Like most folks, I struggle with getting enough fruits and veggies during the day. Most vegetable dishes on our table end up being either salads or roasted vegetables of some kind - save for the occasional all-veg, no-meat weekend I impose on my family just to assuage my guilt. When the folks from Chronicle sent me a copy of Susie Middleton's new Fast, Fresh & Green - More Than 90 Delicious Recipes For Veggie Lovers, I could feel the guilt setting in again. I'm SO bad at remembering to try new side dish/vegetable recipes from my cookbooks. It's the meat and eggs and cheese and baked goods that invariably catch my attention. [caption id="attachment_606" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption="Fast, Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton"] [/caption] I'm really not gushing when I say that this book really got me jazzed about cooking vegetables again and out of the roast-everything-with-olive-oil-salt-and-pepper rut that I'd been stuck in. It's all about adding the sexy to veggies, and the cookbook concentrates on a few simple techniques (quick roasting, quick braising and hands-on sauteeing, for example) and then punching them up with a mixture of flavors (both from the veg themselves as well as condiments, aromatics, herbs and other addons) that will help you add the zing to your zucchini (I can't believe I just wrote that). Mouthwatering recipes (that come together in very little time for the most part) include:

1. Quick-Roasted Cauliflower with Zesty Orange-Olive Dressing
2. Roasted Turnips and Pears with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle
3. Cider-Braised Baby Bok Choy and Golden Apples
4. Sauteed Savoy Cabbage with Apple Cider Butter
5. Crushed Red Potatoes with Scallions, Pancetta and Sour Cream*

* Yes, there are bits of meat in the book, as garnish or flavor enhancers to the vegetables. This isn't a strictly vegetarian/vegan book but an accessible vegetable book for all of us. The recipes themselves are simple to follow - yes, there are occasionally 5+ ingredients but usually only 2-4 steps to follow. Susie has a great eye for suggesting complementary flavors, ingredients and methods and frankly, even those of you who, like me, struggle to get their vegetable intake will find themselves drooling over these recipes. My favourite part of this cookbook was the fabulous explanations - both in the recipes and in the chapter headers that explain the cooking techniques. If you're a less experienced cook, there's plenty of hand holding and most of the recipes have photos. If you're more experienced in the kitchen, there are helpful suggestions on variations to try and inspiration aplenty. Want to know more about Fast, Fresh & Green? There's a Facebook page for that. ;)