I am always amazed and surprised by all of the little family places that grace Winnipeg’s neighbourhoods.  I had a hankering for Thai food recently and discovered Vientiane Restaurant in St. Boniface.  The charming little place shares the strip mall with Lovey’s Barbeque another place I have only recently tried.  The dining room has been painted a passionate red which is a strategic choice, as red enhances human metabolism, thereby stimulating our appetites.

Tom Kha Gai is one of my favourite dishes from Thailand and when translates simply means: Thai Chicken Soup, but oh, this is no ordinary chicken soup.  The fresh tastes of lime and cilantro are fused with chicken, veggies and coconut milk resulting in a balance of spicy, sweet and sour!  I have tried to concoct this soup at home but find that I do not always have the essential ingredients of galangal and lemongrass in the fridge.

A mango salad complemented the complex soup tastes.  Shredded mango is doused in lime juice and tossed with chilies and then garnished with peanuts and dried shrimp.  All of this is places on an enormous, frilly lettuce leaf.

Pad Thai is another of our “must haves” and the version served ay Vientiane is just slightly different than any I have tasted before.  I understand that there are as many versions of this recipe as there are Thai chefs.  Pad Thai is the assembly of noodles, peanuts, garlic, chilies and bean sprouts and is the countries’ national dish.  The prime minister of Thailand made this street food popular during the late 1930s as part of his campaign to reduce domestic rice consumption and increase nationalism.  Who knew?

The restaurant has been open for four years and is owned by Xuejun Xia and his wife.  On this day, he was behind the counter and looked as busy as an air traffic controller, answering the phone and controlling the flow of guests in and out of his restaurant.  I asked him if he was happy with his business and he gave me a smiling shrug.

Kath’s quote: “I will stop loving you when an apple grows from a mango tree on the 30th of February”-unknown

Love-that is all.

When my Mother-in-law offered up a bucket of strawberries that she had just picked and then I found that rhubarb was being delivered in my garden share hamper, I knew immediately that I would combine the two and make a crisp or a platz.  D had other ideas.  He thinks that rhubarb overpowers the delicate taste of freshly picked strawberries and I now know that he is correct.  I have to guard against being overly frugal.  I am constantly trying to “stretch” ingredients, even free offerings.  D thinks that it is his American heritage that has instilled his love of pie.  Perhaps too, because his Mom makes the best darn pies I have ever tasted.  Living up to her legacy and his memories is a challenge, but one that I am happy to take up.

I will admit right here that I take one major short cut.  I often pick up frozen pie crusts when they are on sale.  This way I can quickly take advantage of fresh fruit when it is offered up.  There is no way that I could ever recreate D’s Mom’s crust (or Sister #3’s for that matter), so I do not even try.  The rest of the recipe is D’s Mom’s though.  It is as easy as pie (tee hee) to throw together.

Kath’s quote: “Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries thrive here. From these they make a wonderful dish combined with syrup and sugar, which is called ‘pai’. I can tell you that is something that glides easily down your throat; they also make the same sort of ‘pai’ out of apples or finely ground meat, with syrup added, and that is really the most superb.”An immigrant living in Beloit, Wisconsin, wrote to friends back in Norway (November 29, 1851)

Love-that is all.

Last but not least at our culinary adventure at The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morelos was our study on chilies.  As was explained to us at the school:

The chili pepper works as a catalyst in Mexican Food, having been served for centuries to modify flavours of a basic country diet, and with the corn and the black beans, it creates a good nutritional balance.  The chile has helped give the Mexican people the ingredients for their best biological development and kept them healthy since pre-Hispanic times.  The lack of essential amino acids makes corn an incomplete protein, but beans contain those in abundance, so together they are a high quality protein.  The chile also contributes vitamin A and C.  As a general rule the littler ones are spicier than the big ones.

Chef Christobal patiently explained the different varieties of chiles utilized in Mexican dishes but I still could not copy them down quickly enough so I found this cheat sheet:

Serrano: A small, fresh, green hot chile. Used for spice and flavor in cooking and as a garnish.

Jalapeño: Larger than a serrano, though still small. This fresh green or red chile is probably the easiest to find in America. The ripe red version is sweeter; the green version can be spicy.

Poblano: A dark green, medium-sized fresh green chile often roasted and stuffed.

Habanero: A tiny, lantern-shaped fresh chile of extraordinary heat. Interchangeable with the incendiary Scotch Bonnet.

Chile de arbol: A small, red dried chile. It’s the chile used for the dried red chile flakes in the spice section of the market.

Chipotle: A medium-small, wrinkled, dried brown chile with a unique smoky flavor reminiscent of bacon. It’s the dried, smoked version of jalapeño.

Chile negro, or pasilla: A long, narrow, dark brown dried chile used for grinding into moles.

Ancho: A medium-sized, wrinkled, brown dried chile with a mellow, earthy, sweet flavor. It’s the dried version of the poblano.

With this explanation, the theoretical part of our training had concluded but the demonstration of technique was still ahead.  And the best part was that we also had a great deal of tasting to come.  At our first little break, Chef Christobal demonstrated the versatility of chili powder by paring up a fresh pineapple, slicing it and serving it with a glistening of sea salt and chili powder-so refreshingly different.

Then we prepared our own pico de gallo and guacamole.

Another ancient Mexican technique was demonstrated to us with “stone” soup where a lava stone is heated and then placed into a soup bowl to finish cooking the ingredients.  This was one of the courses of our lunch finale for the day.

Our main dish was roasted pork and apples.

Dessert was a creamy rice pudding.

Perhaps you have not incorporated learning into your vacations as of yet.  The Little Mexican Cooking School is a great excuse to change all that.  The setting is comfortable and the little touches of the day, a real pampered treat.  You meet wonderful like-minded people and get to share an amazing meal and libations with them.  Isn’t that what vacations are all about?  Well for me, they are and I am looking forward to returning to the school when we next vacation in the area.

Kath’s quote: “The smell of roasting meat together with that of burning fruit wood and dried herbs, as voluptuous as incense in a church, is enough to turn anyone into a budding gastronome.”-Claudia Roden

Love-that is all.

As Sister #3 mentioned earlier, tortillas are made both from corn and white flour, depending upon whether corn or wheat is the most prevalent crop in the region.  I have never attempted to make my own tortillas and watched eagerly for tips at The Little Mexican Cooking School, in case I got adventurous back home.  Sister #3 who is more at home with Mexican cooking even owns her own tortilla press.  But she does find the process far more complicated than it looks.  Kind of like watching a figure skater and wondering how they make something so difficult, appear so effortless.

Wherever we dine on Isla Mujeres, stacks of these are delivered to the table to accompany almost every dish.  A trip to the tortilla maker equates to a visit to the baker in Europe or (I am ashamed to say) the bakery department of the grocery store in North America. On this day at The Little Mexican Cooking School,  in Puerto Moreles we made corn tortillas and the ingredients are simple: 4 cups of corn flour and 2 1/2 cups of water.  But, as uncomplicated as the ingredients are, the procedure is an art form.  Mix the corn flour and water, little by little and knead to form a “masa”.  If it’s too dry add a little more water, if too wet, add a little more flour.  Then pinch off a piece of masa and roll it into a golf ball sized sphere.

Set the ball onto the tortilla press between 2 pieces of plastic. Press the masa, flip and press again for uniform thickness.  Transfer to a hot, dry skillet.  Cook for about 30 seconds on one side, gently turn and cook for about 60 seconds on the 2nd side, turn back to the 1st side for another 30 seconds.  Remove and keep warm.

Chef Christrobal demonstrated this and two other ways to form the tortilla.

By hand, where the masa is constantly passed back and forth between the palms and flipped and pressed with each motion.  The hand motion was fluid and mesmerizing and we could all see that Chef Christrobal had been proficient at the process for a very long time.

The third way was between two pieces of plastic on a hard surface where the masa was constantly pressed and pounded (gently) into shape.  Chef Christrobal also sent us home with these tips:

Making tortillas is not difficult, but the right portion of wet and dry is key.  The standard ratio is: 2 cups of corn flour to about 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups of water.  The tortilla dough can be worked with your hands without suffering.  It needs to be moist enough to stick together in a ball, but not so moist as to stick to the press like glue.

When making tortillas, the masa can dry out quickly.  Keep it covered with a damp cloth while you are working.

The use of a heavy gauge pan or griddle is important.  You are cooking at a high heat on a dry surface, and a lighter weight utensil can warp.  If you don’t have a comal, a heavy electric frying pan or cast iron skillet both work well.

Brown spots on your tortillas are good-an indication that they are handmade.

Put your tortilla in a breathable container, wrapped in a kitchen towel to keep warm and tender.  Corn tortillas can also be made 2 hours in advance, wrapped and reheated.  Reheat them in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or in a microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Kath’s quote: “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.”-Julia Child

Love-that is all.

One of the most fascinating things that we learned at The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Moreles was how essential chocolate was and is to Mexican history and culture.  In the gorgeous setting where the classes were conducted, we could not have felt further away from picking up a chocolate bar at the till of a convenience store.  Rain had fallen that morning and the garden around us was rich with aromas and sounds.  This was our setting while we learned about chocolate under the tutelage of Chef Christrobal.

The cacao tree flourishes in the south east of Mexico.  For thousands of years the Olmecas and then the Mayans have collected the little seeds from the ripe cacao pod.  The seeds were then fermented, sun-dried and then mixed into a drink that they called bitter-water.  Sometimes they would sweeten and flavour it with vanilla, honey or chili.

When the Aztecs ruled the empire, the cacao seeds were used as currency becoming more valuable than gold itself.  Only the richest of the rich could actually consume the food-they were literally “eating and peeing” their money away.  After the Spaniards arrived on Mexican soil and then returned to Europe, chocolate which is closer to the treat that we know today, was created.  We were reminded that chocolate along with the vanilla bean were the two greatest presents from Mexico to the world.

Chef Christrobal showed us how to roast the cacao seeds on a flat grill called a “comal”.  He constantly moved the seeds around until we started to notice a chocolate aroma.

Next, he demonstrated how to peel the roasted seed and then place them over a “metate”.  With muscle, he started to mash the seeds gradually adding sugar and then eventually the roasted cinnamon and vanilla.

The result of the process and all of Chef Christobal’s efforts:

The procedure was fascinating, the result delicious and Chef Christobal was not too hard on the eyes.  Artesanal chocolate making is one of the many reasons to check out The Little Mexican Cooking School.

Kath’s quote: “The Spanish ladies of the New World are madly addicted to chocolate, to such a point that, not content to drink it several times each day, they even have it served to them in church.”-Jean-Antheleme Brillat-Savarin

Love-that is all.