In August I took a vegetarian cooking class. In September I'm taking a Classic Guatemalan cooking class. This post is dedicated to all the new food and cooking techniques I learn from class.
Week One
Today we made tamalitos (which are tiny tamales with no filling), a turkey soup, mole with fried platains, and a salad. The soup is traditionally made for the dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead) in Coban, an area in the north of Guatemala. They feed a turkey a liqour called Boch and when the turkey gets drunk, they hang it upside down by its feet and lay onions and garlic on the ground underneath. Then they cut the head off the turkey and let the blood drip on the onions and garlic, which they then use for the soup. We did not behead any drunken turkeys or even use turkey blood in any form in our soup, but we were entertained by the story while we waited for the tamalitos to cook.
Making tamales is time consuming, but fun. They take a very long time to cook as well as the work of making the tamal and then wrapping it in a corn husk or banana leaf. They are traditionally made with lard. Now that I know how to make them I would like to try it with coconut oil, which has the same consistency at lower temperatures as lard. Much healthier!
The mole with friend plantains were delicious!! Its a dessert dish, but mole can be used for many things, even breakfast. I would also like to try frying the platains in coconut oil or almond oil, which are much healthier than canola or vegetable oil.
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Anne! I am loving this blog! So cool (and brave) that you are taking a cooking class. What an experience it is to live in a different country, right? I miss it. I love being submersed in different cultures. So fascinating, and such a learning experience. I posted a comment on one of your first posts, so go back and read it my dear:) As always, love ya and am sending good vibes your way this week:)
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