I love all my clay pieces but now having used them for years, the unglazed, burnished thick and hearty pieces from Los Reyes Metzontla in Pueble are my favorites. I love my bean pot, I love my cazuelas and now I have a very large tamalera, for making tamales, and even though it's not something I do often, I love it.

As much as I love tamales, I wasn't going to make them this weekend so on the advice of my friend Yunuen, I steamed some brocolli.

It took forever but once it was done, it was very good. But was it better than steaming with an insert and a metal pan? It's hard to say but I think so. Was I imagining the flavor of the earth added? For sure, it was a gentler steam and if I'm really busy, it's easy for me to overcook the vegetables.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat, mostly because I love cooking with clay. I'll do it a few more times to see if cooking vegetables this way is really worth it. My hunch is that it is.