Good-looking and good for you
Vegetarian delights from The Forest Feast
‘Whether it’s a weeknight dinner or I am scrambling to get something together for a dinner party, I need a recipe that is quick, healthy, delicious and colourful,” writes Erin Gleeson in the introduction to The Forest Feast, her recently published vegetarian cookery book. The word “feast” was an apt choice for the title. This book is filled with enough ideas and material to orchestrate a special dinner, casual lunch, or pretty much any other food-centred get-together a reader might like to organise. It includes recipes for everything from appetisers, salads and main dishes to desserts and cocktails. Simplicity is the main idea behind this potluck of recipes. Gleeson’s instructions are clear, concise and easy to follow and it would be difficult to really get lost since pictures of the ingredients are also shown. Some of the ideas are so simple, yet so stunningly effective, that you might find yourself wondering why you’d never thought of them yourself. Readers should find the one-page instruction format very straightforward. Even those who don’t take easily to cooking should enjoy this book since Gleeson includes tips, suggestions and even vegetable-cutting techniques. You may not have realised how many things it is possible to do with just a handful of different vegetables, some salt, pepper, spices and olive oil. This book should appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. True, there’s no chicken or bacon to be found in these pages, but neither is there a prohibition on using the information given here to make a healthy salad or vegetable side dish to go with that steak or patio-grilled burger you’re planning to have for dinner. For those who don’t eat meat, this book should prove useful for it is filled with references to fruit and vegetables that can easily be found in any supermarket. And anyone who’s been looking for inspiration to get themselves started on a more healthy eating regime should find much to encourage them in this book. One of the best things about this repast of drool-inducing vegetarian fare is that you’re never restricted to the ingredients listed in any of the recipes. Substitutions are highly encouraged by the author, who urges her readers to be creative with everything they find in their fridges and kitchen store cupboards. It should never be about making expensive, labour-intensive dishes, she writes, but about creating meals that are tasty, good-looking and good for you