Simply Vibrant

An impressive addition to any culinary library! Easy to follow recipes and mouthwatering pictures make this a must have.

You know you've found a good cookbook when the mental list of recipes-to-try gets grows so long that you need to reach for pen and paper! If the handwritten list I've made is any indicator, this is a great book for any vegetarian, vegan, or home chef who just wants to add some more delicious, filling, healthy, and seasonal recipes that will please all preferences into their repertoire.

The thought that struck me first while leafing through this book for the first time was, Wow, this is a lot of recipes! This is a very satisfying cookbook with a huge variety of recipes. There are ten sections: Morning porridges and pancakes, salads and bowls, wraps and rolls, soups and stews, risotto, paella and pilaf, noodles, pasta and pizza, fritters and veggie burgers, just veggie, sweets for every season and bssics and sauces.

It's a vegetarian cookbook, but eggs and dairy are used only sparingly and can be replaced in most cases. The recipes are also gluten-free.

The recipes in each section are organized by seasons, and the idea is also to use up as much of the vegetables required and leave as little waste as possible. There's an overview of when which vegetables are in season at the beginning of the book, as well as a list of suggestions what to stock in your pantry and what equipment is useful to have.

The food photography fittingly features vegetables in vibrant colors and makes “eat the rainbow" look appealing and appetizing, although some pictures seem a bit too dark for my taste.

I really like the way the recipes are organized, and especially appreciated that the breakfast section featured porrige so prominently. The recipes are dishes from all over the world, so there should be something in here for everyone. The sweets section particularly made me itch to try out some recipes, but there were plenty of intriguing ones all over the book.

I like that there are basic recipes like one for wraps and pasta as well as the sauces and such in the last section - building blocks like these are often my favorite part of cookbooks because they obviously leave the most room for experimentation.

Overall this should be a good addition to any vegetarian cookbook shelf. While I'm not convinced the "simply" part of the title refers to the recipes - they at least appear more fancy than something I would want to make at the end of a workday - it features a whole variety of delicious looking vegetarian dishes.