Q: Hola! With one week left in Mexico City, I'm thinking about what food and cookware items I should bring back. I want to bring items that are safe and legal to transport, much less expensive here or not available in the US, and that I will actually use. Do you have any suggestions? More

Q: Tortilla chips are one of my guilty pleasures. Any suggestions for all those broken chips at the bottom of the bag? I use them to add crunch on salads and soups, but I am looking for more creative uses. I buy the organic, blue corn, unsalted varieties. Thanks!

Sent by Melinda More

I'm still catching my breath from a quick trip (my first!) to Mexico last weekend. I went to learn about avocados and came back with an intense hunger, not for food — there was plenty of that — but to return and drink in more of this stunning place, using every sense. More

Cumin and chili powder, lime and cilantro, spicy hot salsas and cool sour cream: these are the flavors of my favorite kind of feast. Find some good music and turn on the sparkly outdoor lights. Mexican food is on the menu and you're all invited. More

Q: I'm hosting an Easter dinner this coming weekend with a Mexican theme. I'm working half of the day on the day of the dinner so I need some fresh ideas for Mexican food where a lot of the prep can be done ahead of time. Ideally, the entire menu would stick to the theme, from appetizers to dessert. Any suggestions?

Sent by Lynne More

When I had my baby, after fifty hours of unbelievable labor, I came home to a kitchen that was not quite through a remodel and a pretty empty fridge.

Blissed out and hungry, we assumed there would be a parade of lasagna and casseroles — isn't that how it goes in the movies? — but alas, the goods never arrived. After that, I swore that from then on I would always cook for my friends when they had babies and that is how my famous Taco Box evolved.
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I've been in the middle of a crazy recipe organization spree, which has included weeding through years worth of magazine tear-sheets that I've obsessively filed in color-coded binders, complete with plastic page protectors and printed labels. It's one of those systems that makes me feel on top of the world when I'm keeping up with it. But when I'm not, let's just say it's not pretty. More

I have this thing about kids and sugar. I don't think they make such a great combination and I grip to this conviction, hard. When she was much younger, I used to tell my daughter that she could have sweets when she was five. Five seemed like a safe and far-away target, but as it approached, I knew I had to keep my promise.

So last weekend, as we said goodbye to four and hello to five, I let go of my no-sugar rule and made her what she really wanted: a sugary sweet birthday cake complete with edible pink glitter.

It was a transformational moment for us both.

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Spicy, zesty, and addictively tangy and salty, Sangrita makes the perfect sipping partner for tequila. I recently tried a version I'm over the moon for, and am excited to share the recipe with you today.

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At a taco shop in Phoenix, Arizona, I saw an unfamiliar drink on the menu called cochata. Before the cashier had even finished telling me it was iced coffee mixed with housemade horchata, I had ordered one. There are some combinations you just know are going to be perfect, and iced coffee with creamy, sweet, spiced horchata is one of them. More