Choco-Cafe

One of the sublime pleasures of living in Mexico is being able to savor her homemade chocolate. Chocolate, the word, comes from the Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. In its original tongue, it is spelled Xocolatl, pronounced show-koh-lah-tel. In reality, the t and the l in the final syllable are slammed together, but for […]

Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle: Altars + Artisans

While we spent most of the day in Teotitlan del Valle learning about the Day of the Dead traditions here, we started out in Santa Maria El Tule at the home studio of flying shuttle loom weaver Alfredo who uses naturally dyed threads to create clothing — blouses and shawls. Oaxaca Cultural Navigator tour partner […]

Tasteful Oaxaca Chocolate 4-Course Pop-Up Dinner

Everyone knows Oaxaca chocolate is sublime. The chocolate at Mama Pacha Chocolate Shop is sublimest. I must use the superlative here for many reasons: Unparalleled quality cacao beans to start with, the chocolate is small batch roasted, tempered for hours, resulting in a smooth as silk finish. Different from the sugary, grainy chocolate we use […]

Recipe: Making Authentic Mole Rojo in Teotitlan del Valle

  My Australian friend Tracey Ponting came back through Oaxaca this week on her way from San Cristobal de las Casas to Distrito Federal and on to England to visit her parents.  Tracey and I met on the bus to San Cris in January when we stayed at the same posada.  From there we traveled […]

Recipe: Oaxaca Chocolate Cheesecake

Oaxaca chocolate is spicy and incredible.  In addition to chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and ground almonds, it can contain a hint of hot peppers.  I bought some recently at the Benito Juarez Market in the city from two little ladies who make it out of their Tlacolula de Matamoros kitchen.  My intention was  to bring it […]

Choco-Cafe: Easy Mexican Chocolate Coffee Beverage

Stephen and I have a morning breakfast habit when we are in Oaxaca.  We are ritualistic coffee drinkers.  For the past decades (too many to mention here), I have been grinding my coffee beans daily to brew my morning beverage of choice.  When we are with Federico and Dolores and their family in Teotitlan, the […]

Chocolate: What’s Not to Love About It?

Click here for Kathleen’s Chocolate story   http://wp.me/pTTp9-1gU My fellow writer, expat food aficionado and socially/politically/environmentally conscious advocate for responsible living has just written an important article.  I encourage you to read it.  The slave trade in Africa, a centuries old practice, endures because of the world’s love for chocolate.  Kathleen Dobek writes about the […]

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