Across Latin America, the kitchen was always the first apothecary.
Long before herbs were sold in tidy jars, curanderas and abuelitas kept their medicine on the stove. Copal smoke often rose before the meal began. Cacao was whisked by hand for ceremony, as the Maya and Mexica once prepared their “food of the gods.” And vanilla, the spice most of us now take for granted, comes from an orchid first tended by the Totonac people of Veracruz.
In these traditions, much of the healing began at the stove: what to steep, what to toast, what to use for ceremony, and what to offer back to the land. Cooking was never just cooking. It was prayer, medicine, and memory, all in one pot.
That wisdom has shaped everything we do from the very beginning, as we keep finding new ways to bridge ancient herbal traditions and the modern world.
Have you ever thought of your spice cabinet as an altar?
Before Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we’re opening our recipe box. Together with our incredible creator community, we’ve made 11 free recipes inspired by the traditional foods of the Latin American diaspora. You’ll find classics like horchata and tres leches, plus two unexpected ways to bring sun-kissed calendula into your own creations. Each one folds in plants from our apothecary so simply that anyone can make them.
Because that’s how herbalism has always lived: shared around the table, passed from hand to hand, and made to nourish community. Not to perform for likes.
This is what happens when an Italian chef and a Costa Rican rainforest herbalist get cooking together. You get to add a warm hug for your belly to your recipe book, inspired by what comes out of Latin American kitchens when your belly needs settling, your spirit needs tending, or it’s midnight at a wedding, and somebody’s grandma has just decided you need “un dulcito.”
These dishes are made to be eaten slowly and savored, with absolutely no need to apologize for going back for seconds. We hope you enjoy this roundup of some of our absolute favorite Latin-inspired recipes for green witches. We know your abuelita might have something to say about the “authenticity” of these herb-infused recipes, but at least you’ll have dessert.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all who celebrate, ¡y provecho!
What Is Kitchen Witchery?
Adriana first wrote about the green witch’s path on our Plants & Potions blog in 2020. Her words still hold, so we’re sharing them again here, lightly edited after six years:
As Adriana explained, the practice belongs to no single religion. It is the healer’s art that lives in all of us: sowing seeds, tending soil, cooking with the seasons, and listening closely enough that plants become lifelong teachers. A true hierbera, she wrote, “looks upon [herbs] with the humblest of hearts as one’s teacher.” That listening starts somewhere ordinary, like preparing a meal for our loved ones. More often than not, it starts at the stove. Read her full blog here.
Why Hispanic Heritage Month Begins on September 15
In the United States, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, which can seem like an odd time – a mid-month celebration of Latinidad. Did you know the start date actually honors the independence anniversaries of five Central American nations? Costa Rica (Adriana's homeland), El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico celebrates liberation on September 16 and Chile on September 18.
For us, Hispanic Pride is a year-round festivity, but we also recognize this as a season to intentionally honor the curanderas, parteras, and abuelas who kept plant knowledge alive in their kitchens, families, and communities, often without anyone writing it down. Across Central and South America, a curandera is trained in relationships with elders, the land, and the plants in their backyards. This unfolds over many years of apprenticeship. As forests are cleared and communities displaced, that knowledge is disappearing with the elders who carry it.
Preorder your copy of Adriana’s book, The Rainforest Herbal Apothecary, to help us keep this living tradition from being lost to time and modernization! You’ll find it here.
Native to the Americas: The Plants That Came First
Some of the most beloved flavors of the Latin American kitchen were tended here for thousands of years. Others arrived later and took deep root. Both belong to the Indigenous botanical story, so we’ve kept them clearly labeled below so you can follow each plant’s unique journey.
Rituals of Cacao
Cacao (Theobroma cacao). The genus name means “food of the gods.” The Maya and Aztecs drank cacao in ceremony and even traded with it as currency. Our Tayrona Ceremonial Cacao grows in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and is sourced through Jaguar Siembra, which works directly with Kogi and Iku communities to support their sovereignty, knowledge, and livelihoods. Our Heirloom Cacao is the everyday baking cacao behind both brownies in the Curandera’s Recipe Box. Rich, grounding, and made for slow mornings that tend gentle hearts.
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia). Vanilla comes from a climbing orchid first tended by the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico. It brings warmth and sweetness to anything you stir it into, from horchata to arroz con leche. Part flavor, part ritual, it’s the perfect aromatic companion to teas, elixirs, baked goods, or self-care blends.
Sacred Resins + Woods
Copal. The fragrant tree resin of Mesoamerica, burned by Maya and Zapotec copal-workers to purify and open sacred space. Our Copal Blanco is handcrafted, and the copal in the Curandera Box is handmade by a co-op in Mexico.
Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens). The “holy wood” of Ecuador and Peru. Interestingly, Palo Santo must die naturally and rest on the forest floor for years to develop its oils, which is why careful sourcing matters. You can find it as sacred wood to burn, as Palo Santo Water to anoint, and as an essential oil to blend formulas or enjoy on its own in our apothecary.
Amazonian Botanicals
Like nearly everything in our plant medicine cabinet, these rainforest allies come to us directly from small farmers and wildcrafters.
Pau D’Arco (Handroanthus impetiginosus). The inner bark of the trumpet tree, used across the Amazon and Brazil for generations. In the cast iron brownie from this week’s recipe roundup, its earthy depth meets dark chocolate like an old friend.
Chanca Piedra (Phyllanthus niruri). In Spanish, the name means “stone breaker.” This small Amazonian herb has been part of Peruvian folk tradition for generations.
Jergón Sacha (Dracontium loretense). An Amazonian tuber whose mottled stalk resembles the jergón snake, from which it gets its name. It also holds a long place in Peruvian folk practice.
Bobinsana (Calliandra angustifolia). A riverbank shrub with pink, feathery flowers, honored as a teacher plant by the Shipibo and other peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. Many curanderas work with it as a dream herb, traditionally used for reflection and dreamwork.
Rooted Here, Born Elsewhere
Coconut came from the Indo-Pacific. Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) came from Africa and Asia, though it has long been grown in Central America. Moringa (Moringa oleifera) comes from India, mangosteen from Southeast Asia, and turmeric-based golden milk from Ayurvedic tradition. Cinnamon and flor de jamaica (Hibiscus sabdariffa) arrived through trade routes, then became inseparable from horchata, arroz con leche, and agua de jamaica. Holding these interwoven stories at once is part of cooking with respect for tradition, while adapting them to today’s world.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.
Sale Terms & Conditions
Buy two eligible items from the Hispanic Heritage Month Collection in a single online purchase and receive 50% off the lower-priced item. No minimum purchase required. Valid for one use per customer from October 10 through October 15, 2026, ending at 11:59 PM Pacific Time (PT) on October 15. To redeem the offer, enter code HERITAGE50 at checkout. The discount is not applied automatically. Kits are excluded from the promotion. This offer cannot be combined with other promotions, discount codes, or offers unless otherwise stated. Free U.S. shipping applies to orders over $75.
Order Adjustments & Cancellations
All order cancellations incur a 10% credit card processing and restocking fee. Once an order is placed, we are unable to make adjustments, including address changes or shipping refunds.
Store Pick-Ups
For Brooklyn and Venice store pick-ups, orders not collected within 10 business days will be automatically cancelled.
