Jeanne Lemlin

This cookbook is a bit of a conundrum to me. It is advertised as a compendium of quick and easy, but healthy and flavorful, vegetarian recipes. “Novice cooks can whip up healthful, flavorful meals in record time,” reads one of the top editorial reviews.

For the most part, Lemlin delivers on these promises. The recipes are basic, and most of the ones we’ve tried (with a couple of notable exceptions) have been pretty tasty. But healthful? We clearly have a different understanding of what show more that word means. Without fail, Lemlin’s recipes rely on an absolutely inordinate amount of fat. Four out of five recipes will have you stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter at the end, just for the hell of it! Who does that?! She will sauté an onion in ¼ cup of olive oil, when a tablespoon would do. It’s mind-boggling, and it generates continued astonishment every time this book is used in our kitchen.

That said: the recipes are generally pretty good, even once we’ve omitted the fat. To give an idea, on a typical Lemlin recipe we will use half or less of the olive oil she calls for, and cut the butter completely, and the outcome will still be a delicious (and much more healthy) vegetarian dish. There have been a few bland-o-rama recipes we’ve stumbled upon, and in general we’ve been underwhelmed by her recipes for standard condiments (i.e. her pesto and her veggie broth), but in those cases when we’ve been let down, the lack has been in herbs and spices, not a need for more butter (seriously!). Overall, most of her recipes are decent, especially for busy worknights or new vegetarians who are still feeling their way around what you can do without meat.

So for flavor and ease, I’d give it 4 stars. But for my need to alter, without fail, every single recipe because of her obsession with fat… it gets knocked back to a 3. show less

This is a great vegetarian cookbook for hearty, mainstream meals, and I mean that in the best way possible. The recipes employ cheese, pasta, breads and are generally stick-to-your-ribs style. This is actually great for serving vegetarian meals to non-vegetarians or for vegetarians who want to eat classic-style food. I used it for years. My copy is well-worn and I don't think there's a recipe I tried that I didn't like.

- easy to find ingredients
- well-written, easy to follow recipes
- show more balanced flavors (I rarely had to adjust seasoning, beyond the ubiquitous and maddening "salt to taste" instruction so common these days)

I don't use this book anymore (I'm on the autoimmune protocol) so even though I'd like to list several recipes I can only think of one at the moment: the curry. It's got a perfect blend of spices and actually, I still make it on AIP with a few slight modifications. But everything in it is good. show less

This is the most used cookbook in my kitchen, even though I'm not a vegetarian! The wonderful thing about this cookbook is that it does not preach, does not require special ingredients that can't be found in a regular grocery store, and everything, from appetizers to dessert, is delicious. It even has a whole chapter on how to do a vegetarian barbecue. Not all recipes are low fat, and it does include butter, eggs and cheese in some recipes. However, if you are looking for a cookbook that is show more a treasure-trove of simple, quick and tasty recipes, this is it. show less

I bought this book in a discount bin with very low expectations - surprisingly, I have returned to this book over and over again. When I am trying to come up with quick ideas for dinner I can always find something tasty to make in the pages of this book. The recipes work correctly for the most part and it's a useful book to keep around.