Last week, I returned to Teotihuacan, Mexico, home to the ancient Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, a place that has shaped my life for almost 30 years.
I first arrived in Teo when I was 22 years old. I was a young woman carrying deep heartbreak and loss from my teenage years, and I knew I wanted to heal. Not simply move on, but truly transform my life into one I love living.
In Mexico City, I began apprenticing with two extraordinary Curanderas, traditional healers who blended herbal medicine, spiritual practice, and ancient indigenous healing traditions.
Reyna and Magali both held medical degrees from the United States, yet their work also honored the ancient Mesoamerican understanding of healing through herbs, ritual, spirit, and the connection between body and mind.
That apprenticeship opened the doorway to conscious dreaming.
I learned to become deeply aware of my waking life, my thoughts, my reactions, my patterns, my surroundings, and then to carry that awareness into my dream world while asleep. The practice was about becoming lucid not only in dreams, but in life itself.
Six years later, I met my husband Lee.
He was on this same journey of awareness and conscious dreaming, and together, alongside Alberto and Veronica, we helped create The Dreaming House on the Avenue of the Dead in the ancient city of Teotihuacan.
Lee and I both believed deeply in freedom.
Freedom from fear.
Freedom from the limiting stories we inherit or tell ourselves.
Freedom from the doubt of the mind.
Last year, I returned to Teotihuacan carrying Lee’s ashes.
Before he left his body, we spoke often about the places I would take him. Teo became the beginning of an epic 19-month journey filled with grief, beauty, transformation, and love.
Then last week, I returned again.
This time, I was leading a group of incredibly conscious and successful entrepreneurs called The Mavericks. Everywhere I went, I felt Lee’s spirit beside me. And honestly, the entire time I kept thinking about all of you, The Juicie Bits, and what we are building together.
A community gathered around the kitchen.
Not just to talk about food, but to connect through the deeper parts of our lives. Through truth. Through vulnerability. Through the stories that shape us.
This is the energy I want to bring into the world:
Depth.
Honesty.
Connection.
Our last LIVE Juicie Kitchen was incredibly special. We shared more of our personal journeys together, and I felt so honored by that openness.
One thing I learned while building The Pinewood Kitchen is this:
Real connection is the non-negotiable ingredient.
It matters more than perfection.
More than performance.
More than polish.
And that’s why I treasure the one-on-one connection calls with each of you so much. They allow me to truly understand your goals, not only in the kitchen, but in your life.
Right now, all of this feels like the fond of something extraordinary.
The foundation layer.
The richness at the bottom of the pan.
The beginning of something deeply nourishing and delicious.
Recently, I had the most wonderful conversation with DeeDee, one of our beloved foundation members. She is an absolute delight, y’all, and she shared that one thing she misses while avoiding corn is a truly good tortilla.
So in this newsletter, I’m sharing two simple recipes: an incredibly easy 3-ingredient almond flour tortilla and a classic corn tortilla recipe inspired by the fresh tortillas made every morning at The Dreaming House.
I’m also including one of my favorite recipes from the Dreaming House kitchen: a classic Azteca Tortilla Soup made with clear broth, avocado, chicken, and crisp tortilla strips. Summer always tastes a little like Mexico to me, and this soup is comforting, vibrant, and perfect even on warm evenings.
And finally, our next LIVE JUICIE KITCHEN is Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30 PM.
This time we’ll be gathering via Zoom because the website connection during our last event was a little unreliable, and we want to make sure everyone has a smooth experience. We’ll post the Zoom link in the Juicie Community well before the event, and the replay will be available there afterward, too.
No Zoom subscription is needed to join.
I cannot wait to gather with you again.
With love,
Mee
