I’ve heard the saying “That sucks” for years without really being sure of what it meant. Now I think I know. — STEPHEN KING, “THE STAND” It’s Day 30, and I am not writing about Day 29, because the days are running together, like “Groundhog Day”, and I feel like Bill Murray. Every day the … More Dreaming and Wishing, Being In a State of Siege: Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Day 30
Yesterday, I crossed into Nogales, Mexico, and saw a bit of Nogales, Arizona, too. It’s a story that repeats itself every day of the year. At Ed’s Border Lot, my car fits nicely between two others – the one on the left with an Arizona plate, the one on the right with a Sonoran plate. … More A Day on the Border: Nogales, Mexico
The smell of burning diesel alerted me – the bus would be there in a few seconds. With a loud burp, it came to a rubber-losing stop about 10 feet away from I stood. Exiting passengers stumbled down the worn linoleum-covered steps, clutching baskets filled with squawking chickens, small squealing piglets, and sleeping babies wrapped tightly in thread-bare rebozos. Behind … More Cooking with Hurricane Irma, Part III: A Tale of Guacamole
When it comes to the kitchen, I’ve always been a seeker, a pilgrim in a more modern sense of the word, “A person travelling to a place of particular personal interest.”* It all began on a diesel-perfumed street corner in Puebla, Mexico. I stood in the shadow of a broken streetlight, sunshine and sweaty bodies … More Seeking Food at the Crossroads of History
Patron Saint of Mexico and the Americas Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes once said that “…one may no longer consider himself a Christian, but you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe.” Apocryphal or not, the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe makes fascinating reading. And the food’s pretty … More December 12: The Virgin of Guadalupe
Time comes to a halt on All Souls Day (Todos Santos), November 2, a day of ancient ritual. I learned that lesson when I spent the day with a Mexican family in Puebla, Mexico. To miss this celebration of death was simply unheard of. Our place was the cemetery, where the grandparents lay under thick … More A Lesson from the Day of the Dead
I’m going to bed every night now with Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book, The Lacuna: A Novel, about Mexico, politics, art, El Norte, and — best of all — cooks. After her last book (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Year of Food Life), Kingsolver still finds food a fascinating part of life. In The Lacuna, here’s how … More In the Kitchen with Barbara Kingsolver: I
