Amazon.com (ISBN 0688113133, Hardcover)

One is quickly motivated to follow Viana La Place's advice in Unplugged Kitchen, which is to simplify what you cook and how you prepare it. More than a cookbook, this is her manifesto on bringing back the simple pleasures of honest, good food in everyday eating. An artfully designed and illustrated work, it includes recipes for such humble Italian dishes as Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Panino (a kind of sandwich) of Grilled Portobello Mushroom, and Green Peas Cooked Pearl Onions and a Lettuce Hat. Using the best ingredients is essential. Part of La Place's purpose is to promote a demand that will make these foods more available to all of us.