Organic Cooking: Eating Well Organic Gourmet Recipes For a Healthier Life
309 Pages, Softcover
A World School Publication By Dr. Nancy Philips and Rev. Matthew Haupt
Author House Bloomington, IN 2006  $24.90 US
Reviewed by: Chef John J. Vyhnanek, June 2006


Let's not forget the influx of "Organic" foods in our society as of late. You can't get away from them. They are revered as the godsend of foods that are healthy, pesticide free and with no artificial ingredients. In the 1930's and 40's my grandfather was already producing organic vegetables, eggs and milk on his farm in the Hudson Valley of New York state. Was he ahead of his time? No---everyone who had a farm did so. They used cow and chicken manure and fish carcasses for fertilizer, and tobacco water as a pesticide. Then came the pesticides like DDT and all sorts of chemical fertilizers. Traditional farming was lost to the age of additives and laboratory hybrids. Thank goodness we realized that before we killed a good thing, ourselves, we would return to our roots. Now that we have many a fine product to work with again, it's about time to also have cookbooks on the subject of organic cooking. In almost a 1960's, hippy kind of way, people everywhere want to eat and live better.

Organic Cooking: Eating Well "Organic Gourmet Recipes For a Healthier Life" by the founders of the National Wellness Weeks and America's Wellness Fair has recently been published. I counted about 285 pages or 300 recipes in the publication. The authors state that every recipe was prepared, cooked and perfected, a daunting and admirable task all to itself! Did you know that many cookbooks don't test their recipes because of the gigantic cost!

The book itself is quite plain, the cover of the large paperback doesn't shout "pick me up". It's another story on the inside. The recipes are interesting, creative, and made with healthy ingredients. Many of the recipes' names are a bit cutesy with names such as; Summer Fruity Halibut with Tomato Lemon-Pepper Angle Hair Pasta or Delicious Lemon-Mozzarella Knishes and Kisses with Special Salad. Good Cooking started with simpler named dishes to test. Baked Mango Mahi-Mahi on page 143 was tasty, pleasant and very easy to prepare. Veggie Chowder on page 219 was very easy to make: add everything to the pot and cook for about an hour---done! It then was topped with shredded soy Parmesan Cheese as a garnish. It tasted good, after adding salt and pepper. I'm sure it is very good for you too, although the book doesn't list any nutritional information on the recipes. Apple-Pear Crumble on page 277 was again very easy to prepare and tasted great, especially topped with the optional whipped cream.

The bottom line is that this book has a lot to offer in terms of recipes, information about ingredients and other preparation suggestions. There is even an organic source guide that gives company names and contact information for products, and what each company sells. Good Cooking likes the book because of the author's commitment to improve and influence the lives of others. A beautiful cookbook it isn't, but if you are looking to get healthy and eat organics, using creative recipes, it's for you!