Easy. Healthy. Delicious. Beautiful

These are the four guiding principles of this cook book.

I love to cook and enjoy meals with friends and family but I hate to fuss and I have a notoriously short attention span. Over the years I have compiled a repertoire of great recipes that can be made in under an hour and most in under 20 minutes. Here are 25 of them.

Most of these are wheat free, some are sugar and dairy free and all are made with unprocessed ingredients. Over the years I have simplified my cooking style so that I can enjoy the rich and subtle flavors of the vegetables, nuts, oils, fruits and herbs that nature has so generously provided.

As an artist I tend to care more about presentation than gastronomy. But here is my secret:

If you start with fresh, beautiful ingredients, have an eye for color and have good serving plates you can’t go wrong. An accent of chopped green herbs atop risotto for example makes it a work of art instead of a pile of beige mush. A gorgeous lime green platter is a wonderful canvas for displaying a collection of grilled fish and vegetables. Even pure white is an elegant way to go. Second to color, texture is important...the pine nuts, almonds, chopped bits of ginger  offer flavor and dimension to even the simplest dish.

I hope you enjoy these pages as a visual treat even if you never pick up a chef’s knife or don an apron!

---Sigrid