Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico [Hardcover]

Susana Trilling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1999

Nestled in the heart of the Mexican state of Oaxaca is Rancho Aurora, home of the Seasons of My Heart cooking school and inn. Ten years ago, chef and owner Susana Trilling left New York City and a very successful catering business to follow what turned out to be her calling--to immerse herself in the foods, culture, and traditions of this remote and exotic region of Mexico and share her knowledge with the rest of the world.

In this book and its companion PBS series, Susana shares her deep passion and anthropologic knowledge of this fascinating region whose cuisine remains virtually untouched by influences from the outside world. The pre-Hispanic and Spanish-influenced dishes, such as empanadas, nopales, quelites, and moles, are much more complex and delicious than the usual rice and beans found north of the border.

Susana not only takes us on a fascinating journey through the city markets, mountain regions, coastal villages, and low-lying coffee and cacao plantations, she introduces us to the beautiful people who work and live there. Along the way, she shares traditional recipes from each region, with her own improvisations and improvements, showing us how to easily approach this rich and delicious food in a modern American kitchen.

From Dona Josefa Sanchez's empanadas de betabel (beet empanadas), served to hungry shoppers at the Etla market in the Central Valleys, to the darkly luscious and mysterious Mole Negro Oaxaqueno (Oaxacan black mole) from the bustling heart of Oaxaca City, cooked up in quantity for the Día de los Muertos (day of the dead), to a tamale-making session given by the locally infamous Candida Blas Aguilar in the sleepy Isthmus region--this is truly a culinary journey through the heart and soul of Oaxaca.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Right at the tip of the poblano chile that makes up the bulk of Mexico, right where the land squeezes together and pushes the Yucatán Peninsula out into the Atlantic Ocean, you'll find the state of Oaxaca. It's kind if a round state, like a grapefruit with a handle. Only Chiapas is further south, and beyond that lies Guatemala. This is to say that the Mexican cuisine Susana Trilling presents in her wonderful, informative book Seasons of My Heart has nothing to do with the generic food of the border. She follows in the tradition of Diana Kennedy, Rick Bayless, Zarela Martinez, Patricia Quintana, and Marilyn Tausend, both when setting a table and setting a standard.

Part of Oaxaca butts up against the Pacific Ocean; part of it is lost in the mountains. In between are valleys and plains. Susana Trilling lives, works, and raises her family in Oaxaca. Her knowledge of her adopted land is indeed intimate--and delicious. Take a restaurant owner and caterer out of New York and drop her in Oaxaca and it's guaranteed that she's going to zero in on the food and its traditions. Some Oaxacan food has roots in Spanish cuisine, but most of it is, well, Oaxacan, and has been that way since time untold. In Seasons of My Heart, Trilling walks the interested visitor through all the different regions and foodstuffs of Oaxaca. This book is like interactive anthropology: you read about Oaxaca, then you eat the food, filling your house with the cooking aromas of another land.

Trilling divides her book into chapters that reflect the distinct regions of the state, finishing up with chapters on mole, updated recipes for the modern kitchen and palate, and essential ingredients to make the food happen. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

Trilling (owner of a cooking school in Oaxaca City) has done for Mexico what so many have already achieved for Italy: she has picked one of its most culinarily rich areas, the state of Oaxaca, and explored it in depth. The results are outstanding. Chapters are arranged by region, with a few extra chapters on mole sauces and innovative twists on traditional cuisine. The chapter on the Ca?ada region offers Chiled Chicken Wrapped in Herbs and Banana Leaves, and Layered Mango Pudding. The coastal region provides several fish dishes such as Shrimp and Potato Cakes with jalape?os and queso fresco, and Warm, Spicy Shark Salad. Throughout, Trilling evinces a fond understanding of her adopted home and shares stories that personalize the recipes, such as the description of her relationship with Bartola Morales, founder of a local human rights organization in the Tuxtepec region and an expert on the local cuisine. The chapter on the seven moles of Oaxaca is simultaneously funny and reverent of the tradition behind such complex pastes as Oaxacan Black Mole, with peanuts, cinnamon and five kinds of chiles, among many other ingredients. A chapter on essential ingredients (many of which readers may find difficult to acquire) includes a list of mail-order sources and several helpful glossaries. Trilling triumphs in taking Mexican cuisine far beyond the knowledge of most American audiences. (Nov.) FYI: Seasons of My Heart is a companion to the author's PBS cooking series.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (November 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345425960
• ISBN-13: 978-0345425966
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oaxacan Cuisine, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico (Hardcover)

Susana Trilling has been able to very capably capture the richness of Oaxacan cuisine. Oaxacan cuisine is not limited to the typical Mexican food known in the States such as tacos, burritos, and the like. It is much more than this with a world of different colors, textures, smells, and attractive presentations based on its varied ingredients and methods of preparation. Furthermore, Oaxacan cuisine has a heritage which goes back to important pre-colonial civilizations such as the Zapotecs.

My husband is from Oaxaca (from a town in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec). Since our marriage, I have fallen in love with Oaxaca, its colorful people and culture, and its cuisine. We often travel there and enjoy caldo de mariscos (an exquisite seafood soup), mole negro (black mole), tlayudas (big, crispy tortillas filled with, amongst other things, black beans and Oaxaca cheese), etc. Susana Trilling has captured these and other recipes very accurately to allow people to reproduce these recipes in the States and introduce them to family and friends who, without a doubt, will be delighted by this flavorful cuisine.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Flavors but watch for editing mistakes, December 27, 2000

By 

"caarina" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico (Hardcover)

I return to this book over and over again as the recipes have delicious flavor!

However, I have found numerous mistakes that should have been caught during recipe testing before going to print. For example, the process for rehydrating masa harina in the recipes for tamales will produce unedible dough. (not enough water) Of course, the recipes were written for fresh masa, but this should have been caught in the testing process.

Another recipe that flopped was for Alegrias (Mexican Amaranth Candy). In Mexico, amaranth is typically available in the pre-puffed state. However, in the US it is typically unpuffed. (found this out in another recipe disaster) The recipe worked perfectly when I used the pre-puffed Mexican amaranth.

When the recipes work, they are spectacular! Just be watchful!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NURTURES MINDS AND BODIES, February 10, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico (Hardcover)

Some twelve years ago chef Susan Trilling said goodbye to an alive New York City catering business to follow her heart to a remote and exotic region of Mexico - Oaxaca. Today, deep in the heart of this Mexican state is Rancho Aurora, home of the Seasons of My Heart cooking school and inn.

A companion to the well received National Public Television Series, Seasons of My Heart is a tribute to the people, culture and cuisine of this far-off area which has remained virtually untouched. "Oaxaca invites a deep appreciation of Mexican culture," the author writes. "Here time has stood still in the small village where I went to visit my husband for the first time. I was enchanted with every burro laden with corn going to the mill, every horse-drawn cart filled with alfalfa for the cows and horses......"

A veritable armchair travelogue, this colorfully illustrated volume takes readers to a tomato lunch in the field, to harvest time by dawn, to a traditional wedding feast, and to see a primitive altar laden with dishes for religious holidays.

Trilling wisely not only shares these treasured recipes, but offers her personal alterations and advice for successfully preparing them in American kitchens. Imagine sitting down to a platter of "Tamales De Ragas" (Chile and Tomato Tamales) with its appetizing marriage of sweet tomatoes and onions or "Empanadas De Mole Amarillo (Baked Mole Amarillo Turnovers), which are often prepared to order on charcoal grills set up outside local churches.

Seasons Of My Heart nurtures not only bodies, but minds and imaginations as well.

- Gail Cooke