In the early 1990s, I was invited on a three-day roundup at Helen Groves’ Silverbrook Ranch in Baird, TX. It was September and the weather was fine. We rode all day, ate meals prepared over a campfire, and slept in tepees near the chuck wagon.

My birthday fell on the last day of the roundup and I considered the whole experience a wonderful gift, although no one there knew about my birthday. At least I thought they didn’t.

That night I was feted with a cake and the next morning, insisting that I couldn’t go home without a present, Helen gave me a copy of a cookbook published by the Hidalgo, Texas County Historical Society. The Heritage Cookbook features a roundup of wild and regional foods with recipes for such delicacies as cattail stew, mesquite bean jelly, and baked rattlesnake.

Hidalgo County, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley, has a rich history dating back to the the 16th century and the age of Spanish exploration. In the 19th century, it became a ranching center within the larger region that includes Kenedy and King counties.

Helen Groves is the great-granddaughter of Richard King, the founder of King Ranch, hence her interest in the region and the cookbook. Helen has also written a splendid memoir about her parents Robert and Helen Kleberg and her experiences growing up on the legendary King Ranch. Bob and Helen Kleberg of King Ranchis not only a fascinating read, but a feast for the eyes with more than 200 never-before-released photographs.

The Heritage Cookbook is out of print, but according to Lynn Beeching, with the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, the seat of Hidalgo County, there is a new cookbook that includes many of the old recipes, along with historical photos and a history of the region. The 286-page Mesquite Country Cookbook, Tastes and Traditions from the Tip of Texas, won the annual national Tabasco Community Cookbook Award and is available through the Hidalgo County Museum at 956-383-6911.

Gorditas de Queso, an unusual cookie recipe from the Heritage Cookbook, is one that I can recommend:

1 large carton small curd cottage cheese
1 cup corn oil
1 cup margarine
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 cup chopped nut
4 cups masa harina
2 1/2 cups flour
6 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup honey
1 cup grated white cheese

Cream first ingredients thoroughly. Add the rest and mix well, adding cheese last. When everything is well mixed, drop on greased cookie sheet using a rounded spoon and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes or until done.