Are you a locavore? Do you strive to eat local foods as much as possible and buy from local growers and markets? Well don't stop there! You can also buy food books from local authors, and we've got more of them here than you might realize. And you certainly don't have to limit your cusines to Central California style. Travel gastronomically from Vietnam to Italy to France, as well as Napa, Sri Lanka, and Seussville.

The big names are, of course, Biba Caggiano of Restaurant Biba and Mai Pham of Lemon Grass restaurant. Biba's most recent book, Biba's Italy: Favorite Recipes from the Splendid Cities, came out last fall, but she has many others on the theme of hearty Italian cooking. Mai Pham grew up with Vietnamese and Thai cooking, which are reflected in the menu at her restaurant. Pick up her book The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking: Favorite Recipes from Lemon Grass Restaurant and Cafes to learn the basics of these two cuisines or her more in-depth Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table.

Other local authors include Georgeanne Brennan (okay,she's in Yolo County, but that's pretty close!), whose fun Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook is aimed at kids. There's a recipe for green eggs and ham that doesn't just rely on food coloring! Georgeanne is prolific, and you'll find books by her about Provence (where she lives sometimes), Christmas sweets, cooking with herbs, and food made fast, among many others.

Now, I can't really write this post without shamelessly shilling my own book, can I? It DID come out this year and I've been demonstrating recipes from East Bay Restaurant Supply to Capital Public Radio. So show some love and support a local author who you might actually have seen buying her pork and pomegranates at the farmer's market. Hands-Off Cooking: Low-Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People will help you to cook Thai, Southern, Sri Lankan, Mexican, Egyptian, and plain old Californian. And quickly.

A few other local foodie authors to note: Elaine Corn writes for Sacramento Magazine and has written Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today for the gadget lover in your life. She's also a fan of gooey desserts, corn, and has co-authored Lina Fat's book from the Fat family restaurant group. A Moveable Thirst: Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country by Sacramento Bee columnist Ricik Kushman and Nugget Markets winebuyer Hank Beal; The Plank Grilling Cookbook: Infuse Food with More Flavor Using Wood Planks is from a group of authors in Folsom and I often see it for sale at Taylor's Market; and Blithe Tomato by Davis farmer Mike Madison. While it's not a cookbook, it is a fantastic collection of essays on life as a farmer and what it's like to grow food for a living. (His sister is noted cookbook author Deborah Madison, formerly of Davis.)

I would tell you to shop local too, but I don't know a local bookstore that keeps these authors on hand (in fact, a check at the Avid Reader revealed that they barely knew that we had local cookbook authors aside from Biba. Hmph.). But you can, of course, buy the restaurateur books at their restaurants and you might even be able to contact authors directly. Or, you can just use these handy links. Shop globally, read locally, right?