This plant, native to Central and South America, is one of my favorite medicinal and culinary plants to harvest from the canyons of the Sierra la Lagunas. It is traditionally used in Mexican cuisine to season beans, stews, tamales, molés and other dishes. Besides its unique flavor with hints of oregano, creosote and mint, it alleviates gas and bloating caused by legumes and cruciferous veggies. • On the medicinal front it is a powerful anti-parasitic for intestinal par

Root veggies in my new olla (traditional Mexican clay cookpot) all ready to be put in the coals to roast. I’d been wanting an olla and one of the things I love about Mexico is people still travel to the end of dirt roads to peddle their wares. The clay pot fellow came through the other day and I got my olla finally. • It’s been unseasonally cool the past few days, so it’s the perfect time to roast purple sweet potatoes, beets and carrots from one of the local organic far