Off-radar Oaxacan book: "Milpa! From Seed to Salsa"

[gfron1]

A friend gifted me a book written by someone I know of but only loosely. The acquaintance is a former missionary who has lived in Oaxaca for 15 years and co-authored this book with Susana Trilling (famous Oaxacan cooking instructor). The book is self published and really surprised me with its quality. The whole thesis is saving the indigenous foods of the area and combatting GMO infiltration of the area. Those of you who know the area might know of one of my hero restaurants - the like-minded Itanoni in Oaxaca City - surely they all travel in the same circles.

 

Recipes are average fare - not fancy - clearly recipes from regular local folk, but very authentic, not fusion. They start with basic fresh masa, run you through all sorts of things including molé  and salads and end up with stuff like yucca and egg tacos. The chapters include: Wild Greens (purslane, amaranth, etc), Beans & Squash, Salsa, Nopal and Maguey, Food and Fiesta, Medicinal uses. About 300 pages in all (so figure 150 in English and 150 in Spanish).

 

This book is not available through Amazon. It is bilingual. I highly recommend it. 

 

Side note: Quite frankly these guys are goofs. They don't know how important and well produced this book is and aren't marketing it worth crap. Go buy it. Tell them I sent you. And enjoy this book.

 

HERE

 

 

Our book project Milpa: From Seed to Salsa - Ancient Ingredients for a Sustainable Future explores through a blend of essays, recipes and documentary photography how the ancient agricultural knowledge and the wealth of 1000 year-old seeds and planting practices still in use among the Mixtec peoples of southern Mexico can help us to meet the ecological and food crises of today.

The essays, written in conjunction with campesino farmers, serve as a warning about the complicated dangerous effects inherent in the rapidly expanding distribution of GMO (genetically modified organism) seeds produced by Monsanto and other agro biotechnology firms. It details organic agro-ecological alternatives for campesino farmers across the world and gardeners and consumers who care about their food safety. Using the example of the Milpa planting system in the Mixteca Alta region of Southern Mexico, the book supports recent studies by UN investigators that show that small plots of land, heritage seeds and sustainable practices can in fact feed the world while enriching the soils on which we all depend for life…….

Milpa is also a photo-documentry cookbook that contains the traditional recipes lovingly shared by the local indigenous Mixtec women, allowing readers to re-create the culinary magic that flows from this ancient agricultural system. Recipes are painstakingly tested and photographed in traditional indigenous kitchens as well as in a professional modern test kitchen.

Here we follow the ingenious return to the ancient Milpa* system through our personal experiences while working and living in the region. We have all learned so very much in this process and we wish to share it on a larger scale.

 

Edited November 16, 2015 by gfron1 (log)

[gfron1]

Here is the recipe list from the Fiesta chapter:

Pickled chile  canario

White hominy with yellow molé

Cactus salad

Red molé with dried shrimp cakes

Red fiesta molé

Yellow molé with white bean and cactus

Pan de muertos

Stuffed crepes with farmers cheese and mezcal pears

Champurrado de Trigo (hot wheat drink with chocolate)

 

...just to give you an idea.

[JTravel]

I heard Susanna do her book talk at the library in Oaxaca. Very interesting. I only got a quick glance at it so I am glad to hear your opinion. I doubt I would cook from in western New York but I am very interested in the village life.

Susanna has a new little store where she has the book, cooking items, jarred sauces etc. plus local and imported cheeses .

The book is 500 pesos here, about $30, and I think $41., shipping included, in U.S from her website.