Cooking Archive - Teddyrose Book Reviews Plus

When I saw this cookbook on Net Galley I couldn’t resisting. I love cookbooks and I love to cook. The description said that a number of the recipes are vegan, so of course I was intrigued.

This cookbook is packed with useful tips such as preheating the roasting pan in the oven before you put the vegetables in, to cut down on cooking time. It also has over 150 recipes. I have tried 4 recipes so far.

The first recipe I tried was the Roasted Tomato Soup with Avocado. It was a very simple soup that Bill and I have with my home made baguette and mixed green salad. The avocado added texture and color to the soup but it could be left out easily. I served it hot but it can also be served cold. We both gave this recipe and 4/5.

Next I made the Tofu “Steaks” With Spicy Almond Butter Sauce and Baby Bok Choy. I used organic peanut butter because that is what I had on hand. This recipe is so delicious that I have already made it twice. The second time I served it over rice noodles and it was awesome. Bill and I gave this a 5/5

Then I made Winter Vegetable Stew With Moroccan Flavors. I served it with my home made focaccia bread and a mixed green salad. It was probably my least favorite dish but it was still good. Bill gave it a 4/5 and I gave it a 3/5.

I also made the Tomato White Bean Soup with Pesto. It was said to leave the Parmesan cheese out to make it vegan but I used Soyco Parmesan as a vegan substitute. This soup was divine! It’s the pesto that really makes it special. We both gave it a 5/5.

The last recipe I made before writing this review was the Double Corn and Jalapeno Polenta Agratin. This recipe was not vegan at all and there were no vegan options but I was able to make it vegan, easily. Instead of cream, I used Silk Non-Dairy Creamer and for the cheddar cheese, I used Dayia cheddar shreds. One of the serving suggestions was to top in with Black Bean Chilli and that’s what I did. It was delicious. Bill and I gave it a 4.5/5.

The only thing missing from Fresh and Fast Vegetarian was the dessert. Bill and I have a real sweet tooth. I had to use my own recipes for that. Over all I think this book delivers. The description claims that most recipes can be made in a half hour or less. The only one that I made that took longer was the Polenta A gratin, but that was because it had to bake for 30 minutes. Prep time took about 30 minutes as well because you have to cook the polenta on the stove-top first. All of the recipes were easy to follow.

4/5

Thanks to Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this galley.

When I arranged with Anna Balasi to hold a giveaway of this book, I was offered a copy for myself. Since I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, I couldn’t resist.

Louis Eguaras is a famous chef at the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the California School of Culinary Arts. In this book he shared 101 tips that can be used in the kitchen and for those who are trying to break in to the profession of culinary arts.

The tips seem fairly random and not in different categories, so you have to read through the entire book to get to the tips that you are interested in. However, since the books is quite short to begin with, that’s not really a big issue. I just prefer a little more organization. There are some very useful tips for the people who haven’t cooked very much as well as tips for people like me, who enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

I was hoping that this book would give me a few tips to improve my cooking/preparation techniques. The book delivered. For one thing, I found out that I was holding my knife incorrectly. I practiced the tip and am chopping a lot faster and safe now. There were quite a few tips that were geared towards restaurants and opening restaurants. Those weren’t tips that I found helpful but people in the profession would.

There was one tip that I know to be incorrect and even dangerous. Tip number 73 had tips for first aid. One of them included a tip for choking. It said, “Alternate” five and Five. With the heel of your hand hit between the shoulder blades five times. Next give five abdominal thrusts as you stand behind the person (Heimlich manoeuvre). Repeat until blockage is dislodged.”

Since I am a social worker, I have to re-certify in first aid and CPR annually. DO NOT HIT BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!! This is an extremely outdated manoeuvre and can cause the stuck food to get lodged into a lung. That can be life threatening! The first thing to do is to tell somebody else to call 911. Then ask if the person can speak. If they can or they are coughing, just encourage them to cough more until the food dislodges itself. If the person can’t talk or cough, perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, only if you have been trained on how to do it. If the person passes out and isn’t breathing at all then you have to do CPR. Again, only if you have been trained to do so.

I would have given this book a higher rating if the first aid mistake wouldn’t have been in it. It really scared me that millions of people could buy this book and use that tip unknowing the damage it could cause. I hope that it is corrected in future editions and that a warning of some sort is inserted into the current edition.

3/5

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for this book.

Have you reviewed this book? Please leave a link to your review in the comments so I can add it to this post.

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

In Memory of Tina and Robbie

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Meta

Labels

Apr 11

13

Fresh and Fast Vegetarian: Recipes That Make a Meal by Marie Simmons

May 10

23

101 Things I Learned in Culinary School by Louis Eguaras with Matthew Frederick