Swanson’s popular blog, , has been a showcase for her delightful, smart vegetarian cooking and has already led to two previous cookbooks. In Near and Far she divides her new offerings into two broad categories: dishes inspired by her home in San Francisco, where she finds a bounty of local California foods; and recipes that draw on travels that have taken her to places as far-flung as Morocco, Japan, and Italy. It’s so easy to open this book up and be inspired to cook the likes of a spicy green soup with Serrano chiles, herbs, ginger, and almonds; to toss together a salad of baby artichokes with lemon cucumber, leeks, and new potatoes; or to glaze mushrooms with sake before combining them with chopped sundried tomatoes and some shreds of basil leaf. So simple, so fresh. Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.