Cooking with The Lemonade Cookbook

I am a huge fan of the LA-based, modern cafeteria style restaurant, Lemonade.  You can read about my culinary adventures there in a previous post here.  This past summer, I was thrilled to learn that the restaurant was putting out a cookbook. I received a copy two weeks ago and have been cooking from it ever since.  Recipes aside, this is a beautiful cookbook.  It is colorful, sleek and modern just like the restaurant.  The photographs are gorgeous examples of "food porn."  

The recipes themselves cover everything you would find in the restaurant.  They are organized just as you would find them in the sections there.  To my delight, the ingredients and directions for the dishes are straightforward and simple.  Of course, I am focusing on the Marketplace Vegetables and Marketplace Vegetables + Legumes + Grains items.  The last section of the book is dedicated to their delicious lemonades - recipes for all 11 varieties included!    

I am even more excited to now have the opportunity to try many of the vegetarian dishes at Lemonade that I have had to pass over because it has some kind of cheese or dairy in it.  Now, I can veganize these dishes - and I am!  I am also curious about some of the soups and sandwiches that I could easily veganize.  First on my list to try is the egg salad, bacon, and heirloom tomato sandwich.  I can easily do that one with tofu instead of eggs, and tempeh bacon.  Yum!  The Sweets section will also give me lots of opportunity to play with veganizing ingredients.  

In the meantime, here's what I have been cooking and eating - all to rave reviews not only by me, but also by my hubby and kids.



Marketplace Vegetables
brussels sprout, shaved parmesan, sherry vinaigrette - I omitted the cheese on this one and voila, it's vegan!  The sherry vinaigrette is amazing.  These were so good.  My husband and I were fighting over the last sprout in the serving dish!

avocado, cherry tomato, pine nut, lime vinaigrette - This is one of my favorite salads at the restaurant.  So very happy to be able to make it at home!

fingerling potato, dill, lemon-saffron vinaigrette - The vinaigrette calls for egg, so I prepared it without and it tasted delicious.  Instead of using Greek yogurt, I used 1 tablespoon of vegan sour cream to add the creamy texture to the recipe.  It was amazing.

blue lake green bean, shaved parmesan, caesar dressing - I had to make a few modifications to this one.  I obviously ditched the cheese, and in the dressing, omitted the egg yolk, and anchovy fillets.  I used vegan Worcestershire sauce and Parmela (vegan grated parmesan cheese).  The result was a resounding "YUM" by both me and my husband.    

Marketplace Vegetables + Legumes + Grains
beluga lentil, quinoa, persimmon, voodoo vinaigrette - This vegan recipe is my new favorite quinoa salad.  Packed with protein - lentil, quinoa and garbanzo beans, it is a great side dish with steamed veggies or leafy greens, and will most likely be my new go-to entree for potlucks.  My favorite part of this salad is the Voodoo vinaigrette.  The Indian spices are distinctive and incredibly delicious.

farro, spaghetti squash, pomegranate vinaigrette - This dish is vegan if you omit the cheese and is one of my favorite ways to eat spaghetti squash.

As you can tell from all of the recipes I have tried and loved (in just the first week of having the book!), I am smitten with The Lemonade Cookbook.  I highly recommend keeping a copy on your kitchen shelf.  You can click here to get yours.