I've just come back from a really fine trip to Jalisco and Michoacan in Mexico. The real surprise was the city of Morelia. I had much the same reaction as I did when I first saw Venice: How come no one told me about this? I had no idea it was so wonderful. I love cafe life and Morelia's is world class. It was like being in Europe only the food is spicy!

I went hoping to find bean pots (ollas) to import but I didn't have so much luck with this quest. I did find this nice small pot that will be good for half pounds of beans. It's a fairly common shape but it is somewhat thick on the bottom and the handles were larger than normal. (Can you see me trying to justify my manic bean pot collecting?)

I also came back with some new beans, of course, and I'll be featuring them here over time. These beautiful beans caught my eye in the market in Patzcuaro, the charming town in the state of Michoacan. I asked the vendor what they were. "Frijoles", he replied. "I know frijoles (beans) but what type?" He looked at me as if I were nuts and said, "Frijol". I compared them to a sample I got about two years ago and I believe the bean is called Patzcuarenses and it's truly a local bean. I love the yellow and pink colors. Hopefully they'll taste as good as they look.