It’s the season of hunkering.  Whether because of rain, snow, gloom, or depressingly early sunsets, January is a time when many of us stick close to home.  And what better way to spend a chilly day than snuggled up to your stove with a good cookbook?  This month our Bibliobites crew chased the winter blues away with blogger Kathryne Taylor’s Love Real Food.  This 2016 title is a comprehensive survey of contemporary vegetarian food from breakfast through cocktails, dinner, and dessert.  After the excesses of December, many of us are more than ready to up our veggie quotient and focus on an “everyday” style of cooking.

Since it was a rather wet and gloomy month, indoor pursuits were definitely on the table (so to speak!).  So there was an impressive amount of recipe-testing going on.  Let’s start with a few breakfast treats: simple honey scones were “really easy,” but were not appealing; they were “gummy….dry….not enough sweetener.”  We sampled these at our meeting and agreed that they were disappointing, though the wheaty flavor was nicely hearty.  My favorite granola also didn’t quite make the grade; it “needs more of everything [cinnamon, cranberries].”  However, “I liked that it wasn’t super-sweet.”  Carrot cake breakfast cookies fared better; these were “pretty tasty” with plenty of grated carrots, pecans, and golden raisins.  If you live in a small household, you’ll appreciate that these make a small batch.  And sneaking in through the dessert department, lemony almond-blueberry cake was “not lemony enough” for some.  We tasted this treat at our meeting and some thought the lemon flavor was just right, while others wished for more.  This cake is gluten free; it’s made with almond meal which gave the cake a welcome hint of almond flavor.

Main dishes provided plenty of variety, always a plus when you’re wondering what to make for dinner.  Traditional quiche got a bit of an upgrade with spinach-artichoke quiche, its filling a riff on the popular dip, and a pat-in crust made with almond meal accented with thyme and garlic.  It could have used more spinach in the filling, but overall this dish was a winner.  It reheated well, too.  Roasted eggplant lasagna was, unsurprisingly, “a project.”  This was deemed “good” but not great.  The sauce was basically pureed tomatoes and might have benefited from some simmering, and the called-for whole wheat no-boil noodles proved difficult to find.  Sun-dried tomato fettucine alfredo with spinach also featured whole wheat pasta, but fettucine was was easy enough to find.  The alfredo sauce used the common vegan trick of pureeing soaked cashews to make a creamy sauce, which in this case worked really well.  Though not a traditional version, it  was an enjoyable riff on the classic, with garlic, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes amping up the flavor profile.  Three people made roasted broccoli, bell pepper, and tofu bowl with peanut sauce; it proved to be an unexpected keeper.  The baked tofu was “great!” and the peanut sauce enjoyably “assertive.”  Those who tried it all agreed it was a new favorite.  There’s a similar recipe on the author’s blog using brussels sprouts instead of broccoli.  Check it out!

Winter is peak soup and stew season, and most in our group made good use of this category.  Three people tried tuscan white bean, kale, and farro stew a hearty melange that hit the spot.  Classic flavors included the white beans, plenty of fresh rosemary, and Parmesan.  This made a large potful so fortunately it aged well.  Butternut squash chipotle chili was also a hit, with its smoky chipotles and sweet squash.  The combination was “really good….will make again!” Moroccan butternut, chickpea, and couscous stew had some nice assertive spicing with smoked paprika and curry powder; the result was “good” but not great.  Whole wheat couscous was another ingredient that was difficult to find, and our cook substituted pearl couscous; unfortunately “I didn’t like the texture.”  Two people made chickpea tikka masala with green rice; both thought it was a solid, if not outstanding version of this iconic dish.  The green rice was a bit fussy to make and didn’t seem to add much to the overall flavor, so feel free to skip it.

If you want to slurp some soup, perhaps start with classic tomato soup.  This version used some pureed beans to thicken the soup and make it into more of a meal; “I really liked this!”  Creamy roasted cauliflower soup didn’t fare as well; it was “very beige” and was “OK…a lot of work.”  But, the crouton topper was “great!”  Heartier choices included west african peanut soup which four people tried and was “good- especially with the hot sauce” though “I have other, similar recipes.”  Hearty lentil minestrone was likewise a solid, if not outstanding choice.  The addition of lentils didn’t add much to the otherwise classic recipe.  Black bean tortilla soup with sweet potatoes turned out to be a keeper, “I really liked….substantial….will make again!”  The black beans and sweet potatoes added heft to a recipe that typically includes chicken.

There were lots more main dishes to try; sweet potato, poblano, and black bean enchiladas were a California-ish version with creamy avocados and cheese.  These were a solid choice with one caveat, ” they didn’t keep that well.”  Unfortunately, coconut fried rice with edamame was disappointing; it had “no flavor….needed more spice….couldn’t taste the coconut.”  But, kale and quinoa salad with crisp celery, plumped cranberries, and lemon dressing was an “absolutely yummy” (if very wordy) salad.  This was a warm salad, “so delicious” with its mustardy lemon dressing.  A keeper!  Though technically a side dish, moroccan roasted carrot, arugula and wild rice salad was substantial enough for a light main dish.  Two cooks praised the seasoning (chili and cinnamon) and the lemony dressing, though “it needed more dressing.”  Plus, the roasted carrots were perfect just by themselves, should you not want to deal with the other salad ingredients.  Those of us who sampled this at our meeting had to agree that it was a hit.  To go with those carrots, you might make sweet potato-black bean veggie burgers.  These were a good version of veggie burgers, if a bit of a project.  Quick cooking oats in the burger mix were an inspired choice to provide some chew and bind the ingredients together.  Or, maybe you’d like to have some pizza with a base of easiest honey whole wheat pizza dough.  This dough was super-quick and easy to make, and had the additional virtue of no waiting/rising time.  A keeper!

As should be obvious by now, we gave this title a thorough workout.  Though there was nothing shockingly innovative, most people enjoyed the variety and accessibility of the recipes, and a few were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed their trip to veggie land.  We did note that there were a few too many dishes that relied on black beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and kale.  The author also uses a fair amount of coconut oil, which has both passionate advocates and detractors.  As for the book itself, it’s fairly typical of its ilk, with a large-ish format and copious photos.  Since it’s written by a blogger, there are also somewhat lengthy headnotes and numerous photos of the author and her adorable dog, Cookie.  No one complained about these quirks; undoubtedly they were focused on the food!  As mentioned, there was overall a positive response to this book, which was reflected in our rating of 3.45 (out of a possible 5).  Most people rated it a 4.

Join us for our next meeting on Sunday February 25 at 1 PM (note different day and time!)  We’ll be discussing The Savory Baker from America’s Test Kitchen.  We’ll also be celebrating ten years of Bibliobites with a look back at some of our previous titles, and a potluck lunch.  Hope to see you there!