Sunday Brunch in Oaxaca: Criollo
Looking for a spectacular brunch spot in Oaxaca with gourmet taste at a moderate price? Look no further. Criollo restaurant offers it all! Note: Be sure to make a reservation! Doors open at 10 a.m. There is a reason that this Top Chef Enrique Olvera (of Pujol fame) dining spot is packed with locals and […]
Heirloom Beans: Mexico’s Legumes Elevated to a Higher Power
The Hunt for Mexico’s Heirloom Beans, a New Yorker Magazine feature written by Burkhard Bilger and published 4/23/2018, starts and ends with eating. Thanks to my Teotitlan del Valle friend Scott Roth for sending me this article, lengthy but worth the time to read. For northern North Americans unfamiliar with bean culture, we think of this […]
Leftover Rosca de Reyes Bread Pudding Recipe
After about a day, Rosca de Reyes becomes more like dry cake, good for dunking into coffee or hot chocolate, but not so tasty for eating plain. What to do? Make bread pudding, of course. I got a little carried away in the Teotitlan del Valle market and bought three Roscas. They are so pretty. […]
Rosca de Reyes and Three Kings Day in Oaxaca
Here in Oaxaca the tradition is to celebrate Three Kings Day, Dia de los Reyes, January 6, with gift-giving to the children. Godparents visit the homes of godchildren, godchildren come to the homes of godparents. They will present a Rosca de Reyes, that translates to wreath of the kings. They sit down to a cup of […]
Roasting a Thanksgiving Turkey in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
I bet you thought I disappeared! This is my first post since returning to Teotitlan de Valle, Oaxaca, a week ago. Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! I came back to my casita filled with aromas created by professional cook Kalisa Wells, who has been house sitting my two adopted street dogs. All kitchen surfaces were covered with […]
For Dia de los Muertos and Everyday: Mama Dorothy’s Apple Pie Recipe with Cornmeal Crust
In 1976, a few years before I opened a gourmet cookware shop and cooking school in South Bend, Indiana, I contributed a recipe to the first edition of the Temple Beth El cookbook. Mama Dorothy’s Apple Pie is based on one that my mother prepared on occasion. For Dia de los Muertos, I found myself […]
Happy Halloween and Chicken Pozole for Dia de los Muertos
A friend told me this week that she heard from her Mexican relatives that this time of year offers the most transparent veil in the atmosphere, which is why the spirits can more easily return. Welcome to Dia de los Muertos — Day of the Dead. We do Halloween up big here in the USA. […]
Oaxaca Comal Cooking in Durham, North Carolina: Eggplant and Okra
Okra is one of my favorite southern foods, right along with shrimp and grits. I like it because it reminds me of nopal cactus paddles, the kind you eat. I’m always trying to figure out how to prepare so it’s not slimy! Grilling, not boiling, is a secret. On this return from Oaxaca to North […]
Harvesting Espadin Agave for Mezcal in My Front Yard: Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Only in Oaxaca do you wake up to find a guy cutting down agave cactus for mezcal in your front yard, Kalisa Wells told me yesterday morning. Kalisa is house-sitting for me in Teotitlan del Valle while I’m sojourning in Durham, North Carolina. Kalisa is really there to puppy sit until Luz and Sombra come […]
Oaxaca to Durham–Pineapple-Lime Mezcal Cocktail Recipe: Serves Two
Is it a Mezcalini or a Mezcalita? Most of the weight in my checked baggage from Oaxaca, Mexico to Durham, North Carolina, USA was attributed to three bottles of Gracias a Dios mezcal — two of Gin Mezcal and one of Cuixe (also spelled Cuishe, pronounced KWI-SHAY). I had four bottles packed and couldn’t move […]
Oaxaca Inspired Sweet-Savory Orange Chicken Recipe: Mango and Carrots
My first day back in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, after a six-week Durham, North Carolina hiatus. I had to drive La Tuga, my 2004 Honda Element to Tlacolula for clutch repair, so I handed 200 pesos (the equivalent of $11 USD) to Federico and asked him to pick up a few things for me at […]
Bug Poetry to Whet Your Appetite: Oaxaca Inspiration
I asked my writing sisters who attended the 2017 Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat to write about their experience tasting Oaxaca edible bugs after I wrote the essay for Mexico News Daily. I just heard from Lee Schwartz, who offered up this poem as a taste bud tickler. Birds, Bees and Witchery Grub by Lee […]
Bugs in Mexico: More Than Transportation, Edible Insects
Bugs are ubiquitous here. Most often you see them driving down the cobblestone streets in the historic center of town or along the highway, packed with family members. I’ve seen eight people in a VW bug, five kids in the back seat, the driver behind the wheel, and his wife with a baby on her […]
You Are Invited: Italian Cultural Festival in Oaxaca
How Oaxaca Got Her Name: Guaje Seed Pods
When the Spanish arrived in southern Mexico in 1521, they found a region called Huāxyacac, the Nahuatl word for the pod of the tree Leucaena Leucocephala. Of course, they couldn’t pronounce it easily, so they renamed it with the moniker, Oaxaca. Originally, Oaxaca was pronounced wa-shaka from a medieval Spanish root. Now, the X is silent, so […]
It’s not too late to celebrate Mexico’s Three Kings Day, today!
Here’s my debut feature story at Mexico News Daily published today! I hope you enjoy. Again, happiest New Year. http://mexiconewsdaily.com/mexicolife/celebrate-kings-day-with-rosca-de-reyes/
India Journal: Visit to Pure Ghee Textile Designs
Ghee, clarified buffalo or cow butter, is the essential cooking and flavoring oil in India. Ghee also has religious significance and is used at life cycle celebrations throughout the country. It is highly nutritious and is part of the ayurvedic system, which forms the basis of spirituality, food, and health. One could say that ghee […]
Oaxaca Tropical Fruit + Tomato Ginger Chutney Recipe: With Some Heat!
I’ve been sequestered in my Teotitlan del Valle casita for some days now (without internet connection), more out of choice than anything. Best to hide from the heat of the day under the ceiling fan with a sewing or cooking project. So, after a trip to the Tlacolula market on Sunday where I saw an […]
Oaxaca Hand-crafted Condiments: Suculenta Food Gallery
You might walk by the unmarked building painted sky blue and not even notice what’s inside. Down the street from Boulanc bakery on Av. Porfirio Diaz, closer to Morelos than Murguia, is Suculenta. The food gallery is an off-shoot of the bakery where hand-crafted jellies, jams, edible oils, cheeses, herbs and fresh wild mushrooms from […]
Chicken at the Tlacolula Market: The Gift
A group of 12 women are immersed this week in our sixth annual Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat. All except two have never been here before. Two came all the way from Melbourne, Australia. Going to the Tlacolula market is a highlight for any visitor, especially for those who have a gift list. […]
Gracias a Dios! Have You Heard of Gin Mezcal?
We hadn’t heard of gin mezcal until the other night at Oaxaca’s Origen restaurant. Our very competent waiter suggested we taste it which was on the menu as a mixed drink. What was it like unadulterated? How could mezcal be gin? Hollie asked. Gracias a Dios is the mezcal brand. That means Thank God. They […]
Annual Basket Fair in San Juan Guelavia, Oaxaca: River Reed Weaving
The Feria del Carrizo is happening this week in the Zapotec village of San Juan Guelavia. The last day is February 7. This annual fair is growing and this year there were hundreds of people on opening day, Sunday, January 31. I have made this an annual tradition and this was my fourth year here. I […]
Higadito, Oaxaca Scrambled Egg Soup — Vegetarian Recipe
A traditional fiesta breakfast dish here in Oaxaca, Mexico is called Higadito — scrambled egg soup. It is always served at banquet breakfasts for weddings, baptisms, birthday parties and any other big family celebration. On Sundays, when I go to the Tlacolula Market and have lunch at Comedor Mary, it is a staple on the […]
Private Cooking Class Oaxaca: mmmmGood, Molotes and Memelas
How many different ways can corn be prepared? Here in Oaxaca, Mexico, the options are so numerous, I could perhaps count to a thousand. On Sunday, in honor of Carol’s XX birthday, David organized a private cooking class for five of us. The kitchen is miniscule. The results were huge. The most important ingredient was […]
Rosa and Abraham’s Wedding in Teotitlan del Valle: Let’s Party
It’s been a week since Abraham and Rosa got married. With this last and final post about the wedding, I get to relive the day. I hope you enjoy it. Chapter III: The Wedding Party Weddings in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca can be grand affairs that include a sumptuous multi-course fiesta dinner complete with […]
Stopover Puebla: Taking a Break Between Mexico City and Oaxaca
Puebla, Mexico, has so much to offer that a two to four-day stopover going to or from Oaxaca to Mexico City is usually in my travel plans. I like to fly out of Mexico City back and forth to the USA (it’s cheaper) and usually plan a visit to this most original Spanish city in […]
Barcelona, Spain: Tapas at Midnight
We are still jet-lagged after two full days here in Barcelona and can’t seem to get the rhythm of sleep down. But, we have discovered the tap-tap-tap of tapas with a great orientation to Bilbao Berria tapas bar right down at the corner from where we are staying across from the Barcelona Cathedral. What’s […]
Boulenc: Bringing a World of Flavors to Artisan Bread + More in Oaxaca, Mexico
We invited Martha Sorensen to write this post. She has raved about Boulenc since they opened. Martha makes it a daily breakfast habit to include a slice or two of toasty, crusty rye or whole grain bread from Boulenc topped with their not t00 sweet house made mango jam. She’s got me hooked. *** Walk through the […]
Zinacantan Textile Flowers, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
They speak Tzotzil here in the Maya highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. San Lorenzo Zinacantan is a village nestled in a beautiful valley about thirty minutes from San San Cristobal de Las Casas. It is a popular Sunday tourist destination combined with a visit to the mystical church at San Juan Chamula (which I will write about […]
Penland School Cooks in Oaxaca
We will be going back in time this week. A few days ago our participants from Penland School of Crafts gathered at Casa de los Sabores, the cooking school operated by chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo. Our menu focused on mezcal including a flaming skewered pineapple and shrimp dish that went up in flames before […]