Since ancient times, the most important foods in the Mexican diet have been corn, beans, squash, tomatillos, and chile peppers. The role of these ingredients in Mexican food culture through the centuries is the basis of this volume. In addition, students and general readers will discover the panorama of food traditions in the context of European contact in the sixteenth century--when the Spaniards introduced new foodstuffs, adding variety to the diet--and the profound changes that have occurred in Mexican food culture since the 1950s. Recent improvements in technology, communications, and transportation, changing women's roles, and migration from country to city and to and from the United States have had a much greater impact. Their basic, traditional diet served the Mexican people well, providing them with wholesome nutrition and sufficient energy to live, work, and reproduce, as well as to maintain good health. Chapter 1 traces the origins of the Mexican diet and overviews food history from pre-Hispanic times to recent developments. The principal foods of Mexican cuisine and their origins are explained in the second chapter. Mexican women have always been responsible for everyday cooking, including the intensive preparation of grinding corn, peppers, and spices by hand, and a chapter is devoted to this work and a discussion of how traditional ways are supplemented today with modern conveniences and kitchen aids such as blenders and food processors. Surveys of class and regional differences in typical meals and cuisines present insight into the daily lives of a wide variety of Mexicans. The Mexican way of life is also illuminated in chapters on eating out, whether at the omnipresentstreet stalls or at fondas, and special occasions, including the main fiestas and rites of passage. A final chapter on diet and health discusses current health concerns, particularly malnutrition, anemia, diabetes, and obesity.

Discover how to create over 80 delicious classics of French gastronomy.

In The Essentials of French Cooking, best-selling author Laurent Mariotte shares a collection of French classic recipes. Learn how to whip up starters such Cheese Soufflé and Onion Soup, mains such as Moules Marinières and Beef Stew, and desserts such as Clafoutis, Lemon Tart and Chocolate Mousse.

With step-by-step methods, the recipes help aid home cooks of all skill levels to produce delicious dishes. Even though the recipes are broken into achievable steps, they are specific enough so that they can be used as a jumping point to make these classics your own.
 
From understanding the importance of high-quality ingredients, to learning basic techniques, you will be guided through the fundamentals of French cooking. Plus, there are menus that offer inspiration for different occasions.

Full of tips and anecdotes, The Essentials of French Cooking is the perfect companion for any home cook.

It is no secret that preparing and cooking a meal is good for our souls, bodies, and minds. With that in mind, Malini Rajoo shares a collection of family recipes that demonstrate how easy it is to make and eat healthy, flavourful multi-cultural food every day.

Malini, who has been long inspired by her parents and their love of cooking healthy foods, offers a diverse range of family recipes that provide vegetarian, gluten-free, seafood, and baked options sure to please both sophisticated and picky palates. Including dishes like vegetarian curry with stir-fried cabbage, gluten-free spaghetti with prawns and cherry tomatoes, and banana bread with walnuts, chia seeds, and jarrah honey, Malini's delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes use healthy oils and authentic Indian and Western spices that meld beautiful flavours with vitamin-rich ingredients. Included is useful information on the history and healthful aspects of a variety of ingredients like Bok Choy, tofu, and chilies.

A diverse collection of both modern and traditional recipes, Good Food for Good Health fuses foods from different cultures, encourages cooking with passion, and promotes healthy eating.

Patti LaBelle, living legend, beloved musical icon, "Godmother of Soul" (The New York Times), and New York Times bestselling cookbook author, crafts a new collection of her favorite comfort food recipes to help you bring joy and flavor to your family's table. For Patti LaBelle, cooking isn't simply about food-it's about love. Raised in a family of fantastic Southern cooks, she has kept the lessons she learned in her beloved parents' and aunts' kitchens close to her heart but now, she is ready to share these delicious family heirlooms. Combining mouthwatering and accessible recipes with charming personal reminisces of her remarkable life-from learning to cook by observing her parents to whipping up meals for her band after dazzling shows-LaBelle Cuisine will fill your heart as well as your stomach. With a colorful variety of dishes as appetizing as Say-My-Name Smothered Chicken, Wicked Peach Cobbler, Fierce Fried Corn, and more, this cookbook is something to sing about.

Carnival! is packed full of vibrant party food from the nation that does street parties better than anyone: Brasil! Whether you've got Rio Olympic fever, or you just love a great BBQ, this colourful little book has everything you need to know to host the best party. From recipes for finger food, spicy Brasilian BBQ dishes with a medley of fresh and fruity salsas, and of course lots of refreshing cocktails, to tips on how to dance the samba and how to mix the perfect caipirinha, Carnival! will get you into the party spirit and fire up your summer. From the team behind the popular and ever-expanding chain of Brasilian restaurants, Cabana, this attractively priced gift book is zingy and full of life. Recipes include Pulled Pork Sliders, Caipirinha 'Beer Can' Chicken, barbecued Chimichurri Monkfish, Sweet Potato Fries, Watermelon Martini and Cabana Colada.

Travel across Italy’s regions through food and discover the best of its produce and dishes.

For centuries, Italy has cultivated some of the world’s finest produce, from plump tomatoes to nutty parmesan and velvety bottles of wine. It’s a country that revolves around mealtimes, and no visit is complete without experiencing these culinary traditions.

Mangia guides us through Italy’s 20 regions, sharing the cuisine that defines each. Learn about their food histories and produce, discover what dishes to try (along with what drinks to pair them with), learn about culinary festivals and experiences, and cook your way through an iconic recipe from each region.

You don’t have to travel to the boot to try its food, though: Every chapter includes a recipe for readers to experience a bite of Italy in their own kitchens, written by chefs who run some of the world’s best kitchens. In Italy, it’s all about la dolce vita, and there’s nothing that captures that better than a table full of food.

This book provides a framework for understanding the global flows of cuisine both into and out of Asia and describes the development of transnational culinary fields connecting Asia to the broader world. Individual chapters provide historical and ethnographic accounts of the people, places, and activities involved in Asia's culinary globalization.

The West Indian kitchen today, five hundred years after Columbus, is a wonderful blend of flavors and cooking styles. The islands are blessed with some of the richest soils in the world, and the different peoples who have settled there have developed a vibrant hybrid cuisine. Scottish rebels, enslaved Africans, indentured Portuguese and Chinese, and finally the East Indians all of these brought with them their traditional foods and cooking techniques. This book takes as its framework the stratified history of the islands from the early times of European exploration to the present day. The author draws extensively on original sources, such as diaries, which describe voyages from the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic, and the implantation of new lives in the islands. She has collected recipes from the differing cuisines of all the peoples who live on the islands, and she portrays the way of life that has developed through the generations. She writes: "The Caribbean is an esthetic as full of emotion as a work of art. The air you breathe, the light that fills you, the myriad voices of nature and the past, the soil that provides for you-all these, wrapped together, are expressed in the kitchen."