The Green Southwest Cookbook by Janet Taylor
Janet Taylor's newest cookbook is a primer not only on Southwest flavors but on cooking healthy, sustainable meals. She is a strong proponent of local food and we especially enjoyed her sidebar mini-profiles of Southern Arizona farms and ranches.
Three Tucson-area chefs have contributed recipes to this book: Elizabeth Mikesell of Pima Community College, Scott Uehlein of Canyon Ranch and Ryan Clark of Lodge on the Desert (who will have his own cookbook published before the end of the year.) Vegetable and vegetarian dishes get top billing but meat and fish lovers will find plenty to keep them happy (wild Alaskan salmon in fig leaves, Navajo churro lamb kebabs and an extraordinary Southwest burger). Traditional ingredients such as tepary beans, nopalitos and mesquite are also well-represented along with newly popular ingredients such as kale, quinoa and squash blossoms.
Taylor's book would be the perfect resource for a Southwest-themed Thanksgiving with recipes for squash stuffed with fresh cranberry salsa, a wreath-shaped quinoa-beet salad, roasted roots and Southwest coleslaw. She even provides instructions for a roasted heritage turkey.
The Green Southwest Cookbook: Fresh, Zesty, Sustainable
by Janet E. Taylor (Rio Nuevo, 2012)
Appeals to: Fans of Southwest cuisine, Local eaters
