The tomatl berry of Central and South America — The tomato achieved ubiquity in world cuisine after the conquest of the Americas by Europe and subsequent trade of animals, diseases, and plants in the Columbian Exchange. While many assume the tomato is central to Italian culture, many nobles looked down upon this low-growing vine. …

From the wild teosinte grain of Mesoamerica — “There’s every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us.” - Michael Pollan, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” History Indigenous Mesoamericans started cultivating maize, or corn, from a wild cereal grain in about 9000 BCE or earlier. They first domesticated maize from a hard, wild grain called teosinte. …

Another dimension of The Lord’s Prayer — If you read my work, you know how much that myth, lore, and spirituality fascinate me. My parents raised me as Methodist, which colors my perspective. No matter what I now consider myself, I still have the stories and lessons learned from my formative years. While scrolling through my Facebook…

From the primeval forests of central America — What grand adventure awaits for our second foray into The Dark Apothecary? Today we spotlight a specimen native to Guatemala, and that would be the avocado. Since my generation’s fiscal irresponsibility stems exclusively from unfettered avocado toast consumption, we thought to take a closer peek. Regulating one’s cycles takes a…