With the arrival of Summer here in Chicago, this book seemed like a timely choice. No longer are we craving hearty, substantial dishes to sustain us through cold weather isolation. Now, our preference is for more healthy, light dishes utilizing the bounty of fresh produce available. Don't get us wrong, we still enjoy cooking up some meat on the grill but that has now become an occasional indulgence for the week. This book features over 200 meat-free meals using a seemingly endless variety of fresh produce. No matter the time of year, there are recipes for every season. Best of all, these dishes stand on their own - with no mourning the absence of meat. The chapters are cleverly divided into topics such as 'Comfort Food & Feasts', 'Hearty Salads' and 'Pantry Suppers'. Browsing the contents was thrilling and definitely created a challenge when attempting to narrow down our choices (7 in total). Here are the dishes we chose:• Eggplant Parmigiana - A classic dish that somehow eluded us until now. We altered the preparation of the eggplant and, after salting the slices and allowing them to rest for an hour, lightly oiled and seasoned them before grilling them. Once beautifully charred, we built the dish using the slices, some fresh mozzarella and our homemade tomato sauce. This is simple cooking at its best! We feel eggplant often does not get enough love. That's a shame. This dish is a great introduction to the delicious possibilities of the wonderful purple globe.• Kale and Mushroom Lasagna - We knew going into this dish it would require additional prep time. Thus, it is best reserved for a weekend or day off. Additionally, this is a perfect example of how a few tweaks can really improve the final result. Specifically, we added a couple teaspoons of chipotle mustard and a pinch of red pepper flake to the béchamel sauce. This introduced a touch heat to the flavor. We added a combination of grated smoked gouda, fresh mozzarella and pecorino to the top layer before placing in the oven. We also finished with a sprinkle of coarse smoked salt. These simple alterations really amplified the final taste. The lesson here being trust your instincts. If you think a dish would be enhanced by an ingredient, don't be afraid to add it.• Tahini-Dressed Zucchini and Green Bean Salad - What's not to love here?! Beautifully charred zucchini shares center stage with bright, crisp green beans (blanched to perfection). The tahini dressing was unusual, yet familiar, all at once. A pleasant bite of garlic, bright citrus flavors, a hint of sweetness courtesy of honey. All play a harmonious supporting role to the tahini. While you could certainly add some grilled chicken, steak or fish to make this a more substantial dinner, it really isn't necessary. This is a bowl of all the great things Summer has to offer.• Shaved Summer Vegetables - Want a dish that tastes as good as it looks? Here it is! Eating raw vegetables allows you to take full advantage of the nutrition and flavor they have to offer. Using a large mandolin to thinly slice beets, kohlrabi (also called "German turnip") and zucchini, we also employed a smaller, handhand slicer for radishes. We added some Belgian endive leaves because, why not? The dressing, consisting of honey mustard, lemon olive oil, rice wine and lemon juice provided a fresh, assertive kick - as did the Aleppo pepper we sprinkled on top. This is a tasty, easy dish which perfectly showcases the power and beauty of fresh, shaved raw vegetables.• Avocado and Ruby Grapefruit with Chile - Looking for a pleasant, light, healthy lunch? Here it is? The preparation couldn't be more simple. The tart grapefruit plays well with the lush avocado - dutifully supported by the slight heat from the chile. Finished with a generous drizzle of quality olive oil, this dish provides a clean boost of energy while not weighing you down mid-workday.• River Cottage Summer Garden Soup - If the folks at River Cottage are going to create a namesake soup, we would be remiss not to try it! Although finely dicing so many vegetables proved a laborious task, the results were definitely worth the effort. This soup is packed with a veritable "kitchen sink" of green vegetables (fennel, green onion, zucchini, chard, peas, fava beans, fresh herbs). We particularly enjoyed being able to use a handful of fresh herbs from our garden. Additionally, the method of using both the chard leaves and finely diced stalks was clever. The following days leftovers were even better! This dish would also freeze well, if desired.• Summer Stir-Fry with Fried Rice - A simple stir-fry, while not the most exciting of meals, is always welcome in our kitchen. Once you have your ingredients prepared, everything comes together very quickly. This one would have benefitted from more bold flavors - particularly some heat. Though a solid dish, it was not our favorite from the book.