Even though Oaxaca is in one of the sub-tropical regions of the world, because of of its altitude, over 5000 feet, the weather is almost always mild and very pleasant. The city lies in a huge valley surrounded by rugged mountains. This morning I was lucky to accompany Henry, his wife, Rosa and a Czech family of artists/world travelers into the mountains above Teotitlan. Oaxaca city dwellers for some reason never go there, maybe it is too cold for them, but there are villages up there that are more than worth the visit.The village of Benito Juarez is at almost 10,000 feet and we went well beyond it and its neighboring village Cuajimoloyas in search of mushrooms, the edible kind, not the magical ones.
This area is one of the mushroom meccas and has annual fiestas celebrating the fungus among us. The place is like an alpine village, filled with pine, agave, rolling meadows and spectacular vistas.
Our goal was to find Senora Lucia, a renown cook, and we first stopped at her house in Caujimoloyas, but folks told us she was at her restaurant in deep in the woods, a place known for it trout or truchas.
Talk about a place in the middle of nowhere or everywhere, this was it. After driving further into the mountains and asking several people along the way, we found her. It may be in the middle of nowhere, but there were other people eating there when we arrived.
Doña Lucia was happy to see Henry and Rosa and she proceeded to cook up a storm of fresh hongos (mushrooms). 
She and her niece, Agustina, made a wonderful rich stew with hongos, tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh herbs. We also had fried mushrooms and these beauties. 
Looks like it could have come out of Gourmet magazine or Saveur.Here's a video from a couple of years ago of Doña Lucia at her place in Cuajimoloyas cooking some sopa de hongos and making an incredible salsa with walnuts and chiles. Muy rico!
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