Tassajara, the <st1:place w:st=""on""> <st1:state w:st=""on"">California</st1:state> </st1:place> spa/retreat center, has long been renowned for its gourmet vegetarian cuisine. In this comprehensive book, one of Tassajara’s most well-known and beloved cooks, Edward Espe Brown, presents hundreds of recipes using fresh, whole foods; detailed notes on preparing seasonal ingredients; and, perhaps most important, inspiration for cooking with joyful intention and attention. Presented with humor and warmth, this book is full of wonderful insights into living a life that celebrates simple food.

“Edward Espe Brown is as important to the history of California cuisine as Alice Waters.  But it’s Brown’s Zen message of living in the moment that makes it unique. Anyone interested in flavorful vegetarian meals should look into it.”—Irene Sax, WeightWatchers.com

“How could you not love a cookbook with a recipe for beet soup that “‘emphasizes the beetiness of beet’?”—from “The Chef is Talking to You: A good number of first-person narratives make our list of favorite cookbooks of 2009” in the Calgary-Herald

“An insightful guide, replete with more than just recipes, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook blends 35 years of work and food-writing with well-explained cooking techniques.”—Yoga + Joyful Living


""Brown is a true teacher, providing lots of basics.  He also serves up a great deal of thoughtfulness.""—The Bloomsbury Review

“A graceful tome . . . an extended meditation on food preparation as spiritual journey.  It represents a new wave of interest in conscious cooking.”—Edible East Bay

“A thoughtful tutorial. The detailed recipes that follow are eclectic and at times unusual but all celebrate vegetarian cuisine and the art of improvisation.”—San Francisco Chronicle


“The book reads like a script from a (good) cooking show. The recipes are nicely simple and easy to follow. This cookbook should be on any cooking enthusiast’s shelf, whether you’re a vegetarian or not.”—Elephant Journal


“A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart!”—O, the Oprah Magazine


“With profound-yet-playful regard for his subject matter, Ed Brown has consistently graced us with the practical poetry of his delicious cooking.  This tome ties it all together beautifully, bringing new meaning to the word essential. In our modern era of rapid media images and flashing-light information, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook will provide a glowing sense of calm—hefty with substance, light with spirit, and rich with the experience of a master.”—Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook