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California Living and
Eating
California Living and
Eating by Eleanor Maidment is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the food
and lifestyle of the Golden State with 80 tasty recipes.
One of the joys of travel in California is the wonderful food on offer, whether it’s from a cheap and cheerful taco truck to some of the top tables in the USA with acclaimed chefs like Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters.
It helps, of course, that there is so much fine produce grown in the state, and a firm belief in the concept of farm-to-fork or farm-to-table.
These are the things that inspired author Eleanor Maidment to travel the length and breadth of the state to produce this hefty 224-page coffee-table book with eighty original recipes. These go alongside essays about some quintessential Californian foods like sourdough and avocados.
California Living and
Eating: Introduction
In her introduction the author points out that it isn’t only
the freshness of the food that makes for tasty eating. The best California
cuisine is also about being bold with experimentation, caring about the art of beautiful
presentation, serving seasonal dishes, a natural concern for healthy eating, and
a fusion-style of cooking embracing California’s ethnically diverse population.
The Author
Eleanor Maidment is a London based
food writer and food stylist who spent seven years as Food Editor of Waitrose
Food magazine, creating and testing recipes for the readers on a daily basis.
California Living and
Eating: Contents
After explaining how the book came about, and information on
both the ingredients and the equipment she likes to use, the author gets into the
opening chapter: Morning Sun. This covers one meal that Californians really
know how to do well, brunch, and begins with our own personal brunch favorite,
the Mexican breakfast dish, Huevos Rancheros. Merely seeing the photo has our
mouths watering immediately.
Photography
The wonderful photography
in California Living and Eating is by Nassima Rothacker, originally from
Melbourne but now London-based and with a special interest in food and travel
photography. She’s certainly brought California and its food to life on the
page.
The recipes range from the original (Coconut Jumbo Oat
Granola) to new takes on old favorites, like Buttermilk Pancakes and Breakfast
Burritos.
Maidment then makes her way through the day, with lunch and
supper suggestions, before winding up with one chapter on sides and sauces, and
a final chapter on cakes, cookies, and tarts.
Where to Eat in
California
Also included at the back of the book is the author’s
personal choice of the best places to eat in California. They are the places –
including two farmers’ markets – which inspired the recipes in the book, and
cover Sonoma, San Francisco and the East Bay, the Central Coast, Los Angeles,
and San Diego.
With names like Chez Panisse and Nepenthe in there, and the wonderful Santa Monica Farmers Market, there’s no arguing with the choice.
Buying California
Living and Eating
You can find this lovely book on Amazon, and though there’s
a less expensive Kindle version we’d recommend splurging on the hardback. It
will definitely get used in the kitchen.
Other books pages
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.
The guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns lists over 250 boutique hotels, wine country cottages and more.
The Green Guide to the USA West from Michelin covers California, the Pacific North West, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and even Kansas and Alaska.
The Michelin Guide to California is a gourmet's guide to the best restaurants along the Pacific Coast Highway and elsewhere in California.
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip guide from Moon covering California, Oregon and Washington
West Coast Road Eats is a road food guide covering the Pacific Coast from California through Oregon to Washington, giving the best road trip food stops.
The Washington State travel guide from Frommer's covers hotels in Seattle, driving the Pacific Coast Highway, Olympic National Park, where to eat and more.
Epic Drives of the World from Lonely Planet describes 50 of the world's most exciting road trips, including, of course, the Pacific Coast Highway.
The Frommer's Guide to Oregon has good information on hotels, restaurants and what to see in Portland, and along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Moon's Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula covers hotels, restaurants, and sights, including Forks, the Olympic National Park and other places.
The Los Angeles travel guide book from Lonely Planet also covers San Diego and Southern California, including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland.
Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.
The Best Coast is a west coast travel guide, sub-titled A Road Trip Atlas it doesn't use photos but instead has hundreds of beautiful illustrations.
Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.
Vintage Hollywood in Los Angeles is an extract from the Lonely Planets book Culture Trails.
101 free San Francisco attractions and things to do are in the Kindle guide, 101 Free Things to Do in San Francisco, in the Travel Free eGuidebooks series.
Lonely Planet's Guide to Cycling the USA West Coast is a bicycling guidebook for anyone touring California, Oregon and Washington by bike.
To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.
The Michelin Green Guide to California covers the whole state and is good on maps, the sights, major cities and towns, less good on hotels and restaurants.
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's California Camping book review rates the 20th anniversary edition of Moon's complete guide to over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds.
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Vintage Hollywood alongside 51 other perfect weekends.
Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.
Some of the best California Backroads are included in Backroads of the California Coast, with 24 highly recommended driving tours off the Pacific Coast Highway.
The Napa and Sonoma Guidebook to California Wine Country is from the Moon Handbooks’ travel guide series with reviews of wineries,vineyards, and wine tastings.
Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.
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