We had so much fun on on our Ireland trip and our virtual cruise, that when my husband asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday at the end of October, I said I wanted to go to Mexico for the Day of the Dead (which is actually a whole weekend of celebrations.) So we had a whirlwind long weekend trip to sunny Mexico!
Yes, while at home there was this weather…
We were enjoying the tropical warmth of Mexico!
The highlight of the trip was a cooking class with Diana in Mexico City – Discover and Cook Ingredients from Ancient Aztec Cuisine – on the night of my birthday, when we were joined by my adult children from New York, Maryland, and California.
After the class, we gathered (on a new Zoom session) to eat the vegetarian food we had prepared: Tlacoyos with black beans, salsa, and a vegetable side dish (only the New Yorker among us found cactus leaves for this recipe; the rest of us had to substitute zucchini.)
Sadly, we couldn’t share the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake that my husband had prepared for my birthday!
Facebook is where we post the vacation photos we take on our virtual travels.
By now, our Facebook friends know our virtual vacations mainly involve a lot of fancy meals and cocktails in exotic locales – aka our living room and dining room.
Unfortunately, on a virtual vacation, all those wonderful restaurant meals don’t actually get prepared, served, and cleaned up unless we do it ourselves. Since this post is for Weekend Cooking, I’m taking you behind the scenes and showing you how we made the kitchen magic happen!
We used these cookbooks to prepare our Mexican meals. I didn’t keep a good list of what we made from which, though!
This is the bible of Mexican cooking, but the recipes are really complex.
I made the Mexican Beef Salad from this cookbook. You can find the recipe online at Experience Life.
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant has sections from various countries’ cuisines, including Mexico. I made the Ensalada Mixta (Beets and Carrots in a Lime Vinaigrette).
The recipe for the delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake came from my Flourless cookbook. Recommended for anyone who wants to bake gluten-free without the gluten-free flour substitutes like Cup for Cup or Measure for Measure.
We’re thinking of sunny Spain next!
