The Vegetable Dishes I Can`t Live Without

Like a caring mother, Katzen, in this logical follow-through to her last book, Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less, exhorts readers to eat vegetables. Katzen's methods, though requiring some attention and high-quality ingredients, are low-key enough for novice cooks and maybe even exhausted working moms: "It is easy to make vegetables taste wonderful through simple preparations utilizing a very few choice ingredients... extra-virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, roasted nut oil, tiny touches of salt and pepper, an herb or two." This is vintage Moosewood Cookbook Katzen at her poetic best: "For many palates, dark leafy greens need a soft context... to frame and tame them. Polenta is perfect for this! Consider using some of the more elusive, serious greens, such as dandelion, mustard, or kale." Katzen offers Tomato-Basil Jam as a ketchup substitute; exoticizes the lowly carrot with flavors of North Africa-cumin, cinnamon, garlic and citrus-or Jamaica, in a coconut-ginger gratin; and will surprise even veteran vegetable mavens with such imaginative dishes as Sauteed Fennel with Crispy Fried Lemon. With Katzen's signature hand-lettered text and charmingly homey illustrations, the book will be an inspiration to those who like meat with their vegetables, vegans and vegetarians alike. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved