Vegetables are no longer just a colorful side dish. More and more people are turning toward vegetarian cuisine for a healthier lifestyle. This ultimate, authoritative, and incredibly sumptuous guide to vegetables turns nature's bounty into a culinary main event. There is an abundance of information on these gifts of nature: from the comprehensive directory of vegetables, both exotic and common, arranged by botanical families, to detailed chapters on a variety of cooking techniques in pan, pot, or oven--braising and stewing, boiling, shallow and deep frying, steaming, blanching, baking, and grilling. Mouth-watering recipes ranging from the simple to the sophisticated spotlight an assortment of vegetarian dishes--cold soups, starters, salads, stuffed vegetables, and main courses--and are guaranteed to delight the eyes and satisfy the stomach.