I'm getting the impression that the overall results from LDV are bland and nothing special - I've only made a few recipes from it since borrowing it from the library and they were "okay". But I wouldn't make them again. Maybe this cookbook just isn't a winner? :(

It does seem that way, doesn't it? I think the only thing I've really liked has been the Cinnamon-Spice Roasted Veggies. I've never been a huge fan of How It All Vegan or Garden of Vegan - in fact I don't think I've made anything at all from GOV, and the few things I remember making from HIAV weren't spectacular. I don't know. The recipes aren't bad, per se... just meh. Or maybe we just like really spicy food. I eat a lot of Indian, and after that almost anything seems bland.

Oh crap, I hope I didn't waste my money. I've only tried a few recipes from the book, cocnut chocolate chip cookies, mushroom gravey, and emira's speedy rice and kale (or something like that.) So far I've liked everything, but then, I tend to like blander foods. Maybe that's the IBD though, I think I associate really, really flavorful with bad (i.e. sick)because of past, non-vegan food expereinces.

Hope you have more success with other recipes.

It's interesting to hear other peoples comments about HIAV and GOV, because I really love them.

grace - I don't think it's a waste of money if you've enjoyed the recipes. I think my ambivalence toward toward Sarah's books is due mainly to my personal tastes and not so much the recipes themselves. Like I said, I've never made anything that was bad - just bland to my tastes. I much prefer Vegan with a Vengeance for how spicy and flavorful everything is. But that's why there's so many books out there - to each their own. :)

primaryconsumer - I always like reading what other people think about my favorite cookbooks. I do think HIAV/GOV/LDV are good books - just maybe not for me.

I own dont own any of sara's cookbooks nor do I own VwaV. Though at the moment I wish the library had them so i could evaluate with out shelling out the cash.

Where I fall in the bland/flavorful range depends entirely on the mood i'm in. Somedays i'm totally into cooking and want the flavorful recipes and I get dissapointed when I pick one that turns out bland. Other days I just want something quick and am just as satisfied with a less flavorful dish.

So far i have had pretty bad luck with cooking light. Just about all the recipes i pick from there come out bland, lacking something that i dont yet have enough cooking knowledge to fix.

Bland isn't always a bad thing, I agree. Sometimes I want bland. There are times when a big pile of mashed potatoes with just salt and margarine is the best thing ever. What I don't like is expecting spicy goodness and get a fairly flavorless meals.

You know, I have one of the big Cooking Light annual cookbooks (obviously very non-vegan!) but I've never made anything out of it. If I make something that's lacking but I can't put my finger on why, the solution is almost always salt. But maybe that's just me. Mmm, sodium.

I'm also not a HIAV fan, though haven't tried the other two.
In the past 6 months or so, I'm finally at the point where I'll eat leftovers a day, possibly even two after. But if I'm leaning towards not really liking them, they're goners. It's hard too, because sometimes my boyfriend will eat the leftovers I think he will (and hope) within 24 hours, and sometimes they go forgotten and thrown out.

jess - Leftovers are the bane of my boyfriend's existence. He's got this obsessive need to clean and organize the fridge every Sunday ('cause it's trash day), and he always ends up pulling a container full of moldy something out of the back. I like leftovers of things that I love, but after a day or two things get sketchy.

chris - That probably did add a lot to it. I don't really care for veggie sausage, though. Meat subs in general have been icking me out lately. Your "essence" may also be more spicy than the generico cajun seasoning I used.

I made a couple modified recipes out of a Cooking Light that my boyfriend snatched from work. Of course I modified recipies to be vegetarian, but lacto-ovo not vegan. The pasta casserole I made with spinach, artichoke, cream of mushroom soup (and other ingredients I’m not remembering) was ok, but we both agreed the if we made it again we’d have to play around with the seasoning as it was nice but not spectacular. Funny enough the few recopies I made out of the mag were quite a bit heavier and involved way more cheese than I’m used to using these days. Ironical huh, Cooking Light my arse.

Did you notice I apparently can't spell the word "recipe"? Stupid spelling...

Whenever I see it spelled "recipie" I pronounce it like "ree-see-pee" in my head. And that amuses me, so (mis)spell on! :)

I've always thought that Cooking Light uses a LOT of dairy. I used to have subscription to it before I went vegan, but now I don't even bother flipping through it at the bookstore. I wish their were more vegetarian/vegan food magazines.

I *love* spicy food too. And sodium. I recently learned that 1 tsp of sodium is the maximum amount you're supposed to consume in a day. When I used to eat eggs and french fries, I'd probably use four times that amount. EEK!

I know! 1 tsp isn't much salt when you put salt on everything.