The new complete book of Mexican cooking

Along with Diana Kennedy, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz is the other Englishwoman who became enthralled with Mexican cuisine and its history.  As with Kennedy, Ortiz thoroughly researched the food, the people, their culture and history, and conveys her fascination and love with precision, ease and wit.  She traces Mexico's major contributions to world cuisine: chocolate, vanilla, corn, the great variety of chilies, tomatoes, avocados, green beans, dried beans, pumpkin, papayas, summer squashes, and other foods. The chapters on foods, with historical introductions, go way back to the original peoples of the country, the Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecs. The only dated section is for food resources. Here in Los Angeles/Southern California we have the world of foods within easy reach.