FROM ST. HILDEGARD'S KITCHEN

Subtitle: Foods of Health, Foods of Joy

Author: Jany Fournier-Rosset. 224 pg. PB.

The 12th-century Benedictine Abbess Hildegard of Bingen was blessed with an astonishing array of talents. She was, among other things, a mystic, naturalist, visionary, and composer. Hildegard was also granted, by means of heavenly visions, in-depth knowledge about human nutrition. She believed "foods of joy" revitalized us and helped preserve good health in every sphere-physical, spiritual, and psychological.

Now, famed French chef Jany Fournier-Rosset has mined from Hildegard's writings a collection of tasty recipes - you'll find everything from simple jams to chestnut soufflé, from spiced wine to Tunisian ratatouille. The book contains a measurement conversion table, cooking terms, special bread-making instructions, lists of ingredients with definitions, sources for rare ingredients used in the recipes, and an index.

Readers will also find a brief biography of Hildegard and table graces from Saint Benedict and others.

With a focus on good health and vegetables and herbs from the garden, From Saint Hildegard's Kitchen makes a wonderful gift for the cooks in your life-including you!