• 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

• The basic pound stock

  • jhallen on April 11, 2021

    This is a versatile and easy stock.

• Humble potato-leek soup

  • lholtzman on May 01, 2025

    So easy and not much work. Great for lunch and dinner. I used 2 tsps salt. Potatoes need it.

• Yellow split pea dal

  • valderaa on April 18, 2026

    Excellent version of a basic dal. Easy and delicious. The lemon juice at the end is key. Spices are mild as is and can be easily adjusted.

• Hot-sweet-soup soup with tofu and pineapple

  • valderaa on April 22, 2026

    Very good! Easy. Healthy. I chopped the veggies ahead and then it came together quickly.

• 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).

  • lholtzman on February 24, 2025

    Very yummy pantry tomato soup recipe. It doesn’t taste like coconut at all, but it is creamy. It needed a lot more salt. We preferred completely puréed.

• 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.

• 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..

• Radicchio salad with oranges and pistachios

  • lholtzman on December 17, 2024

    This salad was so yummy. Wonderful for the winter months.

• 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.

• Pomegranate tabbouleh

  • lholtzman on October 21, 2025

    This was good. I wish it was a bit more flavorful, but we enjoyed it.

• Ravioli-kale salad

  • oboistaalli on December 06, 2020

    Super delicious and fast recipe.

  • lholtzman on October 08, 2025

    This is perfect for a fast dinner or lunch. One could also use tortellini or maybe dumplings.

• Mushroom Stroganoff over cabbage "noodles"

  • wester on January 23, 2015

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

• Roasted garlic-mashed cauliflower

  • Yildiz100 on April 30, 2024

    Note: When making the roasted garlic You may need more than one bulb to make 3 tbsp of garlic paste. I used 2 small bulbs and only ended up with 2 and a half tablespoons. My cauliflower was probably smaller though, Nd it ended up plenty garlicKY. It's kind of annoying to have to wash the food processor to make this dish, but it really does make the texture very nice. It's excellent finished with a bit of cheddar cheese.

• Soft Cuban-style black beans

  • MarshaG on June 06, 2020

    Beans can be home cooked or organic canned.

  • twoyolks on January 01, 2026

    These are pretty good black beans but not as good as Cuban black beans I've had in restaurants.

• Golden lentils with soft, sweet onions

  • lholtzman on July 03, 2024

    This required a lot of salt, but was really yummy. It did take a lot more effort and dishes.

• Farro and Tuscan white beans

  • Hawley on January 15, 2014

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

  • oboistaalli on December 06, 2020

    We loved this salad. Perfect for the summer.

• 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).

• 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.

• Savory ricotta "muffins"

  • lholtzman on July 11, 2025

    These are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner and lunch the next day. Both kids ate. I will play around with fillings in the future. This is a good base recipe. I used panko bread crumbs and truffle Parmesan. I also used 1/2 tsp of Morton’s Kosher salt.

• Caramelized onion frittata with artichoke hearts, zucchini, and goat cheese

  • lholtzman on April 24, 2024

    I’m the future I would reduce cooking time and temp. I loved this, but I really over cooked it.

• Cumin-scented black bean burgers

  • lholtzman on March 03, 2024

    Goes well with Strawberry-Avocado Saladita on page 382.

• 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.

• 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.

  • crandall57 on June 17, 2025

    We really enjoyed these pancakes. I used brown rice flour and put extra shiitake mushrooms in the pan, as suggested, and they were delicious. I made an avocado crema (from Forks Over Knives) to serve with them. We also had some leftover black bean and mango salsa that went great with the pancakes. You do need to make the rice ahead of time, so it has time to cool.

• 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/

  • lholtzman on November 14, 2025

    This was delicious. I’m not convinced the step of boiling the Brussels sprouts is necessary though. If that step is eliminated, these would be really quick to make and one less dish to clean. I made these in a cast iron skillet because it gives a nice char.

• Pear tart with olive oil-cornmeal-pine nut crust

  • oboistaalli on December 26, 2023

    This pear tart is delicious, not too sweet, and easy to make! The dough is not like a regular pie dough and very forgiving. Next time, I'll try rolling out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. I served this with homemade Pear Ice Cream from Barbara Tropp's "China Moon Cookbook." If you are gifted a box of Harry & David Royal Riviera Pears, make this pear tart!

• 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.

• Gingery sweet-and-sour stir-fry with carrots, pineapple, pepper, and walnuts

  • lholtzman on February 25, 2026

    I found this perfectly edible, but just okay. It needs a protein other than nuts, so I’m not sure why that’s optional. I fried tofu in advance and added with the sauce. I wanted the sauce to have more oomph. I found it a bit flat.

• Twice-cooked Italian-style broccoli

  • lholtzman on September 18, 2024

    Good, but using two pots is annoying. I prefer the flavor of roasted broccoli anyway.

• Crunchy chickpea crumble

  • valderaa on November 23, 2025

    Delicious. I made this years ago and had always meant to come back to it but lost track of the source. Finally found it again thanks to this database.

• Pickled red onions

  • ethan_fauraq on March 01, 2026

    Page 395!

• Walnut-coated, broccoli-speckled mashed potato cakes

  • ethan_fauraq on March 27, 2026

    Page 314

• 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