The Taste for Living Cookbook: Mike Milken's Favorite Recipes for Fighting Cancer

When Michael Milken was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 1993, he wasted no time switching from his daily egg-and-bacon-sandwich breakfasts to a low-fat, vegetarian diet. He also founded CaP CURE, the Association for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate. Through research supported by CaP CURE, Milken learned that cutting down on fat was not enough--that soy protein could be an important missing ingredient in his diet. He duly incorporated all of the cancer-fighting ingredients into his diet, but he missed the joy of eating.

Enter Beth Ginsberg, Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate and natural foods chef. When Milken hired her in 1995, she turned his medicinal soy drinks into tasty, healthy fruit smoothies, his tofu-spread sandwiches into Vegetable Reubens--with tempeh bacon! It became clear that a healthy, cancer-fighting diet need not mean an end to culinary pleasure. In the beautifully photographed The Taste for Living Cookbook, Ginsberg collects more than 75 of Milken's favorite dishes, from Tofu Dog Casserole with a Pretzel Crust to Greek Spinach Pie in a Phyllo Nest to Devil's "Fool" Cake with Cocoa Frosting. Colorful icons next to each recipe let you know how long a dish will take to prepare--many are under an hour from kitchen to table. Nutritional details are given at the end of each recipe, and Ginsberg notes when a substitution can be made (say, low-fat turkey in place of tempeh in a sandwich). Proceeds from the sales of The Taste for Living Cookbook will go to further CaP CURE's research--resulting, one hopes, in even more delicious, healthful meals from chef Ginsberg. --Rebecca A. Staffel