• wester on January 27, 2015

  I probably would have loved this book ten years ago, but it's not my style anymore. On the plus side: the recipes are flavorful, there are some good ideas, and the vegetarianism is nicely pragmatic. What I don't like is that most recipes are sweetened (by sugar, or the addition of fruit) while most things that contain fat have their fat removed. Seems like the wrong place to find flavor to me.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Stir-fried noodles with asparagus, mushrooms, tofu, and cashews

  • Jane on June 04, 2021

    I had asparagus & mushrooms to use and wanted a reasonably quick and healthy dinner. This was perfect though I subbed more mushrooms for tofu. Even a 20 minute marinade for the mushrooms gave them a lot of flavor - garlic, ginger, sesame, soy sauce & lemon. There were more vegetables than pasta which satisfied the healthy bit and it took about 25 minutes start to finish which was definitely quick for a very satisfying dinner (and I have lots of leftovers).

• Tomato-coconut soup with Indian spices

  • wester on January 23, 2015

    A quite nice twist on cream of tomato soup. I used full fat coconut milk and omitted the sweetener.

  • TrishaCP on April 29, 2015

    I really liked this- it was a nice change of pace from a regular tomato soup and was so creamy it didn't seem vegan. (I used full fat coconut milk since that is what I had on hand.) If you can make it a day in advance, it is much tastier (cumin dominates the flavor profile the first day, but it mellows with time).

• Mushroom Stroganoff over cabbage "noodles"

  • wester on January 23, 2015

    Quite nice. Next time I will use (long-cooked) sauerkraut instead of the cabbage.

  • ellabee on January 23, 2016

    Quite good. I'm skeptical of anything that sounds like trying to be an imitation of a non-veg dish, but this stands on its own well enough. Fundamentally, it's cabbage and mushrooms enriched with butter and dairy -- but in the dead of winter that's fine. Lighter than a noodle-based stroganoff. Optional squeeze of lemon is very beneficial.

  • Cattyb on June 09, 2015

    Used wombok and cooked it, added red and green capsicum and carrot. Quite delicious. Served it with barley dumplings as the recipe suggested but made them lactose-free for the girlie, who added sour cream to the whole shebang anyway. If I had known that she was going to do that, I'd have added a little cheese to the dumplings but I did add garlic to the onions that were cooked with the dumplings.

• Orange-olive-fig saladita

  • vickster on October 14, 2013

    An unusual combination, but a delicious, salty-sweet salad that satisfied my craving for fresh oranges.

• Brûléed persimmon pudding

  • vickster on October 21, 2013

    If you have persimmons, make this! It is one of the best desserts I have made in a long time. Fortunately I have a persimmon tree and I am going to freeze pulp some so I can make this all year long! It is spicy, creamy, and the brûlée finish really makes the dessert.

• Asparagus salad with roasted red peppers and chickpeas

  • mlbatt on February 25, 2019

    Very nice combination of flavors. Used high-quality red wine vinegar & olive oil (used about half the recommend amount of oil). Roasted the asparagus. Definitely benefited from the optional lemon juice. Served on a bed of arugula and topped with a sprinkling of sheeps milk feta.

• Grilled bread and kale salad with red onions, walnuts, and figs

  • Waderu on March 29, 2014

    used dried figs soaked in lemon juice and balsamic vinegar, substituted Parmesan crisps for the Parmesan cheese and the bread

  • debkellie on March 13, 2016

    I added some roasted pumpkin and toasted pecans, but otherwise as per recipe (leaving out cheese). Made a lovely warm salad which surprised & delighted the dinner table vegan guests.

  • Debkelliemember on April 03, 2016

    Did this one again, subbing in green skinned apple for figs. Very nice. Went well with the chargrilled tahini pork skewers..

• Wild rice pancakes with mushrooms and goat cheese

  • Waderu on March 29, 2014

    The recipe turned out great, but it was a lot of work.

• Smoky Brussels sprouts and onion

  • Waderu on February 05, 2014

    This was amazing...i used it for a filling with phyllo dough and a blue cheese sauce, but could easily have eaten the entire dish on its own. The par boiling made it lose its shape a bit, but great.

  • twoyolks on October 23, 2017

    Nice but I like more crispiness to my Brussels sprouts.

  • Rinshin on January 15, 2022

    This was very quick and satisfyingly good. However, I over-browned the sprouts too much so best to keep eye on how the bottoms of sprouts are browning. Maybe my heat was too high. By over-browning, I lost some of the nuance of smoked paprika in olive oil coming through more. For me, 4 min initial blanching works instead of 3 or 5 min. Definitely a repeat with better browning technique. Posting photo to show over-browning results of mine but we still enjoyed it very much. The recipe at https://www.gardenista.com/posts/recipe-mollie-katzens-smoky-brussels-sprouts-and-onion/

• Farro and Tuscan white beans

  • oboistaalli on December 06, 2020

    We loved this salad. Perfect for the summer.

  • Hawley on January 15, 2014

    I would make this again, but it wasn't anything out of this world or "special".

• Ravioli-kale salad

  • oboistaalli on December 06, 2020

    Super delicious and fast recipe.

• Chocolate cream pie

  • Yildiz100 on November 22, 2018

    Very nice. Things to remember for next time-used the minimum sugar and that was plenty. Cooked the chocolate portion on the double boiler setup from beginning to end (recipe is vague on this point). Was uncertain when chocolate was done. When I stopped the chocolate was perfect thickness for a pudding and it firmed up quickly, but it seemed a little soft when served today. 1 cup chocolate chips =156 grams. Used 150 grams 52% and 6 grams 70 percent. Maybe go a bit darker next time.

• Mushroom popover pie

  • blueipomoea on January 11, 2014

    It calls for 2 tbs of butter. When she says melt the butter to cook the onion, she doesn't say only 1 tbs but when it comes to the last part, she says to melt the OTHER tbs of butter.

• Soft Cuban-style black beans

  • MarshaG on June 06, 2020

    Beans can be home cooked or organic canned.

• The basic pound stock

  • jhallen on April 11, 2021

    This is a versatile and easy stock.

• Ruby gazpacho

  • cookinglikeimeanit on July 19, 2022

    This is such a delicious soup - it's not hard, but takes planning ahead to really let the flavors develop.

• Way to Garden

  Interview with the author Mollie Katzen.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who enjoys fresh, vibrant vegetable-forward recipes. You do not have to be a vegetarian or vegan to cook from (and eat from) this book!

  Full review

• Serious Eats

  Almost all of the recipes come with a lovingly detailed headnote full of hints as well as a list of optional "enhancements" for tweaking each to suit your taste or appetite.

  Full review

• Publishers Weekly

  Katzen once again reminds us that simple, fresh, and flavorful vegetables can be inspirational as well as nutritional.

  Full review