Notes about Recipes in this book

• White bean and fennel soup

  • elisarose on March 06, 2013

    The taste of the fennel completely disappeared in the cooking process. It ended up as a bland white bean soup. Perfectly edible and inoffensive but not exciting in any way.

• Tomato and white bean soup with spinach pesto

  • Emily Hope on March 21, 2013

    As written, I thought the soup base was just so-so. Not enough going on to make it interesting, and I don't care for the texture of canned diced tomatoes in a soup. However, I do like the idea of putting a greens-based pesto into the soup--rather than the spinach pesto called for, I used a kale pesto from Janet Fletcher's Eating Local, since I had kale on hand. Definitely added some needed oomph to the soup. If I were going to make this again, I'd use pureed tomatoes, think about adding more ingredients (pancetta, leeks, greens?) to the soup, and perhaps use the broth from the cooked beans as liquid. Served with roasted sweet potatoes on the side and toast spread with goat cheese into which I'd mashed some of the kale pesto.

• Red lentil soup with coconut milk and toasted cumin

  • Wlow on December 06, 2024

    Lovely! Subbed TJ’s yuzu kosho (citrus chile paste) for jalapeño & lime juice very successfully (to taste). Great with quinoa apple salad with dried cranberries from same book. Son mixed the soup and the salad (room temp grain dish) together.

• Pureed black bean soup with piquillo peppers

  • Wlow on July 22, 2025

    Very good!

• Carrot, sweet potato and ginger soup with baby bok choy

  • Wlow on January 29, 2023

    Very tasty but bok choy feels out of place. Also purée more next time. Used food mill. Added tofu.

• Winter borscht

  • Wlow on April 30, 2026

    Definitely not “fast”— took me 2 hours! 45 min cook time misleading bc so much prep. Tried in Instant Pot which took longer instead of saving time. But great flavor… The apple and orange notes were delicious.

• Shredded Tuscan kale salad with tamari and sesame

  • Emily Hope on March 21, 2013

    Excellent variation on a kale salad, with an asian-ish dressing and toasted sesame seeds. I added 1 tsp of honey to the dressing and left out the ginger since I didn't have any on hand, and instead of the carrots and onion called for in the recipe, I tossed in chunks of avocado. I'd definitely add the avocado again, as the creaminess balances nicely against the salty-sour of the dressing.

  • imaluckyducky on February 06, 2014

    Pg 70 4.5 out of 5 stars. Very good massaged kale salad. The asian-style dressing as written is both unique and very intense, even when I doubled the amount of kale. Salad mellows out a bit if it's left to sit for a day or two, and it keeps quite well for lunches. Will definitely make this again, and will follow the previous reviewer's suggestion about adding avocado - that sounds delicious!

• Curried quinoa and apple salad with dried cranberries

  • Wlow on December 06, 2024

    Delicious though salty—watch coarse kosher salt vs fine. Great with recommended red lentil soup!

• Stir-fried tofu with oyster mushrooms, bell peppers and spinach

  • Wlow on December 14, 2024

    Amazing! Such a nice change from our regular stir-fry. Tofu turned out especially well.

• Curried potato, shiitake and broccoli stir-fry

  • imaluckyducky on March 21, 2014

    Pg 126. A VERY enthusiastic 5 stars! Ridiculously easy, and a one-pot meal when deviating from the recipe (lightly blanch the broccoli in a different pan, pfft, I'll stir fry it after the onions get added!).The curry powder and the pepper flakes add a nice edge of heat without being overwhelming, and the overall dish has a surprising depth of flavor. The sun-dried tomatoes are really key - they pull the dish together. I quickly stir-fried some baby bok choy after I was down cooking this and plopped two over-easy eggs on top, and dinner was complete. If serving as-is, will probably only feed two. Adding the egg and a generous side of wilted greens easily makes it so you can serve 4 and be satiated. Very satisfying, will make again!

• Artichoke and potato stew with black olives and tomatoes

  • Wlow on July 01, 2020

    Very good with canned tomatoes, but I would prefer with fresh when tomato season comes around. Frozen and canned artichokes often have a sort of tinny flavor as well, so it might also be worth trying with baby artichokes. Took me several months to manage to have all the needed ingredients at the same time AND a night when I felt I could try out a recipe the rest of family might not like. Yellow potatoes and dill went bad more than once while waiting for the perfect night!

• Coconut-vegetable curry with cashews

  • aileent1 on April 18, 2012

    I found the flavor of this to be fine, but the texture and the choice of vegetables was just plain weird, especially the eggplant. I love eggplant, but it didn't work in this.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  ...then there are books like "Fresh & Fast Vegetarian", practical, un-showy volumes with a lot of good recipes. Guess which ones actually make it into the kitchen?

  Full review

• Oregonian

  The book moves beyond basic ingredients to include more unusual greens and grains, making it a good choice for home cooks who have already started vegetarian cooking and are looking for new ideas.

  Full review