Celebrating cookbooks

I’ve always loved cookbooks. The excitement I feel when I pick up a new cookbook has not lessened, even now that I know I can find any recipe I want online these days.

Every new cookbook that is published is a cause for celebration. When I flip through the pages, I imagine the incredible aromas that would waft through the house as I prepare these new recipes and I can’t wait to get back in my kitchen and try out all the new ideas for myself. Recently, I discovered two new cookbooks that complement each other well. The first is Clean Eating (Hebrew, NIS 128) by Pauline Shoval, who is well known from MasterChef Israel, Season 3, and is also a TV producer and food stylist. “Clean eating” is the belief that eating whole foods in their most natural state and avoiding processed foods, such as refined sugar, offers health benefits. This trend has become popular among millions of people worldwide. It’s not just another diet but a healthy lifestyle that avoids processed foods. The cookbook also explains how to encourage children to eat a balanced diet and stay healthy, including lots of instructive photographs and explanations.

The second cookbook is Salad (Hebrew, NIS 98), by chef Limor Laniado Tiroche, who writes a blog called Local Kitchen. In her new book, Laniado Tiroche aims to promote all the amazing fresh ingredients found in Israel that can be combined to create beautiful, creative, healthy salads. There are many recipes that involve grains and legumes, and an entire section on tasty sauces.