December 20, 2016
So my fridge is starting to look better with a few things in there ready to be pulled out and used in various dishes. This roasted tomatillos sauce known as salsa verde (green sauce) is a useful one to have and goes particularly well with chilaquiles that I tend to make here regularly. I get the tomatillos at a market that sets up in our resort village twice a week with fresh fruits and vegetables... View Article
December 19, 2016
Local fruit and granola dishes are featured on any breakfast menu on the Mayan Riviera and although I rarely order it at restaurants I enjoy making it at home now and then. Just like we have unparalleled berries, apples, pears and stone fruits in the Okanagan, local fruits here are so ripe and full of flavour that they hardly resemble the version of these same fruits that we get at home. I am yet to... View Article
December 17, 2016
Chilaquiles, meaning “broken up sombrero” in one of the native Mayan languages, is a quintessential Mexican dish that you find anywhere, from humble beach cafes to five star hotel restaurants serving local cuisine. Chilaquiles is made with fried corn tortilla triangles (or strips) that are briefly soften in red tomato or green tomatillos sauce, then topped with fried egg, queso fresco, chopped red onion, plenty of chopped cilantro (forgot to put it on before taking the... View Article
December 15, 2016
If you have been to Mexico, and I am sure you have, you know how important pickles are to the layers of flavours in this simple yet complex cuisine. Almost every dish is accompanied by some pickles, be it the bright and colourful pickled red onion, mildly spicy jalapenos, pickled radishes or pickled fruits. The most commonly seen are the pickled red onions that go so well with the variety of seafood so abundant in... View Article
December 12, 2016
We landed at Cancun airport a week ago after a short and reasonably comfortable Westjet flight from Toronto. We stepped outside into the colourful vegetation and fragrant air of the Mexican Caribbean and felt immediately at home in the familiar surroundings. Even my limited Spanish held up for the brief conversations along the way. Next we had to endure the usual ordeal of car rental, having to do with mandatory insurance that can quadruple the... View Article
May 17, 2015
On a recent extended stay in the Yucatan I attended a cooking class (several, really) and watched local Maya women making corn tortillas by hand, beautiful, symmetrical, thin and perfectly formed round tortillas. When you watch them making it seems so simple, roll the dough into little balls and slap it into a perfect rounds between the palms of your hands. Not so fast. Try and do it yourself and let’s see how easy YOU... View Article
February 3, 2015
I often have cooked beans on hand (in the fridge or freezer) and use them to make either a soup or refried beans or some other bean dish. You can make this recipe with uncooked beans as I instruct below, or use already cooked beans, sauteeing the vegetables, adding the beans and stock and continuing to cook and puree. To soak or not to soak? I have read various articles (here, here and here) with opinions spanning... View Article
February 1, 2015
You may have noticed by now that breakfast for me is a ritual. I like to linger over a beautifully prepared and presented breakfast either at home or out and, if possible, by the beach. My internal GPS leads me to all the beautiful places that serve breakfast wherever we are in the world. One of my favourite on the Mayan Riviera, although not on the beach, is breakfast at the Casa de Lago at... View Article
January 28, 2015
I have taken a liking to salads that are composed of many vegetables, all finely chopped and tossed together in a harmonious pile. They are easier to eat than a large leafy salad and the flavours blend together so nicely with the dressing, just my kind of thing. I have had one such salad recently on a side trip to Merida last week. We went there to take a cooking class at Los Dos cookings... View Article
January 26, 2015
Last week we headed west of the Mayan Riviera to Merida to explore the Gulf of Mexico side of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Yucatan Peninsula separates the Caribbean sea from the Gulf of Mexico and includes three states: Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche. The Yucatan is home to the Mayan people and is distinct from the rest of Mexico by its culture and cuisine. The new double lane highway from Cancun to Merida now has... View Article
January 22, 2015
The weekly cooking classes at Latitude 20 restaurant are packed every week. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn authentic Mexican and other South American cooking from the knowledgeable Chef Danny and meet other people in the community who clearly have an interest in learning about local cuisine. Although no reservations are required to attend the class (you can just show up) Danny is never phased by the number of people (anywhere from 20 to almost 40)... View Article
January 14, 2015
Tulum lures eco-conscious travellers for whom the massive all inclusive resorts lining the Mayan coast are not an option. It lures them with the promise of secluded beaches, great food and commitment to sustainability. But do they deliver? Are the beaches still secluded? Are they truly committed to sustainability? Tulum is off the utilities grid and hotels power up with diesel operated generators, wind power and solar panels, each with a different environmental impact.... View Article
