Let me introduce myself

Nutritious eating is both my way of life and my daily practice. Though I am not officially a nutritionist or a cook, I have a wide multidisciplinary background. My B.Sc. in Agronomy from The Hebrew University-Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field and Industrial crops, Israel, provided my theoretical background in food, nutrition and physiology. While completing my B.Sc. degree, I worked as part of a team on the development of tomato species for industrial processing. This work took place at the Department of Vegetable Sciences in The Hebrew University. In addition I worked in the Department of Herb and Spices Sciences at the Vulcani Institute. During my M.Sc studies I was a researcher and field guide in Granot, a field crop research institute that is owned by a growers’ co-op. Between the years 1986-1988 I was the technology editor of “Food Technology and Kitchens”, at the time, the only professional magazine covering the food industry and institutional kitchens in Israel. Articles I authored covered diverse topics including food packaging, herbs and spices, and a series on food additives. I visited many food factories and studied the manufacturing process. Selected articles were used for teaching by the Food Technology Department of The Technion - Israeli Technology Institute, in Haifa. As an entity in the professional kitchens in Israel, we were involved in many projects responsible for establishing good manufacturing practices in the food industry, educating consumers to be aware of what they were purchasing and eating, as well as correcting food labeling. Later on I deepened my studies in Ecology (in the Department of Evolution Systematic and Ecology of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem), and worked as Conservation Biologist in the Israelis Nature Reserve Authorities. I also have first-hand experience and intimate understanding of additive free agriculture, having grown and marketed food products on a farm in Israel (that I still own), growing plantation trees, avocados, oranges, and pecans, and other field crops.

My friends consider me a very good cook. I gained professional cooking experience while serving in the mandatory army, in Israel. Hating to sit the long night in the radio room, I went into the kitchen and prepared some night meals for the night staff. In those days we were in a remote place, and the supplies were not plenty. I had to improvise a lot. Soon I started to add some surprise dishes for the breakfast of the people who came to the morning shift. That is how I started to cook, and go on loving it since then. While I have not cooked professionally, since it is an avocation that has supported my career, I am a very creative “chef” and usually invent my own recipes. Having visited and lived in many places in the world, I am familiar with a range ways of eating, and with varieties of food merchandises and products. Coming from a Middle Eastern background, I follow a diet rich with vegetables, fruits, herbs, whole foods and legumes. This heritage I contribute to the American kitchen.

Keeping wholesome food habits is part of who I am. The Healing Foods Pyramid guidelines support how I cook for family and friends, and the way I eat. I love eating well and enjoy a good meal. I find counting calories just aggravation. I have a great deal of passion for the subject of food. Therefore, I stay current and follow new research on relevant topics. Through my educational approach to food and cooking I have influenced the diets of the people that are close to me, and received a lot of positive feedback in the process. I hope you will enjoy my recipes, and find them helpful. I am just an everyday chef using the tools of the Healing Foods Pyramid.

By Yael Dolev