Blissful Basil

I love recipe books! All of my friends do, too, so there will be problem getting folks to take a look at this one. The recipes are awesome. Well written with loads of photos of the tasty treats. This one is a must have for a  kitchen cookbook collection.

It’s fantastic when cookbooks are visually beautiful and Blissful Basil is no exception. The layout, the photos, and the breakout of the table of contents are all great. I’m not a vegetarian/vegan by any means (maybe financially so?) but the recipes are fantastic. It was also really nice to read such a personal introduction by the author who experience issues of anxiety and encourages exercise and making good choices to combat the issue – becoming vegan helped her on so many levels (which makes me wonder if I could do it?). I especially like her breakdown of the pantry needs – particularly the “sweeten it” list – medjool dates, coconut sugar, etc. Including a description of symbols for her recipes (gluten-free, grain-free, etc.) is also helpful since many of my friends are gluten-free and to quickly skim through and find those recipes is fantastic. A really great read as a gift or resource.

Great collection of wholesome recipes! We(my daughter and I) are trying to eat more healthy and working on eliminating harmful foods from our diet.The gluten-free,soy`free,and free from refined sugars recipes are a great help to us!

Very exciting recipes with consistently strong flavors and healthy wholesome ingredients. I love the way that the author thinks outside the box, while maintaining a high level of quality, both nutritionally and taste-wise..

The great variety of surprising recipes include Carrot Cake Smoothie, Granola Bark, Cauliflower Tater Tots, and Portobello PIzzettes.

The chapter titled Power Bowls is a great section of healthy, hearty, flavorful bowls that do not seem to difficult to make. The processes used are explained very clearly, so the recipes are not intimidating, even if they sometimes include ingredients that are not used widely. 

Plus, at the end, there is a chapter on making your own versions of staples like vegan versions of cheese, sour cream, as well as BBQ sauce, ketchup, pesto and even coconut butter.

Overall, this is a fun read, with tons of appeal. Highly Recommended.

I absolutely adore this book. I spent the last weekend trying at least two recipes per day and every single one of them was brilliant. I especially loved the vegan chili, the mushroom-cilantro-pesto, and the vegan ice cream (oh my god, that ice cream was to die for! Plus, given that you don't even have to add sugar, even my health-conscious partner was in love with it).

I like that the recipes are often nut-based rather than tofu-based. While I do enjoy tofu, sometimes it is nice to have alternatives. And who would have thought that using walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes as a base for vegan chili works that wonderfully? In general, the recipes are really creative and mix ingredients that I would not have thought of mixing, which is pretty much what I am looking for in a cook book. And still, the ingredients are easily found which helps, given that I live in a moderately sized German town with very few specialty shops around.

I especially love how Ashley Melillo gives tipps how to substitute ingredients to account for allergies, which is super super helpful. One of my closest friends is gluten-intolerant and my dad hates nuts, so being able to substitute those ingredients is a life-saver.

This is definitely a cook book that I will have to buy. I want to try pretty much every recipe in it, plus the pictures are so pretty! 

____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and BenBella Books in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that.

I loved everything about Blissful Basil; the concept, the pictures and of course the recipes.