Passionate veg. . - trends - Passionate Vegetarian - book review

Neil isn't the only tomato aficionado. There are so many delicious tomato-based recipes in Crescent Dragon-wagon's new book, Passionate Vegetarian (www.passionatevegetarian.com), I can't list them all. I recommend Tomatoes Stuffed with Cornbread Dressing with Southwestern Style Tomato Gravy or Amma's Stove-Top Masala Pudding--an authentic South Indian recipe. This over-the-top cookbook/vegetarian food bible, boasting 1,000-plus recipes, is a must for any lover of good food and inspirational food writing. Besides vegetarian versions of American regional dishes, Dragon-wagon includes many ethnic cuisines such as a great Japanese recipe for Pickled "Sushi" Ginger and instructions for making a variety of nori rolls with homemade sushi rice.

The best sushi rice to buy is Koshi-Hikari from Kumai Harvest--a premium, pearly-white grain. This Japanese short-grain rice maintains its shape, fragrance and taste when cooked. Ideal for sushi, Koshi-Hikari also is perfect for risottos, and its sweet, nutty flavor makes an amazing rice pudding. Celebrity chefs Ming Tsai and Earthbound Farm's Mark Miller helped create some of the recipes found on Kumai Harvest's Web site, www.kumaiharvest.com.