It was a chance thing, really. We were heading for Patzcuaro, almost due south of Guanajuato where we had spent the past several days on a photography and business junket. While we were checking out of... read more

Wild Bill is a seventy-six year-old expatriate enjoying his motor home and life in relative seclusion at Quinta Alicia Trailer Park on the palm covered coast of Costa Esmeralda, Mexico. Retired from bo... read more

Huazontle is a Mexican native plant, sometimes called "Aztec spinach," that resembles elongated broccoli. It is inexpensive, grows easily from seed, and is a low maintenance-high yield plant. It is easy to see why it has been an important vegetable in Mexico for so long, and the highlight of many meatless meals. Huazontle is high in fiber and protein, as well as some vitamins and minerals. read more

One of the prizes of the revolution, a hundred years ago, was free public primary education, as mandated in article 3 of the constitution. Early education is said to be "compulsory" but that means states are compelled to offer it. In most places, youngsters are not required to attend and certainly aren't forced to learn. read more

My survey says half the households in Mexico have a dog or cat.

Our neighbors have two small, yappy dogs and one cat the color of a pale pumpkin. Another cat, mostly white, comes and goes but is not regarded as a permanent resident with full privileges. If it arrives when the food dish is full, it eats and stays a while. If its timing is bad, it apparently moves on.

Small children sometimes throw the pets around as if they were stuffed toys. I shudder. Somehow, all survive.

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One of the most comforting and traditional dishes in this country is chiles rellenos, literally translated as "stuffed chiles" — a dish that originated in the colonial city of Puebla and that evolved into an uncountable amount of varieties and versions. The original and most simple one is the chile relleno stuffed with cheese. read more

Two of the biggest buzzwords in today's media-dominated culinary world are "fresh" and "local," and on a recent visit to Mexico's southern Pacific coast, we found the food to be both. Taking advantage of the region's abundant fresh ingredients, we shopped, cooked and ate our way through the beach town of Puerto Escondido. read more

This recipe is adapted from one taught at Susana Trilling's Seasons of My Heart cooking school, located in the beautiful Etla Valley of Oaxaca. The soup is refreshing cold, or may be served at room tem... read more

The chayote is a mild-tasting, pear shaped, light green vegetable. Like other squash, it grows on a vine and is a common home garden vegetable in Mexico. Besides being ideal to prepare as a stuffed vegetable, and in soups, chayote is eaten raw, grated into slaw-type salads, and used in fresh salsas with a variety of vegetables and fruit, including peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers and jicama. Breaded and fried, it can replace eggplant in baked dishes with tomato sauce and cheese, and is also used to make croquettes. Its flavor has been described as a combination of cucumber and apple. read more

In Mexico, the Christmas season is a month-long fiesta, starting with the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th, and continuing through the posadas, Noche Buena and Navidad, right up to the Three Kings Day on January 6th.

During this celebratory month, preparing seasonal dishes is an important part of the festivities, with each occasion having its own specialties. These can be easily adapted to holiday menus everywhere, and a Mexican culinary theme is fun, festive, and versatile. read more

When we lived in Oaxaca, we had neighbors with a pomegranate tree that seemed to bear fruit much longer than in other places. In Puebla, the pomegranate season is late summer, after which pomegranates ... read more

We usually make chilaquiles right on the stovetop and gobble them up immediately, but in this recipe, they are baked in the oven, which means that all work can be done before guests arrive. Leave out t... read more

The term "comfort food" — the kind we all crave in the winter, when a bowl of something warm and satisfying is somehow more appealing than the salads of summer — is not usually considered in terms of being particularly healthy. But many of the Mexican guisados, those stews that are so welcome when temperatures drop, use very little meat and rely on vegetables and seasonings to achieve their deep, rich flavor. This makes them not only economical, but relatively low in fat, and good nutritional choices. read more

Ray Acosta is a second generation Mexican-American His grandparents came from four different parts of Mexico… having fled during the height of the Mexican Revolution. After watching Ken Burns' TV epic on the U.S. Civil War, Acosta was struck by Burns' concluding with "something to the effect that the Civil War still has a profound impact on our lives." read more

"Most Mexicans don't live on dirt farms, wear sombreros and eat only beans and tortillas. Most Mexicans stay in Mexico because they think the quality of life is better than in the United States. … These are their stories." To write Modern Mexico, "Mexico" Mike Nelson talked with lots of people... read more

Mexico smiles and accepts many foreigners — because they bring money. Most prove to be some degree of blessing. Some gripe and complain but do no real harm. A few become curses. read more

The San Fernando Cemetery first began operating in 1713. The poor were first buried there, in the section known as the "Panteón chico." Later, aristocrats nudged their way in, and then in 1835 the "Panteón grande" was constructed and it became an all-purpose public bone yard. read more

Like so many other ingredients common in Mexican cooking, lentils came to the New World with the Spaniards, and became a staple in the culinary repertoire. They are found in bulk in the mercados at the same stands that sell rice, chiles, spices and beans, and in one pound bags in the supermarkets. The most common types in Mexico are Spanish brown (pardina) lentils and large yellow ones called macachiados. read more

Many of Mexico's holiday dishes are inspired combinations of seasonally available ingredients. Just as the chiles en nogada prepared for Independence Day celebrations combine the best of the late summer harvest, ponche navideño, the traditional Christmas punch, uses the fruit of late fall. Various combinations of apples, pears, tamarind, and tejocote (hawthorne fruit) come together in a drink flavored with sugar cane and cinnamon, and made irresistibly fragrant by the presence of guavas. read more

Puros Santa Clara number among the world's finest cigars. In fact, these fine Mexico cigars rival — and surpass — Cuban cigars in flavor and quality. Señor Jorge Ortiz Alvarez Many articles ... read more

The Mexican Romneys are descendants of great-grandpa Miles Park Romney and three or four wives who moved south in 1886, out of reach of new U.S. laws prohibiting polygamy.

Miles and other Mormon pioneers made something out of almost nothing and the small towns are is still there in the Chihuahua desert, not far from the Piedras Verdes River, on the flat ground near the Sierra Madre Occidental.

Colonia Juarez is 15 or 20 kilometers southwest of Casas Grandes. read more

Mexican jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and smoked fish are a wonderful botana adapted from Susana Trilling's Oaxaca cookbook, Seasons of My Heart. Just be sure to use the pickled jalapeños and n... read more

Miniature torta rolls or any small water rolls work well for these mini chicken tortas. Refried beans, tomatoes and avocados are always found on tortas, but either ham or Oaxaca cheese is an easy subst... read more

It all began with a casual comment by my friend Rodrigo Orozco — also known as Tarantula Man, thanks to the anti-poaching project he leads in western Mexico — when I told him about a hike I was org... read more

One moonless night, awakened by the barking of dogs, "hombrecito" — "little man" — crept past his sleeping brother and sisters to investigate the commotion. How long he was gone depends upon who is telling the story but the boy returned trembling and screaming about horrible, evil things out there in the dark. read more