Last week I was in Mexico for a party and i was lucky enough to be a guest at the ex-hacienda that Yunuen and Gabriel, my partners at Xoxoc, live in. It's in the heart of Hidalgo and this time of year, it's a bit chilly and pretty much stays that way throughout the day, but it is winter, so you kind of have to get over it, if you know what I mean.

The pay off for the cold is that it's Christmas and Christmas can be very nice!

The other guests were two wonderful Mayan cooks from Merida who market their spice and recado paste line as Semiilas de Dioses. They take the hard to find chiles and spices and toast them just so and then package them so all we have to do is dillute them. It's all very clever and delicious! I'll have more on them later.

We all met in the morning for breakfast. I was expecting pan dulces (sweet breads) and maybe eggs but Antonio, Gabriel's brother, had made an elaborate casserole of huauzontle, a weird edible thing related to quinoa but you eat the plant instead of the seed. I've always seen it battered and fried so it was fun to try it in this rich tomato sauce.

The stems are very woody and on some of them you have to place the whoe thing in your mouth and grab the good stuff with your teeth as you pull out the empty stem. It was a great dish and you know how it was made, I'd appreciate your sharing it with us. I was too busy drinking coffee and trying to warm up to see how Antonio made it.

With wild greens, heirloom beans and a handmade tortilla, it was a pretty swell breakfast.