Nina Simonds is one of the country's leading authorities on Asian cooking and is an award-winning journalist. She is the author of 11 books on Chinese cuisine and culture, including the best-selling Asian Noodles and A Spoonful of Ginger, which won both the IACP and the James Beard Foundation Book Award for health. Simonds' last book Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health was selected by Cooking Light Magazine as their #1 choice for the best "Healthy" cookbook published in the last 25 years. She has won three James Beard awards. Her website with innovative video blogs (www.spicesoflife.com) was launched in February of 2007 and is featured regularly on The Daily Beast. Her articles have appeared at GourmetLive.com, Epicurious.com, and in the "Off Duty" section of The Wall Street Journal.