The title of this book, as well as the thought of learning new ideas about cooking vegetables, prompted me to investigate this cookbook. I was not disappointed. Where do I start? First of all, I like that it is geared towards people who are gluten-free. Many vegetable recipes are inherently GF, but this book gives you the ingredients you need to make it so…if it is not. I am GF and these recipes are right on track. The “Frequently Asked Questions” section was good. I would only add that caution with BPA-lined cans is something to consider, as well as sodium in shopping for canned vegetables. Some other good things in this book are offering substitution suggestions when something may not be available; the “know your ingredients” sections after recipes that may have an ingredient you are unfamiliar with, such as aquafaba, black radishes, and tahini; suggestions to use up leftovers from your recipes, such as: “5 Ways to Use Cucumber Raita” and “5 Ways to Use Cooked Collard Greens”; and good explanations of cooking methods, such as explaining that “slightly thickened” is the consistency of real maple syrup and giving the size of a baking dish as “2-quart”, rather than just saying a “medium-size dish”. All of these things help to make a cook that is not as familiar with cooking be able to have better success.

I wanted to make more than the three recipes that I tested this week, but I ended up making the Fried Okra, Roasted Yellow Squash, and the Garlic Cheddar Biscuit-Topped Vegetable Pot Pie. I didn’t really need a recipe for the okra, but I followed this one since I was testing and I had fresh okra from the garden. I am not used to putting flour in with the cornmeal, but that was fine. What did not turn out as I was expecting was no liquid added to the okra to help the coating adhere. So I would say that the okra turned out edible….we ate it all…but a lot of the breading was lost in the bowl since it did not make it to the frying pan. The squash recipe was so simple, yet fabulous. I had never really thought of roasting summer squash. Probably because I avoid things that heat up the oven in the summer, but this was worth it. Very tasty and it would be delicious on a veggie sandwich. I made the Pot Pie for supper tonight and have mixed feelings on it. I cut the recipe in half but did not halve the seasoning and I still think it needed more flavor. True that seasoning is an individual thing and others may think it is fine. I thought it was a bit bland, but then I remind myself that Pot Pie is comfort food and I do think this recipe would fit that bill. Another thing that surprised me was how much the crust puffed up. It was not all that thick when I put it on top of the filling, but it was very thickly layered when it was finished baking. My tasters liked it OK but agreed that they would like a little more flavor.

I plan on making more recipes from this helpful cookbook when the vegetables come in season. I am especially looking forward to trying the Baked Sriracha Sweet Potato Fries and the Brown Butter Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

After reviewing this book and testing some of the recipes, I would give it 4 1/2 stars and recommend it to people looking for some more ways to eat their vegetables….whether they have a lot of cooking experience, or not so much.
I was given a copy of this book to review and all the opinions are mine alone.

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I Hate Vegetables