The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple: Strategies and So-Good Recipes to Suit Every Craving and Mood

by Jenny Rosenstrach

100 accessible, stress-free recipes to make plant-forward cooking more streamlined than ever, from the bestselling author of The Weekday Vegetarians.Jenny Rosenstrach's bestselling cookbook, The Weekday Vegetarians, introduced home cooks to the idea that you don’t have to be a vegetarian to eat like one. In Get Simple, she shares 100 new recipes that make eating meat-free even easier, even tastier.Each chapter highlights strategies for common roadblocks to veg-based meals like "One-Pan Dinners for Anyone Who Says Vegetarian Cooking is Complicated" and "Cozy Comfort How to Convince Athletes, Ravenous Teenagers and the Proverbial Meat and Potato Eater that Vegetarian Food is Filling." In addition, she includes more than a dozen of her popular all-new "hooks" to give vegetarian food that extra hit of flavor-boosting magic, like Crispy Capers, Jammy Tomatoes, and Ginger-Miso Dressing. Get Simple offers must-make recipes such A Vegetarian Starter Kit: Pasta with Yogurt & Caramelized Onions; Tostada with Egg & Pickled OnionsSoup and a Smoky Tomato-White Bean Soup; Blasted Artichokes with Yogurt-Dill SauceSkillet and Sheet Pan Dinners: Spicy Feta Chickpea Wedges with Arugula Pesto; Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Butternut SquashCozy Comfort Food: Mushroom-Chard Bread Pudding; Roasted Tomato-Blue Cheese TartDinner Salads and Creamy Dill-Quinoa Salad with Sweet Green Things & Tofu; Crispy Honey/Harissa-Glazed Chickpea Bowls with Yogurt & MintPasta & Noodles: Shells with Artichoke Sauce & Crispy Capers; White Lasagna with Mint-Pea PestoStuffed, Wrapped, & Tamarind-Glazed Cauliflower Tacos; Roasted Vegetable Reubens; Miso-Mushroom Tacos with Pickled CabbageRecipes include callouts highlighting attributes of accessibility including one-pot/one-pan suppers, freezer-friendly eats, 30-minute dinners, and pantry raid meals. With Jenny’s guided and streamlined approach, anyone can introduce meals that celebrate vegetables with big flavors into their weeknight rotation.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Vegetarian

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 27, 2024

About the author

Jenny Rosenstrach is the creator of Dinner: A Love Story, the website devoted to family dinner, and the coauthor of Time for Dinner: Strategies, Recipes, Inspiration for Family Meals Every Night of the Week. For four years, she was the features director at Cookie magazine and special projects editor at Real Simple. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous national publications and anthologies including Martha Stewart Living, Whole Living, and the New York Times. She is the author, with her husband, Andy Ward, of "The Providers," a column in Bon Appétit. She and her family live in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sleekly designed cookbook filled with quick and easy to make vegetarian dishes. Recipes are well written and when there are photos, they are quite enticing. I did wish there were more pictures of the finished dishes and I wasn't a fan of having to flip to the back of the book to find the finishing sauces/dressing for some recipes since they were included in a separate chapter. Despite these slight gripes, the book wood be great for less experienced cooks or anyone looking to add more quick and easy vegetarian meals into their diet.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always liked Jenny Rosenstrach's blog, Dinner, a Love Story and have read two of her other cookbooks. I didn't realize that she had decided to be a "weekday vegetarian" but decided to still check out this cookbook. I'm definitely NOT a vegetarian but I do love vegetables and finding more vegetable forward meals isn't a bad thing. There were a few recipes I want to try but overall I felt like the majority of the recipes in here weren't enough food or protein to be the main course.

[Vjera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, creative recipes but not too intimidating, simple ingredients lists.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked: Photographs and simple meal ideas. Disliked: Missing low carb options.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a vegetarian, but I like to do meatless meals and was hoping to find inspiration. If you’re a vegetarian, you might love this! I didn’t. Additionally, not all recipes have photos.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple is a wonderful new cookbook by Jenny Rosenstrach. It is beautifully photographed and filled with delicious, nutritious vegetarian recipes. Just about every recipe is confined to a single page and all are clearly marked as to whether they can be made ahead, frozen, require less than thirty minutes, or have a quick cleanup. There is a starter guide for complete newbies with extremely simple recipes with fewer ingredients. My favorites are the crispy chickpeas with spinach and yogurt and the pasta with caramelized onions and yogurt. The remainder of the recipes include a large selection of soups, skillet/sheet pan meals, hot and cool salads and bowls, pastas, and a section of stuffed, wrapped, topped meals such as sweet potato tahini toast, stuffed peppers, and mushroom tacos. The book finishes with recipes for dressings, sauces, and toppings that can be used along with meals. This book requires no exotic, hard-to-find ingredients and all recipes are uncomplicated and easily accessible to most everyone. The only thing you won't find in this book are dessert recipes. This is a great cookbook for all who are looking to add more meat-free dishes to their diets. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've cut back on purchasing meat for cooking at home. This cookbook comes in handy for simple and tasty recipes for vegetarian meals. I liked the introduction of the first 8 dinners--all are simple and easy to prepare. I love cooking with eggs; so, her recipe for the egg scramble with cheese, onion, and spinach is good. I always have eggs, cheese and frozen vegetables on hand. I keep canned beans on hand, too, for quick and easy meals. Her recipe for the crispy chickpeas with spinach and yogurt is good. I just have to remember to buy the yogurt. I love homemade roasted tomato soup. Her recipe for it is good. I like serving it with toasted cheese. Oftentimes, I need ideas for salads; the section on dinner salads has lots of good recipes for them. Her recipe for lentil salad with jammy tomatoes and feta looks really good. The one thing I wished this cookbook had was more photos to go with the recipes. For those looking to increase their vegetarian meals, this cookbook would be a good addition to their kitchen library. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own.

[Deirdre K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you ever feel "done" reading a cookbook? I've read several this year but rarely list them here because they always feel "unfinished."

I love everything Jenny Rosenstrach does. We aren't vegetarians: I live with four men, ages 16 to 55, and they are all Irish meat lovers. But we are trying to eat less red meat and eat more vegetables. Jenny's approach is very meet-you-where-you-are and she even has a chapter focused on filling dishes for insatiable athletes.

Her style is conversational and there are all kinds of golden tips and hacks in here. We've made several and hope to make all the dishes eventually. Highly recommend.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite addressing the protein question head-on, this cookbook still fails to design meals that are filling without significant carbs or else fat from dairy. For example, avgolemono soup that's highlighted for protein... By having a whopping 3 eggs when serving 2-4 people, and filling in with orzo pasta. I eat 3 eggs plus some sauteed veggies or a single slice of toast for breakfast, so 1-1.5 eggs worth of protein does not make an adequate dinner. The author suggests pairing soups and salads for a full meal, but most recipes of both types don't contain enough protein unless they're one of the minority that adds beans. Where is the tofu, tempeh, seitan, store-bought veg sausage?

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved Jenny Rosenstrach’s blog, Dinner: A Love Story, for many years. And I own many of her cookbooks, including the first in this series. Her recipes never disappoint. The three-bean chili, cheesy white beans, and smoky pinto beans from her last cookbook are in regular rotation at my house, and I adore a number of the veggie bowls as well. I’ve also adapted her hummus recipe to our family’s taste.

As my family and I eat in a more plant-forward way, Jenny’s recipes will continue to feature prominently, and I’m thrilled to add to my repertoire with this new book.

[Pepper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Approximately 68 recipes in this book. None are innovative, but might inspire dinner, which is mainly what cookbooks are for, no? Unfortunately, this one has has only ~22 recipes that don't contain cheese. And if you're not a carb fan, forget it. IOW: it has the same problems most vegetarian cookbooks have. Not for me.

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 2024 Staff Nonfiction Favorite for Erica! For readers of Easy Everyday Vegetarian Cookbook by
Taste of Home and Plant Magic by Desiree Nielsen.

Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a vegetarian and didn’t find any recipes in this book that I felt interested in. I viewed an ebook format loaned from my library. Not all recipes had photos, otherwise it was formatted fine. I think this is an error: gastroesophageal reflex disorder (page 17) should be 'reflux'.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one. An interesting and thoughtful variety of vegetarian recipes that do not rely too heavily on dairy and/or mushrooms which is the deal with many vegetarian cookbooks. The recipes turned out well.

[DC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was diasppointed in this book. We make lots of things from The Weekday Vegetarians regularly, so I guess the bar was too high? Was I just more aware of the amount of cheese in so many recipes with this book? I mean... I love cheese, but is that plant forward?

[Elizabeth H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing - I enjoyed her Weekday Vegetarians cookbook so much I pre-ordered this one. Big mistake. These recipes are not inviting or exciting. Will not buy another book from her and regret this purchase. There are so many better and more interesting cookbooks out there.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think I’m the target audience, even though I’m a plant-forward omnivore. Not enough photos, not enough nutritional heft to equal dinner. And too much flipping pages to get a suave/side recipe. Layout needs work.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn't a picture for every recipe :(

[Lydia Kass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very user friendly and a lot of dressings recipes at the end.

[Diana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best cookbook of all time. Everything is tasty and I especially love the chart with soup and salad pairings.