Vegan Family Favorites

I've gotten a few new vegan cookbooks lately so as I try the recipes, I thought I'd post comments about how well the recipe worked and how my family liked them, etc.

I'll start with Vegan Family Favorites by Erin Pavlina (editor of VegFamily Magazine at www.vegfamily.com). Most of the recipes in the book are very quick and easy -- great for busy families. Some use fake meat and dairy products which I'm not the biggest fan of - but there are plenty I am looking forward to making. So far, I've tried:

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich - Basically, you slice up portobellos, toss with garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and bake. Spread toast with chopped spinach cream cheese (vegan) mixture and top with mushrooms. You can add other toppings like lettuce, cucumbers, etc.

My opinion: YUM! I actually didn't have any cream cheese so I just spread the toast with mayo, spinach leaves and cucumber slices. It was heavenly. I can't wait to have it again.

Red Lentil Soup - Simple soup of red lentils, carrots, greens and some spices.

My opinion: A huge hit with my kids. I've never cooked red lentils before (can you believe it!). They actually cook down to a puree like split peas and taste like them. It was so quick and easy to make, I know this will become a regular.

Carrot-Potato Pancakes - Similar to potato pancakes but with carrots -- and vegan of course.

My opinion: My family loved these. I served them with applesauce. They were a bit of work to make though. I doubled the recipe and frying them took a long time. You also need to start this early to soak the shredded potatoes (but what a great tip as it results in nice crispy pancakes.) I would definitely make this again but this is one of the few recipes in the book that is not a quickie.

Giant Old-fashioned Oatmeal Cookies - Just like grandma used to make, except with vegan substitutes for the butter and eggs.

My opinion: I made this recipe as directed except I cut the brown sugar down to 2/3 cup and the regular sugar to 1/2 cup. They were crispy but soft in the middle. Absolutely delicious. This is a good one to serve to non-vegans.

That's all I've tried so far, though I have many others I have marked to try. (I hear the Sweet Potato Curry is superb!) I'll post as I try other recipes.