We sat at a shady table at an outside patio listening to Pavarotti sing an aria while watching the silvery jets from a plaza fountain in 70-degree weather. This is my idea of the best way to spend a weekday lunch break in mid-December. I did just that in Querétaro, Mexico after having had a […]
Continue ReadingMexico’s Sea of Cortez, also known by the less lyrical name Gulf of California, supports more marine life than any other body of water on earth. It is no surprise, therefore, that divers, fishermen, and seafood lovers from all over the world find the Mar de Cortez an alluring and gracious host. Like an enormous […]
Continue ReadingTomatillos have a high pectin content, so this recipe makes a nice, thick jam, with the tangy flavor of citrus rind. Mexican tomatillo jam is especially good with grilled chicken. Ingredients 1 pound tomatillos (tomate verde or tomate de milpa) husked, washed and chopped 1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup water ¼ cup lime juice zest of […]
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Vanessa thought it would be the perfect vacation: a full week on Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, as the travel agent had called the Yucatan coast. The agent had suggested the small city of Campeche, stressing that it was a place not yet discovered by hordes of Americans, a pristine paradise a few hours south of Merida. […]
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When Marianne Ferrucci first learned that her husband was seriously ill from a mysterious viral infection, she went out on the second floor balcony of their house in northern Mexico, gazed up at the sky and the mountains, and said aloud to herself, “It is very important to stay in touch with the eternal.” She […]
Continue ReadingJust about anyone who has read cooking columns, culinary magazines or cookbooks in recent years has come upon the term “slow food” or “the Slow Food movement.” But what exactly is the Slow Food movement and how does it apply to Mexico, which has been chosen as the host country for this year’s International Slow […]
Continue ReadingYou don’t have to break the dish for good luck after eating these, as is done in Oaxaca. Just serve them with plenty of the cinnamon flavored syrup. Piloncillo is the dark brown sugar, sold in cones, that gives many Mexican syrups and candies a depth of flavor not achieved with white sugar. North of the border […]
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There are three plants that are an essential part of the Mexican household, limon [lime, not lemon], papaya, and the trusty sabila [aloe vera]. Every Mexican home that has some kind of a piece of garden has an arbol de limones in it, a lime tree, not a lemon tree. It is planted as a twig, nurtured lovingly, and if it has not […]
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At 3 p.m. one Wednesday during the first week of July someone pulled the string on the brass bell outside Isabel’s gate. I punched the ‘save’ key on my keyboard, walked across the terrace and followed the footpath to the gate. “Quien es?” I called out. A voice from across the wall answered, “Memo”, the nickname for […]
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In June I saw the first indications of rain. Clouds from the northeast began building in the late afternoons before dissolving halfway across the lake. I spent most days in my office, in front of the fan, working on projects and dodging Chuya. “¡Mira!” she grunted one afternoon, summoning me to the front part of the […]
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