Today was easily one of the highlights of our Mexico City trip. We joined a cooking class called Mastering Mexican Salsas, and it was amazing. Our instructor, Pame, was a fountain of knowledge. She didn’t just show us how to make salsa, she also taught us about the peppers, what makes each one special, and how they connect to Mexican culture and history. It was fascinating, fun, and just the right amount of overwhelming. I kept wishing I could record everything so I could play it back later.

We started off with refreshing agua frescas before heading to the tortilleria to watch how corn tortillas are made. I learned that tortilla prices are regulated by the government to help keep them affordable. From there, we explored Mercado Medellin where Pame gave us a crash course on the fresh produce. We even sampled dried bugs, and to my surprise they were delicious. Crunchy, salty, and definitely a first for me. Would be perfect with beer, tequila, or mezcal.

Back in the cooking studio, it was time to roll up our sleeves and make salsas. We charred peppers on the comal, ground ingredients in the molcajete, blended, chopped, and even squeezed in a little dancing while we cooked. By the end we had created ten different kinds of salsas, which blew my mind. Of course, the best part was tasting them all with tacos until I was absolutely stuffed. Mezcal, beer, and Mexican sweets rounded out the feast perfectly.

This experience is one I’ll carry with me forever. Cooking classes like this make traveling even more special. If you’re ever in Mexico City, I definitely recommend the Mastering Mexican Salsas class at Aura Cocina Mexicana in Roma Norte.

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It’s weird to think that one would have to learn how to use a home oven, but here we are. Welcome to the 2020s! I touched on it briefly in another post, but we have a fancy Anova Precision Oven which has a sous vide mode. It basically uses a water reservoir to regulate the moisture level in the oven as you cook food. This cooks the food evenly and also keeps it from drying out. The addition of a food probe ensures even more precision as the food reaches and is held at the proper temperature depending on the recipe.

It’s a fancy bit of technology for sure, but is it too much? Mariko tasked me to try some recipes for the oven, so I’ll have a better answer in the coming weeks but what I do know is that it’s actually fun to use because you can control the oven with an app on your phone. If you use one of the recipes from the Anova website, the oven changes modes automatically (varying moisture level, temperature, heat source direction, and probe control) during the cooking process. It’s very satisfying to glance at your phone and see the status of the oven.

So far I have prepared a pork tenderloin, which came out pretty good, and today I tried the “Reheat Pizza” recipe, which also was a success. I admit that this oven is overkill for two slices of pizza, but I had to test it out!

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Today I made pork tenderloin in our Anova Precision Oven. It uses steam and highly-controlled heat to cook it sous-vide style, without the need for bags or water immersion. The meat was perfect and juicy. It’s fun to cook with this oven because you can use the app to control the cooking settings.

We’ve had this oven for a few months now but this is the first dish I have prepared in it. I really should use it more, so I guess it’s time to browse the recipes.

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こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today we started Mother’s Day by preparing a nice breakfast for Mariko. Koa decided that we should make Chicken and Waffles for her, and Bay suggested mimosas, so we went ahead with something close: the kids made a chicken and waffles casserole dish and mango mimosas (substituting mango juice for the orange juice). It turned out great and we all enjoyed our late breakfast.

The middle of the day was spent just relaxing and watching tv (I also had to work on getting my computer fixed) and then for dinner, Mariko requested lobster rolls. While I prepared the lobster salad, she baked really yummy buns.

I think this was my first time to make lobster and it was actually not difficult. We steamed the four lobster tails for about 15 minutes and they were tender and tasty. I combined the lobster meat with mayo, lemon juice, celery, green onion, salt, and pepper for a simple flavor that complemented the lobster nicely.

We consider ourselves foodies and we like to try new dishes, and today was no exception. I’m happy that they both were yummy and that Mariko had a nice Mother’s Day.

またね～

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How’s it going?

Today the weather was beautiful, and Mariko prepared some yummy chicken satay for grilling in the backyard. It’s starting to feel like summer here! ☀️

I hope you had a nice day.

またね～

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