BTW the new google beta is doing weird things when I post. Excuse the
multiple entries, please. I just have to get FreeAgent or something (if
it's still around)

_California Rancho Cooking_ The current book is so good that it
fully deserves to be reissued after 20 years. If she did this then more
power to her. The publisher is a smaller regional press, I believe, not
Chronicle Books or some big New York house.

I no longer buy just any old cookbook. I have enough basic cookbooks
and quite a few in my areas of interest - I don't let myself buy any
cute cookbook that jumps off the shelf. If I want a hot new book, I
check the library first. I almost bought the Jacques and Julia cookbook
based on the TV series, but after spending a few weeks with it on loan,
I decided that it's fun to look at but I wouldn't really use it.

The Higuera McMahan book is a must-have because of its cultural and
historical content, very specific to my bioregion. The recipes are
yummy, too, and seem extremely well put together. My Hispanic food
collection is quite thin, so there's nothing I've got that duplicates
anything in _Rancho Cooking_.

McMahan's experience with the SF Chronicle perhaps is what makes her
recipe writing clear and reliable. I will be cooking from this book as
well as reading it. It could get shelved with my books on California
history and culture, if there's no room in the kitchen shelves.

Leila