New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

Ten years ago, Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook popularized the meatless fare of the Ithaca restaurant, and this latest effort proves that the Moosewood Collective still has its finger on the pulse of superior, innovative vegetarian cuisine. A new sophistication is evident: Katzen's hand lettering, a much-imitated cookbook motif, is replaced by more practical, conventional type, and dishes like chilled buttermilk and berry soups are surpassed by chilled cantaloupe-amaretto and avocado-grapefruit offerings. Inspired by ethnic and international traditions, and enhanced by fresh, seasonal ingredients, the delicious recipes feature fish with Cantonese black-bean sauce, Japanese braised eggplant, West African groundnut stew, Russian vegetable strudel, Tuscan potato salad and apricot baklava. Directions are lucid and straightforward, and even the more complicated dishes are accessible to novices. A detailed appendix defines ingredients, equipment and techniques, but preparation times are omitted from this Moosewood version. Illustrations not seen by PW. BOMC/Cooking & Crafts Club and QPBC selections. (July 21)