If you have a hankering for kimchi or persimmon punch, or need a recipe for Asian pears poached in rice wine, a new cookbook by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall, wife of former UMUC teacher and administrator Larry Hepinstall, may be just what you're looking for. As a bonus, you'll also get a beautifully written and illustrated book that offers a simple but vivid portrayal of rural Korean life.

Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall, who was raised in Korea, has lived and traveled around the world for 35 years. Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook interweaves her childhood memories with recipes, handed down for generations by word of mouth, from her family kitchen.

Published by Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, California, 2001), the book has been promoted as the first comprehensive and systematic Korean cookbook available in English, grounded in tradition but adapted for today's kitchens. It is available from major booksellers everywhere.