Traveling through food...

A good travel book and a good cookbook create the same things, a sense of vicarious travel, to new lands, new food, new experiences. While one may not actually travel or actually cook, the pleasure is the same. A good cookbook gives us more than recipes, it gives us the life of the author, stories and remembrances. The new cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour , Persiana, satisfies on many levels. A celebration of the food and flavors from  the  regions near the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, it features beautiful photographs and an introduction before each recipe. Recipes would satisfy the healthy foodies as well as the more adventurous. How about Red Rice Salad with Barberries, Grilled Vegetables and Toasted Almonds, or Spiced Vegetable Soup, a meal in a bowl. Sweets are not neglected, with old favorites like Baklava or exotic treats like Cardamom and Rosewater Poached Pears.. ML