Real Women Eat Chiles

Not the kind you read about in romance novels or see on soap operas, but the kind that eat chiles? Real women who love to eat chiles to stay healthy and spice up their lives are celebrated in this distinctive cookbook. Jane Butel, the "Queen of Chiles" and founder of a uniquely American cuisine, has created more than 120 delicious, low-calorie recipes showcased here with vibrant photography.

Real women climb corporate ladders and 20,000-foot mountains. Real women raise corporate profits, kids, and garlic. They teach school, host television programs, ride mountain bikes, practice medicine, and own commercial gardens. Their profiles and brief essays inspire us all to try a little chile...if it works for them, it'll work for us, too!

Jane Butel's fantastic recipes are accompanied by a lively discussion of the origins of chiles and their curative properties. The book is interspersed with profiles of real women who have the healthy habit of eating chiles. Some of these women were born into "chile cultures;" others acquired a taste for the spicy fruits while living abroad. All of them use the chile to enliven meals, and some have even made careers out of the chile-based cuisine. Meet these real women and read about their interesting affinities to chiles while you try Jane Butel's innovative recipes, such as Green Chile Corn Chowder or Black Bean and Goat Cheese Chalupitas.

Jane Butel, the first to write about southwestern cooking, is an internationally recognized authority on the regional cooking of the American Southwest. In the late 1970s, following a successful career as one of America's top Consumer Affairs executives, she launched her southwestern writing, teaching, television, consulting, and spice business. Her Southwestern Cooking Schools in New Mexico and Scottsdale, Arizona, have garnered high recognition. Bon Appetit magazine selected it as one of the four best in the world and Gayout.com listed her hotel-based schools as the best in the United States and one of the world's top ten. She also conducts tours to Mexico and Spain. Pecos Valley Spice Co., a trusted source for chiles, spices, and other authentic southwestern ingredients, was founded in 1978. She continues to spice up America's favorite cuisine with the recipes from the rich culinary, cultural, and historical heritage of the Southwest. She has written seventeen cookbooks, including Northland's Hotter Than Hell: Hot and Spicy Dishes from Around the World. For information on her schools and spices, go to www.janebutel.com or www.pecosvalley.com.