In the winter of 1980-81, six Big Sur women were inspired to create a fund that would sustain the fledgling Big Sur Historical Society in its work of preserving local history. Come January, the call went out to the Big Sur community asking for favorite recipes as well as for diaries, memoirs, photographs, legends and stories of life in Big Sur. The recipes came pouring in as folks searched through photograph albums and old recipe files. By April there was enough material for several books. A pattern finally emerged from the diary excerpts and reminiscences: six overlapping categories evolved into chapter headings: Living Off the Land, Food from the Sea, Self-Sufficiency, The Simple Life, Starting from Scratch and Big Sur Hospitality. The material was selected to express the diversity of life styles that found room to exist in Big Sur. The reader will discover that this is not an ordinary cookbook. Some of the recipes are vague about amounts or ingredients, reflecting the awareness that creative cooks use what they've got on hand. A few of the recipes are artifacts, included to offer a flavor of life as it used to be in Big Sur. Most of the recipes have been taste tested, and the result is a unique blend of history and recipes, expressive of the art of living as practiced in Big Sur. Soft cover, 156 pages, published in 1981 and reissued in 2020, lovingly compiled by the women of the Big Sur Historical Society: Pat Addelman, Judith Goodman, Mary Harrington, Clair Chappellet, Ruth Harlan, and Beverly Newell.