Over the past few years, I have volunteered to work with indigenous women in Mexico, Peru, Belize, Guatemala, and Panama. My goal was to teach women to make chocolate and chocolate desserts so they could in turn start micro-businesses to help support their families. Time and again I found myself in villages that had two…

Raspados are shaved ice with sweet fruit syrups found in all of Mexico. These are found in other countries as well but under different names – piraguas, granizados, raspadinha and Hawaiian shaved ice. They all begin by shaving blocks of ice and then pouring a sweet fruit syrup on top. They are incredibly refreshing, easy…

This is a basic and traditional arroz con leche recipe, typical in the Central West coast of Mexico – Jalisco, Colima, and Michoacan. My mother and grandmothers arroz con leche is reason number 3 that I was a large little girl. They would not stop making it and I could not stop eating it. If…

I have been eating my way through Latin America for most of my life. It all began in Los Angeles, California, which in most aspects, is the most northern part of Latin America. It is where I learned to eat churros, arroz con leche and dulce de leche. Then I spent some of my university life in Mexico and…

Arepas, Cachapas, or Toqueras are a rare treat for us because we can only make them with fresh sweet corn which only grows twice per year.  We (the Mexicans) call them toqueras and my Colombian friends call them arepas, while my Venezuelan people call them cachapas. If you know what they are, you LOVE them. I enjoyed this arepa below in Bogotá at a public…

Sweet Tamales are a seasonal and magical type of tamale that are made with fresh sweet corn. In Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia they are called humitas, stuffed with cheese and can be considered a meal.  In Brazil they are called pamonhas, sold in shops or by street vendors and sometimes mixed with coconut. In Mexico they are referred to as…