Malik Watkins's Bloglines

Comida Mexicana de la Calle y Clase de Cocina

Like with some things, I can be kind of moody. Indeed, I do have a side of me that is a complete ‘FOOD SNOB’…I admit it…but, the admission doesn’t mean it will change…in this case…it will most likely get significantly worse!! With that said, I hold street food within the highest regard…wherever I find it…most of my life I have gravitated towards it…and, now I have even more evidence to support the ‘Bourdain in Me’!!!

But, when I travel…I am prone to find groceries…this evening I was ending a long day…and just decided to grab a few things for the late night munch…lo and behold…I came upon a Walmart…

Sigh…and yes…

Walmart is UBIQUITOUS…it is everywhere…like GOD…it is everywhere…so yes..that is a picture of me…coming out of Walmart…But!! This isn’t the U.S. Walmart 🙂 Love when a place doesn’t have plastic bags…you have to bring your own…or buy one…a certain awareness/consciousness/responsibility…something to be learned there…

And, walking out of the door…ahhh yes…the deliciousness of comida mexicana!!! Mexican Street Food – Everywhere…my friends…I will never see a taco the same way…

The scents, the flavors, the freshness!! I will say straight-up, have not been a fan of corn tortillas…but, here in Mexico City…primarily, it is what you find! I’m not complaining..in fact…we have a believer now!! 🙂 We aren’t talking about adding powder to browned meat with some water….we are talking about something coming alive in your mouth and stomach…street food – it is alive!! 🙂

And be clear…eateries, restaurants…little shops…food stands…a table on the side of a street, with a table cloth…and someone cooking food…just at the corner…ahhh…yes, everywhere it seems…

My wanderlust began as a child. My mother began my travel experiences early…domestic and international…hence, my affiliations with West Africa and exploring overall. One of those early experiences was to Spain…and I always remembered the Paella. Not a dish easily cooked, I’ve learned…thus, not easily found…but, allow me to share this please…

As we say, I’m gonna leave that right there….

This trip, I decided to do a few things different – ehhh, different circumstances call for different actions!! A few I will share…

With all the exceptional food, I decided to sign up for a cooking class!! Food is a big culture item…and I am a culture person…so, FOOD, yes…let us get with it…

I signed up with a group called Mexican Food Experiences/Tours – ‘Private Mexican Food Cooking Class with Food Market Visit’ … what an exceptional day…lasted about 5 hours…and we actually started off at the market, Jalisco Mercado, with Chef Eduardo!!!

No can you imagine walking through an open market with a Chef, learning how to pick vegetables and meats for your special dish…a professional trained chef (masters degree)? Well, now I CAN…and now I see…what he means when he says, “if everything isn’t fresh…then it isn’t Mexican food”….

In my hand you see an authentic ‘Gordita’…not the one from Taco Bell my friends…so, I’ve never had one from there…but, I can imagine it is a bit different!! Always interesting to me how when you travel overseas, some places, there seems to be an abundance of fresh juice stands…fresh squeezed papaya…’shaking my head’…

The spice man…that’s his business…he makes and sells spice mixes…and under the suggestion of our Chef…I went ahead and purchased…a nice amount of his ‘Mole’ powder to make … of course … ‘Mole Sauce’….yes…I am most pleased!!!

And of course…in the land of the tortillas…a packet of them will do nothing…so right in the market, there is tortilla production process/factory…so many get consumed that they have these little shops all over…where you have the option of purchasing the tortillas or the actual paste to then customize your own…of course we took the later course…all righteous and good…

Our cooking class, took place in a home…not in a restaurant! That was an exceptionally nice touch…a wonderful experience, to spend time inside an actual home…and to take our time…and be guided…

There was no Sous Chef today, so we…well, I wouldn’t say 2nd in command…more like there were a lot of opportunities for learning… 🙂 And, it was wonderful learning…to actually be taught how to cook an excellent 3 course meal…under the guidance of a master…I won’t remember it all…but, I did retain some parts…and, I am wealthier as a person for the experience…

And YES, in the skillet…beginnings of homemade salsa…customized indeed!!! We had to use razor blades to trim leaf veins, cut, slice, refine…and the other cooking stuff!!! One of my tasks was to knead the dough for the tortillas…

Yup!! The goof smile!! I own it!! Admittedly, I didn’t know it would be this much work!! I am reminded to never take for granted the effort that goes into this type of preparation! In fact, even with this class…what most comes to mind is the seasoning of ‘Love’!! My favorite seasoning!! When someone puts that much effort into cooking for us…there is a lot of the seasoning of ‘Love’ going in it!!

Three course meal!! Can we say ‘Truffle Tacos’…never knew there was such a thing…and then again…why would I have known!! What I do know is that this was such a wonderful experience…I even worked on my challenged social skills – successfully, I might add!!

Some would say, “it is just a cooking class”…and that is fine…for me, it was much more than that…I learned so much…but, also not to be diminished…I learned a lot about myself. Exceptional it is to me when we can go somewhere…and learn, then bring it home…home being within ourselves…for future joys and peace…to share with those who appreciate enough to value it as well…For some reason, the folks at ‘TSA’ had the same affinity as I did for my brick of ‘Mole’ powder 🙂

As I mentioned…beyond COVID, this past year was its own thing…but, between those lines…yes, I feel the moment coming when you are on the peak…feeling the wind, breathing fresh air, accomplishing…and you can see off into the distance so far that your eye sight fails…however, inside you know there is more beyond the horizon…add in the fruit cup…fresh, spicy, and alive…you get my drift… 🙂

Keep climbing…digging…Yes, I am feeling a calling…as in ‘Malik/Bourdain – Parts Unknown’ 🙂