Friendly Foods

Pickarski, a professional chef who is also a Franciscan brother, brings his considerable culinary expertise to this sophisticated collection of vegan recipes (vegetarian dishes that exclude eggs and dairy foods as well as meats and fish). Experienced and savvy vegetarian cooks especially will enjoy trying out the volume's elegant dishes: e.g, a tofu seitan Wellington with Bordelaise sauce or a decorative leek aspic with tahini lemon sauce. However, most recipes are designed as daily fare, such as Pickarski's version of the Hungarian classic Sezekle gulos, which he serves with noodles and cabbage, or a meatless New England boiled dinner. Several recipes require ingredients generally available only from specialty sources, such as natural foods stores or oriental supply shops. For example, a creamy ginger dressing calls for white miso, Sucanat (a natural sweetener) and Szechuan peppercorns,pk while a delicate carrot sauce is made with silken tofu, white miso and packaged vegetable base. However, cooks interested in sampling these unusual flavor combinations and determined enough to identify and track down the ingredients (Pickarski helps with a glossary and an annotated list of mail order suppliers) will find these recipes worth the effort. Illustrated. (Mar.)