Clase de Concinar

JuanCa was kind enough to treat Marta, another special gal I’ve found here, and I to a cooking lesson. We made Sopa Negra, Tamarindo Chicken and Yucca. Sopa Negra is a typical dish here, otherwise known as black soup. It’s basically a bowl of protein – black beans, cilantro, onion and whole eggs. I’ve been going for a weekly hit of the stuff on Mondays at Quepoa. Now I can make my own. It will be a nice replacement for my protein packed brownies (Remember that secret ingredient Scott???).

The Tamarindo salsa was a sweet blending of boiled tamarindo, vino blanco, sal, azucar y consume de pollo. On the side was yucca prepared just like mashed potatoes. I will say I’m a big fan of the yucca. They look, feel and taste like potatoes, but just a little better.

A good portion of the lesson was given in Spanish. Until, JuanCa received the “we have absolutely no idea what you just said look”. He’d give us the translation, we’d take notes and try it out gringa style.

To relax, the dinner conversation was in English. We enjoyed our meals and each other. I even lit my candle. It was nice to have company and a pleasure to share time with interesting people. It’s always an enriching experience when people who are so different, from different places, can find comforting similarities. Buen provecho!