I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going to buy
for my collection: _Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes_,
by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan.

Ms. McMahan is an 8th generation Californian whose Mexican/Spanish
family owned a rancho in the Santa Clara Valley from the late 18th
century through the early 20th century. The cookbook is a well-edited,
comprehensive collection of recipes and stories from the cuisine of the
Californios, the Mexican Californians who settled here long before the
USA acquired sovereignity.

Chapters include "Chiles", "The legacy of ollas" (stews), "The asador
and the glory of the barbecue", "the olive and the lane", "the tortilla
and other breads of the west," and more.

True foodies will find the information on curing of olives and
California barbecuing detailed and fascinating. There are innumerable
recipes for chile sauces, enchiladas, chilaquiles and so forth. This is
a book you will cook from - but it's also full of history and family
lore, with photos from the 19th and early 20th century of the Higueras
on their Santa Clara valley ranch.

I like her description of the foods and plants the Californios used,
parsing out the imports from Spain and the natives of the New World:
the olive, fig and rosemary for the first, and the squash, tomato and
chile for the second.

If you want to know how to make tortillas from scratch, Ms. McMahan
will tell you.

Long time RFC denizens might remember that she authored the famous
chocolate and ancho chile cake - a google search on RFC should locate
the recipe.

This book will be invaluable not only for the recipes but for the
culinary and cultural history of a Bay Area (South Bay) rancho, before
the coming of the North Americans. It fills in my understanding of the
time before statehood. Spanish and Mexican culture has deep roots in
this part of California, too, not just in the far south.

The publisher is Sasquatch Books, in Washington State, so I hope it's
still available, as it was printed in 2001.

Leila

"Leila" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going to buy
> for my collection: _Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes_,
> by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan.
>

<snipped>

Do you expect this blatant plug to be believed? It's 110% obvious that you
are not just a "consumer" who likes this book but someone who has an
interest in the book and is trying to increase sales. You must be real proud
for lying about it - shame on you.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Peter Aitken" > wrote in message
. com...
> "Leila" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going to buy
> > for my collection: _Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes_,
> > by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan.
> >
>
> <snipped>
>
> Do you expect this blatant plug to be believed? It's 110% obvious that you
> are not just a "consumer" who likes this book but someone who has an
> interest in the book and is trying to increase sales. You must be real
proud
> for lying about it - shame on you.
>
>
> --
> Peter Aitken

Shame on you Peter. It is an excellent book and I too recommend it to anyone
interested in California-Spanish cooking. I purchased it several months ago
and think it is the best resource about Rancho cooking I have seen. I didn't
take the time to let people here know about it as Leila did. I thank her for
posting about it. You have a habit of commenting and/or criticizing things
that you don't know anything about. Recently, the idiotic post you made
about walnut oil not having any flavor comes to mind. Please think twice
before you post your ignorance and attack a nice person to boot.

Charliam

Leila wrote:
> I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going
> to buy for my collection: _Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian
> Recipes_, by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan. ...
> The publisher is Sasquatch Books, in Washington State, so I hope
> it's still available, as it was printed in 2001.

We have _California Rancho Cooking_, printed by Olive Press in 1983.
This is one of our favorite cookbooks. Lots of good recipes and,
as a bonus, very enjoyable reading. It's a combination of California
history and cooking.

We've liked all the recipes that we've made from it,
and have annotated the pages to remind us what we've
added or changed quantities of. Leafing through it just now
I see our note of "excellent" next to many recipes.

If you like to read about cooking in addition to
the cooking, this is a great book.


Peter Aitken > wrote:
> 110% [CRAP}

What a 110% fool. Better get your meds adjusted.

"Peter Aitken" wrote > <snipped>
>
> Do you expect this blatant plug to be believed? It's 110% obvious that you
> are not just a "consumer" who likes this book but someone who has an
> interest in the book and is trying to increase sales. You must be real
> proud
> for lying about it - shame on you.
>
Hard to believe that there'd be anyone out there trying to plug a book
that's 3 years old.

Leila does write knowledgeably and enthusiastically on many food topics. I
try to read all her posts even when I don't have the time read many of the
others.

Tak Nakamoto

Gosh, what is the problem with reviewing this book? I have never met
Ms. Higuera, am not connected with her, her publisher, the SF Chron
where she also contributes, or anybody else remotely to do with her.

I know that new kinds of ad agencies are using regular folks to spread
buzz in just the way I did - bringing sausages to a party, buying a
particular beer at a bar and talking it up - you'll just have to take
my word for it that I am not one of those. I'm just a regular
contributor to ba.food who thought this book would be of interest to
people in the Bay area. The comments about places in the South Bay and
food culture seem on topic.

Amazon reveals that there is a 2003 edition in print, same publisher,
with a new cover. No, I don't have anything to do with any of it. I
have some accumulated store credit at an East Bay independent new &
resale bookstore with 3 outlets (don't dare mention the name for fear
of offending the irritable Mr. Aitken - a hint is a flying horse) and
I'll look for it there.

Leila

Hey Charlie, thanks for your kind note. How about let's pile on Peter
Aitken? I'm not only a nice person, I'm battling breast cancer and am
home all day resting from ongoing chemotherapy. Too much time on my
hands, shouldn't get out much while my immune system is suppressed, so
I review a book from the library on ba.food. Lucky for me I didn't feel
offended by Mr. Aitken's off-the-wall post - he might as well have
accused me of being a green martian from outer space.

For those of you who might be upset to hear about my health issue this
way, my apologies, and please don't fret about me. My surgery went
great, I am tolerating chemo pretty well (although the kale soup was
just a little too intense for my stomach tonight), and my prognosis is
excellent. I haven't bothered to share about it in the newsgroups
because it didn't seem necessary. I have plenty of loving supportive
friends and family and don't really need the attention. But I can't
resist piling on to the misguided Mr. Aitken. He may not give a damn
(or believe my story) but if he does, perhaps he'll think twice before
sniping at people.

Believe me, I too have posted first and regretted later, so I'm not
saying Mr. Aitken is a monster. There but for the grace of Whomever go
I.

And Peter, have a lovely day. I am!

Ob Ba.food: Alison Chaiken made an incredible chile verde for us one
night soon after my diagnosis and drove from Fremont to Oakland, after
work, to deliver it. I was out gallivanting - just because you're
diagnosed with cancer doesn't mean you quit living your life - but we
sure did appreciate that pork. MMMMM. Check her website for the recipe.
Leila
Fondly,

Leila

Hey Charlie, thanks for your kind note. How about let's pile on Peter
Aitken? I'm not only a nice person, I'm battling breast cancer and am
home all day resting from ongoing chemotherapy. Too much time on my
hands, shouldn't get out much while my immune system is suppressed, so
I review a book from the library on ba.food. Lucky for me I didn't feel
offended by Mr. Aitken's off-the-wall post - he might as well have
accused me of being a green martian from outer space.

For those of you who might be upset to hear about my health issue this
way, my apologies, and please don't fret about me. My surgery went
great, I am tolerating chemo pretty well (although the kale soup was
just a little too intense for my stomach tonight), and my prognosis is
excellent. I haven't bothered to share about it in the newsgroups
because it didn't seem necessary. I have plenty of loving supportive
friends and family and don't really need the attention. But I can't
resist piling on to the misguided Mr. Aitken. He may not give a damn
(or believe my story) but if he does, perhaps he'll think twice before
sniping at people.

Believe me, I too have posted first and regretted later, so I'm not
saying Mr. Aitken is a monster. There but for the grace of Whomever go
I.

And Peter, have a lovely day. I am!

Ob Ba.food: Alison Chaiken made an incredible chile verde for us one
night soon after my diagnosis and drove from Fremont to Oakland, after
work, to deliver it. I was out gallivanting - just because you're
diagnosed with cancer doesn't mean you quit living your life - but we
sure did appreciate that pork. MMMMM. Check her website for the recipe.
Leila
Fondly,

Leila

Leila wrote:
> Gosh, what is the problem with reviewing this book? I have never met
> Ms. Higuera, am not connected with her, her publisher, the SF Chron
> where she also contributes, or anybody else remotely to do with her.

Peter forgot his AFDB.
http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html

He thinks everybody is out to get him.

> I know that new kinds of ad agencies are using regular folks to spread
> buzz in just the way I did - bringing sausages to a party, buying a
> particular beer at a bar and talking it up - you'll just have to take
> my word for it that I am not one of those. I'm just a regular
> contributor to ba.food who thought this book would be of interest to
> people in the Bay area. The comments about places in the South Bay and
> food culture seem on topic.

Maybe your posts aren't the controversial ones, and Peter has never read one of
them. Maybe he's just an old grouch?

>
> Amazon reveals that there is a 2003 edition in print, same publisher,
> with a new cover. No, I don't have anything to do with any of it. I
> have some accumulated store credit at an East Bay independent new &
> resale bookstore with 3 outlets (don't dare mention the name for fear
> of offending the irritable Mr. Aitken - a hint is a flying horse) and
> I'll look for it there.
>
> Leila

Ignore him. He even admits that he's full of crap (read his signature).

BOB

I wrote:
> We have _California Rancho Cooking_, printed by Olive Press
> in 1983.

Hmmm. When I reread my post I see that I didn't make it
*explicitly* clear that _California Rancho Cooking_ is also
written by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan.

Almost 20 years apart, the descriptions sound identical.
Since she owns the copyright to the first book, perhaps
she updated and republished it.

Certainly she has a much wider audience now than when
she first published the book, as she now has a column
in the S.F. Chronicle's food section.

Now that I've gotten this book off the shelf, we'll
have to cook something from it this week.

Leila wrote:
> Hey Charlie, thanks for your kind note. How about let's pile on Peter
> Aitken? I'm not only a nice person, I'm battling breast cancer and am
> home all day resting from ongoing chemotherapy. Too much time on my
> hands, shouldn't get out much while my immune system is suppressed,
so
> I review a book from the library on ba.food. Lucky for me I didn't
feel
> offended by Mr. Aitken's off-the-wall post - he might as well have
> accused me of being a green martian from outer space.
>
> For those of you who might be upset to hear about my health issue
this
> way, my apologies, and please don't fret about me. My surgery went
> great, I am tolerating chemo pretty well (although the kale soup was
> just a little too intense for my stomach tonight), and my prognosis
is
> excellent. I haven't bothered to share about it in the newsgroups
> because it didn't seem necessary. I have plenty of loving supportive
> friends and family and don't really need the attention. But I can't
> resist piling on to the misguided Mr. Aitken. He may not give a damn
> (or believe my story) but if he does, perhaps he'll think twice
before
> sniping at people.
>
> Believe me, I too have posted first and regretted later, so I'm not
> saying Mr. Aitken is a monster. There but for the grace of Whomever
go
> I.
>
> And Peter, have a lovely day. I am!
>
> Ob Ba.food: Alison Chaiken made an incredible chile verde for us one
> night soon after my diagnosis and drove from Fremont to Oakland,
after
> work, to deliver it. I was out gallivanting - just because you're
> diagnosed with cancer doesn't mean you quit living your life - but we
> sure did appreciate that pork. MMMMM. Check her website for the
recipe.
> Leila
> Fondly,
>
> Leila

omigosh and I am sorry to hear you're going through this right now,
this is hard news to hear you're being dealt this health challenge
card. I'm so sorry! I wish you best wishes to get well soon and HNY in
2005. Please take good care, Leila!

Karen

ps I bet Peter feels like a grinch trying to steal christmas but he
surely didn't mean to...

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

Peter Aitken wrote:
> "Leila" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
>>I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going to buy
>>for my collection: _Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes_,
>>by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan.
>>
>
>
> <snipped>
>
> Do you expect this blatant plug to be believed? It's 110% obvious that you
> are not just a "consumer" who likes this book but someone who has an
> interest in the book and is trying to increase sales. You must be real proud
> for lying about it - shame on you.
>
>

There goes your credibility, as if you had any to begin with.


jim

Leila wrote:
> 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
>

Get Mozilla Thunderbird. Worthy alternative.

www.mozilla.org


jim

JimLane > wrote in news:1102487931.651892@news-
1.nethere.net:

> Get Mozilla Thunderbird. Worthy alternative.
>
> www.mozilla.org
>
>
> jim
>

Xnews works well and is also free.

--
Starchless in Manitoba.
Type 2 Diabetic

On 2004-12-07, Leila > wrote:

> I just checked out a cookbook from the library that I'm going to buy
> for my collection:

You're buying a library?

nb

In article . com>,
"Leila" > wrote:

> Ob Ba.food: Alison Chaiken made an incredible chile verde for us one
> night soon after my diagnosis and drove from Fremont to Oakland, after
> work, to deliver it. I was out gallivanting - just because you're
> diagnosed with cancer doesn't mean you quit living your life - but we
> sure did appreciate that pork. MMMMM. Check her website for the recipe.

What's the url? We are doing as much cooking out of our freezer as
we can now, and I have the basics for this I'm sure.

Also, even though you don't want the attention, I'm praying for you
anyway.

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

Alison's Puerco Con Chile Verde is on her recipe page, he

http://www.wsrcc.com/alison/recipes/
Thanks, Ranee

Love to you and yours

Leila