Yesterday morning we hiked into the clouds to the Mountains of the Sierra Norte with @mezcouting about an hour north of Oaxaca city. A 15-year-old who has been mushroom hunting with his grandparents since he was five or six was our guide. We found many non-edible mushrooms that can be used for dying( a new obsession) and we found a few edible mushrooms including the one pictured here. After the hike we went back to his families home and cooked in their kitchen together over the plancha. We shared recipes, they made a local trout with mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese. I made a Tlayuda with thinly sliced Matsutake (lightly sautéed) from the Mixteca ( also called Pine mushroom or Avocado mushroom here) with Chepiche ( my favorite Mexican wild herb ~ If you live in New York you can find this herb and other Mexican wild herbs from @grandpafarm @unsqgreenmarket. They are a family of Oaxacan farmers) queso, wild mint, called Poleo, Mexican dried oregano and a local honey called Miel de Castilla, which is from bees that make their home in the cracks of rocks. It is pale yellow and super runny, quite like the Melipona honey from the Yucatán. I also showed them how to make mushroom steaks with locally cultivated oyster mushrooms as well as this wild one. Then did a little impromptu iphone photo class with our guide so he can document his finds. It was a really beautiful exchange. Now~ back to New York. Stay tuned for more mushroom posts in my stories from this short but beautiful trip to one of my favorite places. 📷@gentlandhyers