According to Italian tradition, June 24 is the best day to make nocino, a lightly sweet, bitter black liqueur made from unripe green walnuts. This day is said to be the prime time to pick walnuts for nocino-making because they haven't yet formed their hard interior shells. Expanding on a tradition I started last summer, we hosted a little nocino-making party last night. Alex gathered a basket full of pungent, Pine Sol-y green walnuts from a neighbor's tree and we got to work

Anyone who has guzzled the Mexican mineral water Topo Chico knows it's a magical elixr that can quench the thirstiest of thirsts, work hangover miracles and probably cure cancer. Not only has Topo Chico been on the market since 1895, but the bubbly water has gained some serious street cred in my hometown Austin, the music-loving city in the heart of Texas. Unfortunately, most of the Mexican markets in Boise only stock rainbow-hued Jarritos fruit sodas. But not Zacoalco Super