When a new cookbook recently came across my desk, my first thought was this was just another vegetable book with a clever title. How wrong I was. "The Vegetable Butcher" ($29.95, Workman Publishing) by Cara Mangini should be an essential part of your cookbook library. It is THE guide for selecting, preparing, slicing, dicing and, of course, cooking all things vegetable.

In "The Vegetable Butcher," you will find butchery essentials interspersed throughout the book, and dishes like corn fritters, celery root pot pie and eggplant steak with salsa verde will make you want to run to your local farmers' market.

The following pasta is replete with summer's bounty; zucchini, corn and basil naturally go together. I'd keep this recipe on hand as the summer continues, since you may often buy lots of these ingredients.

This bright summer pasta is flavored with fresh lemon juice and studded with pine nuts and mozzarella. Author Mangini rightly reminds us that salting the pasta water is imperative because it flavors the simple sauce. Enjoy this with a chilled chardonnay or sauvignon blanc.

Tasty Tips

--To shuck the corn, hold the husked corn on the vertical and slide the chef's knife down the sides releasing the corn kernels. There are corn tools that will strip the kernels right off the cob. You can find them at your local gourmet store.

--Use a swivel peeler to grate the cheese into thin shards.

--Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a nonstick skillet on medium heat and toss them until they turn light brown and smell fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool.

--Chop the basil just before cooking so it stays green.

--Look for fresh mozzarella.

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