Ayurvedic Medicines

This traditional Lenten dish from the Valley of Oaxaca is just as appealing in early fall. White beans are simmered until sweet and creamy, then seasoned with allspice, clove and oregano. Not every recipe in Diana Kennedy’s new opus, Oaxaca Al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy , involves chiles.

Diana Kennedy, aka the Julia Child of Mexican Cooking, explains why you have to watch out for guajillo chiles. Hint: Faux chiles from China are flooding the market.

Wicked heat: Yes, a red hot chile is perched on the rim of the glass, but the killer is what you don’t see–chile-infused vodka with a burn that stops just short of a conflagration. In The Lantern bar the other night: moody lighting, ebony walls, red lanterns floating above us. Inhaling Andrea’s addictive chaat masala : fried chickpeas, potatoes, tiny chunks of summer squash

What: Okra pickles from The Cove Restaurant , San Antonio Texas Where: Pearl Farmer’s Market When: 9:52 AM Saturday morning Why: Crunchy okra, pickled overnight in a salty, red wine vinegar brine flavored with oregano, bay leaves and mustard seed, is great—but this tangy refrigerator pickle turns addictive when a spoonful of whole coriander seeds is tossed into the bowl. The spice gives the okra an unexpected, sweetly aromatic flavor, while an ancho chile creates a pleasing afterburn.

As Marcel Proust famously observed, fleeting aromas can stir up long buried memories . The novelist’s madeleine , dipped in tea—or for me, the earthy, aromatic scent of cumin–so vividly evokes a specific moment in the past that it feels fresh and alive, as if occurring right here, right now

Uncommon potatoes–here Kennebecs, Red Norlands, Rose Golds, Purple Majesties and Buttes–need only be roasted for a couple of hours and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Garlic, slow-roasted alongside the potatoes, is a delicious accompaniment.

Ingredients for a potato palooza: A bowl of uncommon boiled spuds–here, Kennebec, Bintje, Red Pontiac, Purple Viking and Cranberry Red–along with a fine French olive oil and cumin and chili-spiked salts. Years ago, at a pasta party in a high rise on Fifth Avenue, Audrey Hepburn , 51 and luminous, told us how she survived the “Winter of Hunger” during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. “One would go out in the morning with a diamond bracelet, and come back in the evening with a potato,” she said simply

Medical studies confirm what aromatherapists have long claimed: Lavender can help you fall asleep–and sleep more deeply. Heart sachets stuffed with lavender (from Sunshine Lavender Farm ) can be tucked under your pillow–or use the dried herb to make lavender-camomile tea at bedtime

Strong iced Mexican coffee infused with crumbly Ceylon cinnamon. Add a cool breeze, an Egyptian scarf and the book review–all that’s needed for an idyllic Sunday morning. The morning breeze rustled the banana leaves

Savory grilled lamb kebabs, marinated in yoghurt with ginger, garlic, cilantro and sweet spices, are delicious with serrano chiles and a cooling cucumber-mint raita. To round out a summer supper, add fresh corn sauteed with smokey bacon, cherry tomatoes and basil. It’s all in the marinade