Stuffed Fish Filet: Filete De Pescado Relleno
This is a basic coastal recipe, adaptable to several different kinds of fish and shellfish. We first tried it in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, but some version of it is on the menu of nearly every seafood re...
read more
Spicy seafood soup: Chilpachole
Chilpachole is a specialty of Veracruz, but it is found all over Mexico, especially in Mexico City, where food of every region comes together. It can be made with either shrimp or crabmeat, and the var...
read more
Veracruz online
Veracruz isn’t just about coffee, Caribbean music and beautiful beaches —it’s also about excellent websites. The area boasts a generous mix of everything you could ask for—tropical forests and ...
read more
Veracruz: traveling the Central High Plains of Mexico
A couple of years ago I wrote a booklet about the Central High Plains with the idea that I would offer my services as a guide. This idea, as a lot of my other ideas, fell flat. However, I was asked if ...
read more
In Tecolutla, Veracruz: just like Bogie and Bacall
The small fishing town of Tecolutla straddles the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Tecolutla in the northern part of Veracruz State. Apart from school vacations and the annual fishing tournament nothing much...
read more
Veracruz for foreigners: an introduction
Updated December, 2009
When we tell people that we go to Mexico often, they always ask "Cancun or Puerto Vallarta?" When we tell them "Veracruz"' they always ask, "Where is that?". The State of Vera...
read more
La Bamba explained: the music of Veracruz
Can you hear Ritchie Valens belting that one out? One of Rock and Roll’s most copied songs (from garage bands, movies, and college marching bands, to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). La Bamba is an ode to an era, the anthem of the American Boom generation. Many of us over the years continue to sing that catchy song without thinking much about it. But in truth, there is a whole lot more here than meets most peoples ears.
read more
Veracruz, Mexico: a feast for the senses
Veracruz is unlike any other city in Mexico, with a rhythm all its own. Salsa music, the cry of the street vendor, the bell of a trolley, and the comings and goings of sea vessels all blend together. M...
read more
Did You Know? - Vanilla
Did you know that the vanilla bean is from an aromatic orchid that originally came from Mexico?
The Academy of Sciences and Gastronomic Arts in Paris were so taken with the fruit of this orchid, that ...
read more
The cuisine of Veracruz: a tasty blend of cultures
Exotic-looking even on a map, the Mexican state of Veracruz stretches along the Gulf Coast like the graceful tentacle of a sea creature. Within the boundaries formed by the warm coastal waters to the e...
read more
Yam and pineapple dessert: Dulce de camote con piña
This delicious dessert is a perfect example of the Afro-Cuban influence on Gulf coast cooking, combining pineapple, a plantation crop, with yams or sweet potatoes, a West African staple.
Ingredients:
...
read more
Seafood Pozole: Pozole con Mariscos
This Gulf Coast version is from Veracruz, but similar seafood pozoles are found along Mexico's Pacific coasts. Most Mexican seafood stews come with the heads on the shrimp, but if you do not like to se...
read more
Rum Milkshake: Toro
I hadn't been to Boca del Rio in many years, and was surprised to see it transformed from a sleepy fishing village to a gastronomic center. At a fair there, with a friend from Veracruz, just about ever...
read more
Veracruz-style seafood and rice: Arroz a la tumbada
One of my happiest dining memories is the first time I tried Arroz a la Tumbada at the King of Carnival restaurant in the city of Veracruz, where it is prepared to order for each diner and serve...
read more
Veracruz-style stuffed chiles: Cuaresmeños jarochos
Some of our favorite ways to eat seafood in Veracruz are the cold salads and cocktails featuring shrimp, crab and other local seafood. This recipe for cuaresmeños - large jalapeños - st...
read more
Veracruz-style picaditas with black beans and salsa: Picaditas veracruzanas
Picaditas are fun to make as well as eat. As each one is baking on the comal, the sides are pinched up, creating perfect little containers to hold the toppings. Veracruz, being a port city, has ...
read more
Veracruz-style chicken tamales: Tamales rojos veracruzanos con pollo
I first had these many years ago in the main plaza of the port of Veracruz. We'd stayed out so late listening to the wonderful local musicians that it was morning already and we were starving. The only...
read more
Papantla: El Tajin archaeological zone
Background
The Tajin belongs to the Totonaca culture. It took shape during the late Classic period and reached its peak development during the transition to the Post-Classic, between 800 and 1150 A.D....
read more
Labor of love: the work of Mexican photographer Edna Vite
In a world where greed has become commonplace, it is uplifting to meet a person who wants her work to serve as a conduit of love.
read more
The Xalapa Museum, a walk back in time
Mexico is a country rich in creative expression, and its creative roots go far back into the history of its people. In much of the modern work done today, one can still catch a glimpse of the mysteriou...
read more
Did you know? An enchanted lake in Veracruz rises every dry season, but falls again during the wet season
Peculiar, but true. There are several lakes named Laguna Encantada (Enchanted Lake) in Mexico, but this one is near Catemaco in the Tuxtlas region of the state of Veracruz. Catemaco is famous for its w...
read more
Link to clickable interactive map of Veracruz, Mexico
Clickable interactive map of Veracruz, Mexico: Veracruz, Xalapa
read more
Did you know? An early ascent of Mexico's highest peak, El Pico de Orizaba
Scientists first explored El Pico de Orizaba, Mexico's highest peak, as long ago as 1838.
El Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltépetl (= star), is Mexico's highest peak, with a summit 5,746 meters (18,853 fe...
read more
