Notes about Recipes in this book

• Whole wheat buttermilk pancakes

  • Zosia on November 24, 2013

    Very good, basic pancakes that are light and fluffy, taste good without add-ins or toppings and use basic pantry staples. Yield was 18 pancakes.

  • macfadden on April 12, 2014

    I made a double batch with white whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat flour, and let the batter rest for about 20 minutes before cooking. The result was tall, fluffy and tasty pancakes.

• Oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

  • Zosia on August 29, 2014

    Not quite as light and fluffy as the whole wheat pancakes in the book (page 7), but still very tasty and with the added goodness of oats. With an overnight rest recommended for the batter, these become a quick and easy breakfast option.

• Grated carrot salad

  • Bwolfe2 on January 28, 2017

    I tried this without the variation. Found it to be somewhat dull but easy to make. I might try it again with the variation.

• Mediterranean chickpea salad

  • Zosia on September 19, 2015

    This tasty salad used a nice mix of fresh and pantry ingredients and was great for lunches since it could be made in advance and kept well. I omitted the yogurt - it wasn't missed.

• Warm lentil salad with goat cheese

  • Zosia on March 14, 2020

    Simple but tasty. I quite liked the sherry vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar that I usually use.

• Potato "bouillabaisse"

  • Zosia on May 22, 2014

    Very good potato soup with some of the Provencal flavours you come to expect in a bouillabaisse. A poached egg added richness to the dish. I used vegetable stock but would like to try it next time with the author's garlic broth.

• Pureed white bean and winter squash soup

  • Queezle_Sister on October 25, 2012

    A mild soup but very tasty. Its aroma will make your kitchen very inviting on a snowy day.

• Barley soup with mushrooms and kale

  • Laura on November 28, 2015

    This soup is the epitome of healthy comfort food! It's not terribly exciting, but it is soul-nourishing. The parmesan rind lends a cheesy creaminess and the porcini mushrooms add depth of flavor. We liked it and I'd make it again.

• Lentil soup with lots of cilantro

  • Bwolfe2 on January 01, 2017

    This soup was very thin. We double checked the ingredient list and used them all as directed. It was quite flavorful and would make it again only with a cup less water.

• Seared red cabbage wedges

  • Zosia on January 12, 2014

    Quick and tasty alternative to braised cabbage but a little oily, surprising coming from this author.

• Roasted carrots and parsnips with rosemary and garlic

  • Zosia on December 10, 2016

    My dishwasher broke down recently so I'm gravitating towards simple dishes with minimal clean-up right now and this one was perfect. The rosemary was a wonderful complement to both vegetables. I tossed the ingredients together on the baking sheet (one less dirty bowl in my sink!) and didn't core the parsnips. They were still completely tender but next time I will give the vegetables a stir before the 30 minute mark as the parsnips were over-browned on one side by that time.

• Bulgur pilaf with chickpeas and herbs

  • Zosia on September 16, 2020

    This dish is quite bland even if all you're looking for is a neutral side dish. But I think it would work well as a base for something more interesting. My leftovers will become a tabbouleh-like salad tomorrow.

• Farro salad with beets, beet greens, and feta

  • Frogcake on June 05, 2016

    I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to serve beets and this one is a keeper. I loved the combination of flavours here! I double the recipe for my guests, replacing one cup of farro with millet. As well, I pan fried the beets leaves instead of blanching them. I recommend toasting the walnuts beforehand. Pecans would work well here too.

  • aeader on January 31, 2022

    A good healthy salad that held up well as a week's worth of work lunches (I doubled the recipe, except for the dressing). A couple issues: Cooking times was off for the farro - only needed 10-15 mins (pasta method) and then sat covered after draining for 10 min and was perfect (I assume I had a different type farro than the author, however my package just said "farro" and author didn't mention anything about different types). Recipe makes way too much dressing for only using 1c farro called for. I cooked 2c raw yielding about 5c cooked and seemed the right amount for 1x dressing. Next time I'll toast the walnuts. Subbed in the walnut oil for 2Tbsp of the olive oil as suggested.

• Easy oven-baked polenta

  • mlbatt on June 10, 2017

    This is my "go-to" technique for polenta. Always comes out great with practically no stirring. I make this quite often.

• Pasta with tuna and olives

  • jaelsne on October 22, 2012

    This was a tasty, quick and easy dish. It's not an unusual recipe, as I've seen many variations on it, but I must say that I enjoyed it exactly as written. I like the fact that the sauce can be made several hours in advance, and that it freezes well. Good for solitary nights when I just want to curl up with a good bowl of pasta!

  • Frogcake on June 16, 2016

    This excellent and versatile dish comes together very quickly and it's so healthy! We make it as our fast-food fall back. Also shared the recipe with my son who makes it when he's rushing between classes at university ("it's way better than cafeteria food"). The Olives are optional.

  • Bwolfe2 on January 06, 2017

    This recipe is delicious and easy!!

• Buckwheat pasta with kale

  • Zosia on November 22, 2013

    The combination of kale, sage and leeks works wonderfully. The dish is delicious and more filling than you might expect and very quick to make. I appreciate the author's economy in the kitchen, reducing the number of pots and pans to clean, in this case by using the water for the pasta to pre-cook the kale.

• Grilled or pan-fried marinated tofu

  • Astrid5555 on January 30, 2015

    A delicious and tasty basic tofu dish - has become my go-to tofu recipe whenever I need something quick.

• Stir-fried tofu with snow peas and soba noodles

  • wcassity on January 01, 2012

    This is one of my favorite recipes ever; it inspired me to buy the book. The peanut sauce is light and gingery. The softened sliced radishes were new for me and a revelation. Very flavorful and satifying for a meatless dish.

• Swiss chard and red bell pepper gratin

  • Cheri on January 25, 2014

    Wow, this is good. Nice balance of veggies and rice. Changed the recipe by omitting breadcrumbs, and topping with a bit of grated parm instead. Cooked the Arborio in the rice cooker with chicken broth, put a bit of butter on the cooked rice, skipped the oil on the top. Excellent. Will make again.

• Winter squash gratin

  • jaelsne on December 21, 2011

    This recipe was flavorful, but everyone in my family agreed that the texture was a bit off-putting. It was quite soft, and would benefit from some added crunch. I think it would serve as an excellent quiche filling, or would do well with an added bread crumb topping.

• Corn and vegetable gratin with cumin

  • mlbatt on August 17, 2020

    Has eggs.

• Chickpeas with baby spinach

  • Astrid5555 on March 18, 2020

    Perfect for a quick lunch with leftover chickpeas and baby spinach. Served with couscous, a delicious meal for the whole family.

• Couscous with black-eyed peas and greens

  • aeader on July 10, 2022

    A healthy dish that was a good way to use up a very large bunch of chard from our CSA. The flavors were good but subtle. I used the full 2Tbsp of harissa but my harissa wasn't very spicy. I used 2 tsp salt which was perfect. I soaked the peas overnight before cooking because they were a bit old, and they came out perfectly tender.

• Stewed lentils with cabbage

  • Dskamin on November 07, 2017

    My partner doesn't like lentils as leftovers, unless they have meat. I added some sauteed sweet sausage to the cabbage when it was done cooking. added a splash of balsamic and certainly good with parmesan and minced parsley.

• Whole rainbow trout baked in foil

  • aeader on November 21, 2021

    I baked the fish in a glass dish and covered the top with foil, it took 25 minutes that way but was moist and flavorful (do spoon the broth over the fish when serving, or it is somewhat bland). Used dried tarragon, which was OK, would try with dill next time. An easy meal, with one filet over rice and a salad.

• Chinese fried rice with shrimp and peas

  • Astrid5555 on April 17, 2015

    Best fried rice dish in a very long time!

• Oven-steamed salmon with lentils and sun-dried tomatoes

  • Zosia on May 25, 2018

    Really delicious version of this dish. The salmon was moist and the sundried tomatoes added an extra layer of flavour to the lentils. We like a bit of zing in our lentils that usually comes from mustard or acid so I cut about half the tomatoes into slivers and added them back to the lentils.

• Turkey burgers

  • Zosia on May 10, 2014

    I've never used ketchup inside a burger before and after making these, I won't ever again; the burgers were juicy - attributed in part to the ketchup - but had an odd sweetness to them that I didn't like.