Amazon.com (ISBN 0811816826, Paperback)

Soyfoods have been a staple in Asian cooking for millennia, but until recently only a few Westerners took much interest in cooking with them. Now deemed a "miracle food," soy may help prevent cancer, lower cholesterol, reduce heart disease, prevent osteoporosis, and relieve the symptoms of menopause. Award-winning natural foods cookbook author and food writer Lorna Sass shares her decade of soyfood cookery research in The New Soy Cookbook, pairing soyfoods with ingredients and seasonings of cuisines from around the world. Beautifully laid out and illustrated, the book includes more than 40 recipes using soymilk, tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, and miso. The recipes reveal influences from all over, highlighting the cuisines of China, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, and France, reflecting a delicious fusion of East and West.

Red Lentil Soup with Indian Spices, Tempeh Braised in Coconut Milk with Lemongrass, Curried Tofu with Spinach and Tomatoes, Sage-scented Cornmeal Scones, Pumpkin Tart with Pecan Crust, Codfish and Clam Chowder, and Black Soybean Salsa with Swordfish Strips are only a sampling of the tempting recipes you will find in Sass's lovely compendium. With only a few desserts, Sass focuses more on savory dishes using no meat, very little dairy, some seafood, and somewhat unusual ingredients such as quinoa, shiitake mushrooms, mesclun, kabocha squash, and broccoli rabe. With mouthwatering photographs, The New Soy Cookbook would make a handsome addition to any inspired cook's bookshelf. --Gretel Hakanson