Cabbagetown Cafe Cookbook

Cabbagetown Cafe is located in the part of Ithaca, N.Y., known as Collegetown. If you can stomach a plethora of recipes named after people you don't know (Jane's Buttermilk Dressing, Mindy's Black Bread and Amy's Orange Buttercream Torte) and the self-conscious memoir of the cafe's owner, Jordanwho authored another cookbook, Wings of Life, when she was a ""young militant vegetarian''you'll find here plenty of hearty vegetarian dishes. Kitchen novices may appreciate such simple fare as Roger's Minestrone for Complete Idiots and the sound advice on buying good avocados that is included with the guacamole recipe, but preparation times would also have been helpful, especially with the breads. This collection of the cafe's specialties, including appetizers, breads, salads and dressings, soups, pasta, pizza, quiches, stir-fries, Mexican, Indian and Sunday-brunch dishes, and desserts, will spark appetites, even of those folk who never went to Cornell. Illustrations. Author tour. (May 1)