Cookbook Review: Chloe's Kitchen

From the moment Chloe Coscarelli won The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars I’ve been meaning to try her award winning cupcake recipe but writing a cookbook of my own kept me from trying all the new recipes that I wanted to so until her new book Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way came out I did not have the pleasure of trying any of her recipes. 

I didn’t have a ton of time on my hands when I tested out recipes for this book so I tried to pick things that looked like they were relatively quick and easy and contained ingredients I have on hand in my kitchen. I started with Black Bean Baby Cakes with Pineapple Salsa. I figured this recipe would be fantastic no matter what. You really can’t mess up a black bean patty and the pineapple salsa paired beautifully with the baby cakes. The Mandarin Peanut-Crunch Salad with Crispy Wontons wasn’t on my short list of recipes to make since it had many ingredients that weren’t immediately on hand but the picture of a beautiful, bright, green and orange salad topped with curls of crispy wontons kept calling me back and I finally had to give it a try. It was delightful. The flavors were fresh and sweet and the crunch of the wontons were perfection. One of the stand-out recipes for me that made my taste buds a bit more excited than the others was Chloe’s Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus. I’m always looking for something new and innovative in a cookbook and I think this was one of Chloe’s shining moments. I, once again broke my quick and easy rule and spent a day in the kitchen putting these things together. Since Chloe said they freeze well I doubled the batch so my time in the kitchen wouldn’t be in vein and I’m glad I did. The flavor combination of falafel with avocado hummus was outstanding. I even shaped a couple falafel’s into sticks and dipped them in hummus for my 7 month old to try and she loved them as well – so they’re a hit for the whole family (and my dog loved the leftovers that she threw on the floor). 

Outside of the Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus, I didn’t go head over heels for any of her recipes but I have to say that I really really liked everything I tried. Chloe makes consistently good food that isn’t too “out there” and uses simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery store. Her recipes are great bases for you to let your imagination run wild and for that reason I applaud this book. I think this book is a fantastic introduction to veganism for just about anyone.