Baja! Cooking On The Edge Brings Magical Cuisine to the Home Kitchen

Summer's officially here, and there's no better way to celebrate the warm summer evenings than throwing a Latin-themed dinner party. At a loss with planning a menu? Let the Baja! Cooking on the Edge cookbook be your secret weapon.

While Deborah M. Schneider's tantalizing homage to Baja cuisine might bring out the wanderlust in you, you can easily prepare the fabulous and authentic recipes in your own kitchen. Written in a vividly delicious prose, Schneider presents over 150 mouth-watering recipes culled from years of exploring the untamed region. The detailed instructions and notes within each recipe help educate the reader on the rich culinary heritage of Baja. It's hard not to feel as if you're at the local market with the author selecting fresh produce for your salsas and tacos.

Image credit: Maren Caruso

From street food to more elegant entrees, the cookbook is chock-filled with amazingly authentic recipes. It might take some practice to make your own tortillas and chorizo, but the magical flavors will be worth it when you and your guests taste the amazing results. The gorgeous photography from award-winning Maren Caruso will also tempt you to try one recipe after another. Check out the Agua Fresca recipe below - it should help tame the fiery chiles from feasting on such a colorful meal...

Image credit: Maren Caruso

Watermelon Agua Fresca

This agua fresca recipe is a basic template for any soft fruit: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, pineapple, strawberry, guava . . . the list is endless. Start by mashing the fruit and add water to make 1 gallon‚ but resist the urge to throw it into the blender, since good agua fresca usually has little pieces of fruit floating in it.

Make all aguas frescas a little stronger than you think you would like, as chilling dulls the flavor and ice will dilute it. Homemade aguas frescas are as healthy as they are delicious, since you can control the amount of sweetener or leave it out altogether.

Extra agua fresca can be used as a base for paletas.

Makes about 1 gallon.

3 cups water
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 ripe medium watermelon
Juice of 1 lime, preferably a Mexican limon
Ice

1. Combine the water and sugar to taste in a saucepan and boil until the sugar dissolves. Cool.

2. Peel the watermelon, remove as many seeds as possible, and mash with a potato masher (or pulse in a food processor) until the fruit is fairly smooth. Add the water and lime juice. Taste and adjust with more sugar, lime, or water as desired. Serve over ice.

(Recipe used with permission from Baja! Cooking on the Edge, by Deborah M. Schneider, Rodale Books, 2006)