022

    Delicious! Maybe my new favorite tofu recipe. The sauce is sticky and flavorful and coats the tofu well. I would make this again.

• Grapefruit cake

  • louie734 on February 20, 2025

    Unexpectedly named "the best cake ever" by my chocolate loving SO, who often lets bakery languish after the first serving. It's a less-sweet, interesting yet slightly plain cake. I made it with cornmeal and Cara Cara oranges, and thought it needed a creamy element - maybe splitting and filling with a cashew or coconut frosting would be nice? Something dense and creamy would be best, tho a coconut whip could work.

• Mezcal meltdown

  • hbakke on June 12, 2022

    Spicier than I thought it would be, but the combination of ingredients made a nice cocktail.