Book Review: Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli

I love this cookbook! It's written by Chloe Coscarelli, the first VEGAN baker to win Food Network's Cupcake Wars. She has been a vegetarian all her life, but has been vegan since 2005. She's gone to school in both California and New York. She has even studied Cornell University's Plant Based Nutrition Program by Dr. T Collin Campbell (The China Study). I can go on, and on about her credentials and her awesomeness, but that could be a whole blog post in itself. LOL! :)

Chloe released her own cookbook earlier this month and I bought as soon as it was released. I HAD to have it! I love all her recipes from her website: http://www.chefchloe.com/ and have had lots of success recreating many of them.

Chloe's Kitchen

This cookbook has 125 awesome easy vegan recipes and some nice pictures. Although, I prefer cookbooks with pictures of all their dishes. (Maybe next book!) Most of the ingredients are those I keep on hand, and the recipes are easy to follow. There are lots of small kitchen tips, like how to cut a mango and what a "Chiffonade" is. :)

Here are some of the many items I have made from her cookbook already! Every single recipe has been fabulous, even my anti-vegan teenage daughter loves them. :)

Jalapeno Corn Poppers

Artichoke-Walnut Pesto, Warm Spinach-Artichoke Dip and
Cajun Yam Fries

Miso Glaze Eggplant

Peanutty Perfection Noodles
made with Buckwheat Noodles

Skillet Black-Eyed Peas

I hope to actually work my way through the whole book. The hard part is which recipe to make first. :) Since all her recipe look amazing! Way to go Chloe!! :)

Currently, Chloe is on a book tour promoting her book. You can check if she is coming to a town near you, on her website. All I know, is that there are NO Canadian dates right now, so there no chance of me ever getting my book signed. :(

BUT...I know we have an AMAZING annual Vegetarian Food Festival in the Summer, maybe Chloe could come do a book signing! *fingers crossed*

Do you have a favourite Vegan cookbook? How many recipes have you made from it?

Happy Cooking!! :)

Vegan Gluten-Free Lasagna

Tonight's dinner was especially made for my husband. His favourite meal in the whole world is Lasagna! :)

Zucchini Mint Pasta

Last night I made a super simple pasta which was devoured by my family. I totally forgot to take a picture of the pasta though. Like I said, it was devoured. I used Pastore Brown Rice Gluten-Free pasta this time.

 Pastore Brown Rice Pasta 350g - $3.49

I really enjoyed this pasta. I am not a huge fan of brown rice pasta, but this one didn't actually have a heavy rice flavour. (I know weird, right?) It actually tasted like regular pasta. This pasta cooked up evenly, I did over cook it a little bit, but it fall apart like most gluten-free pasta.

Zucchini Mint Pasta

Ingredients:

350 g Pasta

1 Large Zucchini, grated

½ cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup sheep’s milk Feta, crumbled

1/3 cup Pistachios, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and keep warm.
2. Add grated zucchini, mint, olive and lemon juice, toss to incorporate all flavours. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Place on serving platter, top with crumbled feta and chopped pistachios. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and more mint, if desired. 

Verdit

I would definitely buy this pasta again. The flavour was great and my whole family really enjoyed it. What I loved the most, was the pasta actually cooked evenly. I can't wait to try their other pasta shapes, especially spaghetti. Boy, do I miss spaghetti. :)

What's your favourite Gluten-Free pasta? Do you make your own sauce too?

Happy Cooking!! :)

Gluten-Free Lactose-Free Pasta a la Vodka

After meeting all the wonderful and inspiring people at the Gluten-Free dinner/meet-up hosted by Gluten-Free Onario, my husband has decided to take his gluten and lactose intolerance seriously. So we have jumped in with both feet. No, we are not a totally Gluten-Free household. I may need a total kitchen renovation for that to happen, but I have be significantly reduced my husband's gluten and lactose intake. 

I have been having a hard time finding a good wheat pasta alternative, but have come to the realization I can't cook gluten-free pasta the same way as regular pasta. I have to watch is more carefully, it's not a forgiving as regular wheat pasta.

A couple of nights ago I made a wonderful Pasta a la Vodka. I use a pretty simple recipe from one of my favourite sites: Allrecipes.com. This has always been my go-to recipe for Vodka sauce, although I make it vegetarian. Since my husband is lactose intolerant, I subbed the whipping cream with almond milk. It was pretty good, but the sauce was a little thin. Next time, I'll use unsweetened coconut cream, for a creamier sauce. :)

Vegetarian Pasta a la Vodka

I used GoGo Quinoa Fusilli and it was pretty good. I learned my lesson last time I tried to make gluten-free pasta. I try the Spaghetti version of the brand and it fell apart, but in my defense, it was my first time making gluten-free pasta and didn't have a clue how to cook it. The time on the box was WAY too long. Live and learn, right? :)

Verdict

I'm not sure if I would by this again. The pasta itself did not cook evenly, but that could have been my fault. I may buy it again to see if I can prefect the cooking time. I don't remember the price, so that may also determine if I would buy this brand of pasta again.  For me, it would be a maybe. 

Do you have a funny gluten-free mishap while you were cooking?

Happy Cooking!! :)