Beyond spring being a wonderful time of year due to weather and produce, it’s also a great time for new cookbooks. There are so many wonderful cookbooks coming out this spring that it’s hard to know what to share. However, The Love and Lemons Cookbook is one you should definitely add to your list. These carrot waffles are the creation of Jeanine and just one of the many recipes I have on my list to try from the cookbook. The waffles are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, all without any dairy or eggs. Jeanine hit it out of the park with these waffles (and carrots were the featured produce ingredient in this week’s newsletter!) Read more and see the recipe.
The post Vegan Carrot Waffles from The Love and Lemons Cookbook appeared first on Naturally Ella.
One of the things I loved most about running a web design company geared towards food was the talent we met. So many of our clients have done big things in the food space and quite a few have become successful published authors. One of those ladies, Maureen, happened to write a beautiful cookbook based around her collection of Lebanese recipes. Her book, Rose Water & Orange Blossoms, has become one of my favorite, inspiring cookbooks.
I’m sharing one of the more basic recipes from the book, but it’s one I think you should make before the summer tomatoes end. These roasted tomatoes are flavorful and can be used in a myriad of ways. Maureen’s book includes a salad and a crostini recipe that uses these roasted tomatoes. I ate them right off the sheet tray and also with fried eggs, in a simple salad, and on hummus (all three photos below). I’ll be making a couple more batches of these before my tomatoes run out.
photo credit: Ashley McLaughlin (left), Laura Ramos (right)
Good morning! I’m excited for today’s post. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes over here so I want to share some recent news with you.
Shortly after my first cookbook launched last March, I was offered to write second and third cookbooks. To say that I felt grateful is an understatement. However, my energy levels were pretty shot after a recent move, house renovation, the first trimester of pregnancy, and book launch. I knew I wanted to create another book someday, but I also knew the timing had to be right. Would I ever have the chance to create another book with a baby on the way? When would the timing be right?How would I continue to do chase career dreams while being a mother? I struggled, and still do, with these questions. I don’t have it all together, or even many answers on how to achieve a great balance, but I just try to put my heart into everything I do. I honestly didn’t know if I would want to write another cookbook for a long time. Not because I didn’t enjoy the first book, but the cookbook process is long, intense, and taxing. I’ve never been one to rush into big decisions so I decided to wait. My editors were super supportive and understanding, thankfully. I needed the passion and drive to return.
Sure enough though, that drive and creative spark did come back – and much sooner than I anticipated. During fall of last year, I started to feel a passion for creating a collection of recipes again. After a pregnancy that left me feeling lackluster about food, I now had an insatiable appetite thanks to round the clock nursing sessions. Food was exciting again!!! Recipes started flooding my mind and I worked on a recipe list during middle of the night feedings. Weird, I know, but there I was at 3am typing ideas into my iPhone. Before I knew it, I had over 200 recipe ideas and the rough outline for book #2 drafted. I was in the kitchen testing every chance I had – during naps and after Adriana’s bedtime mostly. No one was more shocked than I was with this sudden burst of creativity. My editors were thrilled to hear the news that I had been secretly working away on book #2 for months. But I was still unsure if I could make it all come to life. I’ve always been an independent worker, but it struck me then that I didn’t have to do it all on my own. In fact, I couldn’t anymore. Even though I enjoy food photography (and shooting the first book was one of my pride and joys), I knew with a baby in the house shooting over 100 photos for the book in addition to everything else just wasn’t going to happen!
The first person I thought of is my friend, Ashley. Our blogs and granola bar businesses brought us together way back in 2008 and we have stayed close ever since. She needs no introduction for many of you; she’s an incredibly talented blogger, recipe developer, and photographer (you can check out her gorgeous portfolio here). I sent her an email one day asking her if she’d be interested in shooting an entire cookbook (she recently shot the photography for her own cookbook – Baked Doughnuts for Everyone), and she got back to me almost instantly with…Am I interested? Umm let me think….YES!!!!!
Here we are back in 2010!
Obviously, I had to iron out the project proposal and all the details, but seeing her enthusiasm for this project made me certain she had to be a part of it. Her passion for food photography is exactly what I want for this next book, not to mention I admire her all-natural, unaltered approach with food styling. (You want to bet that she eats every recipe after she shoots it!) I knew she could capture the essence of my healthy, approachable, and fuss-free recipes while show-casing the food’s natural beauty.
Here are a few beautiful trial photos that she shot:
photo credits: Ashley McLaughlin
I’m so excited to have Ashley on board to shoot 100+ photos for my next cookbook. This allows me to focus on my biggest passion – developing and testing recipes for you. Not having to do the photography has allowed me to focus exclusively on developing and testing recipes, writing, and running my recipe tester website. It’s working out well (most of my recipes are completed and just need re-testing) and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s coming along. Ashley will be shooting the photography this summer, so this spring has been a really busy one for me. I know things have been quieter around here on the blog lately, and I appreciate your patience as I put my heart and soul into this next book. I hope to get back into a regular blog posting schedule soon. I miss this space so much!
Many of you have asked when the next cookbook will be published and I can now tell you that it’s due out early fall 2016. It’ll be out in time for the start of the holiday season which I think is the perfect time for this collection of recipes.
Here are a few more details about the next book:
– It will feature a mix of my favourite “every day” go-to recipes perfect for busy and active lifestyles, as well as more elaborate or special occasion recipes! I’m sharing the recipes that work for my actual life, the things I make on a regular basis, my go-to potluck/holiday recipes, etc. I think it’ll be a great mix.
– All recipes are plant-based/vegan. Almost all of the recipes are gluten-free (with the exception of a few recipes with spelt flour), and soy-free.
– I offer a lot of nut-free recipes as well as many nut-free substitutions in this book. There are plenty of nut-free snacks for kids!!
– Think “healthy comfort food” recipes that won’t weigh you down! Examples: nut-free chili and cheese nachos, creamy roasted detox salad, cheesy lentil pasta casserole, and the ultimate flourless sea salt brownies (totally bean-free, grain-free!), as well as a mix of lighter recipes like healthy parfaits, salads, soups, dips, smoothies, and more. No strange ingredients, just real food.
I’ve been sharing behind the scenes action for months now on Instagram. You can follow all the behind the scenes action with the #osgcookbook2 hashtag! Ash will be sharing behind the scenes sneak peaks this summer too (I’m a sucker for those glimpses into someone’s work!). You can follow us on Instagram: @ohsheglows and @edibleash (you can read her announcement post here, by the way).
Well, I can’t wait for this next book to come to life. I’m incredibly grateful to continue this journey and for your amazing support. More updates to come!
P.S. I’d like to pass along some recent interviews!
“This cookbook is full of simple, approachable recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Most can be made with ease on a weeknight (<45min), with downtime in-between. The recipes are such that they are practical, and don’t sacrifice flavour for speed. The included photos done by Angela are absolutely stunning, but what is more exciting is that the dishes end up looking like the photos! This is homey, craveable cooking at its finest, and Oh She Glows will be a go-to cookbook stained and splattered.” ~Katie Hay
2) An interview with Barre3 – We chatted about cookbook creation, favourite recipes, balance, and more.
“Running a business and being a new mom has reinforced something I’ve known for a while—it’s impossible for every aspect of my life to feel balanced at the same time. It reminds me of the saying, “you can have it all, but just not all at once.” I’ve made peace with the unbalance in my life right now. Yes, I’m sleep deprived, my laundry is piled up, and my pre-baby jeans are still a bit tight, but there is so much in my life to be grateful for.”
It’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks my cookbook, My New Roots: Inspired Plant Based Recipes for Every Season will be landing in stores, your homes and hands. Bah! Pretty exciting stuff. I know the wait has been long, but we’re nearly there. Your support and unabashed enthusiasm for this project has filled me up and fueled me these past months while I waited with knots in my stomach just to see it, and I can say with great relief and pride that I am thrilled with how it’s turned out. Now I have my fingers crossed (and toes and arms and legs and eyes) that you feel the same way.
Here is a trailer for the book – and clips from the year that I made it.
So to tell you a little more without giving too much away… The book opens with the techniques and processes I use in my kitchen every day, which form the foundation of all plant-based cooking: how to cook beans and grains and how to make nut and seed butters are just a few examples. With detailed yet easy to follow, step-by-step instructions, you’ll master these simple methods in no time and be well-equipped to cook the recipes from the book as well as have the confidence to be creative on your own.
The recipes follow, with 100 all-new, never-before-seen recipes with a couple of your favourites from the blog, just because I thought you’d appreciate them in print. Some of my favourite recipes are Savoury Spring Hand Pies, Raw Cashew Yogurt with Maple and Blackberry, Grain-Free Hemp Tabbouleh, Sparkling Mint Melonade, Apricot Rhubarb Clafoutis, Sunflower Sesame Seed Brittle, Trippy Tie-Dye Soup, Vanilla Rose Apple Cider, Chunky Banana Bread Granola, and Raw Mint Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches. All of the recipes are vegetarian, most of them vegan, and many of them gluten-free. I have some stellar raw recipes that go beyond just salad, hearty breakfasts, meals to take to school, the office, and road trips. Beautiful drinks to quench your thirst, soups and dips and sandwiches. Simple family fare, and meals to impress your best guests.
The book is laid out in seasons, five in fact, which you will learn more about once you read it. I wrote the recipes and photographed in “real time”, as the weeks rolled through the year, inspired by what was around me, growing in the garden, available at the market, and the dishes reflect this. When I look through the pages, the photographs pull me back to the places I was, the slant of daylight, temperature of the air, who I was with in the kitchen. It is, very much like the blog, a diary of sorts: a collection of more than just food, but moods and memories.
As we are counting down to the book’s launch, I’ve put together a bonus pack of six exclusive recipes not in the cookbook (plus two that are, for fun) for all of you who want to preorder to the book, and also for those that already have. It’s easy: pre-order the book from your retailer of choice, here, and then go to this page, insert your purchase order (PO number), personal information and you can download the Bonus Pack PDF immediately. No matter where you live in the world or where you are buying / have bought the book, you can get the bonus pack!
This book represents so many things for me. After eight and half years (!!!) of blogging, it seems like the natural next step to become three-dimensional, to enter the world as a published author. I am very proud of my journey, and this book is a culmination of that. I truly never imagined that I would be sitting here, cradling this collection of recipes from my heart, holding it out for you to take. But it feels right. And now is the time. Thank you for making this possible and for taking this journey with me.
Now let’s go cook.
In love and gratitude, Sarah B.
#MNRcookbook
PREORDER and BONUS PACK QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1. You can download the bonus pack from anywhere in the world that you ordered the book from. Here is the link: http://app.snapapp.com/MyNewRoots
2. You can download the bonus pack anytime. That means if you ordered the book five weeks ago, or five minutes ago. There is no time limit, the offer will not expire until the book is officially released on March 31st. Here is the link: http://app.snapapp.com/MyNewRoots
4. If you are in any other country not listed, check your country’s online book vendors and you will also be able to download the bonus pack.
5. The bonus pack is a PDF (a digital file). It is NOT an extra book that will be sent to you in the mail. If you want a hard copy of the recipes, simply download the bonus pack and print the document.
My friend and fellow blogger, Megan Gilmore, from the popular blog Detoxinista just launched her first cookbook this week, Everyday Detox: 100 Easy Recipes to Remove Toxins, Promote Gut Health, and Lose Weight Naturally. I was lucky to be able to review this cookbook before it went to print and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the hard copy on my doorstep. Just like on her blog, the recipes in her debut cookbook are unfussy, whole foods based, and feature short ingredient lists. I’ve been a fan of Megan’s for years and I’ve always admired her ability to take a handful of simple, whole foods ingredients and turn them into something practical for everyday life. While Megan doesn’t ascribe to any particular dietary label, she creates many vegan, paleo, vegetarian, and gluten-free recipes. About 75% of the recipes in Everyday Detox are vegan or can be made vegan by swapping out the sweetener or leaving out the cheese. All of the recipes are gluten-free. There are around 50 gorgeous photos shot by Nicole Franzen.
The book’s chapters include: 1) An easy approach to detoxing; 2) stocking your detox-friendly kitchen; 3) liquid nourishment; 4) morning favorites; 5) salads, dressings & sides; 6) soups, sandwiches & wraps; 7) casseroles & comfort foods; 8) sweet treats; and 9) back to basics.
Detox-based cookbooks tend to make me think of hard-core fad diets and cleanses, but thankfully Megan’s approach is much less drastic. She encourages you to practice daily healthy habits and believes in eating whole foods (ie., unprocessed, refined-sugar free, chemical additive free) on a day to day basis – making a lifestyle change – rather than teetering on the extremes and cyclic nature of dieting. Megan doesn’t believe in calorie counting because she says it “doesn’t take into account the quality of foods we’re consuming nor the body’s ability to digest natural foods versus processed ones.” Instead of looking at the calorie count on a label, she says to ask yourself a few questions: Where does the food come from? Is it in its natural state? How many ingredients does it contain and do you recognize those ingredients? Better yet, she says, select foods with no label at all. I love that last tip. The recipes in Everyday Detox are also based on the principles of food-combining and how food-combining can impact digestion (which is something I admit that I’m not overly motivated to follow), but whether you want to learn more about food-combining or not, the recipes can be enjoyed simply because they are healthful and delicious.
Today, I’m happy to share a recipe from her cookbook for all of the almond butter lovers out there! I couldn’t help myself and added a homemade chocolate topping and Maldon sea salt flakes. It was a hit with our friends!
Salted Almond Butter Freezer Fudge
Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw, refined sugar-free, soy-free
This almond butter fudge is lightly adapted and shared with permission from Everyday Detox (2015) by Megan Gilmore. I also threw on a homemade chocolate coating for a snappy burst of chocolate in each piece, and a garnish of flaked sea salt. Be sure to keep this fudge in the freezer because it melts at room temperature.
Yield 21 pieces
Freeze time 1.5 hours
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook time 0 Minutes
Total Time 15 Minutes
Ingredients:
For the freezer fudge (lightly adapted from Everyday Detox):
1 1/2 cups raw smooth almond butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4-1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt, to taste
For the chocolate topping:
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt
Maldon sea salt or other flaked sea salt, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Lightly grease a standard size loaf pan (9″x5″) and line with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the length of the pan.
For the fudge: Spoon the almond butter into a large mixing bowl.
In a small pot, add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt (only the fudge ingredients here). Heat over low, until the oil is melted. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the almond butter, stirring as you go. Stir until completely smooth and combined. It’ll be quite runny at this stage.
With a spatula, spoon the almond butter mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth out. Place the pan, uncovered, on a flat surface in the freezer. Freeze for around 1 hour, or until the fudge is solid.
For the chocolate topping: In a small pot, add the oil and melt the oil over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the maple syrup, cocoa powder, and salt until smooth. I like to place the chocolate sauce in the fridge for several minutes until thickened slightly.
Slice the frozen slab of fudge into about 21 (1-inch) squares and place on a large plate lined with parchment paper, about a half-inch between each piece. Spoon the chocolate sauce on top of each square (a scant 1 teaspoon per square). Place back in the freezer until the chocolate is solid. Sprinkle on some flaked sea salt, if desired.
Break apart the squares of fudge (if the chocolate pooled at the bottom) and enjoy immediately. Return leftovers to the freezer.
I also tried out the Strawberry Basil Blast smoothie a few times. I change it up a bit using half the avocado and lemon juice. It’s also good without the fresh basil (I don’t always have it handy because I love to kill me a basil plant), but I do recommend trying the basil version first. I’ve made a cherry-basil combo in the past and it really is awesome in a smoothie! This smoothie will be on heavy rotation throughout the summer.
Some other recipes on my must-try list include: Raw Falafel Wraps, Enchilada Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and “Beef” and Broccoli.
Thanks to Megan for letting me share this almond butter fudge recipe today. Be sure to check out Everyday Detox which is hot off the press this week!
