California Living + Eating: Healthy Recipes Inspired by The Golden State is the best-selling cookbook by food writer and stylist Eleanor Maidment.
I was born and raised in the UK but fell in love with California from a young age when we would spend almost every summer there. I continued to visit the West Coast throughout my 20s and 30s, and it was while working as the food editor at one of the UK’s leading food magazines that I got the inspiration for writing a health and wellness cookbook with a collection of recipes all about some of my favorite places to eat in the world.
I am drawn to California cuisine because it is just so different than the traditional cuisines of Europe that I trained in and grew up with. California cuisine really only emerged as a distinct style of cooking over the last 50 years and so it is less bound by the traditional culinary rules. It has a real youthfulness and creativity about it. It is hugely influenced by an ethnically diverse population, and a commitment to using local and seasonal fruits and vegetables, which in turn leads to a dynamic and healthful approach to eating and overall wellness.
My book draws on these various inspirations to bring to life a colorful collection of nourishing recipes that showcases that California energy and healthy lifestyle. There are beautiful breakfast and brunch ideas, a kaleidoscope of salads that can be served at any time of day, and warmer evening meals designed to be placed on the table and shared with friends, which is the way I love to eat. These simple and accessible recipes sit alongside beautiful images of the California landscape, to bring that West Coast feel into every home kitchen.