Cooking without a knife is a timesaver, but lacking in taste

CONCORD, N.H. -- No knife needed?

The claim certainly got my attention. Especially when it was followed by the declaration that you wouldn't need graters, mixers, blenders or food processors, either.

It's at the heart of Donna Klein's recent cookbook, "The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook" (HP Books, 2004, $18.95), in which the acronym stands for "Pretty Darn Quick."

Pretty darn quirky was what came to mind.

There has been a slew of cookbooks in recent years with promises to help home cooks cut corners, but this was the first I'd seen that claimed none of its recipes required so much as a knife.

If the author was anyone else, PDQ would have landed on my discard pile.

I have nothing against shortcuts, and many nights quick tricks are what make the difference between a meal at home and a meal brought home. I certainly rely on my fair share of convenience products, especially canned beans.

But in cookbooks, cutting corners has become a gimmick gone too far, and the no-knife claim made me roll my eyes.

Still, I wanted to give Klein the benefit of the doubt. I loved her last book, "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen" (HP Books, 2001), and its approach to vegetarian cooking is spot on.

In that book, Klein's recipes flow naturally. Every dish is naturally vegan, meaning there are no attempts to persuade tofu to taste like tenderloin or pretend that pureed almonds make a great whipped cream.

Though Klein calls on knives and other common kitchen gadgets throughout her first book, I never found any of its recipes daunting or overly time consuming, or at least not for their use of kitchen tools.

Klein intends the lack of knives as a timesaving measure, but in my experience time is consumed by fussy and overly complicated recipes, not the use of a knife or food processor.

Since Klein excels at making good, simple recipes, it seemed unnecessary that she contort herself to this rule.

Everything I tested tasted quite good. But I couldn't help feeling things could have been better. The chickpeas would have been perfect with diced cucumber tossed in, but that would break the rule.

I would make many of her dishes, but probably would ditch her methods in favor of fresh ingredients. I'd rather use a knife than resort to bagged shredded carrots and frozen chopped onion.

Curried Pumpkin and Peanut Soup

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup frozen chopped onion

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon mild curry powder, to taste

1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup water

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup canned light coconut milk, half-and-half or light cream (optional)

Chopped peanuts (optional)

In a medium stockpot heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and thawed, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add the vinegar. Cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated.

Add the curry powder and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Carefully add the broth, then the water. Stir in the pumpkin, peanut butter, sugar, salt and pepper.

Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, taking care as it tends to splatter.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the coconut milk (if using) during the last few minutes of cooking. Garnish with peanuts.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 221 calories, 13 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 340 milligrams sodium, 19 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 12 grams protein.

(Recipe from Donna Klein's "The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook," HP Books, 2004, $18.95.)