My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season: A Cookbook

I am a big fan of Sarah's blog and it feels really bad to write this review. I would like to support Sarah in what she does. She is a great source of inspiration when it comes to healthy cooking and living. Reviewing this book though I must say it is not so impressive. Recipes in her blog are better to my mind. I agree with those who call ingredients "fancy" because for an average person (even who likes to cook) many ingredients are way too unfamiliar and unusual. But not for me... I am a totally crazy foody myself and have zatar, sumac, frikeh, carob powder, psyllium husk, hemp seeds and much more in my cupboard on a regular basis. What is the problem with the book then?Well, for everyday cooking it is too complicated and time consuming. Cooking at home has to be your job (Sarah has such job!) or you have to be totally in love with food and cooking (as Sarah is). She suggests dishes for breakfast that take like 40 minutes to make! (mushroom tempeh breakfast bowl for example). There is no chance any person who works and needs to leave a couple of children in the kindergarten would manage it. I don't think it can work on Saturdays either. And I am not the one who likes to eat only simple and quickly cooked food, no. But the recipes in this book are unreasonable when it comes to time. The idea of using this book for cooking on special occasions doesn't work for me either. The food is not enough "festive" or special. Many recipes are healthy and satisfying but they are nothing I would invite guests for. Some dishes taste so so if you are not used to ingredients, some have not so much taste at all. Children would not eat the food in most of the cases (and my children love vegetarian food!). Then it is too few main dishes and too many snacks, desserts (mostly baked with flour and some sweetener like honey, maple sirap, coconut sugar etc). All in all I don't regret buying the book because as mentioned I want Sarah to keep going but I almost don't use this book for cooking (have done maybe 10 new recipes and was not impressed).

As many of the other reviewers have noted, this is indeed a gorgeous cookbook. Not only are there appealing, well-done photos for all recipes, but the quality of the paper and spine of the book are fantastic.This cookbook has a fair number of recipes that look good, but in practice too many of them don't turn out (for example, the breakfast bars tasted strange and didn't hold together--there are a lot of other "baking with beans" recipes online that are much better). Furthermore, there are just a touch too many "out there" and "trendy" ingredients for me. While I appreciate learning about new ingredients in cookbooks, the constant use of these non-traditional ingredients seemed a bit contrived to me in efforts to make the book sexier. So keep in mind that unless you are very into gourmet health food or have large disposable income, some recipes will need to be modified.Overall, decent cookbook if you are willing to commit to some expensive ingredients, but absolutely beautiful execution. Many decent recipes but probably not a cookbook you will >50% of the recipes.

I wanted to love this book so much, however so many recipes I've made from this turned out to be dismal at best. I am wary of trying the others. I wonder if they were experiments the author made once for her blog and then were not tested after that initial creation? Despite that- there is still a lot of beauty in this book. They author is passionate and poetic about healthy foods; it is impossible not to read this book and not be inspired to eat better and cook a wholesome meal. The photos are very nice.

I really want to like this book. Like how I really wanted to have my life changed by her life changing bread from the blog. I made that one twice, just to make sure I hadn't made a mistake! I bit the bullet and bought all those expensive ingredients ($24.52 total) for the raw brownie recipe (maca, hemp seeds, lucuma, cacao nibs, plus the nuts and dates) and the brownies didn't hold together! I even added more dates like it said and used a meat pounder to smoosh it in the pan!! And it was like sand.It's a pretty book to flip through. I'll try a few cheaper recipes and see how they are before I donate it. Maybe the recipes weren't tested thoroughly? I did find errors "kgs" instead of grams, thankfully a ridiculous amount so I knew it was wrong!! The author seems really nice so I feel bad, but the ingredients are way too pricey for recipes not to be foolproof.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Sarah's book, which is full of original and delicious offerings. We're entering a brave new world, where foraged, seasonal, raw, vegetarian, vegan and allergen-free cooking-styles are colliding head first. I've the most obscure Scandinavian restaurant books sitting along-side my raw books, and for the first time it's beginning to feel as though these worlds are overlapping in mainstream vegetarian books... Yes, there have been a spate of releases in this genre of late, but this is probably my favourite of 2015. These are dishes that are balanced, well-considered, and beautiful - they feel a little more grown-up than some of the other offerings.One note of caution, this isn't a book for someone who's looking for the odd vegetarian recipe - not everyone keeps organic cacao nibs and chia seeds in their pantry {the cost can add up quickly unless you're using them regularly}, and so it isn't necessary going to suit those looking to supplement their usual diet with an occasional foray into this world.The book is divided in to the following sections:Essential techniquesSpringMornings: strawberry coconut milkshake; carrot rhubarb muffins; freekeh pancakes with wilted Swiss chard and poached eggs; strawberry chia jam; dark chocolate cherry overnight oats; the life-changing loaf of bread with olives and caraway; spring cabbage wraps with couscous, za'atar and spicy tahini dressing; pick-me-up pickled turnips; shaved turnip and radish salad with poppy seed dressing; savory spring hand pies; dandelion greens with ghee-poached radishes and smoked salt; oyster mushroom bisque; quinoa risotto with grilled scapes and rocket; black lentil salad with tzatziki, avocado and pea shoots; sprouted wild rice with pistachios and spring vegetables; socca with grilled white and green asparagus, dill and feta; moon macaroon; apricot rhubarb clafoutis; strawberry chamomile and no-churn frozen yogurt; sunflower sesame seed brittleEarly summerMornings: rooibos ginger sun tea; multi-grain carrot cake porridge with pecan crunch; tempeh mushroom breakfast bowl. fully loaded breakfast barsSmall Measures: sorrel hummus; labneh with rose petals, sesame and honey; carrot top and garlic scape pesto; grilled courgette and spring onions with baby spinach and hazelnuts; the real deal ginger aleMains: caramelised onion, olive and kale calzones; full-bloom rocket salad with millet, redcurrant and nasturtiums; caramelised fennel on herbed pollen; Thai-style coconut soup with courgette noodles; broad bean, sweet pean and tarragon soupSweets: mint chip ice cream sandwiches; the raw blondie; raspberry macadamia thumbprint cookies; piña colada passion fruit popsiclesLate summerMornings: raspberry breeze smoothie; raw cashew yoghurt with maple and blackberry; cornmeal pancakes with gingered plum compote; blueberry cardamom chia puddingAll measures: sparkling mint lemonade; cleansing grape salsa; courgette firecracker corn bread; roasted red pepper walnut dip; heirloom tomatoes with olive-cured olives and crusty bread; sundown carrot and grilled corn salad; the best lentil salad everMains: CBLT-coconut "bacon" lettuce tomato sandwich; cucumber nigella spelt salad; miso sesame-clazed aubergine; grain-free hemp tabbouleh; buckwheat crepes with creamy green bean slawSweets: blueberry-lemon star anise cantuccini; berry volcano cake with white chocolate hemp sauce; raw key lime coconut tarts, grilled peaches with blackberry sauce; rawkin' funky monkey ice-creamAutumnMornings: vanilla rose apple cider; green galaxy smoothie bowl with buckwheat crispies; hazelnut flatbread with maple spice pumpkin butter; warm spinach. "bacon", and egg salad; fig and buckwheat breakfast tartSmall measures: red onion lentil soup with Manchebo toasts; raw cashew cheese; celeriac ribbon salad with toasted coming and pomegranate; pan beignet with sunflower seed "tuna"; roasted butternut squash with grilled helium and duke on massaged kaleMains: skinny dip white bean fondue; roasted cauliflower with Lebanese lentils and kaniwa; forest floor flatbreads; 10-spiced chocolate chili; roasted pumpkin with black rice and tangerine tahini sauceSweets: pear apple blackberry crumble; upside-down plum cake; walnut fig bars; raw chocolate night sky; banoffee pie.WinterMornings: chaga tea; chaga hot chocolate; chunky banana bread granola; ginger-rosemary roasted grapefruit with macadamia nut cream; chipotle sweet potato and trumpet mushroom breakfast tacos; cranberry carrot loafSmall Measures: pickled fennel, grapefruit, cabbage and avocado salad; beetroot party with orange and pine nuts; roasted parsnips with pomegranate glaze and za'atar; trippy tie-dye soupMains: four corners lentil soup; butternut stacks with kale pesto, kasha and butter beans; leek "scallops" and chanterelles on black rice; grain-free black kale sushi rolls with white miso ginger sauceSweets: creamy eggnog milkshake; pecan cranberry pie; rooibos-poached pears with raw chocolate olive sauce; salt 'n' pepper chocolate chip cookies; blood orange chocolate cake.Stocking the pantryThere's a useful introduction to the basic techniques and ingredients in a well stocked vegetarian kitchen, together with options that are gluten, dairy and sugar-free. The book is divided by season, something we're beginning to see more and more frequently {hurrah!}, and encourages you to get out into the market to see what's fresh. You won't see many of the offerings that had filled the Sunday supplements of late, and that's my reason for giving Sarah an elusive 5th star - there are enough original recipes in this book to ensure you're kept moving forward. I'm particularly looking forward to giving the coconut 'bacon' BLT a go - I loathe meat substitutes, but I reckon this one will actually be pretty interesting, with tamari, liquid smoke, maple syrup and coconut... The book is also beautifully shot - you can tell Sarah has come up the food-blogger route - it shows on every page...

I like Sarah's book, i think she offers the novelty and new, non-difficult twists in recipes. Since i frequently try new recipes from different authors, i already kind of know the combinations and tastes what to expect. However, Sarah's recipes are more interesting and i'm positively surprised when i make them.Unfortunately, there are also many negative points.-The division into seasons is good, but sooo impractical. It requires long searches and missing recipes. The index does not help and to look into the book is every time a struggle.- following recipes is not easy. Already for some times i am sort of in the same line with Sarah as of soaking nuts and beans, making nut milks etc., so many things are natural for me. And nevertheless, i need to re-read and to re-think every recipe before i make it, it would be nearly impossible to follow line by line.-the biggest drawback, as i see it, are the ingredients. Some of them are totally unheard and requires careful googling, searching and buying "don't know where" like psyllium seed husk or kombu weed, some others are simply so rare in markets that it is almost impossible to find them in the shops (like scapes). Even though i live in the same country with Sarah, i can barely find all the ingredients for any of the recipe, so I re-think and substitute, substitute, substitute. It is not entirely bad that Sarah invites to try products that can be bought only in 1-2 shops, but i would appreciate much more if she also wrote the possible alternative of what is easier to find.

Bought one for my self - following a Times review. Everything from it has been excellent. The posh sounding roasted butternut squash with grilled halloumi on a bed of massaged kale - with home made dukkah has to be tried - if nothing else so you can tell folk that's what you cooked for tea! It's deceptively delicious and really easy to prepare and remains our favourite non-meat mid-week dishes. I am a meat eater who tries to have meat free days but find this book tempts me more than recipes found in other good books. My daughter-in-laws, one vegan, one who eats very little meat and one who really does suffer if she eats gluten - have all loved the food I have produced from these recipes at different times and I have re-ordered copies for them as part of their Christmas presents. I also love the way the book is written and Sarah's practical approach to eating in a healthy manner. Be aware thought that some of the book's recipes call for ingredients not available from supermarkets (in my area at least) but a trip to a health food store has always worked.

It arrived today and so I only managed to cook one recipe, but it was absolutely delicious. As I'm reading through the Late Summer section, I can't stop smiling and hide my excitement!! This cookbook is going to be my new best friend! So far I purchased few cookbooks and literally none of them sparked this much creative energy in me. And the fact that I have so many crazy ingredients in my kitchen that I don't use as much as I would like gives me a surge of hope that now, NOW is the moment, when all of them come together to create something new, unexpected and delicious. I want to make every single recipe one by one as I write this.....but it's kind of late, so I must pace myself. Tomorrow's a day as well...

such an amazing book, it won't disappoint neither those who already know Sarah's work, nor those who have yet to discover her. The recipes are delicius, easy to follow, divided by (five) seasons and a good selection spanning from more 'basic'/everyday fare, t o something a little bit more fancy. Packed with nutritional info and basic techniques. Last but not least, photography to make your mouth water. Can only reccommend!