Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

It might seem odd to associate Mashed Potatoes and Gravy with Mexico, but today we most certainly did.
Turns out, one guest was having a few little health (stomach) issues during his long stay in this climate and while he was excited to be a part of the class (he has been a cook in a previous career) he wasn't sure how much he'd be able to partake of our feast. Wanting to make sure he got his lunch, Catriona asked him what he would like us to do to fill the bill. "Mashed potatoes and gravy". Of course we did that, thankfully having a few potatoes on hand from our Easter menu. I also grilled a large Portobello Mushroom to go along with... and turns out D. enjoyed his half portion of the day's main course Mole Olla anyways, and still managed to eat the mashed potatoes too. And then said, that he was feeling a whole lot better. Whether it was dehydration, or he just needed some protein... I am glad we were able to fix the malaise. who knew my North American repertoire would find a home here on Mexican soil? Interestingly, Lucy and Deysi, our Kitchen Assistants were intrigued with the gravy and the mushrooms and totally savoured the leftovers. The photo, by the way, is not the D. in question but another couple of guests enjoying their 'sopes'.

Monday Market Day... and Aprons

Every Monday we go to Cancun where most of our suppliers are selling their wares. It's here where we do our printing of cook booklets, silk screening of our souveniir aprons and of course where we buy the bulk of our fresh stuff (meat, fish, poultry, fruits and veg...) The truck is full to overflowing as we pull up to the cooking school that night.

Today we picked up 65 of our silk screened souvenir aprons from the printer. Funny thing.. they were still printing when we got there so we captured a couple of moments on digital! I nudged my way into the printer's domain as he was moving 5 wooden frames - all mounted on a circular roundabout, and each one had a different colour of paint in it, that he scraped on fastidiously through his screen. After the paint was applied, they got placed onto a conveyor belt heading to a little oven to dry things off. 15 minutes later we trotted off with our 65 aprons.

These aprons are made special by Lucy, one of our two Cooking School Assistants. Lucy is a woman of many talents. Not only does she cook well as an assistant for our chef Claudia, she also sews and her parents are the artisans who provide several spice mixtures, they produce. Chile de Arbol, Black Pepper and Pumpkinseed.

The apron pickup was just one of 9 stops in Cancun today. Okay... don't get me started!

No class today...

Today's a day off. Good thing since we had three sold out classes this week -- lots of food, lots of energy and tons of buzz swirling the hive.

Now, there are lots of options for things to do on a day off in Puerto Morelos. If you are Catriona... you will likely go ride your horse and play some polo!

If you are me... you might wander down to visit a friend or head into town on a bicycle or head to the beach with Graham. Greene, that is. Not the man himself, but one of his books. Lather on the sunscreen and just go have some quality alone time. In this little gem of a place on the Riviera Maya.

First get the fish...

It's APRIL! And that means EASTER.

For our Easter Menu all week Chef Claudia created a special lineup of dishes that typical Mexicans would do for a special occasion such as this. Easter, of course being one of the 'mas grande' holidays in Mexico. The menu started with Coastal Ceviche and for that you need the freshest fish possible! While we normally do the bulk of our shopping in the Cancun Market 23 every Monday, this would not do for the Ceviche. It's got to have fish caught that day or just the day before.

Lucky for us, in Puerto Morelos, there's a thriving fishing economy.
Every day, sometime between 2pm and 5pm when the boats come in, you can head to the dock and see what's on the offing. Yesterday I managed to get Barracuda -one of the best fish to use for Ceviche. Other fish that are good to use are: boquinete, robalo, red snapper or pargo. All you need are a few Spanish words to negotiate your price... and make sure he scales and fillets it. Of course Lucy, our Chef Assistant showed me how to skin and fillet some red snapper last week for another menu, so I can manage. But it's a nice touch (and a savings of time) if the fisherman will do it for you. More time left over for the beach!

Coastal Ceviche
~Ceviche Costeno Serves between 4 and 8 depending on serving size
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh fish of the season, filletted
.5 Cup coconut milk
1 piece gingerroot, Thumb size, peeled, grated
1 lemon peel shredded
Juice of 9 limes
.5 onion finely chopped
2 tomatoes peeled, seeded, chopped
4 spoons olive oil
2 spoons white vinegar
2 Serrano chiles seeded and chopped
3 sprigs cilantro

Directions
Dice the fish.
Marinate in a bowl with the limes, ginger and coconut milk 4 hours or overnight.
Add remainder of ingredients, stir to mix and garnish with cilantro. Serve on ice cold plates

¡Buen provecho

Bone Kisses

It's no surprise to anyone in Puerto Morelos that we love dogs here. Now Mexicans traditionally are not widely known to be big lovers of dogs. But some are, counting among them many of the expats here.

Catriona's dog Alexandra is the sweetest German Shepherd you ever met.

Dogs are our buddies, our walking coaches, our protectors, our barometers for emotion and love. For that we think they deserve special treatment. I thought we should make a line of delicious healthy dog biscuits for our loved ones. We're calling them BesoHueso! (which, of course, means bone kisses in Spanish) Our premiere biscuit is the Peanut Butter 'n Honey. And we are in the midst of recipe testing our special 'dog friendly Chocolato' one. (dogs and chocolate are not a healthy partnership so our version will employ organic carob powder.) Did I mention that Alex is our official recipe tester. And yes, she has given the Peanut Butter 'n Honey Bikkies her lick of approval.

Back by popular demand

Sommelier Alex Rioux will return to the school this Wednesday to let us in on the little known facts of Mexican Wines and the inside scoop on Tequila -- not all tequilas are created equal, after all! Did you know the Agave pineapples have to be 7 years old before they are ready to harvest? We'll sample several styles and vintages of tequila while noshing on ultra fresh ceviche and other tasty offerings of The Little Mexican Cooking School.