California Mexican-Spanish Cookbook

Book excerpt: Bertha Haffner-Ginger's 1914 ""California Mexican-Spanish Cookbook"" is a delightful collection of Mexican recipes. As she notes in her Introduction, ""Spanish dishes as they are known in California are really Mexican Indian dishes. Bread made of corn, sauces of chile peppers, jerked beef, tortillas, enchiladas, etc., are unknown in Spain as native foods; though the majority of Spanish people in California are as devoted to peppery dishes as the Mexicans themselves, and as the Mexicans speak Spanish, the foods are commonly called Spanish dishes."" The dishes represented are Mexican dishes as they have come to be known across America and they will be a welcome addition to any kitchen. The volume contains the first known, English-language recipe for tacos.