It's not all about Chocolate and Snow!
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Vegetarian Cooking
I have been a vegetarian for almost 30 years and my vegetarian cookbook collection rivals my baking and pastry collection. I am passionate about my commitment to this diet and I want to share some of that passion with you. Robbie and I belong to a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. CSA members join by purchasing a "share", in exchange for a weekly box of fresh produce during the June to late October harvest season. I write two recipes each week for our CSA, using a vegetable from the harvest. You may just see some of those recipes on my updated recipe page!

Yoga
"The only way to bring peace to the earth is to learn to make our own life peaceful." Yoga practice has been a way for me to find peace in my busy life. I am always taking classes and workshops and I have finally developed a personal home practice. Viniyoga is the lineage that makes sense for me now in my life.

Spanish Language
In October 2001, I attended Se Habla La Paz Language School in La Paz, Mexico. What a way to improve language skills-I recommend this school to anyone wanting to learn Spanish. Live with a family and immerse yourself. Two months of winter 2002 in Mexico were just enough to figure out learning Spanish is a lifelong process.

Mexico
My enthusiasm for all things Mexican got another shot in the arm in November, 2002, this time with a trip to the silver mining town of Taxco and then further south to Oaxaca, to celebrate the fiesta of Day of the Dead. I traveled with my friends, Laura and Laurie (Lorena), who have visited both areas many times. Lorena was our expert driver, navigating the Mexican roads and cities in our rented compact car.

In Taxco, in the state of Guerrero, we dipped in out of tiny wholesale shops, helping Laura buy silver jewelry for her small importing business. The abeyant shopper in me began to bud and I had to resist the urge to order for myself every pretty necklace, bracelet or earring. The city of Taxco sprawls up the hills from the old mine, in steep and narrow cobblestone streets. It seemed like every car was a white Volkswagen, either a bug or a van; the bugs are the taxis and the vans are city buses. I loved the cavernous half-above, half-underground mercado where I found my snack of freshly roasted, perfectly salted pumpkinseeds as well as a souvenir skeleton man, who holds a miniature Corona beer and a Hornitos tequila bottle. Daily exercise could be an adventure in any direction-up and down the hills and valleys. One day we hiked to a small resort overlooking the city and rode a gondola back down.

For the 7-hour journey from Taxco to Oaxaca, we followed the well-maintained 2-lane road winding through mountain passes and small towns. With Lorena oft proclaiming. "Look how beautiful," we passed sagging truckloads and local markets brimming with traditional yellow-orange marigolds and purple cresta de gallo (rooster comb) flowers, readying for the upcoming fiesta.

Dia de Los Muertos is a strange fiesta to the US way of thinking. The bakeries and market booths sell cookies and cakes and candies made in the form of skulls. Every business and home erects an elaborately decorated altar to welcome the dead for the holiday. The streets are full of gaiety and families gather for picnics in the cemeteries. In the bustling markets the scent of the marigolds and special incense permeates the air.

In Oaxaca, my shopping came to full bloom. No matter-I was in a real bouquet: Lorena and Laura introduced me to their favorite museums, galleries and artisan shops. They taught me where to buy the best mole and the cutest shopping bags. When we decided to decorate our hotel window with an altar, they knew where in the sprawling market to find the requisite egg bread. One day we drove to Mitla, to tour the Zapotec and Mixtec Indian ruins. Afterward we bargained for locally woven dishtowels, shirts, dresses and simple purses. In Teotitlan del Valle, we slowly walked the cemetery, fully decked out with flowers, glowing candles, and portions of the deceased's favorite foods and vices. Teotitlan is famous for its woven rugs and we visited with weavers in their home studios, me lusting to buy. (My pocketbook is fortunate that the definition of shopping also includes the search.) On another day, in two other villages, we sought vivid woven table runners and placemats and distinctively painted wooden animal carvings.

On our last two days, we went to cooking school! I knew Seasons of My Heart cooking school would be the highlight of the trip, but it far exceeded my expectations-a brochure cannot prepare one for the richness of the experience.

At nine in the morning, a big Chevy Suburban, caravaning with another van full of students, picked us up near the mercado in downtown Oaxaca and drove us to a small village north, one of several named Etla. We stopped in front of a large gate and a small woman with an immaculate white apron opened it to welcome us. Before we knew where we were, our hostess Dominga was preparing Chocolate Atole. Susana Trilling, who owns Seasons of My Heart Cooking School was translating every step, explaining in detail the unfamiliar ingredients and process. "The foam of hot atole drink is very important-it holds the spirit of the person who makes the beverage." Almost frantically, I tried to write every detail in my notebook.

We drank the atole and munched on simple, delicious breakfast bread from the village bakery while Meche, a second Zapotec Indian woman, proceeded to prepare two salsas, one red and one green. She roasted ingredients on the comal, an open-fire earthenware griddle, and then ground them in the molcajete, the volcanic rock Mexican version of a mortar (and pestle.)

Then she showed us how to make memelas from masa corn dough. Memelas are a Oaxacan specialty--perfect little munchies for the mid-morning meal. We shaped our personal balls of dough into flat ovals and baked them on the comal. Memelas get a little hand crimp around the edges to hold in the toppings-Meche and Dominga made it look easy and with practice I'm sure I would get better. I put frijoles (black bean paste) and both salsas on mine and topped it with fresh cheese. Meat eaters spread a little asiento (ground pork skin and bacon drippings) under the frijoles, salsas and cheese.

Next we learned how they make cheese! Silvia is the expert from Reyes Etla, the cheese-making village. She demonstrated while Susana translated. We saw the milk coagulate from the enzyme, making jokes about cutting the cheese when Silvia gently did so with her hands. The first product was queso fresco, which we had put on our memelas, but we also learned how to make quesillo and requeson-much the same as mozzarella string cheese and ricotta, respectively.

Our attention went back to Dominga for chocolate making. She roasted the cacao beans on the comal while Susana told the legendary origin of "food of the gods." As the roasted beans cooled, we students peeled off their shells and Dominga ground some cinnamon on the metate, another volcanic rock grinding tool, this one a large slanted rock. She ground the shelled cacao "nibs" into a shiny mass, adding some sugar and the cinnamon at the end. As soon as she stopped working the chocolate, it cooled into a block that she cut for our tasting. This is not the refined chocolate we use for desserts and candy making-that chocolate is made with hydraulic rollers and goes through another process called conching. Dominga's chocolate is the same as the chocolate selling like crazy in Oaxaca's mercados-produced there with machines that mimic the toil of Dominga's hands and the sweat of her brow.

We said our good-byes and thanks before Dominga closed her gate and we drove away, I think sighs of amazement in us all. We then headed to the actual cooking school on Susana Trilling's property. Seasons of My Heart website describes the setting and curriculum.

That afternoon, divided into small groups, we chopped, roasted, sautéed, mixed, pureed and baked. We cooked and learned and then we sat down together to eat. We made Cream of Poblano Chile Soup, a beautiful vegetable salad, 4 kinds of tamales and Coconut Ginger Flan. It was dusk before we climbed back into the vans for the ride back to our hotels.

Our second day was similar in that we again spent the morning in a private home where a family graciously welcomed us and shared the details of their cuisine. Susana was just as excited as we were to learn the secrets of Sopa de Guias, their hearty squash and corn soup. We sat down to almuerzo (good-size mid-morning meal) with the Navarro Gomez family. Afterwards, the women showed and sold us their weavings and their son/brother displayed his paintings. Susana spent a portion of our tuition on two gorgeously brilliant watercolors.

I could go on and on with the details. In a sentence: afternoon number two included Sopa de Tortilla and Mole Amarillo, and we studied well the makings of margarita cocktails.

I have no doubt that my next trip to Oaxaca will include classes at Seasons of My Heart and I offer many praises to Susana and her staff for a memorable two days.

And muchos abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses) to my amigas, Laurie and Laura (and Sue who arranged our days at the school) for introducing me to Oaxaca and all of its charms.

The Bakers Dozen
As close as I can figure, I attended my first Bakers Dozen meeting in 1990. It was in Los Angeles at a new boutique hotel whose name is lost in my memory. We met in the early evening the first day. I remember that because my flight out of Salt Lake was canceled, and when I tearfully explained my problem to the red-coated agent in the next terminal, he helped me with a discounted fare--and I arrived almost on time to the hotel meeting.
The second day we had a "field trip" to the new and not very big La Brea Bakery. I remember Nancy Silverton showing us her starters and sponges (in Lexan 35 gallon barrels) and discussing strict and frequent feeding schedules. Lunch was next door at Campanile Restaurant, with the menu designed to showcase the bread--I remember beautiful rustic food made with skill and care.

I felt shy and solitary as a newcomer from Utah but I was made to feel very welcome. Over the years I've been able to attend many meetings and I've missed many more due to this or that--but I still have the goal of getting to San Francisco for a Bakers Dozen meeting at least once a year. The group's premise of sharing and learning has become a part of my philosophy: bestow what you have.

For the last four years I have organized a Utah Bakers Dozen booth of desserts for Salt Lake City's Share Our Strength fundraising benefit event. Use this link to read about the August 2003 event. www.sltrib.com/2003/Aug/08062003/Wednesda/Wednesda.asp
In November 2003, Utah Bakers Dozen held its inaugural meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Angel Manfredini, pastry chef at the Mandarin Restaurant in Bountiful, and Kurtis Baguley, pastry chef of The Grand America, brought their energy and enthusiasm to the organization of the Utah group. We define ourselves as a group of baking professionals and enthusiasts gathering to exchange information in a quest for knowledge and excellence. The meeting attracted over 100 participants. Nick Malgieri spoke about the East Coast Bakers Dozen and described some of their meetings. Flo Braker was scheduled to speak but cancelled due to sickness. Flo will come to a meeting in Utah soon, when we can fit into her busy schedule. Our feature speaker was Paul Albright from Guittard Chocolate, who gave an excellent presentation on How To Taste Chocolate.

Utah Bakers Dozen's second meeting, in April 2004, included a demonstration by Jaynie Maxfield, one of Utah's premier cake decorators. At Roth Concept Center in Foothill Village, over 40 Utah Bakers Dozen members sampled their way through homemade "heirloom" desserts brought by participants. Future meetings will feature artisan breads and a visit to a Summit County dairy. If you are interested in the Utah Bakers Dozen group, email me. We have a fledging website:http://utahbakersdozen.org/index.html