New York Times published Sarina Roffé, whose recipes have also been featured in NY Times Jewish Cookbook and Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America, has released Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads. In the first in a series of user-friendly cookbooks, she includes 36 authentic recipes for Middle Eastern salads, couscous salads and pickles. Sarina is the creator of Sarina's Sephardic Cuisine (sarinassephardiccuisine.com), an iPhone app, and write a cooking blog.The inspiration for Backyard Kitchen came from Sarina's grandmother, Esther Cohen Salem, the first Syrian Jewish caterer in Brooklyn, NY. It was in the mid-20th century era when weddings and special occasions were still held in the home. Esther's garage was converted into a backyard kitchen. The basement was a storage area for gallons of pickles and imported Syrian spices.The backyard kitchen became the center of life for the surrounding community and the place where Sarina, her sisters and her cousins learned to prepare this unique Middle Eastern cuisine. Sarina picked up her grandmother's art, crafting every dish with care and love.Sarina learned her secrets and techniques about the subtleties of Syrian cooking that make the difference between a good cook and a great chef. She wanted to pass on the lessons learned from the women in her family to her children as a way of preserving Sephardic culture. The cookbook includes 36 authentic recipes handed down from mother to daughter with love and are traditional foods found in the Levant. The book also has links to video demonstrations.Perfect for vegetarians, the diet conscious and kosher cooks.