What does it mean to be a good cook? Is it intuition, time spent at your Nan's apron strings, muscle memory? And what happens if you tick none of the above?

Alice Zaslavsky, bestselling author of In Praise of Veg, is here to tell you that if you like food, you are already a better cook than you think. With this definitive veg-forward recipe collection centred on building extremely handy skills and know-how, you'll capture a sense of delight in the kitchen from day one.

With her trademark pluck, Alice covers all the delicious bases, from Slapdash (aka really outstanding things simply thrown together), Autopilot (great go-tos for midweek wonders) through to Making the Most of It (gluts and leftover makeovers). Then it's time to Loosen Your Shoulders (for weekend pottering and entertaining), and let's not forget Seriously Good Sweeties (like, seriously good).

Whether you're already a whiz in the kitchen, you're a battler who finds cooking a bit meh or you're starting from 'which way do I hold the knife?', The Joy of Better Cooking is all the inspiration, hand-holding and cheerleading you need to get confident and bring joy into your cooking.