Gorgeous photography, much like Swanson's beautiful blog. I tried two chickpea recipes right off the bat: chickpea stew and roasted chickpeas. One had a flavor profile I don't visit often (saffron and yogurt); the other used a new roasting technique. Both were successful, especially the roasted chickpeas. If you're a fan of 101 Cookbooks blog, you'll find the writing style and photography familiar and inspirational. Flipping through the book, I mostly found myself thinking, Oh, that would be good with X, Y, and Z, instead of P, Q , and R. ( )

Plain (non-slick) paper, lots of photographs (close ups of the prepared food), blurb is above the title (which is a large bold font), the ingredients is in a small plain font, but the instructions are in a bold font, which makes them easily read.

Contents include: Introduction; 7 sections of recipes; Sources; acknowledgements; and Index.

Breakfast: Muesli; Granola; Oatmeal; Spinach strata; Fruit salad; Sun toast; lemon zested bulgur; Baked oatmeal; and Crepes

Lunch: Open faced egg sandwich; Summer squash soup; Mostly not potato salad; Whole grain rice salad; Mixed melon bowl; Ravioli salad; Panzanella (w/ soy); Mixed green salad; White beans & cabbage; Chanterelle tacos; and Orzo salad

Snacks: Avocados & mustard seeds; Hard cooked eggs w/ dukkah; Turnip chips; White bean spread; Honeyed manouri; Spinach chop; and Little quinoa patties

Dinner: Farro soup; Harissa ravioli; Pan fried mung beans w/ tempeh (soy); Summer linguine; Stuffed tomatoes; Mushroom saute; Green lentil soup; Cauliflower soup; Black sesame otsu; and Miso curry delicata

Drinks: Tinto de verano (red wine); Cucumber cooler; Iced white tea; Shandy; rose geranium prosecco; Mixed citrus juice; and Sparkling panakam

Treats: Muscovado sunflower kernels; Watermelon salad; Membrillo cake; Sweet panazella; Macaroon tart; Honey & rosewater tapioca; and Tutti Frutti crumble

Accompaniments: Whole grain mustard; Dipping sauce; Blackberry maple compote: asimple pot of beans; Wild rice; Toasted nuts & seeds; Poached eggs; Butter(s); Creme fraiche; Roasted strawberries; and Oven roasted cherry tomatoes

I like this book, I like the recipes except those w/ soy (but I can change that).... Some of the recipes are easier to make than others...... I'd be more than happy to eat these, if there was someone to cook them for me! ( )

This book is just what I needed. This isn't Advanced Cooking by any means, but after reading this cover to cover (yes, really) I feel like I can manage to feed myself using nothing more than the contents of my CSA box and a handful of pantry staples. The photography is very inspiring. The recipes are hearty and there are lots of oatmeal options, which completely wins my heart. ( )

Loved and own her Super Natural Cooking. Got this from the library and, meh, not much new here. On the other hand, if you need a good primer on incorporating whole grains and Middle Eastern/Indian flavors into vegetarian dishes, give it a go. For me, the best chapter involved cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks - fun stuff to try for summer. ( )

I’ve never reviewed a cookbook before but I thought I’d give it a shot. Besides, it’s a book I love, I’ve cooked many of the recipes, several are now staples, and none have let me down. Since I don’t know where to start with a cookbook review, (I’m sure I don’t really need to do anything different but in my head this is what I’m thinking so go with me.) I thought the best way to do it would be to talk about what gems I found among the recipes.

Confession up front --- I did not follow the recipes precisely. I never do when it comes to cooking, and besides I don’t always have all the ingredients, but I’m always sure I can make it work. This is why some of my friends hate cooking with me --- I make it up sometimes!  Isn’t that the beauty of cooking though?

I was planning to include pictures but I don’t want you to judge the food by my awful camera work. If you check out the author’s blog, 101 cookbooks, (which you should do because it’s a wonderful blog and she includes not only the most tasty food but is an amazing photographer) she has food photos so fabulous they’ll make you want to lick your screen. Yep, I said that. Moving on…

This is a book of vegetarian recipes, I eat veggie for the most part, and my husband is a good sport and willing to try most things. The beautiful thing about this book is its diversity and mix and match ability of the recipes. I’m sure a few would also work as side dishes for chicken or fish just as well. These are also hearty recipes --- you won’t be hungry an hour later which was a big complaint of my husband when I would make an all veggie meal. He’s yet to say that about any of the recipes from this book. We aren’t big eaters and by that I mean we don’t go in for monster, huge meals but we do like to feel as though we ate dinner.

This book contains recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks, and treats. There is also a section on accompaniments and I’m dying to try and make my own whole grain mustard.

The recipes I’ve tried (which is really a small portion but I do plan to make my way through this one) and loved:

Harissa Ravioli
Tortellini Salad
Tutti-Frutti Crumble (a version of it with my own take)
Broccoli Gribiche (this is seriously one of my favorite recipes in the whole book)
White Beans and Cabbage (another great one and a way to deal with that massive head of cabbage that seems to arrive with our CSA that I don’t know what to do with)
Mostly Not Potato Salad
Wild Rice Casserole
Whole Grain Rice Salad
Open-Face Egg Sandwich

There are a lot of recipes in this book so please don’t let my short list be misleading. This is a cookbook I will go back to and have on several occasions when I don’t know what I want to cook and need ideas. The recipes are easy to follow and while I don’t always have the ingredients on hand, I know that substituting will not cause any major problems. The photos are also fantastic. If you’re looking for something new to add to your kitchen, I recommend this one. ( )