VeganMoFo #24: '500 Vegan Recipes' and more Liebster love

500 Vegan Recipes
Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman, Fair Winds Press, 2009



Celine's beautiful blog Have Cake Will Travel has long been a favourite of mine, so when I found out she was releasing her first cookbook (along with the wonderful Joni Marie Newman), I jumped on it. This actually arrived on the same day as 1000 Vegan Recipes! Adding 1500 new recipes to my collection in one moment certainly increased the challenge of cooking through everything! This is a large paperback book. There are no photos. There are 20 chapters, so I will list them in dot point again.

*Introduction: What is a Vegan Diet?
*How To Use This Book
*Breakfast
*Sweet and Savoury Muffins
*Dips and Spreads
*Snacks, Appetisers, and Finger Foods
*Salads and Salad Dressings
*Soups, Chilis, and Stews
*Pasta, Grains, and Potatoes
*Casseroles and Savoury Pies and Tarts
*Faux Meats
*Main Dishes
*Side Dishes
*Sauces and Condiments
*Sweet and Savoury Quick Breads
*Sweet and Savoury Yeast Breads
*Cookies and Biscuits
*Pies, Tarts, Crumbles, Crisps, and Crusts
*Cakes and Cupcakes
*Candies and Bars
*Puddings, Mousses, Ice Creams, and Libations

I haven't even come close to scratching the surface of this amazing book. Here are the things I have made.

No-Fail Buttermilk Pancakes


These live up to their name - they are no-fail and they are the pinnacle of pancake perfection. This batter also works great after a night in the fridge, so you can mix it up the night before and then wake up to pancakes quick smart. 5 stars.

Spicy Chick-Wheat Savoury Muffins


These are some great savoury treats. 5 stars.

Double Chocolate Muffins



These are quite delicate little muffins. Yummy chocolate batter plus chocolate chips make for a nice treat, and can be dressed up (as shown) for a fancy dessert. 4 stars.

Matcha Almond Muffins


This was my first time cooking with matcha. I found the muffins quite sweet, and they had a kind of fudgy texture... I am not sure if that is because of the matcha? They are beautiful and green! 4 stars.

Chocolate Orange Marmalade Muffins


These are fantabulous. I took the option to make ten muffins for a higher rise, though they were still a bit smallish. But they pack a punch of flavour that will have you reaching for more. 5 stars.

Blueberry Orange Muffins


I love the citrus and blueberry combination. 4 stars.

Zucchini White Bean Spread


Raw grated zucchini is the key here, and it is a golden key. 5 stars.

Sesame Bean Spread


I found this spread to be a bit dry when I made it, I would add a bit of stock to loosen it up a bit. The sesame taste wasn't a strong as I was expecting. 3 stars.

Curried Butternut Squash Hummus


A tasty twist on hummus. 4 stars.

Broccoli Hummus


If you find yourself with some extra steamed broccoli, whip up this amazing and tasty dip. 5 stars.

Deviled "Egg" Salad


I don't know if I have ever eaten Deviled Eggs, but this is just plain tasty. I used it to make sandwiches. There is also a cute variation to make deviled 'eggs' by piping the mixture into little squares of tofu. 4 stars.

Moroccan Spaghetti and Garlic Flatbread Rounds


This is an interesting and flavourful spaghetti dish, that makes a nice change from Italian-inspired pastas. 4 stars.
The garlic flatbread rounds are amazing, they are so garlicky. It is easy to divide to make a smaller quantity, but I was sorry I did because I wanted to eat more. 5 stars.

Israeli Couscous with Curry, Cashews, and Currants


This is a great dish. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oil, but I just used a glug. I also used roasted cashew pieces for extra flavour and crunch, and I used mint instead of parsley. I served this here with some Moroccan rubbed tofu, a Moroccan cucumber and tomato salad, and Moroccan minted dressing - very yummy. My mum has also made this recipe several times for company. 4 stars.

Ginger Lime Tofu


This is a great, tangy tofu. The marinade makes enough for two batches. With the leftover marinade, I poured off the oil and simmered it up fr extra sauce. 4 stars.

Lemon Thyme Quick Bread


A fantastic flavour, really special. 5 stars.

Chewy Ginger Cookies


Yummy ginger cookies. 4 stars.

Butterscotch Pecan Cookies


These beautiful, caramel cookies are great. 4 stars.

Strawberry Bundt Cake


This pretty cake was made for a friend's birthday this year. There is cardamom in it, which gives an unexpected and very nice flavour. 4 stars.

Sache Torte


This is a variation of the Chocolate Cake recipe, and it is amazing. I am sad I have no inside shots. Two layers of chocolate cake and sandwiched together with raspberry jam and then ganached all over. Is great to make ahead the day before as well. 5 stars.

Most of what I have made so far seems to be baking! Some of the mains I have my eye on are a bit time intensive, so it is just finding the right day for it. I have so many things marked that I want to make, so I really need to give some more attention to this book. I have heard from several people that the Seitan en Croute recipe will BLOW. Your. MIND. So that is high on the list, possibly for Christmas!

Have you bought a cookbook released by a beloved blogger? Tell me about it!

More Blog Love



Michelle over at A Bit Addicted To Cookbooks and Kelly from La Vida Vegga have nominated this blog for another Liebster award. I love how this award is doing the rounds, there is so much love and appreciation for each other out there. Yay for vegan bloggers!

The word “Liebster” is German for ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’, The idea behind this award is to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. (Though I don't know about blogger numbers, I just pick at will!)

So the rules are as follows:
Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.
Reveal 5 of your top picks and them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
Post the award on your blog.
Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

I'm going to pass this on to five more great blogs I've been enjoying.

Aweseom.Vegan.Rad
Darkside of Knitting
In The Mood For Noodles
Two Vegan Boys
Vegan In Arkansas

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post


This is little Max again, this time with my brother when he was a kid. Poor little Max was only with us for about six weeks before he was taken from us in a mysterious accident (probably hit by a car... these were the days when cats were allowed to roam around outside at night).