Fresh Happy Tasty: An Adventure in 100 Recipes

I’ve never written an Amazon review before but love this book so much that I wanted to. It’s visually stunning with lots of pictures, and the food feels light and fresh while still being satisfying. The salads are my favorite- unexpected combinations that are amazing. Like eat with your hands over the sink when you aren’t hungry amazing. I made her tomato egg cilantro salad to eat for dinner over the next few days and had devoured it all by snacking two hours later (granted, a lot of the recipes are only a few servings). My first ever roast whole chicken was her fabulous version with the apricots and bacon. If you are looking to include more vegetables and less processed food in your diet, this cookbook makes that enjoyable instead of demoralizing. Recipes have relatively few ingredients with largely simple preparation (or if something is going to be a project, the intro says so or you can spot it quickly. There’s no fast way to make your own falafel). The book also centers seafood, which I like. My second favorite cookbook after Salt Fat Acid Heat, and I own about 20. I may have a problem with cookbook buying.

I've had the fortune of tasting almost everything in this book that Jane, herself, prepared. Her food is AMAZING! It has completely changed the way that I think about flavors and the way that I cook. Her recipes are so simple, yet so very flavorful. While discussing the amount of herbs that one should use in a single dish, Jane pretty much told me to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. I've been doing just that, and, you know what? She's right. "Over-herbing" is the best thing ever! She also leaves a lot of room for variations in her recipes. They, like Jane, are very organic and lively in nature. I can't wait for the rest of the world to experience the pleasure of Jane food.My three favorite recipes (that have been proven crowd pleasers when cooking for my family and friends) are the 1) Pomegranate, nut, & green herb quinoa, 2) Pearl barley with baby spinach corn, & shiitake mushrooms, and 3) Vanilla bean berries mixed with Warm quinoa breakfast porridge. I'd also like to note that while eating her food for a week straight, my boyfriend noticed that I'd slimmed down. Healthy and tasty, it's no wonder that DVF wants to eat Jane's food on a daily basis! A great gift, I bought copies for everyone in my family. They've tasted my versions of her recipes and, across the board, they've loved it. I can't recommend this book enough!

The pictures in this book are beautiful, and add well to the over all book. I bought this book a few months back, some recipes are so earthy and savory. Not all the recipes are easy or time efficient, especially some of the breakfast recipes seemed unnecessarily taxing. I am ok with making dinners that require a lot of prep work, and step following. But, I am an avid believer that breakfast should be easy and delicious - I just woke up, the sun is rising, coffee brewing, I am still half-asleep, so what I don't want is cilantro lime eggs! The book has other breakfast recipes that are just a bit much.The tomato soup recipe, hummus, grape and brie cheese salad, cilantro rice, and Israeli couscous recipe are some of my favorites.Over all this book is such a pleasure to read, and even better to enjoy on the table.

I'm updating my review now that I've cooked through more than 3/4 of the recipes in this book, which has been in heavy rotation since I first purchased it. (By the way, I've had to replace my own copy more than once as friends borrow it and love it and it ends up gifted to them.)I've been revisiting all the soup recipes this fall- the lentil soup, which is full of vegetables, is a standout. My only suggestion is to double or triple the recipe.The breakfasts are all ready satisfying, and I've been inspired to liven up my salads after cooking from this book- loads more herbs and lots of color.previous comments: fresh, happy, tasty recipes! The book definitely delivers on the title. Very fresh, healthy recipes. I've cooked through about a third of the recipes so far, and have enjoyed all of them. The recipes are not that different from what I normally cook, but every recipe has a delicious twist I hadn't thought of before- guacamole with ginger! SO good!

I haven't been able to put this book down! I tried just casually flipping through it and ended up reading it cover to cover...three days in a row. Each time through the recipes seem a bit more accessible, more achievable. The things I like best are the beautiful pictures, wonderful narrative, and the fact that that the ingredients only require a small stretch from the staples I keep on hand anyways. And I mean a good, productive stretch, like using real vanilla beans or high quality sea salt. If I add a handful of items to my staples and get a bit more aggressive with my herb garden, I won't need a thing other than the protein or fresh veggies to whip one of these dishes up! The recipes are simple and unintimidating, and so, so fresh. Tonight I added sticky flags to the ones I wanted to work into the rotation first...and now the damn book looks like a rainbow porcupine, I added so many  Buy the book, you won't regret it.

I've had Fresh Happy Tasty for almost two weeks and I really can't say enough about it. If you are looking for delicious, fresh meals for your family then you will like this book. Some of what I've made so far are the fish tacos, poached chicken, multi-seed granola, avocado, arugula & spinach salad, blackened tomato soup (twice!), and green bean tomato & potato salad. All have been fast and easy to prepare and are exactly as the title describes...fresh, happy, and very tasty! I have since purchased 3 additional books for my friends. We are constantly texting back and forth "did you try...?" I will be purchasing more for Christmas presents. I've never written a review before but needed to one for this book (...hoping it will help encourage a second cookbook, please~please~please Jane!) Everything about this book is so beautiful and well done. Thank you Chef Coxwell!

This book is just full of delicious recipes, that are wonderfully approachable.I wanted a book that contained recipes that required a bit of effort, but not an amount of effort that takes over your entire day. My partner is the cook in our home and we have got a wall full of cook books, which are generally used at the weekends, and for when we are entertaining.... but this book will get used more regularly than that, and by me - a very average cook.The recipes are so different to any other book, it isn't a health or diet book - but the recipes are healthy and wholesome. It is feel good food that isn't loaded with butter and cream and overly rich undulgances.You can judge this book by it's cover. The recipes are indeed fresh, happy, and tasty.... and you will be as excited as the chef herself is on the cover when you've made a dish from it yourself.

I have purchased 3 copies of this book as gifts and all recipients have been delighted not just by the recipes but by the accompanying literarure

A new author and a great book! The recipes are straightforward and full of flavour -- I can't wait to try the Green Quinoa - Crusted Bass and the North African Salad. There are pictures of most recipes and even several great instructional pages on "how to" such as how to segment citrus fruit. Definitely a cookbook for the new cook and expert alike. Will keep an eye to any future cookbooks!