Cooking With Vegetables Cookbook Review

A Fresh Take on Vegetables: Cooking with Vegetables Review

In this week’s cookbook review, we take a look at Cooking with Vegetables, the debut from Jesse Jenkins, also known online as ADIP (Another Day in Paradise).

At first glance, it might seem like just another vegetable-forward cookbook, but what makes this one different is its energy.

Jenkins approaches vegetables with the same intensity often reserved for meat and fish, using fire, char, and smoke to draw out their deepest flavors. The result is food that feels both everyday and extraordinary.

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Cooking by Ingredient

The structure of the book is clean and intuitive. Instead of the usual appetizers, mains, and desserts, the chapters are organized by ingredient: leafy greens, root vegetables, beans and pulses, mushrooms, tomatoes, and more. This makes it easy to cook straight from the market or from whatever you have in your fridge—pick the vegetable, and you’ll have options.

The recipes cover a wide spectrum. Some are quick and simple: noodle bowls, rice dishes, fried sandwiches. Others lean toward comfort and indulgence: smoky eggplant parm, braised fennel with spicy chickpeas, lettuces charred until smoky and crisp. This balance makes the book versatile—equally suited to busy weeknights and weekend gatherings.

What ties everything together is technique. Jesse borrows the methods often reserved for meat—grilling, smoking, caramelizing—and applies them to vegetables. It transforms the flavor entirely, giving even the humblest ingredients weight and depth. Leeks become smoky. Cabbage develops a steak-like crust. Zucchini takes on a glossy miso glaze. This is the book’s strongest point: showing that vegetables can be bold and satisfying without compromise.

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Everyday but Better

The recipes themselves are vibrant, flavor-forward, and often surprising. Jesse reimagines familiar ideas, like Caesar salad or parmigiana, with vegetables in the spotlight. At the same time, he introduces playful twists, like grilled peas paired with pickled tomato and burrata, or a kimchi puttanesca that’s briny, spicy, and new.

This isn’t a vegetarian or vegan cookbook. Bacon, chorizo, and anchovies make appearances as seasoning. But they never dominate the dish, and Jesse makes it clear that you can leave them out. That flexibility opens the book to a wide audience, vegetarians, flexitarians, and omnivores alike.

Generosity is another thread. Whether it’s a quick rice bowl for two or a big platter for friends, the food feels designed to be shared. Jesse wants his readers not just to cook, but to gather around food.

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Cinematic Plates

Visually, Cooking with Vegetables is striking. Jesse’ background as a fashion photographer is obvious. The images are cinematic, vegetables lit with drama, charred edges glowing in the light, sauces dripping mid-pour. It elevates the ingredients to something iconic.

But the book avoids feeling staged. Alongside the drama, there’s an easy, sunlit casualness that matches Jesse’ Californian roots. The photography is both aspirational and approachable: food you want to admire, but even more, food you want to eat.

The layout is clear and unfussy. Recipes are easy to follow and well-structured, making the book as functional in the kitchen as it is beautiful on a coffee table.

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Final Thoughts

Cooking with Vegetables is more than just another vegetable cookbook. It’s a bold call to rethink how vegetables are cooked and eaten. The recipes are fun and flexible, the photography cinematic, and the overall approach modern and unpretentious.

Jesse proves that vegetables don’t need to be an afterthought. With fire, smoke, and a little attitude, they can be the most exciting thing on the table.