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- Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cookingby Heidi Swanson
- Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cookingby Heidi SwansonToasted Wheat Germ SoupThis is unlike any soup I've made before - and the wheatgerm makes it kind of creamy. It's very simple to put together but it doesn't have the wow factor combination of flavours I often get in Heidi's recipes. Easy and would feed a crowd.
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I totally know what you mean about the 'tone' Trisha - sometimes it veers pretty close to hectoring/smug! And chef_ub - thank goodness for libraries, I'm currently trialling Jamie Oliver's new book (great tv series, less great cookbook).
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1 like Can’t Like Unlike Like 1 likeI do love this book - a chapter after dinner. Other than making croutons from stale bread and roasting veg in big trayloads, I actually do very few of these frugal-tastic type exercises. Nevertheless, this is a fully satisfying book. A bit like Kingsolver's year of living seasonally, or whatever that's called, where you get to enjoy someone else's hard work and moral superiority from the comfort of your sofa!
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I borrowed this from the local library, and confess that there are only a couple of recipes I have made that I'll make again - but these are total classics, like the tofu lasagne, and the cauliflower chowder, and the miso marinade she uses on fish (but I used on veggies). It looks a bit lifestyle-y at first (too many pics of la Dahl laughing to herself tra la la) but is actually a pretty good cookbook!
- Tofu LasagneMy new favourite dish! It's so simple yet feels like a treat because of the combo of fresh lasagne sheets and parmesan tofu. I used olive tofu which made it easier. I was sceptical that the parmesan would work as a coating, it wasn't uniform and it almost burnt in the frying pan but oh my, it was very very good. And I made the whole block, though the dish was only for two people, and the parm tofu was GREAT the next day as a sandwich filling. So good!
2 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 2 likes - Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi Swanson
Era voted for:Bran MuffinsThese are the best! I added chopped dried fruit, rather than nuts. They're moist and - this is the best bit for me - they freeze really well. I take one out in the morning, pack in my bag, and at work I have a nutritious and gorgeous 4pm snack ready and waiting. No more bad snack decisions! Brilliant.
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and commented on:Wild Rice CasseroleOh dear, was it just me - I thought it was bland? I did have it for a one-dish comfort-food main, but I had to add to the cheese topping to give it some kind of feature. It does really need the broiling at the end to give it the crispness on top, and it was better the second day, but overall it lacked the flavour to justify it as a make again. I think I'd rather have baked pasta, and stick to using brown rice for rice bowls.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likes 
Puy lentil hummusThis is lovely - if you like puy lentils, as I do. If you're not, then this won't convert you (believe me, I tried). And be careful - this recipe makes LOADS! Next time I'll cut the recipe down, and make sure everyone is on board, so I don't end up eating it for lunch for a week! Otherwise, it's easier just to make standard chickpea hummus (and you don't have to cook the lentils first, though I suppose you could buy them tinned). 3 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 3 likesJapanese Miso AuberginesThe Miso paste/sauce for this recipe (miso, sugar, mirin, rice vinegar) is gorgeous - and would be great on lots of different veg or tofu. I really like the recipe's approach to grilling the aubergines first and then 'dabbing' (I slathered!) with sauce before a final grill. BUT the times are way off - it specifies 2 minutes of grilling per side, but for thickly cut aubergines, that's nowhere near enough. I grilled maybe 6 minutes each side. Served with rice and pak choi, but needed something more to ballast it, will sub one of the aubergines for tofu next time.
5 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 5 likes- Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi SwansonMuesliIn terms of frequency of eating, this is the most useful recipe in SNED - I have it several times a week. I have started to modify a bit though, using Spelt flakes for half the oats, to give it a bit more 'chew' in the morning. And I used ground almonds instead of chopped as I prefer the texture. Delicious topped with stewed fruit. 2 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 2 likes
Era voted for:Lentil SoupI make this without the bacon and I have to admit it lacks a certain saltiness as a result, so I add extra yeast extract (marmite) to compensate, plus I top each bowl with a mound of chopped flat leaf parsley, in addition to the thyme you cook in the soup - the wonderful thing about puy lentils is they hold their shape. Served with fresh, warm bread (my favourite is a talleggio-stuffed foccacia) it's a meal in a bowl.1 like Can’t Like Unlike Like 1 like
Onion tartThere are several variations of this tart - with different cheeses, tomatoes in summer, or with mushrooms as an autumnal pie. But the basic version is lots of lovely, flaky pastry, sweet caramelised onions and melted cheese. This is really lovely lunch fare - with dinner it needs a pile of smooth mash and a side of greens (drizzled with 101's "magic sauce"). One to make time and again.
3 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 3 likesand commented on:A Hot, Fragrant, Lively Curry & several optionsThis is one of my favourite curry pastes, really fresh. Worth freezing extra lemongrass so you can use it up in this later. I'm allergic to the lime Nigel uses, so add in rice vinegar instead and extra ginger.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likes
Moroccan Spiced Carrot SaladReally lovely - cheap as chips to make and yet an impressive lunch dish if you have a few people coming over. We served with sliced mozzarella balls and toasted pittas and some olives - a really nice spread. The creaminess of the mozzarella goes so well with the spiced carrots.
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Vegetable Puff PieMy inlaws are not exactly enthusiastic about dinners without meat - but this dish hit the spot. Rich and creamy cheese sauce, crispy pastry and a mound of creamy potato mash actually had them asking for seconds! The recipe makes too much cheese sauce, but I saved a portion and we had it on baked potatoes the next night. Proper winter food.
5 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 5 likes - The Meat Free Monday Cookbook: A Full Menu for Every Monday of the Yearby Meat Free Monday Campaign
- Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi SwansonChickpea StewI made this recently as a saffron treat - and wow I almost didn't serve it. It looks really unpromising as you're making it, but the taste is fabulous. Served with really good bread it felt like a weeknight celebration. Would maybe add in another vegetable next time - cauliflower maybe or chewy paneer cheese to add texture. Think it would be great with rice in it too... Another lesson in trusting Heidi!
Stuffed Chard Red PeppersThis is a great dinner-party dish - looks beautiful on the plate, red on the outside, vivid green inside, the parmesan plays really well with both the sweetness and the iron.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likes- Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi SwansonEra voted for:Broccoli GribicheThe slightly charred broccoli, roasted tiny potatoes and creamy egg & dressing - a combination made in heaven. I adde in Kale because I have a lot to use up, and the irony-taste went well and bulked out the green-ness. This is definitely a recipe to go in the weekly rotation.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likesand commented on:Millet MuffinsI'm allergic to citrus - has anyone a suggestion for what might replace it?No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likes
5 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 5 likesSuper Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi SwansonAs a huge fan of 101 Cookbooks, I thought the book might just feel like a collection of recipes I've already made. But it's totally surpassed expectations - beautiful images to go with the recipes, and that lovely heavy paper, makes this a future treasure. I've already made several new dishes, that will become regulars, as the recipes are accessible and tasty. And lots of repeat flavours - so you can re-use the cilantro pesto in a number of dishes for example. There's a number of core ingredients, and a sense that it's good to get creative - add in...
12 likes Can’t Like Unlike Like 12 likesWhat I find about Ottolenghi's recipes is that they take ages the first time you make it, but really speeds up when you're making it a second, third, fourth time.And though they can be time consuming, they're not difficult (though they may have a complicated number of steps, and usually involve a lot of prep). This means that the recipes are surprisingly accessible, given the ambition of the flavours.
Sometimes I question the recipes because they call for an inordinately long list of ingredients. But you have to trust him and go with it and I find that there are tastes...
- Caramelised Garlic TartVery rich - so serve small slices with a crunchy salad or bitter vegetable (endive?) to balance it out.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likesBlack Pepper TofuCrazy hot, and can be made with much less butter, but incredibly tasty - and one I serve to impress.No likes Can’t Like Unlike Like No likes
They were delicious fresh - I froze about 8 of them to spread them out over the next two weeks. They don't freeze quite as well as the bran muffins from SNED, the texture is a bit denser. They might soften up if microwaved or oven warmed. Having said that, I look forward to them every day during meetings! The relatively low sugar content means that there isn't a crazy sugar rush/crash cycle, which makes it good for an afternoon pick-me-up too.