Back to the Oaxaca Villages: Teotitlan del Valle and Mitla
My friend Chris returned to Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Guadalajara, yesterday morning, so it’s been a day of quietude, plus packing to get ready to leave for the Oaxaca Coast early Saturday morning. We have a 14-person tour going to discover handmade textiles on the Costa Chica. My family wonders when I rest. In bits and […]
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 […]
Breakfast in Oaxaca: XAOK
This amazing TINY restaurant is at the corner of Calle Reforma and Gomez Farias, across the street from Conzatti Park. It has six tables and seating for about 20 people. How do you say it? XAOK = Sha-Oh-K. The K is soft, barely the hard consonant we know in English. Chef Uriel Garcia works the […]
Traditional Cooks: Eating in Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca
We know the Sunday market (tianguis) in Tlacolula is amazing. When you visit Oaxaca, this is a don’t miss it moment! (Order a map from us to find your way around.) And, if you want the real deal in Oaxaca food, you want to try out one of the off-the-beaten-path traditional cocina de humo comedors […]
When Visitors Come to Oaxaca: What to See and Do
My son Jacob (mi hijo) and my daughter-in-law Shelley (mi nuera) came to visit for a week and just returned to Albuquerque last Saturday night. We were not hard-pressed to figure out what to do during their time here. Fortunately for me, daily activities also included some resting time, which I appreciated since they arrived […]
Oaxaca Whirlwind: Mezcal, Worms, Ants, Mole — What Happened to Culture?
It may have started 10 years ago when the New York Times travel section started featuring destinations you could dip into for a long weekend. Oaxaca was one of them. Arrive mid-afternoon Friday, bar hop Friday night, dip your toes into archeology with a quick trip to Monte Alban, try street tacos for lunch and […]
Pre-Hispanic Oaxaca Cooking Class with Vicky Hernandez
High up the hill in the shadow of Oaxaca’s famed archeological site of Monte Alban is a humble comedor on a dirt side street down the hillside from a paved access road. Carefully make your way down a curved, steep stairway cut into the hill to find the simple kitchen of Cocina Pre-Hispanica con Fogon […]
Eating in Oaxaca: A Culinary Paradise
Norma’s Note: Rico. Delicioso. Sabroso. I again invited Carol Lynne Estes to contribute a blog post about her experiences living in Oaxaca. Carol isn’t a visitor; she is a resident who knows the ins and outs of eating — from humble comedors to the finest upscale restaurants. Her impressions and recommendations are here for you […]
In Oaxaca, Stories of Hope: Face Masks, Food and Dogs
How to feed impoverished people has always been a challenge in Mexico. Now, with the ravages of coronavirus destroying fragile infrastructure, street corner businesses, and tourism that feeds Oaxaca’s economy, needs are even more acute. Here are a few stories about people rising to the occasion to help. Face Masks and Distribution Getting masks is […]
Recipe Redux: Nicuatole with White Corn Meal, Oaxaca Tradition
I served the nicuatole recipe I made and published last week to my Zapotec friend Janet. She said it was good, very good, but it wasn’t the traditional nicuatole recipe she was used to eating here in Teotitlan del Valle. The traditional cooks of Oaxaca use white corn, not comal (griddle) toasted and ground yellow […]
Follow-Up on Food Sanitation and Gut Health: The Myths
Oh, wow! I didn’t realize what a response I’d get from the post about Healthy Eating and Disinfecting Food in Mexico. In addition to Microdyne, more recommendations came in, both from blog and Facebook readers, and from my housekeeper Rosario. I decided to take these additional recommendations seriously and look them up. One person recommended […]
Taking Big Leaps–Dance of the Feather, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Wednesday, July 10, 2019–This group of new dancers start their three-year commitment to church, community and family this year. The most touching moment for me was to be in the home of the Moctezuma, the lead character in the Danza de la Pluma just before they set out to the church plaza to dance for […]
The Dance of the Feather Begins in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Today is the official start of Teotitlan del Valle’s Dance of the Feather, or Danza de la Pluma. It is a perfect example of how our village celebrates community with a promise and commitment by young people to their people, their church, their history and their culture. The celebration honors the 16th century church, Templo […]
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 […]
Cooking Up a Storm: Oaxaca Potato Salad with Nopal Cactus
It’s the rainy season here. Thus, Cooking Up a Storm! This week I made two different traditional outdoor grills on the anafre (a Spanish word of Arabic origin, as so many are) — one day was chicken thighs, nopal paddles, potatoes, onions and garlic. A few days later, pork loin that marinated for three days […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
India Journal: Taj Mahal and Textiles
One of the best days so far is the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Yes, it’s definitely a tourist attraction and not off the beaten path. But, how can one come to India and not go there? Certainly not me! HAPPY THANKSGIVING FOR THOSE IN THE USA! […]
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 […]
Everyday Life in the Campo, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico
Those of us who live here in Mexico probably do much the same things that you do every day. Food shop, clean house, exercise, visit friends, read, write, take naps, volunteer, etc. Most of the immigrants I know are retired and live here either part or full-time. We’re from Canada and the U.S.A. for the […]
Locavores in Oaxaca: Eat Local and Who Makes Our Food
People in the Oaxaca valley have eaten locally grown corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, poultry and fruit for centuries, long before the term locavore came into existence. The farm-to-table movement in the United States is one example of eating fresh food produced within 100 miles. During the years I lived on an organic farm in Pittsboro, […]
Gossip and Morning Refreshment: Following the Abuelitas
This morning I arrive at the daily market early, by 9 a.m. I had chicken soup on my mind and want to make some, so I first stop at a stall where I know that cooking teacher Reyna Mendoza buys her pollo. Criollo, advises the woman standing next to me in the aisle as she […]
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 […]