Juniper berries, pinyon nuts, acorn meal, pickled nopalitos and prickly pear jelly are a few of the high-priced wild desert foods which hold prominent positions on the shelves of the specialty and the gourmet shops. Wild Foods of the Desert offers the homemaker and gourmet cook a galaxy of fresh ideas utilizing native desert food. Protected plants that cannot be removed from the desert floor without a permit are carefully noted in the text. Even these plants, however, provide edible buds, flowers and fruits which may be gathered without damage to their environment and without permit.

I had wanted to make homemade wine, but the process seemed too complicated until I came across a recipe, published in an outdated copy of Farmer's Almanac, for Dandelion Wine. The recipe contained no foreign sounding ingredients and the instructions were easy to follow. For a novice winemaker, such a recipe proved inspirational. My wines are flavorful and palatable even though they begin their existence in a cracked crock I purchased at a garage sale. The methods I employ in wine making are basic and unsophisticated. There are excellent winemaking books for the avid home winemaker. However, many novice wine makers, such as I, prefer to begin with the basics. Here are 75 of my favorite wine recipes to help inspire you.