From Polar Bears to Penguins – Driving North to South across the Americas
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Shrooms! |
Of molinos, metates and mezcal – Cooking with Susan Trilling
Susan Trilling’s cooking classes are brilliant. They are less cooking classes and more an introduction to Oaxacenan food. So cooks and non cooks can all enjoy them without any trepidation. The classes are held on a lovely ranch in the countryside with a kitchen decorated in warm, earthy Mexican colors and plenty of light.
Posted in Mexico on Feb 23rd, 2008
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Fred enjoying a beverage |
An aging hippie goes to Oaxaca and invents the Alacrán
I’ve not just known Shreesh and Neena for many years, but I’ve shared my home and my adventures with them. From climbing Cerro Aconcagua (22,800 feet) in Argentina, to renting a house in Tuscany for a month to better sample the Italian cuisine, or attempting to reach base-camp of Mount Everest in Nepal – I’ve tried to keep up with the human dynamo known as The Taskars. Now, I find myself studying Spanish, learning how to grind chocolate for seven different types of Molé and drinking exotic Mezcal in the paradise of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Posted in Mexico on Feb 16th, 2008
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To El Pochote! |
Learning Spanish in Oaxaca
How can you not like a language where the word for carrot is ‘zanahoria’? Almohada, alfombra, alacran…all roll off our Spanish maestro’s tongue in a whirl of Arabic influence. This is what I love about learning new languanges; the serendipitous discovery of delightful treats such as this.
Posted in Mexico on Feb 12th, 2008
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Enigmatic Stelae |
The ruins of Monte Alban provide opportunities for reflection.
The cultural destruction by the Spanish has been so complete that even the original name of Monte Alban has been lost in the mists of time. Above the city of Oaxaca, in an incredible engineering feat of the time lie the ruins of Monte Alban, once populated by 25,000 – 30,000 souls. First settled in about 500 B.C. the city reached its zenith between 500-750 A.D, before being abandoned.
Posted in Food, Mexico, Picture of the Day on Feb 9th, 2008
The delights of eating in Oaxaca – Fried Grasshoppers