Lucy Waverman's Fast and Fresh Cookbook

Esther Fisher is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and
a former food critic for The Globe & Mail.

In her latest cookbook, Waverman promises, and generally delivers,
instructions for preparing quick and tasty family meals and even a
“three-course extravaganza in under an hour.” As well as recipes,
she offers information on fast cooking techniques, advance preparation
of some ingredients and courses, and staples to keep on hand in the
cupboard and refrigerator. Recipes are arranged in standard format,
appetizers to desserts, and many sections include suggestions for
selecting and storing produce and for using leftovers.

As the title conveys, recipes are limited to those that can be prepared
in a hurry, using mainly fresh ingredients. Many recipes are standard
fare—soups prepared with canned or homemade frozen stock; grilled,
poached, stir-fried, or baked fish, poultry, or meat, varied with
interesting sauces or seasonings (such as chicken breasts with mango
sauce, or grilled salmon with ginger-orange butter); many fresh fruit
desserts; and quick bread recipes. Some of the more innovative
suggestions are a piquant Greek garlic cheese spread containing
anchovies, green olives, and feta cheese, and instructions for Cajun
seasoning to be used on canned chickpeas to make an unusual appetizer.

As with most cookbooks, there are some questionable areas: a “spicy
tomato dip” containing yogurt and a fresh tomato, which Waverman says
can also be used as a salad dressing, would, I think, be far too liquid
for dipping purposes. And although there are not large quantities of
whipping cream called for in individual recipes, it is an ingredient
extremely prevalent throughout the book.

Even though there are few novel ideas in this book, it is a good source
for those days when you want to make good meals in a hurry. Instead of
checking recipe files, rifling through several cookbooks, and wracking
your brain, you can find it all here, well organized, under one cover.