February 2007: Susana Trilling’s Seasons of My Heart

Having had the opportunity to eat, travel, and cook with Susana Trilling, I am of course biased, but after returning from Oaxaca last month where I spent a few days with her, I reexamined her book, which came out in 2000 as a companion tome to her PBS series. Trilling, along with Rick Bayless, Zarela Martinez, and Diana Kennedy, is a passionate ambassador for Mexican cooking, but Trilling’s viewpoint and focus is almost exclusively Oaxaqueño. Her cooking school is worth a visit for anyone looking for a cooking vacation or just something to add to an itinerary if you are swinging through the Land of Seven Moles.

La cucina oaxaqueña is a mystery to even the most devoted Mexican food freaks and Trilling’s expertise with navigating local markets, the countryside, and the outlying areas of the region are without peer. After all, she lives and works there, and her book's amazing recipes reflect her experience. Just give her mole recipes a shot, or her traditional tamales, and you’ll be cooking them for years to come. While we toured Oaxaca’s markets, street vendors, and restaurants, Trilling got me hooked on soups for Almuerzo, the daily Oaxacan second meal usually taken between 9 and 10 a.m., and she has several soup recipes in the book that I plan on sipping in memory of her inspiration!

Trilling, who worked and trained primarily in Texas before moving to Oaxaca (she was born in Philly, but has Mexican grandparents), has her school, test kitchen, and home in Rancho Aurora. The ranch is perched on a hill with a beautiful view of the pueblo of San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, a fitting place to learn all about Oaxaca's cuisine. Oaxacan foods are a blend of traditional techniques and utilize ingredients from different parts of the state, which Trilling details beautifully in her book, which is as much a pleasure to read as it is to cook out of. Here is a recipe of hers that only looks complicated, and can be the centerpiece of a wonderful dinner for four to six people. If you love Mexican flavors, you must get Seasons of My Heart (Ballantine Books).

Read Trilling's recipe for Mole Negro Oaxaqueño, Oaxacan Black Mole, from Seasons of My Heart.

Buy Seasons of My Heart at Borders.