I’m so excited. It finally came. I ordered “The Oh She Glows Cookbook” by Angela Liddon from Amazon. I have been trying to increase by plant based recipe repertoire without turning to cardboard boring pre-packaged science experiments. I follow Angela on Facebook and Instagram. I have tried recipes off the blog and finally decided to express my appreciation by purchasing the book. I was not disappointed, as a matter of fact, I am enthusiastic about the tasty plant based recipes.

I have quite a collection of cookbooks. Some might say that I have too damn many already. I even confess to using the internet more than all but my favorite cookbooks. Google is my best friend for many reasons. After watching “What the Health”, I found myself actually needing to find some vegan recipes that would not just feed me but would also bring me joy and satisfy my cells.

This weekend, I grabbed a stack of the small post-its, and thumbed through the book, picking out recipes to try as soon as possible. I am not the strongest menu planner. Or more accurately, I plan a lot, I just don’t always stick to the plan. Since it’s only me at the moment, I tried to pick out three or four main course type recipes, a couple side salads or dressings and a couple breakfast items. If I’m not careful, I will make a list of twenty meals for the week, which only results in wasted food. Not only am I trying to increase my plant based food consumption, I am trying to reduce my food waste. I hope that by mid-Summer I will be able to gather and share fresh veggies from the garden.

Back to the recipe reviews.

• The first recipe I tried from this book was actually a salad dressing. Lemon Tahini Dressing (LTD) to be correct. Suffice it to say, that my youngest son, Nate was in town for Spring break and he loved it. He is always my most honest critic, usually advises me if it’s a “keeper” or “edible but do not repeat”. Such sensitivity, I know. I made a Kale salad with cranberries and spicy pecans and dressed it with the LTD. First attempt, success. This is a good sign. He did mention that I forgot to add any cheese to the salad, but that just made me laugh.

• The second recipe I tried was the Chick pea sandwich. I really like chick peas, and the picture in the book was so great that I had to try it. I was working Sunday, so I liked the idea of chopping and no cooking. I am a gadget lover. I used the food processor to chop the chick peas, the celery and mix it all up. It was quick and is definitely a keeper.

On the left, the open faced sandwich, on the right the constructed sandwich, with fresh dill pickle, cucumber slices and humus

• The third recipe I tired was the Mushroom Tart. I had never considered using Phyllo instead of pizza dough as the base. Brilliant, I tell you! I had the Phyllo in the fridge from a previous experiment. I’m glad I hadn’t thrown them away. The thing with Phyllo is that once opened it can dry out. This was a perfect use for the remaining sheets. I have a healthy love of mushrooms, so I was happy to give this one a try. I substituted sweet onions for red, added some oven roasted tomatoes from my stash and some Aleppo pepper flake from last summer. I also mixed cashews and walnuts, instead of just walnuts.

• The fourth recipe I tried is the roasted beet salad (served with the chick pea salad in butter leaf lettuce).

In short, I can’t wait to try more recipes from this book and Angela in general. You don’t have to be a committed vegan to enjoy your veggies. Long gone are the days of frozen or canned mush. I recommend the book and the contained recipes. You can follow Angela on her blog Oh She Glows ,on her Facebook Page or on Instagram.

Please consider purchasing her book.

#EatClean #EatLikeYouGiveAShit #VeggiesAreNotTheEnemy #OhSheGlows
#YourBodyIsATemple #TakeAChance #MakeAChange