Anna Thomas, author of the '70s classic The Vegetarian Epicure, is back with a cookbook for the '90s. The New Vegetarian Epicureis another of the noteworthy titles in this summer's spate of cookbooks centered on vegetables and vegetarian cuisine (Fresh From the Garden: Cooking and Gardening Throughout the Yearby Perla Meyers and Chez Panisse Vegetablesby Alice Waters are two others). There are more than 300 recipes—everything from a Relaxed Summer Dinner Party of Tapenade, Cold Melon Soup, and Risotto with Zucchini Flowers to A Rustic Autumn Dinner of Roasted Vegetables, Rice Pilaf, and Plum and Walnut Galette. Thomas' approach is healthy and light, with a distinctive Mediterranean touch based on the use of olive oil, if oil is called for at all.