Cathy Thomas

Part of the fun of cooking and entertaining is creating delectable dishes without spending hours in the kitchen. That's been the focal point Cathy Thomas' cooking classes and award-winning newspaper features for over two decades.

Her quick-to-prepare recipes show off her full-flavored style, using fresh fruits and vegetables to their best advantage.

Cathy is the Food Columnist at the Orange County Register. She won the first place award as the best food columnist in the nation from the Association of Food Journalists (in the large newspaper division).

She is the author of "50 Best Plants on the Planet" (Chronicle, $29). The colorful book showcases the fifty most nutrient dense fruits and vegetables in 150 delicious recipes. She has also written "Melissa's Great Book of Produce" (Wiley, $29.95) and "Melissa's Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce (Wiley, $29.95).

"Fruits and vegetables are sexy," said superstar chef Jose Andres on "60 Minutes," adding how with produce the flavors develop in the mouth. With each chew, he said, the flavor changes and gets more interesting.

Yes, Cathy agrees.