I'm so NOT a vegetarian, as you all know. But I'm becoming a "lessmeatitarian" and scaling back so that I generally only use meat as flavoring in cooking. (With obvious exceptions--roast chicken, good fish and shellfish when I can get it, etc.) How to Cook Everything Vegetarian ($22.71 at Amazon) is less an endorsement of a way of life than it is a great reference manual on all those vegetables you have no idea what to do with. I'm not sure I know anyone (other than me) that has ever willingly purchased and then consumed rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, black kale, rainbow chard, green tomatoes, squash blossoms, or rhubarb that has not gone straight into a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The list goes on and on. Which is a shame, because all vegetables--fresh, and properly prepared--taste really aweome. And disclosure: any vegetable tastes great on pizza. (Note: I said FRESH. Canned peas and canned green beans are gross.)
So having a cookbook like this is important, because it will put you on speaking terms with all those "weird" vegetables no one buys. The next time the grocery store is having a sale on golden beets, you can buy some and find a useful recipe to use them. Got a box of CSA vegetables and you don't know what to do with half of them? This book will help you out.
Le Seur peas are the only canned peas that don't suck. Otherwise everything else should be fresh. I like parsnip and rutabaga home fries with garlic, olive oil, fresh rosemary and parmesan personally. (grin)
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