Over the last few decades, interest in eating locally has grown quickly. From just-picked apples in Washington to fresh peaches in Georgia, local food movements and farmer’s markets have proliferated all over the country. Desert dwellers in the Southwest are taking a new look at prickly pear, mesquite, and other native plants. Many people’s idea of cooking with southwestern plants begins and ends with prickly pear jelly. With this update to the classic Tumbleweed Gourmet, master cook Carolyn Niethammer opens a window on the incredible bounty of the southwestern deserts and offers recipes to help you bring these plants to your table. Included here are sections featuring each of twenty-three different desert plants. The chapters include basic information, harvesting techniques, and general characteristics. But the real treat comes in the form of some 150 recipes collected or developed by the author herself. Ranging from every-day to gourmet, from simple to complex, these recipes offer something for cooks of all skill levels. Some of the recipes also include stories about their origin and readers are encouraged to tinker with the ingredients and enjoy desert foods as part of their regular diet. Featuring Paul Mirocha’s finely drawn illustrations of the various southwestern plants discussed, this volume will serve as an indispensible guide from harvest to table. Whether you’re looking for more ways to prepare local foods, ideas for sustainable harvesting, or just want to expand your palette to take in some out-of-the-ordinary flavors, Cooking the Wild Southwest is sure to delight.

Drawing on thousands of years of foodways, Tucson cuisine blends the influences of Indigenous, Mexican, mission-era Mediterranean, and ranch-style cowboy food traditions. This book offers a food pilgrimage, where stories and recipes demonstrate why the desert city of Tucson became American’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Both family supper tables and the city’s trendiest restaurants feature native desert plants and innovative dishes incorporating ancient agricultural staples. Award-winning writer Carolyn Niethammer deliciously shows how the Sonoran Desert’s first farmers grew tasty crops that continue to influence Tucson menus and how the arrival of Roman Catholic missionaries, Spanish soldiers, and Chinese farmers influenced what Tucsonans ate. White Sonora wheat, tepary beans, and criollo cattle steaks make Tucson’s cuisine unique. In A Desert Feast, you’ll see pictures of kids learning to grow food at school, and you’ll meet the farmers, small-scale food entrepreneurs, and chefs who are dedicated to growing and using heritage foods. It’s fair to say, “Tucson tastes like nowhere else.”

Now in paperback!When Mark Miller opened the doors of Santa Fe'¬?s Coyote Cafe in 1987, the face of American cuisine changed forever. Blending centuries-old culinary traditions with modern techniques, Miller pioneered the emerging Southwestern cuisine, earning accolades and thrilling diners at the Coyote with his robust, inspired cooking. Originally published in 1989, COYOTE CAFE was Miller'¬?s first cookbook, and it has since sold over 200,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling full-color cookbooks ever. Nearly 15 years later, with Southwestern influences entrenched in kitchens across the country, we'¬?re excited to make this landmark book available to a new generation of cooks in a paperback edition. Featuring over 150 recipes, COYOTE CAFE presents the bold, sumptuous creations that have become Southwestern classics. Mexican, Hispanic, and Native American influences inflect such imaginative dishes as Wild Morel Tamales, Lobster Enchiladas, and Yucatan Lamb. When you try the vibrant cuisine of COYOTE CAFE, you'¬?re experiencing one of America'¬?s most dynamic regional cuisines.,Ä¢ Over 200,000 copies sold in hardcover.,Ä¢ Includes an extensive section on choosing and preparing over 35 fresh and dried varieties of chiles, as well as an in-depth glossary of ingredients.

Those bristly cactus spines are guarding something really good to eat.

Pirate's Pantry: Treasured Recipes of Southwest Louisiana is a bountiful collection of family and regional recipes, with a spicy lagniappe of local historical lore that reflects the Creole and Cajun flavor of this unique area, steeped in mystique and legend.

Stephan Pyles is the undisputed master of contemporary Texas cuisine, with world-renowned restaurants in Dallas and Las Vegas, the best-selling books The New Texas Cuisine and New Tastes from Texas, and a hit show for public television. He has been praised by everyone from Paul Prudhomme and Craig Claiborne to "Gourmet and "Esquire, and is widely recognized as one of the most creative chefs in the United States. Now, in Southwestern Vegetarian, Stephan introduces us to a bold new take on two of the country's most popular culinary styles -- the regional specialties of the American Southwest and the natural splendor of vegetarian cooking. From Jalapeno-Cilantro Jelly or Red Chile Linguine with Pumpkin Seed Pesto to Southwestern Vegetable Paella or Smoked Tomato Pizza with Basil and Queso Fresco, every chapter features Stephan's special brand of innovation. Stephan also excels in reinterpretations of traditional dishes, whether it's the simplicity of a homemade Pico de Gallo or the perfect Wild Mushroom Risotto, or even a country-style soup such as Posole -- here spiced up with southern greens, chayote, dried cherries, and pecans. From a breakfast of Huevos Rancheros with Ancho-Roast Garlic Potatoes to a dessert of Mole Cake with Cherry-Almond Ice Cream, Tamarind Anglaise, and Orange Caramel, these dishes will make every meal, in every season, an unforgettable experience. The nearly 200 recipes are at once brilliantly inventive yet still accessible to the home cook. And although all can be prepared for a strict vegetarian, Stephan's approach is that vegetarian food is a cuisine, not a lifestyle -- and so he doesn't stifle the urge to toss in the occasional ingredientsuch as shrimp or chorizo sausage (optional, of course). With stunning photographs and a design that perfectly evoke the food, Southwestern Vegetarian is a sophisticated change of pace that opens a whole new approach to two increasingly popular cuisines.