Surprises in the Kitchen

"You expect me to hand make a tortilla? No possible way!" 

Yeah, that's what most people think. Truth is, it's not so hard, really. When you know the tricks. Take 1 tortilla press + some Masa (corn flour and water in a proven recipe amount) + plus the super Mexican secret trick -- a little piece of plastic bag... and you're there!

Hundreds of students are having a blast with our tortilla presses and discovering just how easy it is making tortillas. And, how delicious.

The results when you make tortillas from scratch and bake/toast on a cast iron skillet or a "comal" if you live here -- are amazing. The flavour of the corn flour is pronounced. And so tasty. They are even good all by themselves. I am paying attention to the comments when those first tortillas come off the comal and are tasted by our students, and time and time again people are astounded by the flavour. And of course, the freshness. Because it is all about the freshness in a Mexican Kitchen for your corn tortillas. You make the Masa that day and you use it! You make a new batch the next day.

Tortillas are so versatile. They transform themselves into so many things. At The Little Mexican Cooking School we use the basic tortilla recipe to create several variations and they are all so great for parties! A certain technique of pressing down on the tortilla on the griddle will cause it to separate and rise up. IT becomes a Gordita. Akin to Pita, it creates a pocket to stuff! That's fun

Sopes are thicker and smaller tortillas that have their edges pinched upwards to allow for toppings (not unlike a pizza) but more like a little boat. 

And this tortilla masa is good for so many things I am discovering. You can make a taco out of guacamole... beans and cheese... chicken and cream with herbs...  A sopes out of beans and cheese or beef and beans with cilantro or... well, you get the picture.

Pink Paper

Operating a little tourist business in the Yucatan Peninsula, is what we do. We do it because of a growing trend in tourism where travelers, like ourselves, are seeking more than a sightseer's glimpse of the world. We are also a part of a vibrant little community - Puerto Morelos.  A resident for over ten years, Catriona and has witnessed first hand a village struggling to keep up with the rapid growth tourism brings, while dealing with the ravages of not one but 2 hurricanes in 2006. 


After the devastation of hurricanes Wilma and Emily the primary school of 700 students had barely enough water to flush the toilets twice a day, the clinics had meagre medical supplies, and the emergency response team had zero safety equipment. 

So the El Mundo Para Puerto Morelos  was born. They rallied local residents, expats, friends and tourists and encouraged everyone to dig deep into their pockets to get this village back on its feet.  Recovery from those natural disasters is, in large part, behind us (until the next one!), but the work of the charity has not stood still. Their goal is to enrich the lives of everyone in the community through maintenance and improvement in the areas of health, education, and welfare.
Ongoing projects include:

• Sponsors for monthly school first aid supplies
• Books for distribution to all children in kindergarten and levels 1 & 2 of primary school
• Ambulance service and supplies
• Sponsors for shade tree planting at the schools
• Computers, computers, and more computers
• Fire station, trucks, and equipment
• Emergency supplies for Civil Protection
• Paramedic and first aid training for adults and children
• Bi-lingual and English classes for adults and children
• Special Education Teachers needed all levels
• Supplies of medicines and vitamins for public clinics

At The Little Mexican Cooking School we receive a steady stream of goods and supplies to be delivered to the school across the highway in the Colonia. And, every now and again, we pop a whole bunch of rolls of the pink paper we use for our dining table covering, into the load of stuff.  For us it's a happy way to recycle.  For the kids--  it becomes bright coloured craft supplies!

Don Habanero Gets His Due

If you are in Cancun and surrounds today you might pick up a copy of USA TODAY, The Mexican Caribbean Edition and see my article on the Habanero Festival happening this week in the Yucatan. For those not in the region, here is the full article.

It seems like it’s always Fiesta time in Mexico, and this coming week is no exception. In the Yucatan, there are no less than 7 festivals dotting the peninsula, this week, and that doesn’t even count Merida, which is always a buzz with cultural celebrations.  Unique in its way of combining religion and the Don of hot chiles, this event - Feria de la Flor de Chile Habanero – April 15 through April 21 is a traditional fair in honor of the Blessed Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. This is a wonderful opportunity to partake (if you have not yet) of that spicy little chile, a signature of the Yucatan.

HOW HOT?

The habanero chile (Capsicum chinense)) is one of the most intensely spicy varieties of chile peppers of the Capsicum genus. Green when unripe, they mature into many shades of orange, yellow, red, brown and pink.  The Habaneros’ size belies it’s reputation. These little guys  are about the size of the tip of your thumb, but pack a walloping 100,000–350,000  Scoville Heat Units. By comparison, the Jalapeno chile hits the scale at only 10 – 15,000 heat units.

Mexicans revere their chiles, and Yucatecans are especially proud of the fact that the first chiles were domesticated on this peninsula.

Hence the prestigious label: Yucatan, Origin of the Habanero Chile. But they don’t stop here. While Mexico is the largest consumer of this little fruit, its popularity will astound you. Hundreds of tons of these chiles are exported from the Yucatan all over the world. Rumour has it one Japanese company alone imports 30 tons of Habaneros every month!

WHY?

Its’ distinctive,  citrusy flavor, backed by its searing heat has made it the indispensable foundation of so many Yucatan dishes.  Where would we be without habaneros for our slow roasted Cochinita Pibil, our refreshing Coastal Ceviches, or for our highly revered Yucatecan Lime Soup?  We’d be lost or worse… hungry. Life without our beloved chile of chiles would be dead boring.

BUT IS IT HEALTHY?

Those of us who regularly chow down on spicy foods are familiar with the rush of endorphins that happen in the brain. You could call it some kind of a high. Research has indicated that there are in fact health benefits of eating capsaicin (the chemical component that makes chiles hot) since they are also antioxidants. But one wonders how many of these little devils one would have to ingest to get those anti-cancer benefits. Capcaisin is now being used in some  Arthritis pain relieving potions. One can’t help but wonder how applying the chemical of searingly hot chiles, that normally burn your skin, on your skin, actually combat pain in your joints? Apparently, it can. Local Yucatecans will tell you that if you maintain a steady diet that includes Habaneros & lime, you’re not likely to get sick, in the first place. Perhaps the intense heat of the chile and the acid of the lime are all that’s needed to render any germs defeated before they even reach your stomach!

So, this is the week Yucatecans in Halacho, just south of Merida have chosen to celebrate their beloved Don Habanero. There will be local signature dishes available in all the eateries, and lots of local colour. The Blessed Virgin will be overseeing the proceedings as Don Habanero gets his due!

To learn more about the Habanero chile, why not take a cooking class on Authentic Mexican Cuisine? In the Yucatan, at The Little Mexican Cooking  School in Puerto Morelos, Chef Claudia Garcia Ramos de Celis delves into the art and science of chiles in an entertaining way. She regales curious travelers with stories of her roots in Mexico City as she demonstrates many authentic regional recipes all involving chiles, of course. At Los Dos, Merida’s premiere cooking school Chef David Sterling takes his students to the local markets to sniff out the authentic chiles and other indispensable ingredients to Yucatecan cuisine as part of his day long classes.  Both schools have become highly rated and a “MUST DO” in their respective locations.

YUCATAN FESTIVALS THIS WEEK
Timucuy Fiesta 6 Day Event – April 10 through April 15

Traditional County Fair

Akil Fiesta 7 Day Event – April 12 through April 18

In honor of St Ines boasting street dancing and a competition.

Halacho: Feria de la Flor de Chile Habanero – April 15 through April 21

The Blessed Virgin gives Don Habanero her blessings.

Tekal de Venegas Fiesta 5 Day Event – April 15 through 19

In honor of San Pedro

Tekax Fiesta 5 Day Event – April 18 through 22

A celebration of spring

Tahmek Fiesta 1 Day Event – April 18

         To honor San Pedro apostol

To Market... to Merida!

Running a little cooking school for tourists in Mexico has many challenges, to be sure... especially when you are catering to a collection of astute, curious travelers who are expecting - and deserve - a high quality experience. (read: a big bang for your buck!) That's good because it keeps us sharp. Also, on the plus side it means we need to source out certain special markets once in awhile, for the unique and authentic wares we offer in our little shop. Like the ones in Merida. So today's the day to visit the capitol of the Yucatan - a beautiful historic colonial city - to explore some of the specialty shops where we find the Molcajetes, Lime Squeezers and Tortilla presses.

The molcajete (derived from the Náhuatl molcaxitl from molli - seasoning or sauce - and caxitl - box) is the Mexican Spanish name for a traditional stone mortar-and-pestle, and is of pre-historic ancestry. It is a tool that was being used in Mesoamerica thousands of years ago. No Mexican kitchen today is complete without one. The one we use at the school has an indentation on the lip where the stone has been worn away by so many years of grinding spices and salsas. It belonged to Claudia's grandmother, and being the baby of the family, Claudia was the lucky one it was passed on to. Claudia also recently found a unique artisan's version in Mexico City that incorporated a beautiful hand carved wooden exterior. We didn't stock molcajetes in our shop originally, thinking that travelers would steer clear of them -- they are stone and are pretty darn heavy. But when we tried a couple of them, a few weeks ago, they flew off the shelves. Hence the need to get back to the Markets of Merida.

The things we do for love!

What goes on behind the scenes here at The Little Mexican Cooking School, may surprise you. Sometimes we're collecting items from the local expats to deliver to the local school -- Catriona runs the town charity -- sometimes we're doing little arts and crafts projects in the back room like braiding our silken cord for the official cookbooks -- and even sometimes we are putting on lipstick and kissing our cards!

Okay... it's a little design feature to promote the fact that we love our dogs and we bake a line of healthy dog bikkies. Catriona's dog Alex is the official recipe tester and I am not entirely sure that was such a good idea. She loves the bikkies so much that she now comes bounding over to the kitchen each morning, where I am baking, and insists on getting some attention (read: where is my morning treat?) and while, normally a very congenial creature, Alex will actually BARK at me if I don't respond with the aforementioned bikkie.

I suppose it's a good sign. Of course we know dogs love food but this dog is not normally food motivated. Her thing is  love and play. But these bikkies ... there's just a little something about them. We are using all natural ingredients that are healthy for dogs. That said,  I will finally get to recipe test our next Bikkie -- Chocolato For Dogs -- since Luke, who is a friend of the school -- is arriving today from Wisconsin and is bearing the natural chocolate substitute -- carob. Stay tuned for the results. As you might expect, Alex is standing by.

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