Annemarie Colbin learned early of the important relationship between food and health: having grown up in a vegetarian household, she spent many years integrating Eastern eating philosophies with Western habits, studying the works of everyone from J.I. Rodale and George Ohsawa to Julia Child and James Beard. With The Natural Gourmet, Colbin takes her ideas about healthful eating a step further with meals that nourish body and soul, and that are elegant enough to serve to company. The recipes included in The Natural Gourmet are the result of a collaborative effort by Colbin and ten students from her Natural Gourmet Cookery School in Manhattan. Each recipe is classified according to the Chinese Theory of the Five Phases, making it easy to combine the various courses to create a balanced, harmonious meal. Among the delicious dishes you'll find are:

-- Curried Apple-Squash Bisque

-- Mushrooms Stuffed with Garlic and Rosemary

-- San Franciscan Pizza

-- Lissa's Homemade Black Pepper Pasta with Scallion-Butter Sauce

-- Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

-- Jalapeno Corn Bread

-- Japanese Red Bean Soup

-- Lentil Croquettes

-- Potato-Cabbage Casserole with Dill

-- Black Bean Salad with Corn and Red Pepper

-- Pasta Salad with Zucchini and Chick-peas

-- Poached Salmon Fillets with Mock Hollandaise

-- Almond Flan with Raspberry Sauce

-- Ginger Lace Cookies

-- Orange Loaf with Walnuts

-- and many more All the recipes are in keeping with Colbin's belief that food should be whole, fresh, local, and seasonal -- and, of course, delicious. Much more than simply a cookbook, The Natural Gourmet presents a combination of food preparation and philosophy that come together in a plan for healthful and graceful living.