Letter to Mom

I like to ask people what is the best gift they’ve ever gotten and what is the best gift they’ve ever given.  The answers are surprisingly varied. One woman said to me: “I got cancer.”  She turned a life frivolity into one of meaning and fulfillment by doing things for others and herself.  Another said [...]

El Pedimento – New Year’s Eve in Mitla and Juquila, Oaxaca

El Pedimento – January 31st in Oaxaca
Curiously of all the items I’ve posted in the last year, this post has gotten the most hits .  I imagine that its popularity is rooted in magic or wishful thinking.  It would be wonderful if our wishes became our realities though there’s that famous line “More tears have [...]

New Year’s at Zarela

Practically everyone I speak to says to me “I can’t wait until this year is over.”  Well,  it’s finally almost over and what better way to start the new year than at  Zarela where it’s always a fiesta. People come back year after year to celebrate with us because they know that they can have [...]

Las posadas

Posadas are pre-Christmas parties re-enacting Mary and Joseph looking for lodging. They are held from December 16 to December 24. These parties are about sharing food, fun, and traditions.

Treasure of Mexican Convent Cookery dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe

Run on “light feet” with the Raramuris in Chihuahua

As a conversation starter, I like to ask people what they do for fun.  Sadly, a surprising number are at a loss for an answer.  Not so,  my friend and mentor, media visionary Dave Morgan, founder of Real Media, last of Tacoda fame and with a brand new cutting edge concept , Simulmedia, in the [...]

Pasta Enjamonada

Pasta Enjamonada
Pasta Baked in Ham Sauce
Sometimes an excellent cook gives me a fine recipe that doesn’t quite click with me in its original form.  This dish is a good example.  It started out as a sort of chicken casserole that is a specialty of María del Carmen Virués de Izaguirre.  In fact, I liked the [...]

El Saber del Sabor – Slowfood Terra Madre Day

Subject: Terra Madre Day 2009
Please see the information attached about the Slow Food conference this Thursday, December 10 at Los Danzantes in Oaxaca, Mexico
10/12/2009
Terra Madre Day
El 10 de diciembre Slow Food festeja sus 20 años celebrando la comida local en todo el mundo
Las comunidades de todo el mundo se preparan para celebrar la comida local [...]

Pastel de Carne del Istmo – Oaxacan Meat Loaf

Pastel de Carne del Istmo
Isthmian-Style Meat Loaf
No one can say that this meat loaf is boring!  It absolutely explodes with intense flavors, including various smoked, canned, or pickled ingredients that are popular in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.  This dish is a favorite there at the parties accompanying the velas (patron saints’ fiestas) of the neighborhoods [...]

To Give and to Get

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