Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine Celebrate the earth's gifts: Invite your friends to experience the best of pure vegetarian cuisine. With their first cookbook, Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine, Friends of Animals will draw accolades for recipes as enjoyable to eat as they are to prepare.

This cookbook is perfect for every day, and for those just learning about the joy of pure vegetarian cuisine. With an emphasis on fresh, organic produce, the keynote is variety. Here you'll find a traditional recipe for apple sauce, sweetened with natural agave nectar, and plenty of ideas for entertaining, such as the Walnut Pear Salad with Celery Seed Dressing, Tempeh London Broil, and the Perfect Chestnut Soup. Dining With Friends draws on global influences, from the innovative Tofu Hummos with Toasted Cumin Seed to the aromatic Arroz y Habichuelas (Puerto Rican Rice and Beans). And those curious about raw foods and vitamin-packed refreshments will be intrigued with the variety of unusual ideas from Spicy Hijiki Salad to Banana Custard Parfait to Cantaloupe, Mint & Mango Juice. As noted in the Foreword by John Robbins, author of the bestsellers Diet for a New World and The Food Revolution:

It's full of recipes that are indeed healthful, delicious, aesthetically pleasing, and sure to delight friends or family with wonderful memories for years to come. But what's more, these excellent recipes are made entirely from plant foods … so you can prepare and serve these recipes, comfortable and happy in knowing that you have in your hand the key to bringing your meals into alignment with your sense of compassion.

For this is more than a vegetarian cookbook. It's a tribute to the compassion of those who buy it, enjoy it, and share it. The vegan philosophy – meaning free of animal products – embodies an ethical commitment to live, as far as possible, in harmony with the planet and all its inhabitants. Dining With Friends shows that this doesn't mean giving up attractive foods. They're here, from delicious lasagne recipes and pesto dishes to classic desserts. Recipes for Chocolate Marble Cheesecake, Summer Blueberry Cake, or Key Lime Pie will enable you to create desserts to rival the best chefs' creations. Everyone, regardless of age, background, or spiritual perspective, can enjoy the wide variety of vegetables and fruits that is the core principle for good health. It's also the best ethical response to human hunger, to our current environmental predicament, and to respecting the other living beings with whom we share the planet. Pure vegetarianism is an ethic without borders–between species or between peoples. Dining With Friends, written about in The New York Times and now available in paperback, includes elegant photos and makes the perfect gift for vegetarian, health buff, and social activist alike. If you choose one cookbook this year, let it be a celebration. Discover Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine © 2005 by Priscilla Feral & Friends of Animals 168 pages with approximately 130 recipes; color photographs; $19.95.