Oaxaca and around from 2011 for pictures of churches etc.
The Central Valleys of Oaxaca [11] were settled by the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs , other indigenous groups (and Spanish decedents) who still retain traditional languages, customs, dress and food. The surrounding villages have huge weekly outdoor markets where everyone gathers to buy, sell, gossip, flirt and eat. This is the land of the 7 moles – rich, complex chocolate and chili based sauces, symbols Mexico’s mixed indigenous and Spanish heritage.
Mexico brought chocolate, vanilla, tomatoes, avocados, chilies, beans and corn to the world and Oaxaca is the food center of Mexico.
Oaxaca Moles & Chocolates
This is how chocolate is made here - cacao beans and sugar, nothing else
Black mole, made with chocolate, and chicken
Sopa Azteca - spicy tomato soup with avocado, cheese and tortillas
Tamales - inside are raisins, pineapple and coconut - yum!
Tlayudas - large, thin, crunchy tortillas covered with beans, cabbage and chicken
Oaxaca cheese is like mozarella, the technique brought by the Dominican monks
Zaachila Thursday markets, a tradition since pre-Hispanic times
Tortillas cooking at the market
Market fast food
Preparing atole - a drink of corn flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & chocolate
Buying chillies
Chapulines - fried grasshoppers with chilli
Turkeys for sale, $25 each
Sad to see their turkey go?
Xmas dinner - smoked roast turkey leg (no its not a ham!) with our red mole
Frida at her restaurant in the market at Ocotlan
Tlacolula market - buy your meat & onions from the butcher and cook yourself ...
... everybody's cooking
A popular breakfast spot in Oaxaca, always crowded
An old mezcal (like tequila, but with a smoky flavor) shop sells ...
... Mezcal with wild fruits added and distilled through turkey breast (pechuga)
No chicken here, pork tacos
Night food cart on the streets of Oaxaca