Angelina’s cooking course…round 2!

I had signed up for Angelina’s March cooking class when I attended the February one.  When I checked with her a few days ago it turned out the one I’d signed up for on March 8th was overfull but she said she had another one scheduled for Saturday the 11th with less people.  She knew I’d cooked mole and asked what else I was interested in so it sounded like she would do something different.   I prefer a smaller group so I said I’d come on Saturday.

I dashed out to catch the bus at 9am hoping to make it downtown for the 10am class and just missed the green bus.  Darn!  I waited about 15 minutes for the next one and the trip was slow.  It was almost 10am when I got off the bus and by the time I got to Angelina’s the class was already started.

Juan Carlos, Angelina’s sous chef was in the process of making fresh tortillas which is something I have never done. 

The Masa Harina flour was mixed with water and a little salt until it was about the consistency of very soft pastry dough.  He said not to overwork the dough.

Here he shows us how to roll the ball of dough that he will flatten in the tortilla press.  He rolled it between his palms until it looked like a little child’s top!

This dough will be made in to empandalitas, or small empanadas.  They will be stuffed with a mixture of roasted and skinned poblanos, kernal corn and grated cheese and then they will be cooked in this pot of boiling oil.

Today we were all given the opportunity to give it a try.  A small ziplock bag was placed on the press, the small ball of dough on it and then another ziplock bag was placed on top of the dough.  A quick press and ….voila ……a tortilla.  We placed a smalled amount of filling on the tortilla and then used the plastic bag to cover one side with the other, pressed the edges and we had an empanadalita.  It was then dropped into the hot boiling oil to be cooked and browned. 

This young lady was a daughter of one of the older ladies and she gave it a try.  You can see Juan Carlos is a bit anxious about our technique!  He does not speak English and Angelina has to translate for him.  I can tell that he would be a very good teacher if he could communicate with us.  He rules the kitchen and even watches Angelina to make sure she is doing things right!  Funny.

         

Angelina brought out a jar of dried grasshoppers for us to try.  Hmmm….!  A couple of people gave it a go and when I saw their faces I decided to pass.

The empanadalitas are starting to pile up.   Angelina served them with a fresh cooked tomatillo sauce.  The tomatillos were dehusked and poached in chicken broth with a little garlic and onion and then transferred to the blender for a quick buzz.  An easy dipping sauce.

And now for the Mexican rice.  Same procedure as last time.  Fry the rice in a little oil with some onion, garlic and carrots.  Add the peas and chicken broth, bring it to a boil, turn the heat down and let it cook.  Later in the cooking he covered the rice with plastic wrap and after a bit when the moisture was absorbed he turned it off and let it stand.  The proportions are by eye and he always gets it right.  He says the broth should be about one finger above the rice.

Guess what!  Everyone in the class wanted to make mole so….we made mole. 

Gut the dried peppers, toast them with garlic and onions, add chopped fresh tomatoes and chicken broth from the pre- poached chicken.  Toast the nuts and spices and add them along with mashed Maria biscuits and Mexican chocolate.  Keep adding chicken broth until everything is soft and then into the blender to be pulverized until it is of a smooth consistency. 

Toasting the spices and nuts.

Juan Carlos says they are ready and in they go.

He tasted the mole and decided it needed more salt and Angelina said if you add salt you must add sugar to balance it.  Juan Carlos said we should smell the mole and we would know if  it was correct.  Maybe he could tell but I doubt if any of us could!

Fresh margaritas for anyonewho wanted one.

The mole went back in the large clay casserole dish and the chicken was added until the whole thing was full to the brim.

Just about full.  At this point the rice and chicken in mole was served and we all had lunch.  We’d already had the empanadalitas and no one was hugely hungry.  No I’m not a mole fan but it was very good.  The rice was delicious. 

I really liked the empanadalitas and you could fill them with anything you liked.  Chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or whatever mixture you thought would work. 

So….the class was good and many of the people including the two men appeared to be seasoned cooks so there was lots of good discussion.  I may buy a tortilla press and give it a try and I will certainly buy some tomatillos and cook them for a sauce.  All interesting information and nice small group of people. 

The class on Wednesday was fish zarandeado which I would have liked to do….maybe next year.  

                  

The sunny courtyard awaits where we will eat lunch.

One street up from Angelina’s and there is huge road repair underway. 

It was time for me to leave and head back to the mercado to catch a bus home.  I’d thought I would do a bit of shopping but when I went into the market it was so busy I gave up.  Early on a week day would be a better idea than a Saturday morning. 

Home on the green bus by 1:30 pm.

I thought I give you an update on the Hal and Helene’s blue bus.  It just got a facelift and is now creamy white with a light aqua trim.  I had my doubts when they were painting it but….it turned out great.  Helene said she felt the same way until it was done.  Change is always hard!

The weather has warmed up a bit and it was time for a little R&R on the beach.  Life is good!

A ride to Concordia

We haven’t been out on the bike for weeks.  First I was sick and then Eric was sick and even now he isn’t feeling very well.  His sinuses are an ongoing misery even after major surgery a year ago.  He is allergic to the steroid nasal sprays and all the self helf measures (irrigation, steam etc. etc.) don’t help at all.  However….it was time to get out on the bike and a short ride was in order. 

I washed the bike a week ago so it is all shiny and ready to go.

First order of business…fuel.  Nice bright uniforms at the station up the street.

 

Almost 16 pesos a litre now.  I wonder when it will stop.  That’s about $1.16 Canadian.

We travelled the brand new bypass route and already it is under repair.  This bridge is all torn up and being redone.

More rebar.

Just a short detour around it.

It’s March now and the trees are coming into bloom.  The pink ones bloom without any leaves….kind of like a magnolia.

Concrete and not much traffic.  This is a toll road and for us on the bike it is 22pesos.  It was 20 pesos earlier in the season. 

The roundabout just over the overpass heading to Concordia.  If you want to go north you have to go around this….even the transport trucks.  There were a couple of trucks with armed men from the Navy which you can see on the right. 

Pretty yellow tree in bloom.

Close to Concordia this tomato field looks like it’s been hit by frost. 

Schools out for lunch or the day….not sure which.  It’s about 11:30 am.

Before we head into Concordia for lunch we decided to take this road north to Tepuxta.  We’ve been out this way in the past and it’s a nice quiet ride.  The road will join up with one that goes past El Recodo but to get to it we’d have to ride through a riverbed that has water in it.  That’s not happening!

This is the east side of Concordia and the road to Tepuxta

Concordia is the area of woodworking.

There are logs everywhere being sawn and made into Mexican furniture.  Most of it….really uncomfortable!  Smells like cedar or mahogany.

Here in Mexico horses are tied up high.  This young fellow was protesting as we rode by but at least he couldn’t get tangled up in a rope.  Most horses here are quiet and well trained and used to this type of tying.

Lots of mango trees out this way and they are all in bloom. 

Here the fields are full of chili’s with really green leaves.  Maybe those tomatos in Concordia with brown leaves had just died back.

I had to crop this shot as it was very far away but I wanted to show you the new calves with their mothers.  Not much to eat in this field. 

      

           Don’t know what this is but it’s sure pretty. 

We’re heading up to towards Tepuxta and even here you will meet a big Cel tower. 

It’s really dry but even here there is lots growing.  I did see a spot where they were drying chili’s on the ground but I couldn’t get a picture.

Coming into Tepuxta which is just a little town in the middle of nowhere.  We did get some strange looks as not many gringos would come out this way but when I waved…they waved.

Dont’ think this old bus is going anywhere anymore. 

Always beautiful architecture no matter where you are.

And always a church…no matter how small and poor the town.

Nicely painted up.  If it’s not a residence it didn’t have a sign to say so.

Back to Concordia for lunch.

I cropped this shot to show the huge pile of wood.  Maybe it’s wood for smoking chilis or…?  There were also huge concrete tanks.

The last time we rode up this way we only came as far as El Verde.  We rode into the town but it was really hard to turn the bike around and we couldn’t find anywhere to eat so this time we gave it a pass.

More wood for…more furniture. 

I might also mention that going inland it is really hot.  Much hotter than when we were up this way a month or so ago.  We stopped at restaurant El Granero for lunch and even there it wasn’t very cool inside.  This is where we usually eat in Concordia.

Here we’re done with lunch and Eric is relaxing in a rocking chair.  Eric had burritos with machaca (chopped spicy beef) in them.  I had ordered tortilla soup and two quesadillas, one with chicken and cheese and one with beef and cheese.  Too much food after the soup and appetizers and Eric had to help me out with one quesadilla. By the time we finished lunch we were both feeling really tired from the heat but we walked back to the square to find the Dulceria (candy store.)  On the way back to the bike a big tour bus came around the square and it had Norway cruises on it.  From one of the cruise ships I would expect.  One fellow who was English and from Arizona looked at our plate and asked how the drivers were down here.  Eric said bad….just like Phoenix ! 

I took this shot on the way out of town and my camera must have been on fisheye.  Looks odd.

Heading home and a gramma is walking with her grandson.  I always think they look so nice together.

We were home by about 2:30 and we were hot and tired.  Still, it’s nice to get out for a ride.

Around 4:30 pm the expected caravan with rigs from Quebec arrived.  They filled up the back of the park in short order and will be here until Monday. 

Too tired to go to bingo…maybe next week.