Thanksgiving Greetings: Dairy-Free Pumpkin Flan Recipe. Pumpkins originated in Mexico.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope your feasting holiday is filled with family connection, good friends, relaxation, and the celebration of life — another year around the clock! I’m in Albuquerque with my son and daughter-in-law. It’s the three of us for Thanksgiving, by far my favorite American holiday. Before launching into sharing a recipe I […]
It’s September. Tomato Ginger Chutney Time. Recipe.
I posted photos and ingredients of my favorite September past-time: making tomato-ginger chutney on my Facebook page. People wrote to ask for the recipe, so here it is (below). Now this is appropriate. Did you know that tomatoes originated in Mexico as early as 700 AD? It’s no wonder I love this concoction. I’ve been […]
Norma Schafer’s Red Tail Grains Cornbread–Dairy + Gluten Free
We are confined to a smaller lifestyle. There are limitations to what we can do, where we can go, who we can see. Many of us are suffering loss of income, family contact, financial well-being. Some of us don’t know if we can keep our homes or make the next rent payment. I yearn for […]
Cinco de Mayo Special: Norma’s Spiced-Up Corn Bread Recipe–Gluten Free
It’s Cinco de Mayo. What better way to celebrate than with CORN. Native to Mexico and first hybridized right up the road from where I live in Teotitlan del Valle, corn has traveled around the world and become a food staple for many. Of course, Cinco de Mayo was invented in the USA. Read more […]
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 […]
Oaxaca Corn Pudding Recipe: Nicuatole, Gluten and Lactose Free
I’m in love with native Oaxaca corn. I’m especially in love with local, organic, non-GMO corn now that I’m on the low FODMAP diet and live gluten-free for my digestive health. I went to a birthday party this week for one of my Zapotec friends. I no longer eat birthday cake. What to do for […]
Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Oregano Ginger Cornbread Recipe — Maize Molido
How was I going to replicate the organic cornbread I’ve been making (and eating) in North Carolina here in Teotitlan del Valle?, I wondered. As I cruised the village market yesterday, I saw a local woman selling small bags of ground cornmeal. I asked her to verify what it was, since I wanted plain ground […]
Oaxaca Mango Ginger Shrub — A Drink, Not a Plant
What is a Shrub? you may ask. It is a drinking vinegar, usually a fruit concentrate that is added to sparkling water, tablespoon by tablespoon depending on your strength preference, to give it a zesty flavor. Since it’s non-alcoholic and slightly fermented, it is a perfect drink over ice for those who don’t want an […]
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 […]
May Your 2019 Be Filled with Sweetness: Oaxaca Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
For the life of me, I could not find a buttercream frosting recipe that uses real, homemade Oaxaca chocolate, the kind made here in the village. Oaxaca chocolate is a dietary mainstay. The cacao beans are roasted at home and then taken to the molino (mill) to grind along with cinnamon, cane sugar, vanilla bean, […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 Blue Corn Flakes: Organic, Sugar and Gluten Free
Hollie was here visiting for ten days and we went to the Pochote-Xochimilco organic market that is held every Friday and Saturday in the district just beyond Oaxaca’s historic center. I was captivated by the color of the organic blue corn crunchy tortillas, and the ones made from beets, a deep red, were truly spectacular. […]
Baking the Improvised Cheesecake: More Art Than Science
Cheesecake is becoming more popular in Oaxaca, Mexico. Though it’s difficult to find springform pans here that are used to bake the traditional New York-style cheesecake. I know one store, Pastigel on Calle Rayon near the Periferico that sells pastry baking supplies where you can buy one. Called moldes, they are very expensive, about thirty-five dollars. […]
Feliz Año Nuevo — Happy New Year 2014 — Oaxaca Cheesecake Recipe
For the past week I’ve gone market shopping, both at the Sunday Tlacolula market and at the smaller, though equally satisfying Teotitlan del Valle market where I live. It’s easier now that I have LaTuga — a market trip can be spontaneous. As the invitation list for my New Year’s Eve house warming birthday party […]
Merry Christmas Oaxaca, Mexico Fruit Salad Recipe
Merry Christmas and happiest holidays to you and your family! My gift to you is this delicious recipe for easy fruit salad Mexican style, using red and green skin apples and pears for festive color of Mexico to decorate your table. Seasoned with lime juice, organic honey, and mixed with yogurt, it is a healthy […]
Post-Thanksgiving Gratitude, Wishes, Stuffing and Stuff
To all my friends and readers near and far, to my family whom I adore, Gracias, Gracias por todos, thank you for everything. Your love, caring, generosity, support, guidance and just being you means everything to me. You are numerous — my world is big and inclusive. Consider yourself part of life’s blessings in Thanksgiving, […]
Bringing Morocco to Mexico: Tagine Oaxaca-Style Mole Recipe
One of Morocco’s delights is tagine clay pot cooking. This heavy clay platter with conical top is perfect for one-dish meal preparation. I packed my tagine securely with bubble-wrap in Marrakech, seasoned it in North Carolina, repacked it, and have been cooking with it since arriving in Oaxaca this week. Oaxaca-Morocco Fusion Food: Now, […]
Oaxaca, North Carolina: Recipe for Best Pinto Bean Frijoles–Ever!
Not far from Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, in the Papaloapan region on the Veracruz border lies the village of Loma Bonita just off the Sayula de Aleman-Tierra Blanca Highway 145. Known as the pineapple capital of the world, the region is home to the famed Flor de Piña dance we see every year at the Guelaguetza. They say Loma Bonita […]
Oaxaca in Santa Cruz, California, and Everywhere, U.S.A.–Cross-Cultural Influences
Gema Cruz Ambrosia has been cooking at Gabriella Cafe in Santa Cruz, California for the past eighteen years. Gema, (pronounced HAY-mah with a throaty H) whose name means gemstone, came to Santa Cruz twenty-eight years ago from a small village just beyond Oaxaca city called San Pablo Huixtepec. Her entire family is here in […]
Day of the Dead Photo Out-Takes: Part 2 + Recipe Quest
Traveling with a group of people you don’t know ahead of time could be risky for those who are independent and like to go off on their own to discover the world. We found our companions who participated in the Day of the Dead Photography Expedition 2012 to be muy amable! We shared interests, took […]
Recipe: Squash Blossom Frittata — Garden Edibles Oaxaca Style
One of my favorite tastes in Oaxaca is fresh squash blossoms. They are so beautiful, a delicious golden-yellow food taste that signals the beginning of summer. In Oaxaca, the markets will be filled with bunches of squash blossoms like edible bouquets. I’m in North Carolina for a few more weeks before I return to Mexico […]
Making Indigo Dye in Santiago Niltepec, Oaxaca
The market for organic indigo dye is making a come-back in Oaxaca as more textile artists and weavers are choosing to work with the natural plant material. Today, the state of Oaxaca produces about 100 kilograms of añil or indigo each year. Up until about three years ago, the indigo dye making process had almost died […]
Macuilxochitl, Tlayuda Capital of the Tlacolula Valley, Oaxaca
What makes Macuilxochitl unique is more than its gorgeous three-domed church that stands proudly in the center of the zocalo, waiting for continuing restoration. This is a village noted for its tlayudas. These are the extra-large sometimes marigold-colored tortillas that are made in the traditional way using masa pressed by hand and then toasted on […]
Rosca de Reyes for Day of the Three Kings in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
From January 4 to 7, the bakers in the village turn their attention to creating roscas de reyes, a traditional sweet bread adorned with conchas, candied figs, nopal cactus and red pepper strips. For three or four days, there will be no other bread to buy. We get our fill of this luscious cake-like treat. […]
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 […]