The Passionate Cook: The Very Best of Karen Barna

Since she started out cooking on a pink four-burner stove in the basement of Toronto's Bohemian Restaurant, Karen Barnaby has been creating food that inspires. Always at the vanguard of culinary trends, she believes in fresh, seasonal, and preferably organic ingredients and uncomplicated techniques.

She wrote her first cookbook, Pacific Passions, in 1995, followed up by Screamingly Good Food in 1997, and co-wrote and edited three Girls Who Dish! cookbooks. The Passionate Cook presents more than 200 of her favorite recipes from these books, plus new recipes. Karen creates dishes that will impress dinner guests, but her recipes are simple enough to enjoy anytime.

There are recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, vegetarian dishes, and desserts, as well as a selection of sauces and dips. A mix of all-time favorites such as Sour Dried Cherry and Chocolate Pound Cake, and Flat Roasted Chicken with Sweet Carrots, Prosciutto, and Almonds; and new classics such as Lemongrass Lamb Satays and Salmon with Asparagus Sauce, make The Passionate Cook a cook's first choice for delicious food.