Heather BlackmonIt’s time for the 4th post in my series of cookbook reviews! This week, I’m reviewing the other cookbooks I received for my birthday (last November) – Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet . Blissful Bites is written by Christy Morgan, also known as The Blissful Chef. She has a great blog, recently featuring different cooking tools and how to get the most out of them.
This cookbook is unique, because each chapter is broken down into seasons, highlighting the recipes that she recommends for the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter individually. There is also a section of recipes for anytime within each chapter.
The highlight of this book – well worth the full purchase price – is the Mac N Kale Salad. As you’ve probably heard me say many times here, on twitter, and on Facebook, I am thoroughly addicted to Kale Salad now. This is the salad that started the addiction – it’s incredible! I quite seriously ate this salad almost every day in January and I still love it! Kirk and I both know the recipe by heart now, it’s quick and easy and always satisfying.
Mac N Kale Salad (p. 100)
When I can stop myself from eating that Kale Salad (seriously, my mouth is watering just looking at the picture!), there are actually other great recipes in this cookbook!
Perfect Winter Stew (p. 126)
Spring Kale Salad with Sweet Miso Dressing (p. 88)
Un-Tuna Salad (p. 206)
Traditional Miso (p. 84)
Other recipes I’ve enjoyed from this cookbook (unpictured) are the Not-So-Forbidden Rice Salad, Tofu with Almond-Coconut Cilantro Sauce, and Tempeh Avocado Sushi Rolls.
I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed all the recipes in this book, some more than others. My favorites are the Mac N Kale Salad (obviously), Perfect Winter stew, & Not-So-Forbidden Rice Salad. I also really enjoyed the flavors in the Spring Kale Salad with Sweet Miso Dressing.
The Un-Tuna Salad was very good, but I’m not sure I would call it a Tuna Salad substitute. The flavors are great, but the sandwich doesn’t really remind me of tuna, I don’ t think the flavor of the sea vegetables is strong enough in this recipe. I did try to add a bit more to amp up the flavor, but it still wasn’t quite there for me. It’s hard to compete with the Hold the Tuna Sandwich from VeganizeIt!, though.
The Traditional Miso was not my favorite, but to be fair I used a different variety of Miso than the recipe called for. I do plan to try that recipe again and see if that was the difference.
Overall, this is a great cookbook and there many more recipes I am looking forward to trying. The spring and summer recipes catch my eye more than the fall and winter ones, but I’ve been trying to stick with the seasonal suggestions (other than the Spring Kale Salad). There are great full-color pictures throughout the book, which make it easier to flip through and find what you want to try next.
In case you missed either of the first three reviews, make sure you check out:
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Do you have a recipe you make over & over that just never gets old (like the Mac N Kale Salad for me?). Do you like massaged Kale Salads?
