Customer Reviews

Fast, Fresh & Green

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(1)
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Length:: 1:46 Mins

I haven't tried a recipe in this cookbook that I haven't loved. Even my husband, who only tolerates vegetables, likes the interesting flavor combinations. The best part is that I now have fantastic recipes to dress up vegetables when I entertain. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, however, since a few recipes contain ingredients such as pancetta and chicken broth, but they can be easily converted.

Not everything is fast. Not everything is green. But it is all freshly delicious. In this video, I show my own results with the recipes as well as give glimpses of what the cookbook contains.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

The premise behind Susie Middleton's Fast, Fresh, and Green is that you want to cook interesting side dishes and vegetable accompaniments, but you don't always have a lot of time to putter in the kitchen. I can get behind that. On too many occasions, I find that I put all my energy into the entree, and I end up with ordinary (read: relatively dull) steamed vegetables alongside. I wanted something more for veggies than "What do we have in the freezer, honey?" without giving myself yet another complex dish to cook. On a weeknight, no less.

The "fast" part comes from you spending a few minutes cutting ingredients that ordinarily take a long time to cook (such as potatoes) into smaller pieces. Most recipes promise to be fridge-to-table in 30 minutes. Although several could be a meal in themselves (or they would if you added extra protein, like cheese), these recipes are primarily meant to be served with something, and Middleton usually provides guidance about what a dish would go with. (Often, it means the "with" can be simple, such as a roast chicken. You don't have to knock yourself out on a school night.)

The book is organized by cooking method, such as quick-roasting, stir frying, or grilling, and an introductory section discusses items you should have in your pantry and how to buy and store vegetables. Three quarters of the 90 recipes have no meat, making them suitable (though not optimized) for vegetarians. This is a very readable cookbook, too; that didn't surprise me because I've enjoyed so many of the author's articles in Fine Cooking over the years.

The key point, however, is that these recipes are _good_. This week, I made the harvest gratin of butternut squash, corn, and leeks, which is among the more complex dishes in the book (certainly suitable for Thanksgiving, but I'm sure it will appear on my table a few more times before then). And it's not at all complex, really; it took about 15 minutes of prep time and then 40 minutes in the oven (during which I cooked a pork chop to fill out the meal). *Delicious.* This weekend's shopping list will include the ingredients for at least a few more of her recipes, such as roasted Brussels sprouts with orange butter sauce, or sauteed asparagus with pancetta and parmigiano, or stir-fried carrots with ginger, lime, and cilantro. As you can tell, these all use familiar foods, but in a way that's practically guaranteed to make your family say, "Can you pass the vegetables?"

I own lots of cookbooks, and probably 20 of them are devoted to vegetables or vegetarian dishes. This won't replace my copy of Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, or On the Side, but it absolutely complements them. I'm very glad I picked up Fast, Fresh, and Green from my Amazon Vine selection. Recommended.

Susie Middleton is a trained French chef and former editor and current editor-in-charge of Fine Cooking magazine. The 90 vegetable recipes are organized by preparation method - roasting, sautéing, no cooking, grilling, stir frying and recipes that require two methods of cooking. The recipes are wonderful, but be warned that these are not stark vegetable dishes made for only the health food crowd, and vegetarians will need to make slight alterations to some of the recipes. I believe the author stated that 75 percent of the 90 recipes are vegetarian. The focus is on fresh ideas and delicious dishes, not low fat, so the dishes may contain butter and cream, etc.

The book is a large paperback, and except for the middle of the book, refuses to lay open on its own, so a cookbook holder will be useful. The paper quality is good and I found spills wiped up easily. The index is comprehensive and makes finding recipes by ingredient a breeze.

Photographs are sprinkled throughout the pages, but only twenty-two of the dishes are pictured. Annoyingly, some of the photographs are wasted on stacks of potatoes, tomatoes or squash. The reader undoubtedly knows what those vegetables look like and would have benefited from a few more photographs of the prepared dishes. If the pages with photographs were divided into quarters, with little if any additional cost, each dish could have been pictured.

Cookbooks are primarily tools for use in the kitchen, and should be constructed with ease of use in mind. For example, using bold and pale fonts make the recipes difficult to read from a standing position while the book rests on the countertop. Providing nutritional information would also be appreciated. These are decisions the publisher makes, not the author, and given the quality of the recipes, are not enough to downgrade the book even slightly.

In preparation for cooking, Middleton lists a modest inventory of what should be in the cupboard, on the counter, in the liquor cabinet, in the fridge, in the freezer and in the spice cabinet. The list is refreshingly reasonable, and although I didn't have every item, I had most of them and was familiar enough with the rest to have no qualms about adding them to my pantry. Most people who cook will probably already have eighty percent of the ingredients on hand.

I prepared Quick-Braised Green Beans with Pomegranate-Balsamic Pan Sauce. This recipe had a delectable sauce and changed my view of simple green beans forever. Next I prepared Spinach with Shallots and Parmigiano, which contains a hint of cream. The dish is equally delicious the next day, served cold for lunch. Gingery Sweet Potato and Apple Saute with Toasted Almonds is savory and a delicious alternative to basic sweet potato recipes. And, Double-Lemon Ginger Carrot Salad is so delicious, I will prepare it frequently. Actually, I enjoyed everything I tested and will definitely make all of the dishes again. I plan to continue plowing my way through the book. The author suggests serving a few of the dishes together as a main meal, and considering the imaginative combinations she has created, the recipes are worthy of taking center stage.

Middleton has a decidedly casual, unpretentious tone to her writing. I enjoyed her narrative throughout the book, and although not a novice in the kitchen, I learned from her. The book has clear instructions and would be suitable for a new cook or an experienced one. This cookbook is a keeper, worthy of space on my already crowded cookbook shelves.

Early on, I decided I didn't like "Fast, Fresh, and Green". The author takes a somewhat condescending tone toward the reader, making sure you know that she's a pro who loves to cook and loves vegetables, and that she knows you are a dolt who doesn't cook and hates them. "I just want you to know this is a cookbook...my gift to you." Puh-leeze. She recommends an "everyday pantry" that includes basics so you'll be ready to cook, things such as eight different kinds of cheese, blood oranges, prosciutto, fleur de sel (or, in a pinch, Maldon sea salt). She allows that your pantry may differ (can I get a hallelujah?), but assures you that as a recovering dolt, yours will become more like hers all the time. So anyway, I decided I didn't like this book.

Then I started cooking from it.

The first recipe I tried was Brown Butter Asparagus with Pine Nuts, which - okay, I admit it - I do just happen to have all the ingredients on hand for most of the time, except the asparagus that I'd gotten from the farmers market that morning. I like asparagus. I like it steamed, I like it sautéed, I like it roasted. I haven't made it any of those ways since I discovered this recipe.

The next step was to try something that was more unusual and didn't have simple pantry ingredients, so I chose the carrots stir-fried with ginger, lime, and cilantro, which required me to go buy the last three ingredients (although I will admit, it's not too unusual to find them on hand in my kitchen; maybe it's not as bad as I thought). The carrots were fast and fresh, if not green.

I haven't disliked a recipe from this book yet. I'm sort of working my way through it, and I imagine I'll hit a clinker sooner or later. It's going to be a tasty adventure in the meantime.

If you like vegetables, get this book. If you don't like vegetables, get this book. You won't be sorry.

As a vegetarian, I already have quite a few cookbooks on vegetables but am excited to add this to my collection. Fast, Fresh & Green has clear, easy to follow instructions for bold, flavorful vegetables.

This book is not just for vegetarians as several of the recipes call for bacon or pancetta. The dishes are intended as side dishes but as the author mentions, sometimes she eats a double portion by itself as a meal.

The first chapter covers pantry ingredients (which should be easy to find in the grocery store if you don't already have them in your kitchen) and equipment (which most cooks are likely to already have). The second chapter includes a very brief overview of shopping for and storing vegetables.

Each of the remainder of the chapters is dedicated to a certain method of preparing the vegetables (sautéing, roasting, etc.). After a quick overview of the specific technique, the author provides a "foundation" recipe that should work for most vegetables. Cooking times and cuts for the suggested vegetables are included in each "foundation" recipe.

Many of the recipes include serving suggestions and/or comments on the ingredients. For example, with the recipe for Quick-Braised Asparagus with Dijon, White Wine, and Fresh Thyme Pan Sauce, the author notes which size of asparagus works best for this recipe and suggests serving it with pork tenderloin and couscous or sear-roasted pork loin and rice pilaf. Some recipes include variations, such as a lighter version of Silky Braised Fennel in Pink Sauce and a tropical version of Peas with Lemon, Mint, and Scallions.

The third chapter includes Quick-Roasting recipes such as:
* Quick-Roasted Cauliflower with Zesty Orange-Olive Dressing
* Roasted Broccoli Florets with Two Dipping Sauces
* Quick-Roasted Beet Slices
* Roasted Beet, Orange, and Mache Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
* Sweet Potato "Mini-Fries" with Limey Dipping Sauce and Spiced Salt
* Roasted Green Beans and Cremini Mushrooms with Rosemary-Garlic Oil
* Caramelized Plum Tomatoes in an Olive Oil Bath
* Roasted Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella "Sandwiches"
* Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Butter Sauce
* Tiny Roasted Root Vegetables with Shallots and Fresh Herb Salt
* Warm Bistro Salad with Tiny Roasted Root Vegetables and Bacon Dressing
* Eggplant and Basil "Caponata" Salad
* Roasted Turnips and Pears with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle
* Vanilla and Cardamom Glazed Acorn Squash Rings

The chapter on Quick-Braising includes recipes for:
* Quick-Braised Asparagus with Dijon, White Wine, and Fresh Thyme Pan Sauce
* Quick-Braised Green Beans with Pomegranate-Balsamic Pan Sauce
* Gingery Braised Brussels Sprouts
* Cider-Braised Baby Bok Choy and Golden Apples
* Braised Carrots with Blood Orange-Fresh Tarragon Pan Sauce
* Summer Vegetable Ragout with Zucchini, Green Beans, and Corn
* Creole Vegetable Ragout with Corn, Okra, and Cherry Tomatoes
* Crisp-Tender Broccoflower with Lemon-Dijon Pan Sauce and Toasted Parmigiano Bread Crumbs
* Braised Fingerlings with Rosemary and Mellow Garlic
* Silky Braised Fennel in Pink Sauce
* Brown-Braised Baby Artichokes and Shallots with Pancetta

The fifth chapter is on Hands-On Sauteing and includes recipes for:
* Corn Saute with Chile and Lime
* Sauteed Shiitakes, Spinach, and Scallions
* Sauteed Sugar Snaps with Salami Crisps
* Sauteed Carrots with Warm Olive and Mint Dressing
* Quick Collard Greens, Confetti-Style
* Sauteed Savoy Cabbage with Apple Cider Butter
* Sauteed Asparagus with Pancetta and Parmigiano for Two
* Brown Butter Summer Squash "Linguine"
* Spinach with Shallots and Parmigiano
* Mahogany Mushrooms

The next chapter on Walk-Away Sauteeing includes recipes for:
* Gingery Sweet Potato and Apple Saute with Toasted Almonds
* Dark and Crispy Pan-Fried Red Potatoes
* Sauteed Broccoli with Mellow Garlic and Thyme
* Carmelized Green Beans and Sweet Onions
* Sauteed Turnips with Ham and Molasses
* Southwestern Butternut Squash Saute
* Smoky Spanish Carrots and Fennel with Toasted Hazelnuts
* Bacon and Rosemary Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Baby Bellas

The seventh chapter, Two-Stepping, includes recipes that call for boiling the vegetables and then sautéing or adding to a sauce or salad such as:
* Provencal Green Beans with Lemon-Pepper Oil and Herbed Sea Salt
* Peas with Lemon, Mint, and Scallions
* Crushed Red Potatoes with Scallions, Pancetta, and Sour Cream
* Brown-Butter Asparagus with Pine Nuts
* Spicy Mustard Greens with Ginger-Garlic Cream
* Provencal Kale with Chorizo, Pimenton, and Honey
* Tuscan Kale with Maple, Ginger, and Pancetta
* Warm Parmesan Fava Beans with Shallots and Mint
* New Potato Salad with Fresh Peas, Lime, and Yogurt
* Green Bean, Snap Pea, and Pesto Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella

The next chapter which requires No Cooking includes recipes for:
* "Go Green" Simple, Sassy Slaw
* Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach, and Fresh Herb Gazpacho Salad
* Cucumber Salad with Greek Yogurt, Lime, and Honey
* Double-Lemon Ginger Carrot Salad
* Simple Avocado and Herb Salad for One or More
* Colorful Chinese Kick-Slaw
* Big-Bowl Spinach and Snow Pea Salad with Cashews

The ninth chapter, Stir-Frying, includes recipes for:
* Stir-Fried Carrots with Ginger, Lime, and Cilantro
* Speedy Stir-Fried Asparagus with Toasted Garlic
* Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy with Golden Garlic and Silky Sauce
* Happy Stir-Fry of Zucchini, Corn, and Peanuts
* Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Napa Cabbage with Black Bean Sauce
* Stir-Fried Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Onions with Tasty Sauce
* Stir-Fried Swiss Chard with Pine Nuts and Balsamic Butter

The chapter on Grilling includes recipes for:
* Grilled Green Beans with Thyme-Dijon Butter
* Grill-Roasted Bell Peppers with Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomato Dressing
* Sesame-Ginger Marinated Grilled Shiitakes
* Grilled Baby Potatoes with Creamy Lemon Dressing
* Grilled Asparagus with Grilled Prosciutto, Lemon, and Parmagiano
* Foil-Grilled Corn on the Cob with Maple Butter
* Grilled Broccoli Rabe with Lemon and Parmigiano
* Grilled Eggplant "Sandwiches" with Goat Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Fresh Herbs

The final chapter, Baking Gratins, includes recipes for:
* Mini-Potato Gratin
* Golden Mushroom and Potato Gratin
* Summer Vegetable and Tomato Tian with Parmesan Bread Crumbs
* Slow-Roasted Heirloom Tomato Gratin
* Eggplant Parmigiano, Tomato, and Basil Gratin
* Christmas Kale Gratin with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
* Harvest Gratin of Butternut Squash, Corn, and Leeks

Full-page, color photos of 23 of the finished dishes accompany the recipes, as do 16 color photos of raw vegetables and/or herbs. I would have liked to have seen more photos of the finished dishes (rather than several artisanal photos of raw tomatoes).

I like this book so much that I plan to give it as part of a wedding gift for a friend (perhaps with a steamer or pan from her registry).

This is only the second cook book I've ever owned, the other being a thin volume I picked up cheap at a book sale at my school. If I happen to write favorably of a characteristic of this book I feel is unique and you wish to correct me by telling me that it's pretty standard for cookbooks, please do so. Otherwise, how will I ever learn?

Fast, Fresh, & Green is something of an impulse pick-up based on a vegetarian girlfriend I had at the time. Despite the ill-fated nature of that relationship, I'm happy I own it because it really is a great way to turn confirmed and un-repentant carnivores like me into the more balanced omnivores we're designed to be. Author Susie Middleton is a very organized and comprehensive teacher and starts off Chapter One with a four page list of what we aspiring vegetable chefs should keep in our kitchens. Thankfully, she prioritizes the list and categorizes them as to where they should be kept - a nice shout-out to the clueless and financially challenged like me. In the next chapter, she details the vegetables; how to shop and store them, and by Chapter Three she has begun the recipes. I love the well-thought out style of this woman as the chapters are separated into methods of cooking with a short explanation at the start of what exactly the method involves and means. As you can see, this is a book that embraces the full spectrum of cooks. Lastly, there are a fair amount of photos, a necessity for me since I have an extraordinarily hard time envisioning what it should look like in the end. My only issue is that it doesn't lay flat, so you're going to need to break the spine pretty seriously if you plan to work whilst you reference. I don't understand why it isn't a standard method of cookbook publishing to be bound so as to lay flat.

From quick sides that could double as snacks to dishes that could stand alone as the main entrée, Middleton provides close to a hundred options for all of us who need to involve vegetables more consistently, creatively, and tastefully in our daily regimens. Also good to know is that she is not a vegetarian, so we are spared any heavy-handedness or brow-beating. She is simply someone who knows how hard it is for many of us to think outside of the vegetables as salad or poured out of a can mindset. This book is a welcome introduction to turning the heretofore dominion of the Green Giant into a place where grill-freaks and anti-bunny food people alike will be clamoring for acorn squash and turnips. If I keep following the so-far very tasty recipes she has jammed into this book, I'll not only learn much more about the varieties and options but how to make them taste so good I'll forego the flesh and blood and focus on the fresh and green a little more often. As I creep closer and closer to fifty, that's something I need.

I have dozens of good cookbooks on my shelves, but THIS is the book I use every day. I love it so much, I have a hard copy AND the iBooks copy (for looking up ingredients at the grocery store). Here's why:

(1) The recipes are OUTSTANDING. Everyone loves them, including my picky husband. I have made about half the recipes in the book, and they have all been excellent.

(2) The recipes are easy, and typically use only 7-8 ingredients, two of which are usually salt and pepper.

(3) I have learned a LOT from this book. At the start of every chapter, Middleton teaches a different vegetable cooking technique. Then she gives you a chart of preparation information for various vegetables and cooking times. Then, there's a foundation recipe for you to try out your new skill, and finally, a chapter of recipes that will help you master it. Perfect.

(4) Susie Middleton is a wonderful writer. When I read her book, I feel like she's with my in my kitchen, teaching me. Her voice is filled with the love and passion she has for her craft.

Reading and using this book has improved my skills as a cook, deepened my love for good food, and increased the number of healthy vegetables my family eats. There should be a copy in every kitchen!

My favorite section at the grocery store is the fresh produce department. I love cooking vegetables, but I do tire of the same veggies cooked the same way all the time, so I am always on the lookout for new ideas and recipes. This book serves that purpose with a variety of fresh and flavorful new recipes.

The book is divided into two sections: "Part I: Prep" and "Part II: Cook." Prep consistent of "The Pantry," and "The Vegetables," although together they are only a couple of pages in length. The bulk of the book, as you might expect, is the "Cook" section with all the recipes. Still, the Prep section, especially "The Pantry," is a great help with basic purchasing and organization of your 'maison plas.'

The "Cook" section is broken down into several sub-chapters, including those for "Roasting," "Braising," "Sauteing," and even a chapter for "No Cooking" (think: salads, slaws, etc). While a lot of the recipes sound creative and tasty, with names such as "Corn Saute with Chili and Lime" or "Silky Braised Fennel in Pink Sauce", the lack of photos for every dish is a little disappointing. I love to look at the food before I attempt to cook it. In fact, looking is what encourages me to try it. So how will I know if that pink sauce going to look more like Pepto Bismol? There is no photo of it in the book, so I really won't know until I try it. However, the photos that do exist look scrumptious; I just wish there were more.

Despite the fact that this is a vegetable cookbook, the recipes are not necessary all vegan. According to the author, 75% of the recipes are completely vegetarian. Nor are they necessarily low caloric or healthy, with a liberal use of nuts, oil, butter, and even heavy cream in many of the recipes. Also, I noticed that none of the recipes state nutritional facts, just serving sizes, which might be a sticking point for some conscientious family cooks.

The Fast, Fresh and Green Cookbook has over 90 vegetable recipes. The cookbook is organized into chapters by cooking method including quick roasting, stir frying, and grilling. The book has some color photos of recipes but not a great deal of them, wish it had more.

Each chapter gives you information on how to cook that technique such as quick roasting, a list of vegetables that are good for quick roasting, and then the recipes. The recipes include how many serving each recipe makes but no nutritional information.

Nice cookbook for getting more vegetables into your diet, especially nice for the summer.

As a huge fan of the local farmers' market, I was so excited to get Fast, Fresh & Green! Unfortunately, as most vegetables aren't in season right now, I haven't been able to do much with this book quite yet. However, I am all set to use it through this summer and fall! In flipping through this book, I feel like it's well set-up. Almost all the dishes in here are sides. At least, I think they are as the book is not set up with "Appetizers/Mains/Sides" etc., the way that many traditional books are set up. Rather, it's set up by the way you cook the vegetables (sauteeing, braising, stir frying, etc). I like this book for emotional reasons. So many people are anti-vegetable. As I grew up in a household that was vegetarian probably 70% of the week, I find this fact very difficult to stomach (pun intended). And I can't help but think that people are anti-vegetable because they don't know how to cook them properly. So... here is a book that makes it so simple and has a lot of fantastic ideas on how to make vegetables a major part of your diet and enjoy them, too! There's way more to do than just steam them, I assure you.