Minimalist Baker's Everyday Cooking: 101 Entirely Plant-Based, Mostly Gluten-Free, Easy and Delicious Recipes: A Cookbook

Dana Shultz has written an absolutely gorgeous cookbook and packed it full of recipes that are diverse and interesting. I'm always delighted to find a cookbook like this one, where I can plan an entire menu that includes and satisfies everyone around the table, even diners not on a specific diet.I really like the layout, with basic recipes and methods at the beginning (for things like a flax egg and the 1-bowl approach (which appears a lot)). The recipes then follow along a familiar and easy-to-follow progression from breakfast - apps & sides - mains - desserts - drinks. Following the recipes, there is a basic pantry list and even a nutritional index(!) that lists every dish and its calories | fat | saturated fat | carbs | sodium | fiber | sugar | protein content. I am going to ignore that info for the amazingly delicious double-chocolate gluten-free waffles, but since they are meant to be a special occasion dessert/"breakfast", it's totally fine.At the top of each recipe page is a convenient notice about the advantages of that recipe. Some are 30 minutes or less, some require only one pot, some are gluten-free, some are 10 ingredients or less, others are all of the above, etc. Combined with a brief description, info on prep and cook time for each recipe, and a photo - usually on the same page - Dana's recipes are thoughtfully presented and easy to follow. The spine does enable the book to stay open easily and most recipes plus their photo are all on the same page as the ingredients list (which I love).Dana writes that her Spiced Buckwheat Pancakes are her favorite vegan pancakes to date, so I easily made a batch tonight and froze them individually for my breakfast all week. They are very good (assuming you like spices & buckwheat, both of which I adore). I'm really excited to try her Chickpea Fesenjan for dinner tomorrow night (yum walnuts, pomegranate, chickpeas and cauliflower rice (my choice)). With a prep time of only 10 minutes and a total cook time of 45 minutes, it's a perfect example of most of her main dishes: full of flavor but short on time-commitment and actual prep time. These recipes also scale really well - down to a single serving or up for a larger crowd. I can tell I'll be cooking a lot from the Minimalist Baker's Everyday Cooking; it's perfect for any audience - those eating plant-based all the time, only on Mondays, expanding your gluten-free horizons, and everyone in between.

All of the recipes I've made so far have been excellent and as I paged through the book I found just about every recipe appealing. The one thing I have learned is that I prefer quite a bit more spice, so going forward will add at least 50% more to all recipes I make from the get go. I borrowed the book from my public library but have now purchased it - my only cookbook purchase of 2017 (so far)! This author (I love her website too) is now up there with Angela Liddon, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and Dreena Burton for me. I try to eat a mostly plant based diet and I prefer recipes that use reasonable amounts of oil like this author (as opposed to none!). I personally love gluten (!) so although the author offers ways to make certain recipes gluten free (and marks the ones that are at the top of the recipe, along with whether it is 1 bowl or pot, 10 ingredients or less, or 30 minutes or less), I just used regular oats, etc.Although I've successfully made several dishes from her website, which brought me to this book, here's what I've made so far from this cookbook (it's been a bit too hot to cook so have been making a lot of smoothies and overnight oats lately):- Ginger Colada Green Smoothie (I can't believe I've never added a piece of peeled ginger to a smoothie before - awesome! I did add the optional flax seeds and hemp hearts but sweetener wasn't needed. Great tip on keeping prewashed bags of spinach/kale in the freezer!)- Mango Coconut Lassi (because I used frozen mango this was almost like soft serve - and a gorgeous yellow. I researched and found out you can freeze coconut milk in ice trays and then move the cubes to a freezer bag for a month because I really wanted to make this one but didn't have a plan on what to do with the rest of that can of coconut milk! The frozen cubes should be thawed and blended before using. (per America's Test Kitchen).- Spiced Buckwheat Pancakes (Used buckwheat, spelt, and rolled oats. Excellent but will add more spices next time. Made exactly 8 pancakes like the recipe said it would. Good tip to freeze any extra pancakes.)- Hearty Cocoa Black Bean Burgers (I used olive oil instead of the called for grape seed or avocado oil. The recipe makes 4 but those would have been too big so I made 8 and froze the extra per her instructions. I decided to follow her optional baking instructions after browning them "to dry/crisp them up a bit" - yum! Good easy sauce recommendation. Will add more spices next time - could hardly taste the chili powder.)- Peanut Butter Pad Thai (This is the best Pad Thai I have ever made - because of her sauce. I didn't have "chili garlic sauce" so used Sriracha hot chili sauce instead and didn't change any of the other spices and it was absolutely delicious. I happened to have tamarind concentrate - Swad brand I found at a Tony's Finer Foods for another recipe that didn't make it into my regular dinner rotation- so was especially happy to find a new recipe that uses it that WILL make it into my regular dinner rotation!)Absolutely gorgeous photographs accompany all of the recipes and the book is nicely bound with a hard cover. Truly a beautiful cookbook. Nutritional information is included in the back - a nice addition.

I've been making recipes off of the MB blog for a few months, but held off on ordering this book since the price seemed a bit high. I finally caved since I have loved so many of the MB recipes I've made and wanted to support the blog -- and am glad I did!So far, I've made the Butternut Squash, Kale, and Quinoa Bake; the Masala Chickpea Curry; the Banana Chocolate Pecan Muffins; and a few small other things. Everything has been amazing! I'm including a photo of the Banana muffins; they were so good that my husband (who is not a huge muffin fan) asked to have them sent along with him for breakfast each day.As a chronically time-crunched person, I also appreciate that most of the recipes are simple and quick to make. A few take longer, but even though aren't too bad.I also love that this book has a lot of entrees and that almost every recipe has a gorgeous, full-color photo. Photos always inspire me to cook and try out new things, and this book doesn't disappoint in that area. It's also a lovely hardback book.I've already made quite a bit from this, and know that I will continue to get good use out of it in the years to come. That being said, I'm already anxious for a second volume. :-)UPDATE ON 11-12-18: I've been using this cookbook a lot, and it has quickly become a favorite! I'm posting a photo o the Thai meatballs, which I've made a few times and which always come out amazing!

This is by far one of my favorite cooking book. Her recipes are tasty, flavorful. You won't regret it! For foodies and healthy eaters.

I had originally bought this book as a wedding gift for a vegan couple, because I love the Minimalist Baker blog. Unfortunately, it arrived poorly packed. and the corner of the package (and the book cover) were damaged in shipment. The front cover of the book was also coated in a sticky glue-like residue. For this reason, I was unable to give it as a gift, and did not have time to order a replacement before the wedding. I was eventually able to rub off most of the glue. I was going to return it, but hated the idea of an otherwise nice book being destroyed, so I ended up keeping it for myself. I have not made any of the recipes from the book yet, but have made many online Minimalist Baker recipes, and they have always turned out fantastic. The book is well-organized, the recipes look appetizing, and the pictures are beautiful. I give 5 stars for the book itself, but deduct one star for the inconvenience of not being able to gift it, as planned.

Brilliant book, easy to use and lots of amazing recipes. I’m eager for them to bring out another cook book. I will definitely be buying. Highly recommend.

I am very disappointed from this book! You can find many more interesting recipes on their website, and for free... I have spent money for nothing!

Gosh I love this book! I use it on a constant basis, for dinners, breakfast and lunches ! The recipes are well described, easy to follow and with great pictures !I suggest it for people who love to cooks and try new things, with amazing flavors.