The Simply Vegetarian Cookbook: Fuss-Free Recipes Everyone Will Love Paperback – July 31, 2018

The subtitle to Susan's cookbook is "Fuss-Free Recipes Everyone Will Love." She's too modest to do so, but she could have claimed "Fuss-Free and Fabulous Recipes...".I found the organization of the book appealing in its simplicity - there are eight chapters, including 'no cook', 'thirty minutes max', 'one pot & skillet', 'sheet pan & baking dish', and 'kitchen staples.' I skipped over the slow cooker section because, well, I don't have one. But she does give conversions for slow cooker recipes to the stove top as well as pressure cooker to stove top. I did't try the adaptations, but I will.In addition to being fuss-free and fabulous, her recipes are also flexible. At the end of her introduction, Susan writes, "There are enough things to be stressed about in life. Dinner shouldn't be one of them" (pg. xiii.). I agree!But, my biggest compliment to a cookbook author is: It got me off the couch and into the kitchen! It inspired me to actually cook.Seriously. I have so many beautiful, even well-written cookbooks, but if they don't inspire me into the kitchen, I just can't rave about them. This book has clearly written recipes, a few beautiful photos of completed dishes, and lots and lots of tips about adding more vegetable-based meals to your table. It's not a cookbook for vegetarians alone. It's a cookbook for everyone who is interested in some fuss-free, fabulous ways to get more vegetable on their plates.

I think this is a great little cookbook. Its only downside is the lack of photos, but since we're not talking haute cuisine here, the lack of photos isn't a big deal for me. It has simple recipes that use readily available ingredients and seem, at least according to my cooking experience, like they will be very tasty. Being simple, the recipes lend themselves to creative modifications, which is how I tend to use recipes anyway. If not everyone in your family is vegetarian, this cookbook gives you many ideas on how to please everyone without making multiple dishes. This would also be a terrific 'transitional' cookbook for someone morphing from omnivore to plant-forward or flexitarian. Don't be misled by "A User's" negative review, in response to which I posted a comment. The book's description is accurate, and if you like what you read there, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this simple, accessible, cookbook. I'm very glad I bought it.

I bought this book because I’m trying to eat healthier and many of the recipe names appealed to me. I like that the recipes use “normal” ingredients and the author provides variation instructions for vegan or flexitarian, etc. Good variety of recipes. I do wish there were more pictures. Only thing I found concerning is that the majority of the recipes are VERY high sodium, which is not great for me trying to cook for my husband with heart issues. I did appreciate the author including the nutrition info. Certainly for $0.99 the book was well worth it. I will try to modify some of the recipes to lower the sodium content.

The Chapter rundown is as follows:Chapter 1 - Meatless Made EasyChapter 2 - No CookChapter 3 - 30 Minutes MaxChapter 4 - Five IngredientsChapter 5 - One Pot & SkilletChapter 6 - Sheet Pan and Baking DishChapter 7 - Slow Cooker and Pressure CookerChapter 8 - Kitchen StaplesThe first chapter offers a wealth of general information about vegetarianism which I found helpful.Also, I have tried some of the recipes from Chapter 4 - "Five Ingredients" and will keep several of those in my repertoire (especially the mushroom and polenta dish!). The instructions for the recipes I tried were straightforward and the results were tasty.I think anyone who wants to add meatless meals to his/her diet would benefit from the general information and the recipes contained in this cookbook.

I bookmarked about a dozen recipes the first time I sat down with this cookbook. I’m a “mostly” vegetarian, basically because I prefer veggies over meat. But I don’t want to box myself in to any one diet. This is really one cookbook that has easy to make, nutritious recipes that also gives substitutes for both vegans and meat eaters. I’m also a cook that likes excellent meals that don’t take much effort, or exotic, expensive ingredients that will get thrown away a year after you bought them and used them twice. I noticed a few ingredients I don’t usually have, but there are several good recipes that use them. This is a rare cookbook that I really use.

I cooked 20-30 recipes out of this book. Some of them were pretty good, but the vast majority were either really weird or just not good at all.The person who made this book isn’t very good at measurements. I followed a recipe for sweet potato black bean wraps to a T, and ended up with like 4 extra wraps than the recipe said I would have. (This kinda thing happened with several of the recipes).

I am not a vegetarian, I eat pretty much everything, but enjoy the idea of meat-free dishes that are satisfying and delicious. Pretty much what Susan's book is all about. Her husband is a "carnivor" (don't you love the way she refers to him?) so in many recipes she will add a suggestion at the end for a "flexitarian" approach, in which the same recipe is spiced up with some animal protein, if so desired. She includes just the right amount of prose before each recipe, not crowding the book with personal stories and thoughts, like so many authors seem to do these days. I highly recommend her book and already cooked a couple of recipes from it, hopefully will blog about them soon...