Cooks' Books by Lisa Messinger

"Mariel's Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life" by Mariel Hemingway (HarperOne, $32.99).

I was recently e-mailing with a friend about how most of the icons from our generation — like Valerie Bertinelli, Marie Osmond and Maureen McCormick — have battled the bulge on weight loss challenge TV series or lent their no-longer-perfect images to commercial diet programs. Mariel Hemingway has not. Instead, she has asked us into "Mariel's Kitchen" — a spot with inviting armchairs and even more welcoming holistic recipes. The only pudgy items are "the fat clay tiles that stay cool under bare feet."

When, at 17, Hemingway — now the mother of two teen girls — first reached icon status by playing her Oscar-nominated role as Woody Allen's much younger teen wise-beyond-her-years girlfriend in 1979's "Manhattan," she was the picture of apple-cheeked fitness. Surprise, 30 years later she's still in shape.

That couldn't be more obvious than by staring at the many color photographs of her in both "Mariel's Kitchen" and her earlier best-seller "Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living from the Inside Out." What's equally as evident, from reading her passionate prose and energetic recipes, is her marked enthusiasm and emphasis on a holistic, reflective life.

As she writes about "finding the sacred in food" and her healthy lifestyle, she's careful to warn "this is not woo woo stuff! This is an awareness of life and how we inhabit the planet."

There's no need for her to be anxious about misinterpretation, though. The wheat-free, light-on-dairy, fresh, seasonal innovative recipes speak for themselves. Who minds giving up the wheat in blueberry pancakes when the fruit crackles tucked inside fluffy mascarpone or chevre egg white-whipped blankets? Quinoa (often called a super grain) will fuel your mornings instead of wheat cereal in a hot cinnamon "mush" with rolled oats, which is made creamy with almond milk or fat-free milk.

Xylitol, a natural sweetener with low blood sugar impact, fills her many tempting treats and, like all of her other ingredients, is readily available in supermarkets and health food stores. If the definition of being "out there" is "linguine" prepared from summer squash and accented by chicken breasts, basil and crumbled goat cheese, bring it on.

What might be brought on, though, is a yearning for a similar "picture-perfect" life, if not simply the ability to cook as innovatively and entertain as beautifully as Hemingway describes.

As always, things aren't what they seem and are only hard won. Hemingway, granddaughter of legendary writer Ernest Hemingway, writes honestly of her "addictions" to sugar and caffeine, "struggle with depression and my obsessive thoughts about eating" that took "a few decades" to shake.

Hemingway's impressive energy unleashed has been a gift to many now equally well-nourished readers.

MARIEL'S PEACH-WATERMELON SLUSH

2 peaches, pitted

2/3 cup cut seedless watermelon

1 cup ice cubes

1 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) whey protein isolate powder

2 cups sparkling water

Mint sprigs, for garnish

Yields 2 servings.

Place peaches, watermelon, ice cubes and protein powder in a blender and puree until smooth. Add sparkling water and pulse to combine. Pour into two glasses; garnish with mint sprigs.

Variation: For additional flavor, fiber and vitamin C, blend in a few mint leaves or 1/4 cup of raspberries.

BLUEBERRY MASCARPONE PANCAKES

1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese or chevre cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup egg whites

1 tablespoon coconut oil

3/4 cup blueberries

Yields 4 servings.

In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cheese with vanilla and cinnamon until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form, about 4 minutes.

Gently fold cheese mixture into egg whites until just combined.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, carefully brushing the pan with oil.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter at a time into pan. Cook until edges begin to brown slightly and bubbles begin to appear near the center. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of blueberries and fold in half. Cover, lower heat and let cook for another minute to cook through.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.