quick and easy

I've been very happy with all of Lorna Sass' cookbooks (she even got me into using a pressure cooker!). This one is no exception - lots of neat quick soups, salads, stews and other dishes that don't require a lot of work to prepare or (especially nice) clean up since they're done mostly in one pot/pan. Lots of variety - dips/spreads, curries, stirfry, grain/pasta dishes, and straight vegetables too. Really a good cookbook to have onhand for when you don't feel like cooking up a big deal but want something satisfying.

This little book is AWESOME. I recommend it for anyone with little time to cook (college students, working moms, anybody else!). The recipes are great - easy and fast (be sure to read the side bars as they provide simple ideas to vary the basic recipes). But, I think the best part of this book is that it really teaches you how to cook fast, healthy food. I find myself applying her time-saving methods to other recipes or to creations of my own. This is the book that I turn to when I want a nice meal in 30 minutes or less.

Every cookbook I own has a focus. Some are ethnic cookbooks. Some are gourmet cookbooks. Some are comprehensive references.

This cookbook's focus is speed. Every recipe lists the "prep time" and "cook time", and for almost all recipes those times are each between 5 and 15 minutes.

Each recipe consists of a short list of ingredients, and the preparation directions are clear and super-concise. Occasionally, one ingredient in a recipe will be a product of another recipe, which is usually a pet peeve of mine in cookbooks, but such ingredients are rare and always have store-bought equivalents if you don't want to prepare them yourself.

Many of the recipes can also be converted from leftovers into a different form -- the quinoa / potato / corn / pepper pilaf easily becomes a stew with a couple cups of water and some veggie stock powder. This is especially handy if you primarily cook just for yourself (as I do.)

I only have two complaints about the book, and they're not major. The first is the lack of all photography, although it sure makes the cookbook unbelievably inexpensive, so it's a fair trade.

My second (minor) complaint is that either I'm a slow cook, or her prep times assume that the ingredients are already as specified -- a recipe will call for chopped carrots, diced pepper, diced tofu, etc. and I think the prep time assumes you already have it all diced and chopped. Either that, or it's simply that I'm chopping everything by hand rather than with a food processor. Either way, the recipes generally seem to take me roughly 150% to 200% of the time she allots. Since I'm not a professional chef (to say the least) I can totally accept that this is just me being slow.

If you're like me, you browse Amazon and add most things to your wish list, only buying fairly sparsely of the items that are really compelling. If so, buy this book. It's inexpensive, and it's fantastic. In just the past week I've owned it, it has dramatically changed the quality and diversity of what I eat at home.