Appetite for Reduction

At first, I was hesitant to buy Isa Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction. I love all of her other cookbooks, but I figured a weight-loss-oriented cookbook was not going to be my thing. But then I started seeing recipes on other people's blogs, and my brother tried and loved the OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings, so finally I was won over. (Plus my wonderful mother gave it to me.) Since getting the cookbook, I've only made a handful of recipes from it, but I have really enjoyed all of them. I won't bother to link to the recipes, as they are all readily available online (including through the Amazon product page, where after reading the recipes I recommend you buy the book).

I love onion rings but don't deep fry at home, so I was excited to try the OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings (recipe here). And they are AWESOME. I use large bread crumbs, though, so I ran out... then again, I think I took more rings per onion than Isa's recipe called for. I didn't take a picture--we ate them pretty quickly.

The salad dressing recipes in Appetite for Reduction are one of its major selling points for me. I love salad dressing, and use homemade dressings almost exclusively, but I hate how much fat and oil dressing recipes call for. Appetite for Reduction's recipes use small amounts of oil and tahini for richness.

The Caesar Chavez Dressing (pictured with bread with toasted homemade "cheese" on top) was delicious. I never had "real" Caesar salad before going vegan, but I always get excited when restaurants offer vegan versions, and I'm on a quest for the perfect homemade vegan Caesar salad. I really liked this one.

While I'm hunting down the best homemade vegan Caesar dressing, the boyfriend is on an eternal quest for the perfect homemade goddess dressing. So I made him the Green Goddess Garlic Dressing, below.

Topped with some beans, veggies, and homemade croutons to round out our salad as a meal. The dressing was delicious, but didn't have quite the distinctive bitterness the boyfriend and I associate with goddess dressings. I'd make it again, though.

I also really liked the Wild Rice Salad with Oranges and Roasted Beets..

I used golden beets, and spinach instead of red-leaf lettuce, so it's not the right colors, but was just the right taste. The orange-sesame vinaigrette is fantastic.

Appetite for Reduction is a lot more than salads. In addition to the onion rings, I've made a couple of the heartier entrees, including the Chickpea Piccata. Busy Vegan Mama made it a while ago, and her picture of it made it so appetizing I had to try--I've since made it twice. It is a lot more delicious than the sum of its parts, if that makes sense. It is simple to make but tastes complex.

I am saving the best for last: the Baked Falafel was AWESOME.

I'm a big fan of falafel, but again, not of deep frying at home. Also, falafel frequently has nightshades. (This recipes does, too, but easily replaced: it calls for 1/2 tsp of paprika and 2 tsps hot sauce. Substituting black pepper for the paprika did the trick, and 1 tsp of vinegar to replace the hot sauce--the black pepper added some heat, so the vinegar was just to add pungency.) Making it at home, without frying, was a really appealing idea--and the taste makes it even more amazing. These are delicious, and I know I will make them many times again. Served above with a ranch-type salad, and bread with some nutritional yeast and oil. (Not traditional, I know, but we wanted something carb-y and we didn't have pitas.)

I'm excited to try more from this book. Have you tried anything from Appetite for Reduction? Any favorites, or recipes I should avoid?