Shelf Life

Category: Food History

  • Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury

    Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury

    A travel guide for the intellectually curious, Tony Burton’s Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury provides an insider’s entry to this extraordinary region of Mexico. The book, published by Sombrero Press and now in its fourth edition is less about logistics and instead focuses on the myriad of reasons–historical, ecological, cultural, and/or scenic–that make each place featured in this well-written and well-researched book both special and worth visiting.

    Burton, an award-winning travel writer, educator, and ecotourism specialist, who was born in the United Kingdom and has an M.A. in geography from the University of Cambridge and a teaching qualification from the University of London, moved to Mexico in 1979 and subsequently was granted Mexican citizenship, looks for the road less traveled.

    And in this book, he encourages us to explore the smaller, lesser known community with their many local customs, seasonal celebrations, sites, and events, places that, in his words, “offer a glimpse of the Mexico behind the mask; they are places where Mexico has retained her ancient culture and her ancient traditions.”

    Providing a mix of interests, Burton opens the doors, so to speak, to such historical sites as Zacatecas, Lagos de Moreno and San Blas; artistic colonies like Ajijic; and lakeside communities including Chapala and Pátzcuaro.

    Besides that there are ecological wonders, such as Manantlán, the monarch butterflies, the old mining towns of Angangueo and Bolaños, coastal communities like Barra de Navidad and Puerto Vallarta, Angahuan and other Indian villages, and a host of others. He delves into Pueblos Mágicos, designated as Magic Towns by the federal government in recognition of their cultural, historical, and/or ecological significance, their nearness to major cities, and the facilities they offer visitors.

    This is a travel guide but of the most intimate kind. We drive with Burton along the lovely road to Tamazula, settled from pre-Columbian times, conquered by the Spanish in 1524, and a vital silver mining town and hacienda center until the mines were worked out by the end of the 18th century. As for its name, well, interestingly enough, it translates to “place of frogs.”

    Where to stay when there? Burton recommends Hotel Real de la Loma with its spacious and comfortable rooms and pool and two person tubs in the room filled from a hot-water spring at the foot of a hill. The views from the hotel are of the Tamazula River and its valley made green with sugar-cane. A good time to go for many is during the two-week Our Lady of Sagrario festival.

    We learn that Mazamitla is “one of the prettiest towns in all Jalisco. It is a graceful, charming town of cobblestone streets, adobe walls, wooden balconies, old doorways and red-tile roofs, one of Mexico’s Magic Towns. Among its many attractions are the fresh air and scenic beauty of the surrounding countryside, some fine restaurants specializing in Mexican food, and the chance to shop for fresh cream, cheese, and home-made preserves. As befits a mountain town, its inhabitants also make lovely woolen sweaters and ponchos, for sale in the local shops.”

    Burton, who has lived in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Jocotepec, has traveled widely, leading educational excursions and specialist ecological tourism groups to both well-known areas such as the Yucatán and Copper Canyon as well as little-known ones like Manantlán and Tingambato. At the former, at the Manantlán Biosphere Reserve visitors can experience the astonishing diversity of plant and animal life found in a cloud forest, one of the rarest types of vegetation anywhere in the world. In the latter, located near the major archaeological site of Tinganio, is one of the few sites in Western Mexico where there are genuine pyramids.

    Larger than the previous editions there are dozens of new destinations and each chapter contains new material, updated travel directions, and redrawn maps.

    Divided into parts, one and two are within three hours of driving time from either Guadalajara (Mexico’s second city) or nearby Lake Chapala, a popular retirement center for Americans and Canadians making them perfect for day trippers.

    Parts 4 to 9 are longer journeys such as the trip to Jungapeo, where director John Huston filmed scenes from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre starring Humphrey Bogart. Here, in this small village, you can stay at Agua Blanca Canyon Resort which dates back to the 1940s. According to Burton, it is a charming spa-hotel with just 20 rooms arranged in the Purépecha Indian style around three sides of the greenest lawn in Mexico. Its pools and lawns overlook the deeply carved valley of the River Tuxpan.

    “Many butterfly visitors, after the cool and dusty atmosphere in the fir forests want nothing more than a long soak in a warm tub and this is the ideal place,” he writes.

    And, of course, there are the Monarch butterflies. Every winter, some one hundred million monarch butterflies fly into Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. On arrival they congregate in a dozen localities high in the temperate pine and fir forests of the state of Michoacán.

    For me, a definite-not-to-be-missed is Zitácuaro, where my culinary hero Diana Kennedy lived. Famous for her cookbooks on Mexican cuisine, she made her home outside of Zitácuaro. And here again, is how deep Burton drills down into his destinations. Kennedy lived near the Rancho San Cayetano, a small, exclusive hotel on the road towards Huetamo and the Del Bosque reservoir.

    “The San Cayetano’s charm lies not only in its comfortable rooms but also in its first rate cuisine,” he writes, asking if there could be a better recommendation for the food served there than the fact that Diana Kennedy regularly brought friends to dine in the hotel?

    For aficionados of Mexican food, there are several outstanding restaurants to put on the list of where to go.

    “Neither of my two favorites is well known to tourists, hence their inclusion here,” writes Burton. “Next to the gas station in Pátzcuaro, where the highway from Morelia and Quiroga enters the town, is the Camino Real restaurant where the Tarascan soup, a local specialty which is a bean-based version of tortilla soup, has to be tasted to be believed. Whatever you choose in this unpretentious restaurant, you will not be disappointed,” he writes. “The Camino Real has a sister restaurant, the Real del Cobre, in Santa Clara del Cobre.

    My other favorite is an hour’s drive away, in the unpretentious town of Tacámbaro. Near the entrance to the town is the Hotel-Restaurant El Molino (The Mill), housed in a museum-piece nineteenth century flour mill, complete with grinding wheels. Simply and artistically decorated and furnished, this hotel-restaurant’s fixed-price comida features slightly finer cuisine than that of the Camino Real, with more subtle sauces and a more varied menu.”

    Whether your interests are in art, architecture and/or archaeology; fiestas and folklore; unusual sights and natural wonders, or in Indian villages and indigenous handicrafts, Burton’s book is your guide to Western Mexico’s many hidden treasures.

    Burton, author of many books about Mexico including If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants; Lake Chapala: A Postcard History; and Mexican Kaleidoscope: Myths, mysteries and mystique, is currently editor-in-chief of MexConnect, Mexico’s top English-language online magazine. He says the inspiration for writing this book came about with the “realization that it was impossible for me to personally introduce readers to many of the places and things I consider most rewarding to find and appreciate. Of the truly spectacular, I have yet to find anyone who ever forgets the magic of visiting the Monarch Butterflies in one of their overwintering sites. By sheer good fortune, I happened upon them the first time in 1980, several years before their locations became widely known or any organized tourist excursions to them had begun.”

    Burton encourages opening up to new places and experiences.

    “With an open mind ‘gems’ can be found everywhere in Western Mexico,” says Burton. “My greatest hope is that my book encourages readers to explore and find their own hidden gems.”

  • Three Charming Villages on the shores of Lake Chapala

    Three Charming Villages on the shores of Lake Chapala

    Born in the United Kingdom, Tony Burton, a Cambridge University-educated geographer with a teaching certificate from University of London, first traveled to Mexico after spending three years as a VSO [Voluntary Service Overseas] volunteer teaching geography, and writing a local geography text, on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. From there his travels took him to Mérida in summer 1977, where he spent several weeks backpacking around southern and central Mexico, returning two years later to teach at Greengates School in Mexico City.

    Over the next seven years, Tony traveled extensively throughout Mexico, visiting every state at least once, and organizing numerous four-day earth science fieldwork courses for his students. He co-led the school’s extensive aid efforts following the massive 1985 earthquake.

    From Mexico City, he moved to Guadalajara, where he continued to organize short, residential fieldwork courses for a number of different schools and colleges and began organizing and leading specialist eco-tours for adult groups to destinations such as Paricutín Volcano, the monarch butterfly sanctuaries, and Copper Canyon.

    An award winning author, he’s written numerous books about Mexico including his latest Lake Chapala: A Postcard History (Sombrero Publishing). It’s part of a series he’s written on this region which is located about an hour south of Guadalajara. The 417-square-mile lake, Mexico’s largest, located in the states of Jalisco and Michoacán is situated at an elevation of  5,000ft in the middle of the Volcanic Axis of Mexico and is known for its wonderful climate, laid-back ambience, and is a popular destination for both travelers and ex-pats looking for a charming, low-key place to relocate. The three main towns along the lake are Chapala, Ajijic and Jocotepec. In an intriguing aside, Tony met his wife Gwen Chan Burton when she was working as at the director of the pioneering Lakeside School for the Deaf in Jocotepec. Gwen writes about the school and all that it has accomplished in her book, New Worlds for the Deaf, also published by Sombrero Books.

    Tony’s other books about this region include Western Mexico A Traveler’s Treasury, illustrated by Mark Eager, now in its fourth edition; Mexican Kaleidoscope: Myths, Mysteries and Mystique, illustrated by Enrique Veláquez, and Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: Decades of Change in a Mexican Village. I’ll be covering them in upcoming posts.

    Because I’m always interested in foodways, Tony was kind enough to share a copy of an undated Spanish language project put together by students from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional School of Tourism titled “Gastronomy of Jalisco.”  It includes numerous recipes from the region including one for the famous Caldo Michi of Chapala (the recipe is below).

    I had the chance to ask Tony, who currently is the editor of MexConnect, Mexico’s leading independent on-line magazine, about Lake Chapala: A Postcard History as well as the time he spent in this beautiful region of Mexico.


    How did you first become familiar with Lake Chapala?

    I first visited Lake Chapala in early 1980, on my way back to Mexico City from the Copper Canyon and Baja California Sur. Little did I imagine then that it would be where I would later fall in love, get married, and have two children!

    What inspired you to write Lake Chapala: A Postcard History?

    There is no single overwhelming inspiration. I realized, while living at Lake Chapala and writing my first books about Mexico, that a lot of what had been previously written was superficial and left many unanswered questions. In the hopes of finding answers, I decided to trawl through all the published works (any language) I could find, which resulted in Lake Chapala Through the Ages (2008), my attempt to document and provide context to the accounts of the area written between 1530 and 1910.

    My next two books about Lake Chapala—If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants, and Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: Decades of a Change in a Mexican Village—focused on the twentieth century history of the two main centers for the very numerous foreign community now living on ‘Lakeside.’ Part of my motivation was to dispel some of the myths that endlessly recirculate about the local history, as well as to bring back to life some of the many extraordinary pioneering individuals indirectly responsible for the area becoming such an important destination for visitors.

    Lake Chapala: APostcard History is my attempt to widen the discussion and summarize the twentieth century history of the entire lake area. Its reliance on vintage postcards makes this a very visual story, one which I hope will appeal to a wide readership, including armchair travelers.



    What were some of the challenges you encountered in writing this book? Was it difficulty finding the numerous postcards you included? And doing the extensive research that went into the book? Are there any intriguing stories about hunting down certain postcards and any “aha” moments of discovery when writing your book?

    The main challenge was in deciding how best to structure the material. Because of the originality of what I’m doing, it is impractical to follow the advice that writers should start with a detailed plan and then write to that plan! In my case, after collecting the information and ideas that exist, the challenge is to select what can be teased and massaged into a coherent and interesting narrative.

    Because the postcard book is the product of decades of research, I had ample time to build my personal collection of vintage postcards, through gifts, auctions and online purchases.

    There were many significant “aha” moments in the process: some concerned the photographers and publishers responsible for the postcards and some the precise buildings or events depicted. While I’m saving some of these “aha” moments–because they are central to a future book–one was when it suddenly dawned on me that wealthy businessman Dwight Furness was the photographer of an entire series of cards (Figs 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, etc.) that relate to my next response.



    If you could go back in time to visit one of the resorts that is no longer there that you featured in your book, is there one that stands out and why is that?

    Ooohhh; I’d love to go back to about 1908 and stay at the Ribera Castellanos resort (Chapter 6) during its heyday. While staying there, perhaps I could interview owner Dwight Furness, his wife and a few guests? Apart from a few ruined walls, Furness’ postcards of the resort are pretty much the only remaining evidence of the hotel. And perhaps one night I could invite local resident and prolific professional photographer Winfield Scott and his wife to dinner to hear their stories?

    How long did it take to write Lake Chapala?

    The writing took less than a year; but only because of the many prior years of research.

    Since I often talk about food and travel, are there any culinary specialties in the Lake Chapala region?

    Long standing culinary specialties of the area include (a) Lake Chapala whitefish (b) charales (c) caldo michi. And, when it comes to drinks, there is a very specific link to postcards. The wife of photographer José Edmundo Sánchez, who sold postcards ( Figs 7.5, 7.6 and 7.7) in the 1920s from his lakefront bar in Chapala, is credited with inventing sangrita, still marketed today as a very popular chaser or co-sip for tequila. (Chapter 7, page 74).

    Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about your book?

    I hope readers find the book as fun and interesting to read as it was to write!

    MICHI BROTH

    Ingredients:

    • 2 tablespoons corn oil
    • ¾ kg of tomato seeded and in pieces
    • ¼ onion in pieces
    • ½ kg carrot, peeled and cut into diagonal slices
    • ½ kg of sliced ​​zucchini
    • 4 or 6 chiles güeros
    • 100 gr. chopped coriander
    • 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
    • Salt to taste
    • 2 ½ liters of water
    • 1kg well washed catfish, yellow carp or red snapper

    PREPARATION: Heat the oil and stew the vegetables in it, add water and salt to taste, let it simmer over low heat until the vegetables are well cooked, then add the fish and leave it for a few minutes more until it is soft.

    Sangrita

    I had the opportunity to stay at Tres Rios Nature Park, a 326-acre eco-resort north of Playa del Carmen and was first introduced to sangrita during my stay. I took several cooking lessons and learned to make a dish with crickets, but that is a different story. Chef Oscar also talked to us about the history of sangrita. The Spanish name is the less-than-appetizing “little blood” but hey, when you’re learning to grill crickets, you can deal with a name like that. The drink, as Tony writes in his postcards book, originated in Chapala in the 1920s.

    Here is the excerpt:

    ”In the same year the Railroad Station opened, Guillermo de Alba had become a partner in Pavilion Monterrey, a lakefront bar in a prime location, only meters from the beach, between the Hotel Arzapalo and Casa Braniff,” he writes. “The co-owner of the bar was José Edmundo Sánchez. Regulars at the bar included American poet Witter Bynner, who first visited Chapala in 1923 in the company of D H Lawrence and his wife, Frieda. Bynner subsequently bought a house near the church. When de Alba left Chapala for Mexico City in 1926, Sánchez and his wife—María Guadalupe Nuño, credited with inventing sangrita as a chaser for tequila—ran the bar on their own. After her husband died in 1933, María continued to manage the bar, which then became known as the Cantina de la Viuda Sánchez (Widow Sánchez’s bar).”

    Sangrita is typically used as accompaniment to tequila, highlighting its crisp acidity and helping to cleanse the palate between each peppery sip. According to Chef Oscar, the red-colored drink serves to compliment the flavor of 100% agave tequila. The two drinks, each poured into separate shot glasses, are alternately sipped, never chased and never mixed together.

    Here is Chef Oscar’s recipe and below is one from Cholula hot sauce which originated in Chapala. Tony has a great story about that as well. More in my next post on his books.

    For one liter of Sangrita:

    • 400 ml. orange juice
    • 400 ml. tomato juice
    • 50 ml. lemon juice
    • 30 ml. Grenadine syrup
    • 20 ml. Worcestershire sauce
    • Maggi and Tabasco hot sauce (mixed up) to taste
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Mix together all the ingredients and serve cold. Suggested duration of chilling : 3 to 4 days.

    Cholula’s Sangrita

    • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) fresh orange juice
    • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) fresh grapefruit juice
    • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
    • 20 pomegranate seeds
    • 3 fresh sprigs of cilantro or to taste
    • 1/2 stalk celery
    • 3 teaspoons smoked coarse sea salt or sal de gusano, divided
    • 1 tablespoon Cholula® Original Hot Sauce

    Place all ingredients except salt in blender container, with about 1 cup ice cubes. Puree until smooth.Strain twice though a fine mesh sieve, discarding any solids.

    Rim shot glasses with sea salt. Serve sangrita cold in rimmed shot glasses alongside your favorite tequila.

  • Tasting History: Explore the Past Through 4,000 Years of Recipes

    Tasting History: Explore the Past Through 4,000 Years of Recipes

    “even if we never make these dishes of ancient times, Miller’s book is a fascinating read.”

    “They say ‘history is written by the victors,’ but in my experience, history is written by those who write stuff down, and food is no exception,” writes Max Miller in the introduction to Tasting History, his new cookbook that delves into the foods we’ve eaten throughout millennia.

    Four years ago, Miller had little interest in cooking. But when a friend became sick while they were vacationing and they watched seasons of a cooking shows while overindulging on nachos, that all changed. Developing a passion for baking, he soon was taking his cakes and pastries to Walt Disney Studios where he worked. Besides sharing his creations, Miller also explained the origins of the recipes. Suggestions from friends influenced him to start a YouTube show titled “Tasting History with Matt Miller.” Shortly after, the pandemic hit, Miller was furloughed from his job, as were many others, and his show became a hit to all those stuck at home.

    Now Miller has taken it to the next level with this deep dive into food history that includes original recipes and Miller’s adaptations for home chefs as well as photos, original drawings, anecdotes, and cook’s notes.

    The recipe for this stew is easy, but even if a person could, though it’s unlikely, find the fatty sheep tails, another ingredient—risnatu—has no definite translation, though Miller says it’s commonly agreed upon that it’s a type of dried barley cake. He solves both those problems in his adaptation of the recipe by providing appropriate substitutions that honor the dish’s origins but make it available to modern kitchens.

    But even if we never make these dishes of ancient times, Miller’s book is a fascinating read. As we get closer to our own times—the book is arranged chronologically—we find dishes that are more recognizable such as precedella, a German recipe originating in 1581 that instructed cooks to “Take fair flour, a good amount of egg yolk, and a little wine, sugar and anise seed and make a dough with it.”

    Of course, modern pretzels don’t typically have wine and anise seeds in them, but Miller provides a recipe using all those ingredients so we can get the same flavor profile as the precedellas that were baked almost 500 years ago. It is indeed tasting history.

    Miller has culled recipes from around the world. The book also includes the foodways of medieval Europe, Ming China, and even the present with a 1914 recipe for Texas Pecan Pie that Miller describes as “a time before corn syrup came to dominate the dessert.” His adaptation of the original recipe uses sugar since corn syrup didn’t begin to dominate until the 1930s. The 1914 recipe also calls for a meringue topping, an addition not found in modern pecan pies. So even within a short time span of just over 100 years, Miller shows us how a recipe has evolved though he assures us, we’ll like the 1914 version best.

    This article previously appeared in the New York Journal of Books.

  • Destination Heartland: A Guide to Discovering the Midwest’s Remarkable Past

    Destination Heartland: A Guide to Discovering the Midwest’s Remarkable Past

              “I wanted to dispel the myth that the Midwest is boring,” Cynthia Clampitt tells me when I ask about the inspiration for writing Destination Heartland: A Guide to Discovering the Midwest’s Remarkable Past (University of Illinois Press), her book about the many fascinating places to visit in the stretch of our country from the Dakotas to Ohio.

             

    I’m happy to report that Clampitt’s goal was a success. Her book takes us to both well-known and out-of-the-way destinations that offer a historic perspective and—in some cases—a culinary delight. Think of it as an in-depth historical travel guide and choose from a plethora of places to read about and/or visit covered in her book. I certainly have a few I now want to explore. These include the Amana Colonies in Iowa which started off as a religious society that escaped religious persecution in Germany. But though it’s rooted in the past with many places to visit such as the High Amana General Store and Zuber’s Homestead Hotel which was built in 1862) it’s also one that embraced technology producing, writes Clampitt, “many high-end electronic products, including everything from microwave ovens to washing machines.”

             

    Strictly old-fashioned though is the recipe Clampitt shares for pickled ham that was given to her the Ronneberg Restaurant which opened more than 70 years ago in Amana. Pickled ham, one of the specialties of the area, can also be purchased in jars at the Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse that dates back to 1855.

              Clampitt, a Chicago-based food historian and travel writer who has also authored other books including Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland, who says she also wants to keep these icons of the past from disappearing by creating an interest to visit them, learned to appreciate iconic Midwestern destinations when young and visiting places with her family. That developed a long-time fascination that endures to this day.

              This love of exploration isn’t confined to just the Midwest. Clampitt has visited thirty-seven countries on six continents.

              “When I’m not traveling, I’m thinking of traveling,” she says, adding that she does a lot of research in preparation as well.

              Indeed, since the publication of her book, she has racked up more destinations so here’s hope for  a sequel to her book. No matter what, Clampitt will keep traveling and she invites others to do so as well.

              “There are so many places in the Midwest to visit that are remarkable, I don’t want them to vanish,” says Clampitt. “I hope people get in their cars and go visit.”

  • If Walls Could Talk: Lake Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants

    If Walls Could Talk: Lake Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants

    Now one of the most popular retirement area for Americans and Canadians, the Lake Chapala Region, nestled in a valley almost a mile high in Mexico’s Volcanic Axis,  has long been a draw for ex-pats and vacationers, lured by its almost perfect climate and beauty.

    In his book If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants about Mexico‘s earliest international tourist destination (also available in Spanish), award-winning author Tony Burton shares his knowledge and interest in a region where he has spent more than two decades. Burton, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society who was born and educated in the United Kingdom, first visited Mexico in 1977. That visit was obviously a big success as he returned and for almost 18 years lived and worked full-time in Mexico as a writer, educator and ecotourism specialist.

    He met his wife, Gwen Chan Burton who was a teacher of the deaf and then director at the Lakeside School for the Deaf in Jocotepec, one of the three main towns lining the shores of Lake Chapala. Though they now reside on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Burtons continue to revisit Mexico regularly and he is currently editor-in-chief of MexConnect, Mexico’s top English-language online magazine.

    The other two towns, each with its own distinctive vibe, are Ajijic and Chapala, native villages resettled by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s. “This book looks at how Chapala, a small nondescript fishing village in Jalisco, suddenly shot to international prominence at the end of the nineteenth century as one of North America’s earliest tourist resorts,” writes Burton. “Within twenty years, Chapala, tucked up against the hills embracing the northern shore of Mexico’s largest natural lake, was attracting the cream of Mexican and foreign society. Thus began Lake Chapala’s astonishing transformation into the vibrant international community it is now, so beloved of authors, artists and retirees.”

    The book, organized as a walking tour, covers not only existing buildings but also pinpoints the spots where significant early buildings no longer stand but their histories still weave a story of the town. It’s only a partial guide, explains Burton, noting that an inventory prepared by the National Institute of Anthropology and History identified more than eighty such buildings in Chapala including many not easily visible from the road but hidden behind high walls and better viewed from the lake.

    Among the famous people who lived in Chapala at some point in their careers was author D.H. Lawrence, probably best remembered for his risqué (at the time) novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

    In 1923, Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, rented Casa de las Cuentas (House of Rosary Beads), a house that dates back to the 1800s. At the time, a one-story abode with a half-moon entrance and heavy wooden gates, it was located at 307 Calle Zaragoza, a street formerly known as Calle de la Pesquería (“Fishing street”) so named as it was where the local fishermen repaired their nets and hung them out to dry. It was while living on Calle Zaragoza that Lawrence wrote the first draft of The Plumed Serpent, published in 1926. The novel is described as “the story of a European woman’s self-annihilating plunge into the intrigues, passions, and pagan rituals of Mexico.”

    Over the decades, after the Lawrences moved out, subsequent changes were made to Casa de las Cuentas including  the addition of a swimming pool in the mid-1950s when artist Roy MacNicol and his wife, Mary, owned the home.

    While Lawrence’s writings were considered by some as scandalous, MacNicol’s life had its scandals as well. Burton describes him as “colorful” in that he was married multiple times and was involved in many escapades as well as lawsuits.

    Mary, embracing the local culinary traditions including the use of flowers in cooking, authored Flower Cookery: The Art of Cooking With Flowers.

    It wasn’t the work of a dilettante as reviews of her book such as this one on Amazon shows.

    “Flower Cookery is recipes, but far more than recipes,” writes one reviewer. “The book is organized by the popular name of the flower in question. Each section is introduced with quotations from literature, philosophy, and poetry that feature the blossom. This is followed by the recipes, interwoven with mythology, stories, and aphorisms about the flower, the plant from which it grows, its symbolism, and the culture or society in which humans discovered the value of the plant or blossom. The recipes include original favorites as well as recipes collected from historical sources and contemporary sources around the world. Here is just the tiniest sampling of the riches in the book.”

    Burton shares her Christmas Cheer recipe from when she lived at Casa de las Cuentas.

    Christmas Cheer

    10-12 squash blossoms with stems removed

    2 eggs, beaten

    2 to 3 tablespoons water

    Flour, enough to thicken mixture about one tablespoon

    Salt and pepper

    1 cup neutral oil such as grapeseed, canola, or safflower

    Wash and dry squash blossoms on paper towels, making sure to remove all the water. Mix remaining ingredients except oil to make a smooth batter. Place oil in a large, heavy skillet to 350-375°F. Dip blossoms in batter and fry in oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

    As for the house, it was renovated again in the early 1980s and is now Quinta Quetzalcoatl, a lovely boutique hotel.

    If Walls Could Talk is one of four books that Burton has written on the Lake Chapala region. The other three are Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: decades of change in a Mexican Village; Lake Chapala Through the Ages: an anthology of travelers’ tales  (2008), and the recent Lake Chapala: A Postcard history. All are available as print and ebooks on Amazon.

    The above maps, both copyrighted, show Chapala 1915 [lower map] and 1951 [upper map].

    In all, he’s planning on adding several more to what he currently calls the Lake Chapala Quartet, these focusing on the writers and artists associated with the area.  I asked him  to describe the region so readers who have never been there can get an idea of what it is like, but it turns out the Burton is NOT a traveler who meticulously plots every moment of a trip before he arrives. Instead, he tells me that part of the fun when traveling is to not know in advance what places are like and instead to see and experience them for yourself.

    “That said,” he continues, “the various villages and towns on the shores of Lake Chapala are all quite different in character. The town of Chapala, specifically, is a pretty large and bustling town. It is growing quite rapidly and has added several small high end boutique hotels in recent years, as well as some fine dining options to complement the more traditional shoreline ‘fish’ restaurants. The many old–100 years plus–buildings in Chapala give the town a historic ‘air’ where it is relatively easy to conjure up images of what it was like decades ago. By comparison, Ajijic, now the center of the foreign community on Lake Chapala, has virtually no old buildings and more of a village and artsy feel to it, though it also has very high quality accommodations and more fine restaurants than you can count.”

    Other structures still standing include the Villa Tlalocan, completed in 1896 and described by a contemporary journalist as “the largest, costliest and most complete in Chapala… a happy minglement of the Swiss chalet, the Southern verandahed house of a prosperous planter and withal having an Italian suggestion. It is tastefully planned and is set amid grounds cultivated and adorned with flowers so easily grown in this paradisiacal climate where Frost touches not with his withering finger…”

    Also still part of the landscape is Villa Niza. One of many buildings designed by Guillermo de Alba, the house, according to Burton, was built in 1919 and looks more American than European in style. Located at Hidalgo 250, it takes advantage of its setting on Lake Chapala and has a mirador (look out) atop the central tower of the structure, which affords sweeping panoramic views over the gardens and lake. De Alba’s strong geometric design boasts only minimal exterior ornamentation.

    Burton, who specializes in non-fiction about Mexico, related to geography, history, travel, economics, ecology and natural history, has written several fascinating books about the history of the Lake Chapala region.

    In If Walls Could Talk, Burton invites you to walk with him through time as you explore the city.

  • Salamati: Hamed’s Persian Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Iran to the Other Side of the World

    “for the adventuresome home chef, Allahyari offers a world of flavors.”

    In mortal danger for his beliefs, Hamed Allahyari and his pregnant girlfriend fled their homeland of Iran, first spending two months in Indonesia and then, after grueling hours long by truck over badly paved back roads and then days crammed aboard a boat another five months on Christmas Island before being granted asylum by the Australian government. Once there, life remained extremely difficult for the young couple who were now parents of two young children, and though Allahyari had been a chef and restauranteur in Iran, no one was interested—or so it seemed—in Persian cuisine.

    Unable to find work Allahyari began volunteering at the Resource Center, an organization that provides support, legal advice, and other assistance including meals to refugees and people seeking asylum.

    “Every day they feed 250 people a free lunch,” Allahyari writes in the introduction to his cookbook Salamati: Hamed’s Persian Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Iran to the Other Side of the World. “I started cooking there two days a week, making Persian food for people from all over the world: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Miramar, Sierra Leone, all kinds of places, and most of them had never tried Persian food before. But when they tried it, they liked it. They talked to me about it, asked me about it, and it made me happy.”

    Culinary Connections

    At the recommendation of others, Allahyari also began teaching cooking classes, demonstrating how to make such dishes as Zeytoon Parvadrah (Olive and Walnuts Chunky Dip), Yogurt and Cucumber soup, Sabzi Pofow Ba Mahi (Fish with Herb Pilaf) Sabzi Pofow Ba Mahi (Fish with Herb Pilaf), and Persian Love Cake. Over the years, Allahyari taught more than 2500 people how to make Persian food. Now, he caters and is chef/owner of SalamiTea, a restaurant located in Sunshine, an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Melbourne. The name is a play on “salamati,” the Persian word meaning both “health” and “cheers.”

    Salamati is more than just a cookbook, it’s also a memoir and homage to the country he had to flee. The introduction to the featured recipes in his book might offer a personal connection to the dish, a description of a unique ingredient that helps define it and bring out its best flavors—though he also offers a substitute for such items as Persian dried limes, which might be difficult to locate outside of a major city, and/or puts the food in context with the scenes to Iran.

    “This dish is traditionally served in Iranian shisha shops, the cafes where older men gather to smoke water pipes, drink tea and solve the problems of the world,” he writes about Ghahve Khunee Omelette (Street-Food Tomato Omelette). “Shisha shops don’t really serve food but inevitably people get hungry while they’re hanging around, so it’s become traditional for staff to whip up a quick tomato omelette for customers and serve it with bread, raw red onion, herbs and lemon. If you want one, all you ask for is ‘omelette.’ There’s no menu as such.”

    Not all the recipes are easy but for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, there are enough simple ones to get started. Full-color photos of each recipe show what the finished product will look like. And for the adventuresome home chef, Allahyari offers a world of flavors.

    This review originally appeared in the New York Journal of Books.

  • Kentucky Trinity: Burgoo, Barbecue and Bourbon

    Kentucky Trinity: Burgoo, Barbecue and Bourbon

    Burgoo, barbecue and bourbon, historically acknowledged as the trinity of good taste in Kentucky, have traditional roots going back to the days of Daniel Boone. Albert W.A. Schmid, a chef and food historian, delves deep into the cultural heritage of these foods in his book, Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon: A Kentucky Culinary Trinity (University Press of Kentucky 2021).

    Known as “the gumbo of the Bluegrass,” burgoo is a meat stew consisting of a variety of meats that were often smoked as that’s one of the ways they preserved food back then. The list of ingredients included at least one “bird of the air” and at least one “beast of the field.” The latter could include squirrel, ground hog, lamb, pork jowl, and rabbit. Added to that were whatever vegetables (think corn, tomatoes, turnips, potatoes, carrots, onions, okra, and lima beans) were either in season or still stored and edible in the larder. Sometimes oysters, oatmeal and/or pearl barley were thrown in as well. Schmid also includes, among his many burgoo recipes, one that feeds 10,000 which calls for a ton and a half of beef (I’m not including it but if you’re expecting a huge crowd over email me and I’ll send it) and another that makes 1200 gallons.

    “Often you’ll find this dish paired with one of the Commonwealth’s other favorite exports, bourbon, and the state’s distinctive barbecue,” writes Schmid, who immersed himself in archives of early cookbooks.

    He takes us back to the days of Daniel Boone, uncovering forgotten recipes of regional dishes and such lost recipes as Mush Biscuits and Half Moon Fried Pies. There are numerous recipes for burgoo starting from early pioneer days, each unique depending on the region, food tastes, and what ingredients were easily sourced. Burgoo was an early community dish with people coming together to prepare it in vast amounts for celebrations.

    Women would gather for peeling parties which meant endlessly peeling and dicing vegetables while men would stir the ingredients as they simmered in the huge pots throughout the night, most likely with sips of bourbon to keep them enthused about the task. Whether women got to sip bourbon too, we can only hope so. But in an age where water wasn’t safe to drink and even children were given wine, cider, small beer, and the dregs of their parents sweetened spirits to drink, I’m guessing so.

    The Mysterious Name of Burgoo

    As for the name burgoo, well, no one, not even Schmid is sure where it comes from.

    “It may have described an oatmeal porridge that was served to English sailors in the mid-1700s, or it may have come from the small town of Bergoo, West Virginia,” Schmid hypothesized. The word might also be a slur of bird stew or perhaps bulger; it could also be a mispronunciation of barbecue, ragout, or an amalgam of the lot. If the oatmeal story is true, burgoo continued as a military staple as it became a hearty stew for soldiers who could travel light and hunt and gather ingredients ‘from wild things in the woods’ once they stopped moving for the day—so they did not have to move the supplies from one location to another.”

    Of course, a hearty burgoo demands a great bourbon drink and Schmid offers quite a few of those as well. One name I’m particularly taken with is called Kentucky Fog, presumably because over-consumption left one in a fog. Other great names for bourbon drinks mentioned in the book are Moon Glow, Bourbaree, and the Hot Tom and Jerry.

    The following recipes are from Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon.

    Kentucky Fog

    12 servings

    • 1 quart Kentucky bourbon
    • 1 quart strong coffee
    • 1 quart vanilla ice cream

    Combine the ingredients in a punch bowl and serve.

    Moon Glow

    • Crushed ice
    • 1½ ounces bourbon
    • 2 ounces cranberry juice
    • 2 ounces orange juice
    • 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

    Pack a tall glass with crushed ice. Add the cranberry juice and the orange juice. Add the maraschino cherry juice. Then add the bourbon. Stir well with a bar spoon and garnish with 2 maraschino cherries and a straw.

    Burgoo

    This recipe is used at Keeneland, the famous racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky and dates back to 1939.

    • Oil
    • 3 pounds stew meat
    • 1 teaspoon ground thyme
    • 1 teaspoon sage
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
    • 1 cup celery, diced
    • 1 cup carrot, diced
    • 1 cup onion, diced
    • 12-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
    • 2 16-ounce cans mixed vegetables
    • 7-ounce can tomato purée
    • 2 pounds fresh okra, sliced
    • 1 tablespoon beef base
    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 cup sherry
    • 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
    • Cornstarch

    Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Brown the stew meat with the herbs and garlic. Add the remaining ingredients, except the cornstarch, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for at least 3 hours. Adjust seasonings to taste and thicken with cornstarch.

    Spoonbread with Bourbon

    • 6 servings
    • 2 cups water, boiling
    • 1 cup cornmeal
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • 3 egg yolks, beaten
    • 3 egg whites, stiffly beaten
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 4 tablespoons butter
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 tablespoons lard
    • 1 tablespoon bourbon

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

    Boil the water; add the lard and butter; to this mixture add

    the cornmeal, egg yolks, and baking soda. Stir in the buttermilk and stiffly beaten egg whites. Add the bourbon and pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake for 35 minutes.

    Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake

    15–20 servings

    • 5 cups flour, sifted
    • 1 pound sugar
    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • ¾ pound butter
    • 6 eggs, separated and beaten
    • 1 pint Kentucky bourbon
    • 1 pound candied cherries, cut in pieces
    • 2 teaspoons nutmeg
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 pound shelled pecans
    • ½ pound golden raisins, halved, or ½ pound dates, chopped

    Soak cherries and raisins in bourbon overnight.

    Preheat oven to 250–275 degrees F.

    Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat well. To the butter and egg mixture, add the soaked fruit and the remaining liquid alternately with the flour. Reserve a small amount of flour for the nuts. Add the nutmeg and baking powder. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Add the lightly floured pecans last. Bake in a large, greased tube pan that has been lined with 3 layers of greased brown paper. Bake for 3–4 hours. Watch baking time carefully.

    Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

    Richard Hougen was the manager of the Boone Tavern Hotel of Hotel and Restaurant of Berea College and the author of several cookbooks, including Look No Further: A Cookbook of Favorite Recipes from Boone Tavern Hotel (Berea College, Kentucky), Hougen includes the recipe for Boone Tavern Cornsticks. He notes at the bottom of the recipe, adapted here, how important it is to “heat well-greased cornstick pan to smoking hot on top of the stove before pouring in your batter.

    Boone Tavern Hotel Cornsticks

    • 2 cups white cornmeal
    • ½ cup flour
    • 2 eggs, well beaten
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 cups buttermilk
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 4 tablespoons lard, melted

    Preheat oven to 450–500 degrees F.

    Sift the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder together.

    Mix the baking soda with the buttermilk, and then add to the dry ingredients; beat well. Add the eggs and beat. Add the lard. Mix well. Pour the batter into very hot well-greased cornstick pans on

    top of stove, filling the pans to level.

    Place pans on the lower shelf of the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Move the pans to the upper shelf and bake for an additional 5–10 minutes.

  • George Diamond’s: A Northwest Indiana Classic

    George Diamond’s: A Northwest Indiana Classic

                In 1924, Peter Levant’s opened what was one of Whiting’s famous “perch palaces,” a place that served freshly caught perch right from Lake Michigan. They also advertised such menu items as steak, chicken, and, of course, this being The Region, frog legs—mostly likely from nearby Lake George.

                Indeed, frog legs were so in demand that Vogel’s—which was just down the street and totally classy—raised their own frogs for legs in the lake. But that’s a different story.

                Located at 1247 Calumet Avenue, Levent’s became the home of Juster’s Charcoal Broiled Steaks and then later George Diamond’s. Though my mom liked to cook, my parents were totally into eating out as well and though its been years and years, I remember going with them to George Diamond’s. It was the kind of place where everything was overlarge—the steaks, the salads, the charcoal flames, and even the menus.

                That Diamond (yes, there was a George Diamond) even opened a place in Whiting shows the town’s status as a food destination. Indeed, around that time, there were a lot of great restaurants–and I’m sure I’m leaving a lot of places out–Vogel’s, Phil Smidt’s, Margaret’s Geneva House, Al Knapp’s Restaurant and Lounge, and the Roby Café. But Diamond was international. Besides his flagship restaurant at 630 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago that was said to have cost over $1 million to renovate in a style I call 1950s swank, all red velvet and red upholstery, he had places in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Antioch, Illinois on a golf course, and Acapulco, Mexico.

                What I remember most was the house salad dressing which they bottled and sold on the premises. It was so unique that even now it has a cult-like online following with people  searching for the recipe.  It wasn’t Russian and it certainly wasn’t French or at least not the orangish French dressing we buy in bottles now. Diamond’s dressing was an almost translucent reddish pink. And if the recipe I found online is close to the original, it’s main ingredient was tomato soup.

      There’s nothing left of Diamond’s empire today. Diamond died in 1982 at age 80 and the building housing the Wabash Avenue restaurant went up in flames in 2006.  But people still remember that dressing.

    George Diamond’s salad dressing

    • 1 (10-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
    • 2/3 cup oil
    • 1/2 cup each: white vinegar, sugar
    • 1 small onion, peeled and grated
    • 1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
    • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
    • 1/4 teaspoon each: salt, ground black pepper

    Place undiluted soup, oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, onion and garlic in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade. Cover and blend or process on high speed until pureed, about 2 minutes. Serve chilled. Store covered leftovers in refrigerator.

                I’ll be signing copies of my book Classic Restaurants of The Region at Miles Books. 2819 Jewett Avenue in Highland on Saturday, August 21st from 11:30-3pm. For more information, 219-838-8700.

                   Hope to see you there.

  • Mark Bittman: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal

    Mark Bittman: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal

              Mark Bittman never does anything in a small way. His cookbooks typically run some 600 pages and have titles like “The Best Recipes in the World,” and his ten-book “How to Cook” series such as “How to Cook Everything Fast,” “How to Bake Everything” and “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” They’re so pack full of recipes that just five of Bittman’s books take up a whole shelf in my bookcase.

              But Bittman’s latest book, “Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2021; $16,80 Amazon price) isn’t a doorstopper tome. It doesn’t even have recipes. But what it lacks in size—though it is over 300 pages–it more than makes up for as a call to arms about what’s wrong with our food system and how dangerous it is to both our health and also our planet.

              “Big Ag has a huge role in greenhouse gas emissions, even rivaling those of the oil and gas companies,” says Bittman talking about the impact of emissions on global warming. “The top five meat and dairy companies combine to produce more emissions than ExxonMobil, and the top twenty have a combined carbon footprint the size of Germany. Tyson Foods, the second-largest meat company in the world, produces twice as much greenhouse gas as all of Ireland.”

              Bittman, who recently founded The Bittman Project with the ultimate goal of creating a road map that leads us to a healthier food system, says he can envision a positive way for us to go forward. But first he explains how we got to where we are and how deadly it is.

              Junk food, born in America, has spread throughout the world and though Bittman, who has written 30 cookbooks, says he doesn’t typically like to use statistics, he offers some whoppers. Two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries where more people die of diseases linked to being overweight than ones linked to being underweight.

              “The global number of people living with diabetes had quadrupled since 1980, and since 1990 deaths from diabetes-caused chronic kidney disease have doubled,” he writes, adding that both global sugar consumption and obesity have nearly tripled in the past half-century.

              American fast food chains increased their international sales by 30% from 2011 to 2016 and the international fast-food market is expected to approach $700 billion dollars by 2022.     

              In all, it sounds depressing, particularly when you realize that as far back as the early 1900s,  Upton Sinclair, author of “The Jungle,” was also warning about our unhealthy food system.

              It’s essential,  says Bittman, that we have a just food system, one ensuring everyone has access to nourishing, wholesome, sustainable, and affordable food.

              He points to the President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and the benefits it still provides us today including Social Security. We can do the same with food, he says.

              “Food needs to be grown in a way that’s sustainable and protects the land,” says Bittman. “And that the industries that involve food provide more dignified and well-paying jobs in food and farming.”

    Watch Mark Bittman’s Book Event: “Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, From Sustainable To Suicidal” at https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/academics/departments/health-policy-and-management/news-and-events“

  • THE 17TH ANNUAL BEST BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCE 2020 AWARD RECIPIENTS

    THE 17TH ANNUAL BEST BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCE 2020 AWARD RECIPIENTS

    American Book Fest has announced the winners and finalists of The 2020 Best Book Awards.
    Awards were presented for titles published in 2018-2020.

    Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest said this year’s contest yielded over 2,000 entries from mainstream and independent publishers. These were then narrowed down to over 400 winners and finalists in 90 categories.

    “The 2020 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States,” says Keen about the awards, now in their 18th year.
    Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: HarperCollins, Penguin/Random House, John Wiley and Sons, Routledge/Taylor and Francis, Forge, Hay House, Sounds True, Llewellyn Worldwide, NYU Press, Oxford University Press, John Hopkins University Press, The White House Historical Association and hundreds of Independent Houses contribute to this year’s outstanding competition.

    “Our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise,” says Keen.

    American Book Fest is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community.

    American Book Fest has an active social media presence with over 135,000 current Facebook fans.


    Highlights Include the Following Winning Titles:
    (Full Results are Available Here.)

    Click on category headings to be taken directly to full book descriptions! Winners and Finalists are featured at the top of each page.

    Animals/Pets: General

    The Balanced Pet Sitter: What You Wish you Knew Before Starting Your Pet Care Business by Renée Stilson
    Equilibre Press, LLC

    Animals/Pets: Narrative Non-Fiction
    The Chimpanzee Chronicles: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope from Behind the Bars by Debra Rosenman
    Wild Soul Press

    Anthologies: Non-Fiction
    This Moment Bold Voices from WriteGirl by Keren Taylor
    WriteGirl PublicationsArt

    C. Curry Bohm: Brown County and Beyond edited by Daniel Kraft & Jim Ross
    Indiana University Press

    Autobiography/Memoir
    Through My Eyes: CSI Memoirs That Haunt the Soul by Tamara Mickelson
    Self-Published

    Best Cover Design: Fiction
    The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise
    The Last Lumenian

    Best Cover Design: Non-Fiction
    When God Says NO – Revealing the YES When Adversity and Pain Are Present by Judith Briles
    Mile High Press

    Best Interior Design
    Beautiful Living: Cooking the Cal-a-Vie Health Spa Way by Terri Havens
    Cal-a-Vie Health Spa

    Best New Fiction
    In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn
    Lake Union

    Best New Non-Fiction
    The Book of Help: A Memoir of Remedies by Megan Griswold
    Rodale Books/Penguin Random House

    Biography
    T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer by David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito
    Independent Institute

    Business: Careers
    TIP: A Simple Strategy to Inspire High Performance and Lasting Success by Dave Gordon
    John Wiley and Sons

    Business: Communications/Public Relations
    The Apology Impulse: How the Business World Ruined Sorry and Why We Can’t Stop Saying It by Cary Cooper & Sean O’Meara
    Kogan Page

    Business: Entrepreneurship & Small Business
    Burdens of a Dream: 33 Actionable Nuggets of Wisdom for the Creative Entrepreneur by Craig M. Chavis Jr.
    Author Academy Elite

    Business: General
    The Simplicity Principle: Six Steps Towards Clarity in a Complex World by Julia Hobsbawm
    Kogan Page

    Business: Management & Leadership
    The Future Leader: 9 Skills and Mindsets to Succeed in the Next Decade by Jacob Morgan
    Wiley

    Business: Marketing & Advertising
    The End of Marketing: Humanizing Your Brand in the Age of Social Media and AI by Carlos Gil
    Kogan Page

    Business: Motivational
    Unlock!: 7 Steps to Transform Your Career and Realize Your Leadership Potential by Abhijeet Khadikar
    Vicara Books

    Business: Personal Finance/Investing
    Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States: Leveraging Reverse Mortgages, Delaying Social Security, and Exploring Continuous Work by Chia-Li Chien, PhD, CFP®, PMP®
    Palgrave Pivot

    Business: Real Estate
    Market Forces: Strategic Trends Impacting Senior Living Providers by Jill J. Johnson
    Johnson Consulting Services

    Business: Reference
    The Non-Obvious Guide to Virtual Meetings and Remote Work (Non-Obvious Guides) by Rohit Bhargava
    IdeaPress Publishing

    Business: Sales
    The Visual Sale: How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World by Marcus Sheridan
    IdeaPress Publishing

    Business: Technology
    Amazon Management System: The Ultimate Digital Business Engine That Creates Extraordinary Value for Both Customers and Shareholders by Ram Charan and Julia Yang
    IdeaPress Publishing

    Business: Writing/Publishing
    Great Stories Don’t Write Themselves: Criteria-Driven Strategies for More Effective Fiction by Larry Brooks
    Writer’s Digest Books (a division of Penguin Random House)

    Children’s Educational
    Galileo! Galileo! by Holly Trechter and Jane Donovan
    Sky Candle Press

    Children’s Fiction
    Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets by Sherrill Joseph
    Acorn Publishing

    Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit
    The Tooth Fairy’s Tummy Ache by Lori Orlinsky
    Mascot Books

    Children’s Non-Fiction
    President’s Play! illustrated by John Hutton, text by Jonathan Pliska
    The White House Historical Association

    Children’s Novelty & Gift Book
    Bubble Kisses by Vanessa Williams, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker
    Sterling Publishing

    Children’s Picture Book: Hardcover Fiction
    Bubble Kisses by Vanessa Williams, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker
    Sterling Publishing

    Children’s Picture Book: Hardcover Non-Fiction
    A-B-Skis: An Alphabet Book About the Magical World of Skiing by Libby Ludlow, illustrated by Nathan Y. Jarvis
    Libby Ludlow

    LLCChildren’s Picture Book: Softcover Fiction
    Frankie the Ferret by Kimberley Paterson
    FriesenPress

    Children’s Picture Book: Softcover Non-Fiction
    Fridays With Ms. Mélange: Haiti by Jenny Delacruz
    Cobbs Creek Publishing

    Children’s Religious
    That Grand Christmas Day! by Jill Roman Lord, illustrated by Alessia Trunfio
    Worthy Kids

    College Guides
    Diversity At College: Real Stories of Students Conquering Bias and Making Higher Education More Inclusive by James Stellar, Chrisel Martinez, Branden Eggan, Chloe Skye Weiser, Benny Poy, Rachel Eagar, Marc Cohen, and Agata Buras
    IdeaPress Publishing

    Cookbooks: General
    Recipes from the President’s Ranch: Food People Like to Eat by Matthew Wendel
    The White House Historical Association

    Cookbooks: International
    Cooking with Marika: Clean Cuisine from an Estonian Farm by Marika Blossfeldt
    Delicious Nutrition

    Cookbooks: Regional
    The Perfect Persimmon: History, Recipes, and More by Michelle Medlock Adams
    Red Lightning

    BooksCurrent Events
    In All Fairness: Equality, Liberty, and the Quest for Human Dignity, edited by Robert M. Whaples, Michael C. Munger and Christopher J. Coyne
    Independent Institute

    Education/Academic
    The EQ Intervention: Shaping a Self-Aware Generation Through Social and Emotional Learning by Adam L. Saenz, PhD
    Greenleaf Book Group

    Fiction: African-American
    Once in a Blood Moon by Dorothea Hubble Bonneau
    Acorn Publishing

    Fiction: Anthologies
    Terror at 5280′ edited by Josh Schlossberg
    Denver Horror Collective

    Fiction: Cross-Genre
    Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton
    Firefly Southern Fiction

    Fiction: Fantasy
    The Hollow Gods (The Chaos Cycle Series, ) by A.J. Vrana
    The Parliament House Press

    Fiction: General
    Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80’s by Steven Manchester
    Luna Bella Press

    Fiction: Historical
    The Takeaway Men by Meryl Ain
    SparkPress

    Fiction: Horror
    The Vanishing by Arjay Lewis
    Mindbender Press

    Fiction: Inspirational
    The Menu by Steven Manchester
    Luna Bella Press

    Fiction: LGBTQ
    Even Weirder Than Before by Susie Taylor
    Breakwater Books

    Fiction: Literary
    How Fires End by Marco Rafalà
    Little A

    Fiction: Multicultural
    Subduction by Kristen Millares Young
    Red Hen Press

    Fiction: Mystery/Suspense
    Strong From The Heart by Jon Land
    Forge

    Fiction: New Age
    Catalyst by Tracy Richardson
    Brown Books Publishing

    Fiction: Novelette
    When Angels Paint: A Milford-Haven Holiday Novelette by Mara Purl
    Bellekeep Books

    Fiction: Novella
    When the Heart Listens: A Milford-Haven Novella by Mara Purl
    Bellekeep Books

    Fiction: Religious
    The Longest Day by Terry Toler
    BeHoldings Publishing

    Fiction: Romance
    What the Heart Wants by Audrey Carlan
    HQN

    Fiction: Science Fiction
    Killing Adam by Earik Beann
    Profoundly One Publishing

    Fiction: Short Story
    Oranges by Gary Eldon Peter
    New Rivers Press

    Fiction: Thriller/Adventure
    The President’s Dossier by James A. Scott
    Oceanview Publishing

    Fiction: Visionary
    Journey of a JuBu by Blaine Langberg
    Critical Eye

    Fiction: Western
    Moccasin Track by Reid Lance Rosenthal
    Rockin’ SR Publishing

    Fiction: Women’s Fiction
    Appearances by Sondra Helene
    She Writes Press

    Fiction: Young Adult
    The Return of the Dragon Queen by Farah Oomerbhoy
    Wise Ink Creative Publishing

    Health: Addiction & Recovery
    Stepping Stones: A Memoir of Addiction, Loss, and Transformation by Marilea C. Rabasa
    She Writes Press

    Health: Aging/50+
    EIGHTSOMETHINGS: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness by Katharine Esty, PhD
    Skyhorse Publishing

    Health: Alternative Medicine
    Have a Peak at This: Synergize Your Body’s Clock Towards a Highly Productive You by Said Hasyim
    Self-Published

    Health: Cancer
    All Of Us Warriors: Cancer Stories of Survival and Loss by Rebecca Whitehead Munn
    She Writes
    Press

    Health: Death & Dying
    Aftermath: Picking Up the Pieces After a Suicide by Gary Roe
    Healing Resources Publishing

    Health: Diet & Exercise
    Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle to Treat Root Causes of Overeating, Overweight and Obesity by Deborah Kesten, MPH and Larry Scherwitz, PhD
    White River Press

    Health: General
    True Wellness for Your Gut: Combine the best of Western and Eastern medicine for optimal digestive and metabolic health by Catherine Kurosu, MD, L.Ac. and Aihan Kuhn, CMD, OBT
    YMAA Publication Center

    Health: Medical Reference
    The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook: Your Guide for Everything from Hangovers to Homesickness by Jill Grimes, MD
    Skyhorse Publishing

    Health: Psychology/Mental Health
    The Big Bliss Blueprint: 100 Little Thoughts to Build Positive Life Changes by Shell Phelps
    Positive Streak Publishing,

    LLCHealth: Women’s Health
    The Book of Help: A Memoir of Remedies by Megan Griswold
    Rodale Books/Penguin Random House

    History: General
    Gun Control in Nazi-Occupied France: Tyranny and Resistance by Stephen P. Halbrook
    Independent Institute

    History: Military
    40 Thieves on Saipan The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII’s Bloodiest Battles by Joseph Tachovsky with Cynthia Kraack
    Regnery History

    History: United States
    Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History by Randall G. Holcombe
    Independent Institute

    Home & Garden
    My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation by Donald M. Rattner
    Skyhorse Publishing

    Humor
    Struggle Bus: The Van. The Myth. The Legend. by Josh Wood
    Lucid Books

    Law
    Banned: Immigration Enforcement in the Time of Trump by Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
    NYU Press

    LGBTQ: Non-Fiction
    Our Gay History in 50 States by Zaylore Stout
    Wise Ink Creative Publishing

    Multicultural Non-Fiction
    Overcoming Ordinary Obstacles: Boldly Claiming the Facets of an Extraordinary Life by Nesha Pai
    SPARK

    PublicationsNarrative: Non-Fiction
    Sola: One Woman’s Journey Alone Across South America by Amy Field
    WanderWomyn Publishing

    New Age: Non-Fiction
    Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness by Keri Mangis
    Curiosa Publishing, LLC

    Novelty & Gift Book
    The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories of a Holiday Tradition by Marcia Anderson and Kristen Hunter Mason
    The White House Historical Association

    Parenting & Family
    Why Will No One Play with Me? The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive by Caroline Maguire, PCC, M.Ed. with Teresa Barker
    Grand Central

    PublishingPerforming Arts: Film, Theater, Dance, Music
    THAT GUY: a stage play by Peter Anthony Fields
    Amazon

    Photography
    Beautiful Living: Cooking the Cal-a-Vie Health Spa Way by Terri Havens
    Cal-a-Vie Health Spa

    Poetry
    Five Oceans in a Teaspoon, poems by Dennis J. Bernstein, visuals by Warren Lehrer
    Paper Crown Press

    Religion: Christian Inspirational
    Extraordinary Hospitality for Ordinary Christians: A Radical Approach to Preparing Your Heart & Home for Gospel-Centered Community by Victoria Duerstock
    Good Books

    Religion: Christianity
    Come Fill This Place: A Journey of Prayer by Stacy Dietz
    KP Publishing Company

    Religion: Eastern
    Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam by A. Helwa
    Naulit Publishing House

    Religion: General
    Esoterism as Principle and as Way: A New Translation with Selected Letters by Frithjof Schuon
    World Wisdom

    Science
    Bliss Brain: The Neuroscience of Rewiring Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity and Joy by Dawson Church
    Hay House

    Self-Help: General
    Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey
    Sounds True

    Self-Help: Motivational
    Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage by Laura Huang
    Portfolio

    Self-Help: Relationships
    The Remarriage Manual: How to Make Everything Work Better the Second Time Around by Terry Gaspard
    Sounds True

    Social Change
    I Am Not Your Enemy: Stories to Transform a Divided World by Michael T. McRay
    Herald Press

    Spirituality: General
    The Universe Is Talking to You: Tap Into Signs and Synchronicity to Reveal Magical Moments Every Day by Tammy Mastroberte
    Llewellyn Worldwide

    Spirituality: Inspirational
    Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions for Spiritual Evolution by Jennie Lee
    Sounds

    TrueSports
    The Martial Arts of Vietnam: An Overview of History and Styles by Augustus John Roe
    YMAA Publication Center

    Travel: Guides & Essays
    Exploring Wine Regions — Bordeaux France: Discover Wine, Food, Castles, and The French Way of Life by Michael C. Higgins, PhD
    International Exploration Society

    True Crime: Non-Fiction
    Beast of New Castle by Larry Sells & Margie Porter
    WildBlue Press

    Women’s Issues
    Muslim Women Are Everything: Stereotype-Shattering Stories of Courage, Inspiration, and Adventure by Seema Yasmin, illustrated by Fahmida Azim
    Harper Design, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

    Young Adult: Non-Fiction
    My Life, My Way: How To Make Exceptional Decisions About College, Career, and Life by Elyse Hudacsko
    Self-Published