March 9, 2008 | Vegetables

I know what you’re thinking – another lecture on why should eat more vegetables. They’re good for you, they fight cancer, they help you maintain your weight, and so on. But the real challenge is that most people are bored with vegetables. The same old preparation of boil or steam and add butter is only interesting for so long! You might be asking yourself, where’s the real flavor? And for many, the sheer challenge of knowing the proper way to cook a wide variety of vegetables can be daunting.

Fortunately, there are a few really great cookbooks out there that deliver it all – information about vegetables, seasonal guides, cooking techniques, and recipes packed with flavor. Browse these titles at your local bookstore and invest in one or two as a reference guide and you’ll not only be eating vegetables with every meal, you’ll be experimenting with different vegetables and savoring new flavors. Here are some of my favorites and a recipe.

• Vegetable Love, Barbara Kafka
• Vegetables, James Peterson
• How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman
• Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison
• World Vegetarian, Madhur Jaffrey

Asian Style Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry

3/4 pound sugar snap peas, stems removed
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup cashews, toasted

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook peas until barely cooked, about 3 minutes. Drain. While peas are cooking, heat oil and butter over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Add peas to skill and cook for 2 minutes more or until peas are tender crisp, stirring frequently. Pour peas into a serving dish and top with cashews. Serve immediately.