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Rating: 
Summary: Amazingly simple & elegant!
Review: I received this book as a gift and immediately put it to use for father's day. I made the cold avocado w/ lime and jalapeño soup to start and seared tofu w/ black beans & mango salsa as the main dish. They were really both fantastic, and even my extremely carnivorous father was pleased! The meals are very quick and yet are quick and sophisticated. The book itself is gorgeous, and Peter Berley did a very interesting thing with the organization, where it is organized seasonally into menus. Whats so nice about this is that it makes making an entire meal even easier because you are given the ingredient list for everything (in addition to individual recipes), and a "game plan" for what to do and in what order. Fabulous book!
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly simple & elegant!
Review: I received this book as a gift and immediately put it to use for father's day. I made the cold avocado w/ lime and jalapeño soup to start and seared tofu w/ black beans & mango salsa as the main dish. They were really both fantastic, and even my extremely carnivorous father was pleased! The meals are very quick and yet are quick and sophisticated. The book itself is gorgeous, and Peter Berley did a very interesting thing with the organization, where it is organized seasonally into menus. Whats so nice about this is that it makes making an entire meal even easier because you are given the ingredient list for everything (in addition to individual recipes), and a "game plan" for what to do and in what order. Fabulous book!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Fabulous
Review: Peter Berley - you have managed to do it again! I am not even considered near - Vegetarian, yet I found Berley's recipes to be delightfully scrumptous. A beautifully written and easy to follow book, I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Fabulous
Review: Peter Berley - you have managed to do it again! I am not even considered near - Vegetarian, yet I found Berley's recipes to be delightfully scrumptous. A beautifully written and easy to follow book, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book for Vegetarians with Little Time.
Review: The titles of this Peter Berley book, 'Fresh Food Fast' combine at least four culinary catch phrases in the space of eleven words. 'Fresh', 'Seasonal', 'Fast', and 'Vegetarian', supported by 'Meals in Under an Hour' promise to hit as many cookbook buyers' hot buttons as possible. The style of the book is to do Rachael Ray one better in the fast menu planning department by addressing a common criticism of her '30 Minute Meals' books. Berley or co-author Melissa Clark addresses this by providing a 'game plan' for preparing all three recipes in the meal in addition to the methods for each individual recipe. This aid is supported by three additional time-savers. The first is a market list, giving a shopping list for the entire meal, divided into produce, dairy items, and pantry. The second is a list of equipment needed to accomplish all three recipes. The third is a speed tip, an optional element to your menu game plan.My immediate gut reaction to all these additions to the traditional cookbook schema is that the author is simply adding new points of failure. And, as soon as a reader perceives a weakness in one of these features, it will not take long for them to ignore the feature. I do not even say, at this point, that there are weaknesses. I am only pointing out that among the thousands of people who will buy this book, added, non-traditional features simply increase the chances of a PERCEIVED weakness. This is one of the great strengths of Ruth Rogers' and Rose Gray's approach to recipe writing or, most prominently, in the style of the great Elizabeth David. As long as you know that you will need to supply knowledge of common kitchen techniques and canvas your larder yourself, the 'minimalist' approach leaves less room for leading the reader astray. This is certainly NOT true of cooking textbooks as written by, for example, the CIA or Madeline Kamman. These books need all the 'read between the lines' details which may not make it into a book on regional cooking. I did 'perceive' weaknesses in the book. Regarding the 'Market List', I typically rail against any pantry recommendations in any form. What you have on hand versus what you need on any one day can change from day to day. On the market list for the very first menu, out of fifteen items, I find seven, almost half, of the items are things I keep on hand. I simply buy them any time I use them up. The same first recipe procedure uses a salad bowl in such a way that suggests a wooden salad bowl be called for. This is not a common kitchen item, yet it is not listed in the equipment list. To the highly literal minded, the game plan for the same very first menu contradicts the recipe procedure for the salad which says the salad is to be served immediately after tossing, yet the game plan has one doing two steps between tossing and serving the salad. For so many questions to arise in the first menu makes me immediately suspicious of the book as a whole. I generally find evidence of either greatness or inadequacy in the first five minutes into a book. It may take reading the entire book to satisfy one that the book is just good. This book alienated me with the first sentence of the introduction by proclaiming that it sets out to defy the trend of the 'extinction of home-cooked meals and family dining'. The acre of fresh, raw produce and the yards of fresh meats on display at my local farmers market style emporium give the lie to the assumption that home cooking is in danger of dying out. The book is also a weak contender in this battle against our 'Fast Food Nation' in that all of its menus are vegetarian. While I suspect people are eating more vegetables, I do not see any danger to America's cattle and pig and chicken producers. I found the early section on kitchen equipment pretty good, but not without some mistakes which should have been caught by a good copy editor or by the very experienced co-author, Melissa Clark. At one point, a 4-to-6 quart Dutch oven is recommended, followed by a suggestion to also buy a two handled cast iron 4-to-6 quart pot. A less obvious oversight is in the recommendation to buy an immersion blender in place of a bar blender. Several recipes I saw had steps in their method that simply could not be handled by an immersion blender, and the method specified a bar blender. A bar blender can simply do more different things than can an immersion blender. The most questionable step I found in several recipes was the instruction to add chopped vegetables to a pan on medium or high heat with NO OIL IN THE PAN. This very odd step appeared in many recipes with many different vegetables. For vegetarian / vegan bookbuyers, be aware that this book uses eggs, cheese, and milk in abundance, but it uses no meat broths or stocks. It does not even use vegetable stocks in its soups. If you are both vegetarian and a fan of Rachael Ray's style, you may get much from this book. The seasonal organization is good, but not rigorous. The author admits that most recipes can be done at most times of the year. Otherwise, you may not get your $35 worth from the book. I would stick with the excellent books by Deborah Madison. I worry when I am critical of a book from respected authors like Melissa Clark, but I didn't learn anything from this book and I feel there were mistakes being passed off as kitchen wisdom. I will not seek this book out when there are hundreds of other books available. This is a fair book with good vegetarian recipes, but too much baggage for the experienced home cook.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book for Vegetarians with Little Time.
Review: The titles of this Peter Berley book, `Fresh Food Fast' combine at least four culinary catch phrases in the space of eleven words. `Fresh', `Seasonal', `Fast', and `Vegetarian', supported by `Meals in Under an Hour' promise to hit as many cookbook buyers' hot buttons as possible. The style of the book is to do Rachael Ray one better in the fast menu planning department by addressing a common criticism of her '30 Minute Meals' books. Berley or co-author Melissa Clark addresses this by providing a `game plan' for preparing all three recipes in the meal in addition to the methods for each individual recipe. This aid is supported by three additional time-savers. The first is a market list, giving a shopping list for the entire meal, divided into produce, dairy items, and pantry. The second is a list of equipment needed to accomplish all three recipes. The third is a speed tip, an optional element to your menu game plan. My immediate gut reaction to all these additions to the traditional cookbook schema is that the author is simply adding new points of failure. And, as soon as a reader perceives a weakness in one of these features, it will not take long for them to ignore the feature. I do not even say, at this point, that there are weaknesses. I am only pointing out that among the thousands of people who will buy this book, added, non-traditional features simply increase the chances of a PERCEIVED weakness. This is one of the great strengths of Ruth Rogers' and Rose Gray's approach to recipe writing or, most prominently, in the style of the great Elizabeth David. As long as you know that you will need to supply knowledge of common kitchen techniques and canvas your larder yourself, the `minimalist' approach leaves less room for leading the reader astray. This is certainly NOT true of cooking textbooks as written by, for example, the CIA or Madeline Kamman. These books need all the `read between the lines' details which may not make it into a book on regional cooking. I did `perceive' weaknesses in the book. Regarding the `Market List', I typically rail against any pantry recommendations in any form. What you have on hand versus what you need on any one day can change from day to day. On the market list for the very first menu, out of fifteen items, I find seven, almost half, of the items are things I keep on hand. I simply buy them any time I use them up. The same first recipe procedure uses a salad bowl in such a way that suggests a wooden salad bowl be called for. This is not a common kitchen item, yet it is not listed in the equipment list. To the highly literal minded, the game plan for the same very first menu contradicts the recipe procedure for the salad which says the salad is to be served immediately after tossing, yet the game plan has one doing two steps between tossing and serving the salad. For so many questions to arise in the first menu makes me immediately suspicious of the book as a whole. I generally find evidence of either greatness or inadequacy in the first five minutes into a book. It may take reading the entire book to satisfy one that the book is just good. This book alienated me with the first sentence of the introduction by proclaiming that it sets out to defy the trend of the `extinction of home-cooked meals and family dining'. The acre of fresh, raw produce and the yards of fresh meats on display at my local farmers market style emporium give the lie to the assumption that home cooking is in danger of dying out. The book is also a weak contender in this battle against our `Fast Food Nation' in that all of its menus are vegetarian. While I suspect people are eating more vegetables, I do not see any danger to America's cattle and pig and chicken producers. I found the early section on kitchen equipment pretty good, but not without some mistakes which should have been caught by a good copy editor or by the very experienced co-author, Melissa Clark. At one point, a 4-to-6 quart Dutch oven is recommended, followed by a suggestion to also buy a two handled cast iron 4-to-6 quart pot. A less obvious oversight is in the recommendation to buy an immersion blender in place of a bar blender. Several recipes I saw had steps in their method that simply could not be handled by an immersion blender, and the method specified a bar blender. A bar blender can simply do more different things than can an immersion blender. The most questionable step I found in several recipes was the instruction to add chopped vegetables to a pan on medium or high heat with NO OIL IN THE PAN. This very odd step appeared in many recipes with many different vegetables. For vegetarian / vegan bookbuyers, be aware that this book uses eggs, cheese, and milk in abundance, but it uses no meat broths or stocks. It does not even use vegetable stocks in its soups. If you are both vegetarian and a fan of Rachael Ray's style, you may get much from this book. The seasonal organization is good, but not rigorous. The author admits that most recipes can be done at most times of the year. Otherwise, you may not get your $35 worth from the book. I would stick with the excellent books by Deborah Madison. I worry when I am critical of a book from respected authors like Melissa Clark, but I didn't learn anything from this book and I feel there were mistakes being passed off as kitchen wisdom. I will not seek this book out when there are hundreds of other books available. This is a fair book with good vegetarian recipes, but too much baggage for the experienced home cook.
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