I’ve had The Conscious Cook for ages now without making anything from it. It’s not that I wasn’t inspired but I’ve been so busy recipe testing that I just haven’t found time to try it. In fact its a lovely book with great pictures. Like many others have said, I’d have preferred a little less gardein, especially since we can’t get it here, but you can easily replace it with seitan.
I try to eat as much asparagus as I can during its short season. Its one vegetable I absolutely refuse to buy imported, so I need to get my fill when the english stuff is around. I chose this risotto as a different way to try it.
The recipe was quite straightfoward. I needed to use the suggested alternative to Meyer lemons since I’ve never even eaten one let alone seen one for sale here. You need to plan ahead for this dish because of soaking the cashews for the cream. (When you make the thick version of this, be sure to read right to the end of the recipe before you start otherwise you’ll add too much water. I almost fell foul of this).
This was a really tasty risotto and a good introduction to the book. The cashew cream added rich creamy background and I loved the fruity lemon in it. I’d make it again – though not of course until the next asparagus season comes round!
Cooking the Vegan Books 
I still don’t have that book, but I’ve glanced through it at the store. I love all the Gardein, but only because I never buy it because it’s so pricey…and I feel like having a recipe call for it would be more justification for me to shell out the money. I’m super cheap, and I need an excuse to treat myself. 🙂
This is one of my top wanted books right now. It’s so frustrating not being able to get Gardein here too, because it’s SO good. I’ve tried contacting both Grassingtons and Gardein about it, but neither ever respond.