Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables

Rule, a noted food writer and blogger, offers a lovely and gorgeous tribute to vegetables and fruits everywhere in this unusual cookbook. Organized by color rather than season or meal type, to the presentation aims to excite readers about the beauty and appealing tastes of everything from pomegranates and clementines to artichokes and spinach. Recipes include witty and whimsical head notes that provide tips for preparing and serving. Rule also lists combinations of just a few ingredients for simple uses of each item but unfortunately doesn’t include measurements, which are vital for making dishes such as frozen yogurt and tea bread. Her full recipes, however, are mouthwatering, from her chocolate-flecked banana buttermilk pancakes to a caramelized onion asiago tart to polenta-stuffed chard with bubbly parmesan. While she includes a fair share of salad options, including kumquat arugula salad with currant-walnut vinaigrette, she does showcase a wide variety of other uses, such as peach mascarpone flatbreads and carrot soup with garam masala cream. Recipes are vegetarian, but few will miss the meat in these flavorful dishes. Chock-full of delectable photographs that whet the appetite, this collection will tantalize and educate on the many appealing ways vegetables and fruits can nourish and sustain. Agent, Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Brick House Literary Agency.(Apr.)