"Every market in Mexico City has a juice-milkshake stand where they make drinks from scratch," says Téllez. Moving to the city after leaving a newspaper job in Dallas, she found the abundance a revelation. "Mexican beverages are super-varied and seasonal, and very fresh. I didn't realize the depth that existed." New to the area and without a car, she crisscrossed the city on foot. "That's when I saw all the food everyone ate on the street. It was woven into the fabric of the city," she says. Her curiosity turned into a blog, which turned into a culinary tour company, which turned into her first book, Eat Mexico. In it, Téllez celebrates the vivid flavors of the tamales, tlacoyos, enchiladas and other street foods she loves making and eating. Here's her take on an agua fresca, the popular fruit-and-water drink, as she demonstrated on a recent visit to our Food Network Kitchen.

Photography by Heather Ramsdell