Cooking Class at Patio Mexica with Monica

Robyn hard at work lol

Wednesday morning we had our first cooking class with Monica at Patio Mexica.  We sat down for a few minutes and chatted before heading to the market, then we were off.  At the market we first tasted cheeses, there was a softer fresh cheese, one similar to ricotta, and then an aged cheese.  I enjoyed the soft and aged the most.  After that we tasted some cookies, and then some different fruits.  After we tasted some sweet bread that was baked in the mountain area, and after that we tried a bun stuffed with pork and vegetables.  For drinks we tried a "chill-latte" (probably spelled totally wrong) which was chocolate with cinnamon, but no dairy, and then we had iced hibiscus tea, and both were really good.  From the market we went to the chili store to look and different types of chilies, and then we tasted the different types of mole paste.  Robyn found them a bit hot, but I liked them.

Monica

Then we headed back to Patio Mexica for the cooking portion of the class.  Robyn made a tomatoe salsa in a mortar, and I made salsa verde.  I didn't realize how much work it would be to make salsa in a mortar with a pestal.  After we finished the salsas Monica made us some bean soup.  It had bacon, chorizo, onion, garlic, tomatoes, beans, a bit of chicken stock, and was finished with a fresh herb.  After she finished the soup we attempted to make fresh torillas.  Monica had soaked corn for us to grind, and then gave us each a ball of the ground corn to make a tortilla.  Robyn's was thick, but still round when it was cooked.  Mine on the other hand was very bad, and in no way resembled a tortilla after it was cooked.  Monica said that the ground corn had a bit too much water in it, so I am going to use that as my excuse.  Then we were able to make a torilla with pre-made dough and a press...now that is my idea of torilla making.  Some how I even screwed up the roundness of that tortilla when I set it on the grill.

After all of the food was prepared we sat down for a bowl of soup with torillas and salsa.  Monica put a chuck of fresh cheese in each bowl, which was really good.  We finished the class with a cup of coffee and cookies from the market.  The coffee there is amazing!  We both really enjoyed the class, and Monica is a truely lovely person.