Description:
"Panza llena, corazón contento." Full stomach, contented heart. Gentle folk wisdom doesn't get much better than that. What a treat that Madeline Gallego Thorpe is willing to share this and so many other aspects of her unusual life--including a wealth of Arizona-Sonoran home-cooking recipes--in the lovely Corazón Contento. Thorpe was raised by her grandparents in a large extended Hispanic family in Tucson in the 1940s and '50s. Her own parents lived and worked two jobs in California. So Madeline Thorpe grew up with her feet in two worlds: her grandparents' old world, with its folk wisdom, use of healing herbs, and unique cooking style; and the new world of her Arizona youth (let's blame the tuna tacos on this and on Lent). Let us not forget, she seems to be saying with each page. The book is divided into the seasons of the year, and then within each section are recipes; dichos, little diamonds of wisdom; remedios, herbal remedies; and recuerdos, the author's stories from the heart about her family. This is truly a personal document. And as a result, the recipes have a personal, familial edge as well. You'll find macaroni salad right along with Mexican wedding cookies, Mom's guacamole along with fruit smoothies. For a sense of the "real" food of the Arizona-Mexico border, the food of several generations back as well as the food of today, Corazón Contento is a down-to-earth place to start. It's a little book with a big heart. --Schuyler Ingle
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