WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 61Review_NONFICTION
Cook Like a Local:
Flavors That Can Change How
You Cook and See the World
Chris Shepherd and Kaitlyn Goalen. Clarkson
Potter, $35 (288p) ISBN 978-1-5247-6126-4
For Houston chef Shepherd, cooking
local means employing “techniques and
ingredients from a spectrum of immigrant
influences,” which he expertly illustrates
in this tempting, accessible debut. The
six chapters are organized not by key
ingredient (each of which is easily
sourced) but by essential flavoring.
Chapter one focuses on fish sauce, and
the recipes, including pork riblets in fish
sauce caramel, are primarily Vietnamese.
The second chapter, “Chiles,” is more
diverse and includes recipes for green
beans with Japanese curry and a chile
tater tot casserole. Soy, in its many guises,
is examined in the third section, which
includes green curry pancakes that are
drizzled with a syrup of sweet soy sauce
and honey. Shepherd’s signature dish,
Korean braised goat and dumplings, is
the star of the section on rice, with its
dumplings made from pan-fried cylin-
drical rice cakes in a stew flavored with
beer and the red chile paste called gochu-
jang. Throughout are profiles of the
markets that Shepherd frequents and
their proprietors. Flavors from around
the world redefine the concept of home
cooking in this rich and satisfying col-
lection. (Sept.)
Rustic Joyful Food:
My Heart’s Table
Danielle Kartes. Sourcebooks, $29.99 (304p)
ISBN 978-1-4926-9787-9
Recipe developer Kartes expands on her
eponymous Seattle cooking class in this
heartwarming, previously self-published
cookbook focused on bringing people
together. Working from the premise that
“to feed someone is to love them,” Kartes
presents 140 simple recipes created from
fresh local ingredients and inspired by
her passion for food and family. She
brings to the table such appetizers as brie
bruschetta with seasonal fruit, as well as
a rosemary bacon flatbread. A chapter on
salads and side dishes feature a shrimp
Niçoise platter with potatoes sauteed
with bacon, as well as a cilantro-lime
dressed cabbage slaw. Soups and stews
include classic beef bourguignon and a
Health & Fitness
A Grain of Salt: The Science and
Pseudoscience of What We Eat
Joe Schwarcz. ECW, $17.95 trade paper
(256p) ISBN 978-1-77041-475-4
Schwarcz (A Feast of Science), a radio show
host and science writer, spools out answers
to mostly basic questions about diet and
nutrition. In a quippy writing style, he
evaluates the pros and cons of various
practices—for example, eating beef—and
offers solutions, such as, in this case,
choosing beans, nuts, algae, or even insects
as alternative protein sources. Other topics
he covers include the dangers of weight-loss
supplements, the risks of eating poppy
seeds, the cold-fighting properties of
vitamin C, the ambiguity of the “organic”
label, and the debate around sugar’s health-
iness. There is no logical grouping or flow
to the chapters, and the text can be
repetitive, such as about the marketing
hype around antioxidants or, perhaps sur-
prisingly, the dangers of eating cantaloupes.
Some of the subjects, such as the possibility
of being poisoned from drinking a Moscow
mule from a copper mug, or the “gustatory
calamity” of wheatgrass enzyme juice, veer
into the strange or comic. In general, the
more unlikely the topic, the more farcical
Schwarcz’s tone becomes. Readers hoping
for light laughs should enjoy this book,
though perhaps not those seeking a com-
prehensive health resource. Agent: Robert
Lecker, Robert Lecker Agency. (Oct.)★ The Vagina Bible: The Vulva
and the Vagina—Separating
the Myth from the Medicine
Jen Gunter. Citadel, $18.95 trade paper
(432p) ISBN 978-0-8065-3931-7
Empowerment of women through accu-
rate information about their own bodies is
the “vagenda” of ob-gyn and New York
Times columnist Gunter’s comprehensive,
pseudoscience-bashing discussion of all
things vaginal and vulvar. Gunter begins
with anatomy (including information for
trans men with vulvas and trans women
with vaginoplasties) and continues with
some basic sex ed, focusing on female
arousal while debunking the G-spot.
Mixing medical background with simple,
practical advice, Gunter covers health
concerns she often encounters in her own
practice, such as sexually transmitted
infections, and the basic functions of theFrench onion soup. Ribs, pasta, tarts, and
chuck roast comprise main dishes, and
there are six variations on hot dogs
(including a Cuban Dog, sandwiched
with ham and swiss, and a Southern
Italian Dog with arugula, roasted garlic,
and sun-dried tomato aioli). Cocktails
including Blood Orange Whiskey and
espresso-and-bourbon ice cream floats
are creative libations. Bakers will find
many recipes for sweets, such as pista-
chio orange shortbread cookies and a
frangipane jam tart. Home cooks will
enjoy a generous serving of creativity
with an extra helping of support in this
straightforward cookbook. (Sept.)★ Shuk: From Market to Table,
the Heart of Israeli Home Cooking
Einat Admony and Janna Gur. Artisan, $35
(368p) ISBN 978-1-57965-672-0
Admony (Balaboosta), who owns the
restaurants Balaboosta and Taim in New
York City, and Gur (Jewish Soul Food)
excel at crafting recipes for Israel’s fla-
vorful melting-pot cuisine, and they
organize this fascinating cookbook
around eight shuks, or markets. They
include Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market,
which houses a stall selling roasted seeds
and nuts and a spice store that traffics in
potions and powders reputed to “drive
away an evil eye, lift a curse, or help you
find your soul mate.” Dishes are equally
intriguing: a chopped salad of avocado
and kohlrabi highlights the country’s
abundant produce. Traditional selections
and clever inventions intermingle, the
latter exemplified by challah braided
around mushrooms and za’atar, and, in a
chapter on stuffed items, a cake of cabbage
leaves encasing a filling of pine nuts,
almonds, pistachios, ground beef, and
rice. A chapter on couscous includes a
brace of stews for ladling over the pasta,
as well as two options for creating couscous
from scratch. A grilling primer features
whole fish, kebabs, and arayes—pitas
stuffed with beef and lamb and cooked
over a flame. Sidebars range from sugges-
tions for optimizing Israeli salad to an
explanation of the evolution of date
syrup. This energetic and exciting
volume serves as an edifying deep dive
into Israeli food market culture and cuisine.
(Sept.)