Candle Cafe Cookbook
Although not a vegan, this little (in size only) book, is a useful addition to my ever-growing roster of cookbooks.
The Candle Cafe is a well known cafe in New York, and this book is a collection of recipes from its menu. Like most restaurant inspired cookbooks, some of the recipes can be involved and presumes a certain level of competence in the kitchen. That being said, nothing in the book approaches anything that would be considered haute cuisine — it’s delicious comfort food style cooking. It runs the range of pastas, noodle dishes, soups, rice dishes, breakfasts, desserts - a bit of everything. The favourite recipe in it has to be the savory pot pie — sublime.
And while I am not a vegan (I am vegetarian), the recipes in it are balanced for flavour and work to the strengths of the ingredients, so it’s easy to forgot the lack of animal products. Worth checking out if you are thinking of going vegan (or vegetarian), or if you want something a little different in your repertoire.
February 24th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Anyone who is interested in vegetarian cooking would do well to purchase a recent cookbook — gone are the days of sawdust-like cookies. Vegetarian, and vegan, cooking can be amazing.
February 25th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
i’m in the process of making the crust for the savory vegetable pot pie and the measurements appear to be incorrect. the recipe calls for 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1 cup unbleached white flour, and 1 cup sunflower oil. this makes for a very wet consistency and too wet to form into dough. what was your experience with the crust? i have the filling made and was counting on having this ready for company dinner this eve. help! i just called the restaurant and talked with a cook. i’m waiting to hear back from him.
February 26th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Hi Roslyn,
I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment til this morning… I’ve not had an issue with the crust and I am sure the proportion is 2/3 c water 1/3 c oil — not 1 c of oil. Occasionally I have added a bit more flour as it can be a bit sticky — but not very much (a handful maybe). The crust isn’t exactly like a pastry crust for fruit pies it’s a bit more chewy/dense.
Hope your dinner went well.
michael.