Watermark Books and Cafe

This is my favorite new cookbook. In the month since it arrived, it has already added several recipes to my list of "permanents." It's published by the outfit that does the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and the SoNo Baking Company baking book, and it's written by the health-conscious folks at Whole Living Magazine, who bring us polite monthly suggestions for more yoga, more whole grains, and less stress. In other words, as fellow busy cooks and humans, they're on our side.

If you're open to eating more nutrition-packed fruits and vegetables, more good-for-you fiber, and less meat (and Lent *is* on the way), this book is a great find.

My first all-star pick is roasted Brussels sprouts with pears and shallots. It takes five minutes to prep, thirty more in the oven, and then you have four servings of sweet, savory, roasty goodness. The browned sprouts are delicious, and their stray leaves crisp up and add crunch. It's an easy way to get your veggies and a great introduction to sprouts, which admittedly can look a little alien if you grew up on a corn farm like I did. (There's also a shredded sprout salad in here that I'm eager to try.)

Round two: sweet potato hummus. Adding steamed or baked sweet potatoes to Wichita's favorite dip makes it sweeter, more colorful, richer in antioxidants, and like a whole new dish. It's good with pita, of course, but I've been loving it especially with crunchy vegetables like blanched green beans or carrots or sugar snap peas. If you've never made hummus at home before, this is a great healthy snack to start you out.

And three: homemade granola. Now understand, I'm not much of a granola person. The boxed stuff is usually chalky and unappealing, and previous recipes have always disappointed me. But this one! It's super crunchy, tastes of toasty oats, and gives me an opportunity to use that jar of wheat germ I keep on hand for my favorite lemon bar recipe. This recipe offers keen variations (walnuts! ginger! pumpkin seeds!) and it's much lower in sugar and oil that any I've tried before. It's a keeper.

"Power Foods" is a powerhouse collection, with loads of options for vegetables, fish, some meat and dairy, and many recipes that are gluten-free or vegan. Our Whole Living friends aren't telling us how to eat, just how to eat better, and aided by their recipes--and by their bright, luscious photographs--we can do it in high style.

Review by Mark David Bradshaw