This book is a lifesaver for the average busy person who needs to get tasty, healthy meals on the table on time, add spice and variety, and would like to enjoy doing it. Jan Thomson has turned simplicity, time saving, and culinary fun into an art all its own. In this book she offers hundreds of light and hearty "meals in a bowl" and a nearly endless choice of breads to be served on the side. She has tested and retested each recipe to reduce it to essential steps while preserving flavor, flair, and good healthy eating. The book includes 450 recipes, from elegant bisques to hearty stews, soups both meaty and vegetarian, and quickbreads plain, sweet, or tangy.

Recipes are presented in a clear, convenient format that reduces the errors that are the common result from cooking in a hurry. She offers a wealth of practical information about a variety of subjects, such as shortcuts for making soup stocks, substituting ingredients, and secrets that produce never-fail quickbreads. Thomson's book will become a standard for busy cooks who want to offer up lively eating without fuss and bother.