This is a great book for those who have some experience cooking but are looking to hone their skills. The book starts out by covering equipment and tools that it is a good idea to have in the kitchen—must haves and nice to haves. This is followed up with kitchen staples and descriptions of how to perform a few of the basic knife cuts. Great information. Also included is basic cooking techniques and some suggestions for flavor combinations and the dishes to use them. Some of the recipes use no more than five main ingredients or take less than 30 minutes to prepare. All in all, there are convenient and easy recipes that can be prepared over and over. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Easy Vegetable Meals by Larissa Olczak strives to be a vegetable cookbook for everyone, which is a good concept. Get omnivores to eat more veggies, which will, indeed, make them healthier.

Then I see that the book incorporates salmon and shrimp for, perhaps, a pescetarian take. But then there was sausage. Heh. And, yes, you will get omnivores to eat more veggies if you slip in sausage and bacon; folks cooking in the southern tradition have always known this. However, I can guarantee that this dish won’t be quite so healthy.

Some of the recipes are noteworthy. I definitely do want to try “Lemon Asparagus Pasta” except that I’m put off by the ubiquitous coconut milk and the fact that there are no herbs included. I think I’d dump the coconut milk and throw in some roasted garlic (or even sauteed garlic) with tarragon.

And, speaking of ubiquitous coconut milk. It is in a lot of recipes as is coconut cream. In the introductory chapter coconut cream is mentioned but not coconut milk. So, do I take it that the recipes calling for milk are definitely calling for milk? And no where does it say: absolutely do not use creme de coconut, which, for beginning cooks, is essential.

The one thing that has always given vegetable cooking a bad rap is that the vegetables are bland. I found that to be true with many of the recipes in this book. For instance, I could not imagine making chili (any kind of chili) with just cumin. Chili is one of those dishes that screams out for layered flavor: smokiness, heat, touch of tang.

The shepherd’s pie has become my yardstick for a vegan/vegetarian/vegetable cookbook. Whether fair or unfair, it does seem to be one recipe that pops up over and over again. If the author has done something notably different with the recipe, I do sit up and take notice. The recipe in this cookbook is the typical vegan shepherd’s pie with the umami coming from the mushrooms.

My overall feeling is that this book would probably work best for omnivores or individuals trying to slowly move toward a veg diet. I would, however, get crazy with the garlic and herbs so that the foods is tastier.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of great vegetarian recipes in this one. Easy and delicious.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Larissa Olczak’s Easy Vegetable Meals: A Fuss-Free Cookbook for Everyone is a great resource for anyone looking to eat more veggies.

Sorted by season, Olczak divides Easy Vegetable Meals into four sections. Living in a large city on the East Coast, I’m able to purchase most produce year-round, but learning which ingredients are actually “seasonal” and therefore should be freshest, is a handy thing to know.

Spring offers tempting Veggie Skewers and yummy nachos. Summer’s refreshing variety of salads, bowls, and sandwiches have something for everyone. Fall provides warming soups and baked and roasted veggie dishes. And Winter contains some delicious looking stews and bakes.

Even though it’s Summer here where I live, I prepared the Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Turmeric Soup. I’d picked up some fresh turmeric at Whole Foods and was wondering what to do with it, so it was excellent timing for me. Since it was over 90 degrees I used my outdoor grill for the cauliflower, but it came out delicious and my family was pleased to eat it in my air-conditioned kitchen.

All the recipes in Easy Vegetable Meals are pretty low on prep time and simple with not too many ingredients. Larissa Olczak is creative with her seasonings and I can easily tailor most of these recipes with what I have on hand and I’m looking forward to giving them a try.

There are so many vegan cookbooks out now, that they're beginning to all look alike--same recipes, same layout. But this cookbook is different. Recipes are organized by the season in which the produce would be available. That's handy. Reading through the recipes actually puts me mentally into that season--the short descriptions at the beginning help with that. The recipes are very appetizing, with a good amount of photos to illustrate their appeal (though I always want more photos!) Recipes have a short list of ingredients and instructions also appear to be easy to accomplish. And, there are some new meat substitute ideas that I'd not seen in other vegan cookbooks: jackfruit used as a pulled pork substitute, for example. In particular, I would love to try the Smoked Salmon Frittata Muffins and the Roasted Beet Coconut Cream Chowder. In fact, I may just purchase this book of recipes, as there are several I'd love to try. It's far superior to the other vegan cookbooks I've reviewed recently.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rockridge Press for the digital review copy.

I knew I was going to like this one from the start. It has everything I need, right there in the title. Easy, because I work two jobs and sometimes do a craft business from home and throw in a catering shift here and there on top of that. Vegetable, because I am trying to consciously consume less meat, home compost more, and be as healthy as possible with all the other stressors in my life. And meals, because gotta eat a few of those each day, or so I’m told.

I often read cookbooks like novels, and this one was extremely enjoyable. I found myself bookmarking so many recipes, and the thought of preparing them didn’t stress me out, solid sign. I do enjoy a fancy meal now and again, but when I’m cooking for just one, I don’t have the time, energy, or budget for 18 ingredients for one recipe that’s going to take all day to cook. Usually, I fix 2-3 veggies and throw them in a bowl on top of couscous, rice, or quinoa. This cookbook gave me a few better options that will work for my budget, lifestyle, and timetable.

Whether you’ve been veg for a long time or are just looking for some options on Meatless Monday, this cookbook has got you covered, and you don’t need a passion for cooking to prepare healthier meals. This one’s out now, so if you’re still in quarantine, or are anticipating when they send us all home again for the “2nd wave” of the Rona, then include some of these recipes in your at home cooking routine.

With the price of groceries, in particular proteins, rising turning to eating more vegetables in daily meals may help reduce grocery costs while encouraging a healthier diet. Author Larissa Olczak's Easy Vegetable Meals may help lower grocery bills while providing tasty, healthy recipes.

She starts her cookbook with a chapter called Vegetable Cooking Essentials and then moves onto offering seasonal recipes. Chapter Two: Spring (March through May) focuses on vegetables typically available in spring. For example you will find Spring Onion Soup or Fish Tacos with Purple Cabbage.

Her recipes are tagged with terms such as Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, One Pot or 30 Minute. As always I love this feature as it helps me quickly select a recipe I would like to prepare. Throughout her cookbook you will find color photos showing the recipes.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

Love this book!! I love cooking all veggie dishes all the time and this book real teaches you how to make these meals and how to make veggies taste good. I am so happy I was able to review this and now I can't wait to cook!

Easy Vegetable Meals is a well curated collection of appealing plant based recipes by Larissa Olczak. Released 16th June 2020 by Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 188 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The book has a logical and easy to follow format. Following an introductory chapter which covers the background of vegetarian nutrition and lifestyle, tools, supplies, and ingredients, the following chapters include the recipes, arranged thematically by season. Nutritional information is included in the footer at the end of the recipes and includes calories, fat, sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, and micronutrients.

The recipes have their ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard only. Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. Special classifications for each recipe (gluten free, nut free, 5 ingredient, vegan, etc) are included in a header bar. Most of the ingredients are easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. The book also includes a short author bio and a metric conversion chart, but lacks any index or a general ingredients index. The recipes themselves are varied, and represent a number of world cuisines. They're tasty and easily prepared and many are simple and easy to prepare, requiring few ingredients and little prep time.

My main quibble with the book is that the recipes are mostly not photographed. There are a few photos, and they're clear and attractive, but they only represent about 5% of the recipes included in the book. It is, however, a very well written book with a positive and upbeat "voice".

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The photos in this book make me so hungry!  The food looks so very appealing and appetizing.


This is a great cookbook for vegetable based meals.  The author provides lots of useful information at the beginning of the book, including a good description of cooking terms and common flavor combinations. 


Just a few of the recipes, all of which are grouped seasonally, are those for zesty mushroom carnitas, chicken udon noodles with turnips and peas, kimchi cauliflower fried rice, honey glazed tofu chops with seasonal greens, savory chickpea crepe with summer harvest, and quinoa burrito bowl.


This cookbook includes a lot of variety and recipes that sound delicious.  I am a fan.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

I was really impressed by the amount of recipes in this book. It provided and amazing amount of variety for someone like me who is very picky about meat. There are also a few fish recipes, and while that isn't my thing, I can appreciate that this is good for those who do. I also liked that the recipes had ingredients that were easily accessible. Plus I also liked that the recipes were broken down by seasons. Definitely a good staple cookbook in my kitchen now!

This is a great book for those who want to eat more veggies. It has some very yummy recipes to show you that eating veggies doesn't have to be boring. The recipes seem easy to make and sound very good but there's no many photos so it's hard to picture how it will look like once done, that's why I gave it 3 stars.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.