Aficionado's Southwestern Cooking Book

Nabhan, who is Lebanese-American, has made a name for himself in anthropology studying the relationship of traditional diets and health care among American Native populations, most specifically the Pima people in the southwest. Combining this with an interest in Middle Eastern adaptation to resources, he compares the cuisines of the Eastern Mediterranean with that of the pre-European Southwest in terms of agriculture, trade routes and food preservation and storage in desert context--the commonalities are extremely interesting (innovative irrigation and water collection projects, citrusy flavor profiles, hot/spicy food to bring on sweating as a coolant) while the differences in available animals, plants and seasonings, as well as Islamic and Jewish prohibitions on food highlights the vast separation. This is one of those that I could never quite work into the Food class reading list anywhere but is well worth reading.