Recipes + Cook Books

Much more than a cookbook, this artistic treasure contains stunning food photography, inspiring graphics, natural-food cooking charts and kitchen wisdom for all. A foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall highlights its aim to inspire peace and understanding amongst individuals, cultures and all who care about our planet.

Vegan World Fusion Cuisine contains 200+ sumptuous recipes from the award-winning Blossoming Lotus Restaurants, uniting cooking traditions from around the world. It's an all-encompassing guide to health, beauty and an inspired lifestyle. Mark and Bo hope to awaken people to the healing potential within themselves.

"Beautifully presented recipes that are delicious, fun, easy to prepare, and healthy. Try some and see what happens. I'll bet your body will thank you for the rest of your life." --JOHN ROBBINS

"I heartily recommend VEGAN WORLD FUSION CUISINE for anyone seeking a healthier, more inspired life." --DEEPAK CHOPRA

Fish or seafood stars in many dishes. Choy's marinades are generally a blend of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sugar, with varying accents of scallion, sesame oil, and hot peppers. Both the preparation of ingredients and the cooking method are quick for most dishes. The accompaniment, often a salsa or chutney, is usually a toss-together of chopped fresh fruits and vegetables that can be made ahead of time.

Choy takes pride in his Hawaiian heritage. He talks about his family and local goings-on. His Catfish in Sweet and Sour Sauce supports local farming of this freshwater fish. Enticing, succulent Hibachi Pineapple Spears were invented one day at the beach to please the kids.

A fish-lovers delight, this book also offers appealing chicken recipes: Quick and Easy Shoyu Chicken, made with teriyaki sauce, will please just about everyone. Sixteen color pages help you present dishes as nicely as Choy does at his restaurants. If you can chop, stir-fry, and grill, Sam Choy's Island Cooking provides a fast, fun taste trip to the tropics. Don't miss the desserts and exotic drinks, like Lava Flow and Kona MacFreeze. --Dana Jacobi

Chosen Best Regional Chef for the Pacific Northwest in 1996 by the James Beard Foundation, Wong is a master of multicultural cooking. Called Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, his dishes fuse local ingredients and traditions with foods and techniques from Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Taking the succulent meat from whole Kalua Pig, pit-roasted luau style, he uses it in a risotto dotted with corn and crunchy water chestnuts, then enriched with truffle butter. He also features this smoky pork in nachos built on crunchy taro chips, topped with chile-spiked guacamole.

As you feast on the photos, it is almost possible to taste the artistic creations depicted, each one dense with contrasting flavors and textures. His Surf and Turf, for example, features grilled beef tenderloin and a Kona lobster tail wrapped around a scallop. They are served with a roasted potato topped with wasabi-spiked mashed potatoes. This potato sprouts leaves of tat soi, an Asian green, and spiraling antennae of fried linguini. Grilled marinated mushrooms and asparagus add to the plate, which is drizzled with a sauce combining cream, truffle butter, and soy vinaigrette. Then it is ringed with shining dots of basil oil and finished with a sprinkling of chives and diced tomato.

Lest this strenuous cooking intimidate you, it is easy to make Wong's Asian Guacamole flavored with ginger and sake, Five Spice Risotto rich with shiitake mushrooms, and Asian Ratatouille, unexpectedly enhanced with oyster sauce and sesame oil. Each adds immeasurably to a meal of grilled fish or store-bought roast chicken.

Anyone with an ice-cream maker must try the recipes for tropical Guava, Lychee-Ginger, and Mango Lime ice cream, and a quartet of memorably exotic, liquored sorbets. --Dana Jacobi