Oaxacan Style Tamales wrapped in Banana Leaves

A few weeks ago, I finally had a few friends over for "comida" out on my patio over the weekend.  The weather was perfect.  I decided to have a Mexican themed dinner party and earlier in the week I made Oaxacan Style Tamales, Chicken tamales with Coloradito Mole wrapped in Banana Leaves.

Anyone who has made tamales before, you know it is very time consuming, especially when you don't have a pair of helping hands in the kitchen!  So I decided to make my life easier...  I had received an email from Christopher Kimball's Milk Street on line store advertising the Mole pictured above.  The ingredients looked really delicious and so I ordered two jars.  I also went a step further, I stopped at Costco and picked up one of their rotisserie chickens.  They really are the best, full of meat and very moist.  

My biggest pet peeve is a tamale that has a skimpy filling and ones that have way too much masa and that the masa is dry.  Bob's Red Mill really makes great products and I used their Masa Harina.  Make sure you check the freshness date, masa seems not to have the longest shelf life.

 

You can go to your local Mexican grocery store and ask the butcher for fresh pork lard, manteca or buy it in solid form at the grocery store.

Earlier in the week I also stopped at one of my favorite Asian markets and bought two packets of banana leaves (found in the freezer section).  

For the Filling:

1 Roasted chicken (approximately 3 lbs.) - take meat of the bones and roughly shred, 2 lbs.

1/2 jar of the Coloradito Mole (about 9 0z.) 

1 can chicken stock (also to be used in the masa preparation)

In a large bowl, using the back of a fork, incorporate 1/2 cup of the chicken stock into the mole to make it more like a paste.  Add the shredded chicken and toss well.  More mole can be added for a stronger, richer flavor.

For the Masa Mixture:

1 1/3 cup pork lard - manteca (if you have bought it fresh, you will want to whip it until it is   lighter in color and doubled in volume)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups dried masa harina, mixed well with 2 1/4 cups of hot water to reconstitute

2  one-pound packages of banana leaves, defrosted.  (One packet may be adequate, but they are only a few dollars a packet and some may have cracks and splits in them.  Plus, they are great for wrapping a pork roast in when you want to doing some braising)

With the mixer on medium-high speed, beat the manteca with the baking soda and salt until light and airy.  Gradually add the reconstituted masa harina and mix well.  Reduce to medium-low speed and add 1 cup of the chicken stock.  Continue beating.  To ensure that you will have light and tender tamales, drop a teaspoon of the masa mixture into a cup of cold water, if it floats, it's perfect.  Beat in the last of the chicken stock (1/2 cup) or more if needed, until the batter is the consistency of soft cake batter.  For an extremely light masa mixture, refrigerate for an hour and then beat to a smooth consistency.  *taste and add more salt if needed.

Note:  A good rule of thumb: the ratio of lard beaten into prepared masa is 1 to 3, preferable by weight.

Makes:  16 tamales.  When serving with other side dishes, one tamale seems to be adequate but they are SO good, have a few extra in case someone wants seconds.

While the masa mixture is in the refrigerator, you will want to briefly run the banana leaves over an open flame on your gas burner until soft and glossy.  Cut off the one hard side of the leave, this is where the leaves were attached to the center vein.  Cut the leaves into 10" to 12" segments, avoiding any areas that are torn or have holes in them.   If the leaves split open while preparing, patch with a section of another leaf.

Cut a gallon zip-loc in half and use the one sheet in preparing the tamales.  With the shiny side of the banana leaf up, put 1/3 cup of the masa mixture on the leaf.  Place the zip-loc sheet on top of the masa and spread it out using the back of a soup (tablespoon) spoon.  Spreading it not all the way to the edges.  Remove the sheet of plastic.

Spoon about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto the masa as shown.  

 Close each tamale by folding the sides like folding a letter.

Then fold the top and bottom together, barely overlapping in the center.  Many more experienced tamale makers use the rib of the banana leaves to tie the bundles up.  Sometimes it is easy, sometimes they break.  So after all this work, I chose to tie them up with kitchen string.  Enough is enough...

At this point, the filled tamales may be refrigerated overnight or steamed and refrigerated.  The filling and the prepared masa can be made several days in advance and refrigerated too.  For all the work it takes into making tamales, I double the recipe so after I steam them, I can freeze them for a later date.  Just defrost thetamales in the refrigerator overnight before re-steaming. 

To Steam:

Not all of us have a tamale steamer.... I have a big pot that one uses for canning.  I haven't canned for years and I use it it to steam crab legs!  But a large pot that you boil pasta in works just as well.  Add a few inches of water into the pot.  With the wire basket or a large steamer in the bottom of the pot, place a few layers of the banana leaves over the basket with some of the leaves running slightly up the sides.  Stand the tamales up in the pot, folded side down.  Cover with extra leaves or scraps.  Cover with a lid.

Steam over medium-low heat for 45 to 55 minutes.  Tamales are done when the interior of the leaf has lost is bright green color and the leaf easily peels away from the masa.  Remove from the heat, uncover, and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

*prior to steaming, many suggest putting a quarter in the bottom of the pot.  If you hear it rattling, you know you will need to add more boiling water.

The filling was just sublime and the masa so moist and tender.  Next time I am enlisting my husband and we are going to make a bigger batch.

Buen Provecho!

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, turns 99!

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, also known as RAM for his initials, turns 99 on April 28!  AND he is amazing.  Most of his life, he has worked and he will always be the king of Advertising & PR and creative writing in my book. 

We are in constant awe of the bad commercials, ads in magazines, just the poor stuff that is out there in the world to day.  I could go on, and on, and on, but I will not.  

But I thought you would get a kick out of my sharp dad on what he emailed me the other day.

"On the east wall of my bathroom there is one of my prize photos which has a sole Mexican seated perfectly in the bull arena in San Miguel de Allende.  Not another sole.  It was one of those magic moments when everything was right... the sun, the composition.  There is a Corona Beer sign on the pony wall below him.  I looked at it today and it dawned on me what a great ad it would make.  Just the photo.  The advertiser's logo is already in the image.  And in our pandemic age of isolation the headline would be all the copy needed:

To those who must drink alone!"

He then signed off with, 

"Anyway, I will hit the hay. Forgive my creative juices.  Long may they run."

Then the next day I received a revision for his Corona campaign:

"When you need a friend."

 

A big Happy Birthday to my wonderful and creative Dad!!!

 

 

Puebla, Mexico is known for its exceptional cuisine!

For those who have never been to Puebla, Mexico, you are in for a treat if you join me on my tour to Puebla and Mexico City in October from the 8th to 17th.

Some of the most famous dishes of Mexico originated in Puebla and many of the specialties have very interesting legends behind them.

Puebla’s culinary tradition, known as Cocina Poblana, is popular throughout Mexico. A distinctive feature of the region’s cooking is mole, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon, a variety of other spices and nuts as well as different types of hot peppers. 

The most iconic dish is the world-famous Mole Poblano.   Usually served with chicken, pork, enchiladas or tamales, mole is actually used to describe any kind of salsa that is described in the way it is made, moler means "to grind" in Spanish.  

There are so many moles out there, like mole de Pipián, made with pumpkin seeds.  There is one dish that I had in Mexico City at one of my favorite restaurants, Los Limosneros, a Mole Rosa con Pollo (pink mole with chicken).  (This will be one of the many wonderful places we will eat at after spending a few days in Puebla.)  I finally tracked down the recipe for this mole!  It has a phenomenal array of ingredients:  almonds, peanuts, pinon nuts, sesame seeds, garlic, onion, habaneros, chili gueros, bread, banana, cinnamon, star anise, allspice, cloves, cranberries, beets and chicken stock.  

Oaxaca, on the other hand, is often nicknamed the "Land of the Seven Moles": colorado, mole negro, mancha manteles, verde, amarillo, chichilo and coloradito.   When in Oaxaca, I take my group to La Merced market where we start the day off by having a tamale tasting breakfast.  I have to say, the Mole Amarillo is one of my favorites.

Mole Coloradito is also one of my favorites!  Check out my next post on my Blog when I share with you my recipe on how to make Oaxacan Tamales with Mole Coloradito wrapped in banana leaves!  They are sublime.

But mole is sacred in Puebla!   Legend that the Dominican nun, Sor Andrea de la Asuncion, created the famous Mole Poblano when she found out that she had a very special guest coming for dinner.  In 1697 or 1698, the Bishop of Puebla heard that the viceroy of New Spain was paying a visit to town.  In haste, she cleaned out her kitchen crocks and created the first mole: made of more than 25 ingredients.   Grinding chilies with a pestle and adding a  variety spices, chocolates, garlic & turkey to create this special meal.  The sisters were so impressed with her creation, that one nun broke her silence and exclaimed, "Hermana, que bien mole!" - "Sister, how well do you grind!"  Somehow, this enthusiastic announcement by the one sister sounds much better in Spanish!

The viceroy was so impressed with this new creation, as a gift to the nuns, he had their entire kitchen tiled in the local Talavera tile.  We will be visiting this beautiful space on one of the days we are in Puebla.

Chiles en Nogada is another celebrated dish of Puebla.  They are poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo (a mixture of minced meat, mostly beef and pork, fruits and spices) bathed in nogada, a walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds.  It is a festive dish typically served in the month of September to celebrate Independence Day because the colors of the dish are said to resemble the colors of the Mexican flag, green, white and red. 

According to Puebla legend, it was the Augustine nuns who were called upon to prepare a special feast for General Agustin de Iturbide who was the commander in charge of the Mexican War of Independence when victory was achieved.  He later became Mexico's first emperor.   After signing the treaty that gave Mexico its independence, he stopped in Puebla on his way to Mexico City from Veracruz for a celebratory dinner in his honor.  

When in Puebla on the first part of my tour this fall, we will dine at El Mural Los Poblanos, famous for their moles and Chiles en Nogoda.

We will be staying at the Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía in Puebla, an eight-room boutique hotel beautifully decorated with antiques and bright colors just a few blocks from the main square.  I have reserved the entire hotel and I have one room still available.  

If interested in joining me, please contact me at:  robindsg@aol.com.  

For more information on the itinerary, check out my post on my Blog, "Travel the ages... From the colonial town of Puebla to the lavish culture of Mexico City" posted on January 10th.

.

Buttermilk Crumpets

During this semi-hibernation from the rest of the world, I have been cutting out recipes from my current cooking magazines.  This is something I have done ever since I have been subscribing to cooking magazines, starting in the the mid 1970's.  Many of these magazines, such as Gourmet magazine, unfortunately have gone by the way side.  It seems in the last few years, the cooking magazines have really slipped:  poor layouts, photos of the recipes in the front of the magazine with the recipes all  jammed together way in the back section, recipes that are totally unappealing to me, pairing of dishes that are very bizarre, and cuisine and flavors from some parts of the world that I have little interest in.  It's a totally different generation producing these magazines and I wonder if they really have spent much time in the kitchen, planned a menu and or even entertained, at least not to the extent that I like to.  It takes time, creativity and planning plus a deep passion.

But the other day, I was pleasantly pleased to find a recipe for Buttermilk Crumpets that I have made several times.  I have tweaked the recipe some and they are a big hit at home. 

The crumpets are a combination of an English muffin and a buttermilk biscuit, crisp on the outside and creamy and light in the center.

BUTTERMILK CRUMPETS

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp. sugar 

2 packages instant yeast  (1/2 oz. total)

2 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup of warm water (plus more)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Cooking spray and vegetable or canola oil

Cast Iron Skillet, 12" to 14" diameter

4 non-stick rings / 3 1/8" in diameter & high (I had originally bought these ring for poaching   eggs and I could not believe how perfect they were for making crumpets)

In a medium bowl, mix the buttermilk, sugar and yeast;  let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy.  In the mixing bowl, add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix.   With the whisk attachment, slowly add the buttermilk mixture at medium speed until the batter is smooth.  Add the baking soda to the warm water and slowly add to the mixer.  Blend until smooth.  You will want the consistency of a thick buttermilk.  If too thick, gradually add a tablespoon of warm water until the desired consistency is achieved.   Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.  You will be amazed how the batter thickens and puffs up with a lot of bubbles on the surface.

Heat the cast-iron skillet over a low heat.  I am so fortunate to have a variety of my grandmother's, Ida Mullen, cast iron skillets.  This is the biggest one I have and I have nick-named it the "Big Ida".  She certainly would get such a kick out of it that I use them so often and that I have nicknamed them after her.  Heat the skillet to medium/low.  Generously brush with the vegetable oil.  Spray the interior of the rings with the cooking spray and set in the skillet.  Let the rings heat up for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour in about 1/3 cup of the buttermilk mixture, or half way up the ring.   Cook about 8 minutes until the bubbles appear on the surface and the edges are slightly set.  Using tongs, lift the rings off the crumpets and then flip with a spatula.  Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. 

Let cool on a wire rack.  Repeat two mores times with the remaining batter.  It is very important that the skillet is hot, well oiled, and the interior of each ring has been sprayed again with the oil and heated up again before adding the batter.  

Makes 12 crumpets.  Once cooled, they can be stored in an air-tight container up to two weeks in the refrigerator. 

Serving suggestions:  If not serving immediately, I like to cut them in half with a serrated knife and pop them in the toaster until slightly browned.

The crumpet is a great vessel for poached eggs, eggs Benedict, creme fraiche and cured salmon, butter and jam, just about anything...  They are pretty darn yummy.

Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

 

 

Meet me in San Miguel de Allende in October to celebrate the Alborada, the festival of the town's patron saint, Saint Michael Archangel

October 1 is the day that honors the patron saint of San Miguel de Allende, Saint Michael Archangel.  According to the Bible, Saint Michael (San Miguel) Archangel defeated Lucifer and he then became the symbol of good over evil and life over death.   And how appropriate that San Miguel de Allende is where the fight for freedom from Spain was fought.

In my opinion, this weekend, the Alborada, is the most colorful and celebrated.   You will see the wild dancing Mojigangas (giant paper mache figures) and parades featuring the Conchero dancers and the Chino dancers.  There will be religious processions with beautifully designed Xuchiles, the offerings of flowers built upon platforms made of reeds and sticks, then decorated with flowers, mostly marigolds, and cucharillas, the interior of a cactus meaning little spoon.  You will never encounter a weekend as extravagant as this! 

One of the Xuchiles with San Miguel Archangel at the top is propped up to create an decorative archway leading to the Parroquia, the main parish church, right in the center of town.

The interior of the Parroquia is lavishly decorated with floral arrangements.

The beautifully costumed Conchero dancers performing in front of the Parroquia.  This dance represents the conflict between the Spaniards and the indigenous people.

What a striking young lady in her feathered and beaded outfit.

And music...

 Along with the Chinos representing the Spanish Moors.

You will see the the Volvadores de Papantla (the flying pole dance). It is a centuries old tradition, one that the Aztecs performed.  A tall pole is set up in the middle of a plaza, fitted with a small (and I mean small!) revolving platform on top.   Four fliers and a musician climb to the top. The flyers wear a hat with a crest of feathers which give reference to eagles or macaws, the birds dedicated to the sun.

A ceremony is performed at the top on a small platform.  The musician (the captain) faces each direction and leans back, arching his back as he plays his flute and drum. 
The other four men tie the ropes around themselves and fly down.  Making 13 revolutions around the pole and turning a somersault to land lightly on their feet as they reach the ground.  The captain increases the tempo of the music as they near the bottom.  They do not free themselves from the rope until the captain has joined them.  The captain slides down one of the ropes, reaching the ground at the same time as the flyers, without having stopped playing his instruments. Then they all take leave of the rope and dance around the pole.  The crowd goes crazy with applause and admiration.

Numerous Castillos, wooden towers covered with fireworks and rocket-propelled pinwheels,

erected right in front of the Parroquia.

And one of my all time favorite ceremonies is the blessing of the cowboys and their horses.  Riders from all over ride into town from the surrounding pueblos and congregate in front of the Parroquia to be blessed by the priest.  

Please join me October 1 - 7, 2021 for a wonderful week in 
San Miguel de Allende.   
Experience the exceptional treasures of San Miguel:

its beautiful colonial architecture, delicious cuisine, native culture, comfortable climate, elegant accommodations, endless shopping and outstanding service. 

A walking tour on day two with a special lunch at one of my favorite restaurants.  We will take a few side trips.  One will be a day over in Dolores Hidalgo and

Guanajuato where we will experience the elegant architecture,

the Opera House, Diego Rivera Museum, ceramic studios and a sublime, gourmet meal.  Another day we will dine at a superb Italian restaurant in the countryside 

and visit the Sanctuary of Atotonilco (often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of Mexico).  

A market tour and cooking class by Chef Paco that will be one of the highlights of the trip.  And much, much more!

I know we are living in strange and trying times.  Hopefully by the end of summer, we will all have been vaccinated and the worst will be behind us.  Dreaming of traveling again, this is the trip for you.

 

For more information, contact me at robindsg@aol.com.  

Please include your full name, phone number and mailing address.     

October 1 - 7, 2021

 

Some of my posts on my Blog on what we will see when in Mexico City on "Travel the ages... From the colonial town of Puebla to the lavish culture of Mexico City"

For more on Mexico City and what is in store for you  
when you join me on “Travel the ages...
From the colonial town of Puebla
to the lavish culture of Mexico City",
check out the posts on my Blog where I wrote about some
of the places we will visit.

                                                  
November 11, 2019    

An afternoon on our own Trajinera in Xochimilco - Mexico City

November 15, 2019    

Great Masters of Mexican Popular Art at the Iturbe Palace - Mexico City

February 4, 20202    

The Dolores Omeldo Patino Museum in Xochimilco - Part one - Mexico City

February 6, 2020     

The Dolores Omeldo Patino Museum - Part two - Mexico City

February 12, 2020    

The Dolores Omeldo Patino Museum - Lithographs by Pablo O’Higgins - Mexico City

February 17, 2020    

The Dolores Omeldo Patino Museum - Part three - Mexico City

February 19, 2020     

The Dolores Omeldo Patino Museum - Los Ofrendos - Mexico City  

October 9, 2020        

Casa Azul in Coyacan in Mexico City - Mexico City

November 9, 2020    

The Murals by Diego Rivera at the National Palace - Part 1 - Mexico City

November 12, 2020    

The Murals by Diego Rivera at the National Palace - Part 2- Mexico City

February 14, 2021

Puebla, Mexico is known for it exceptional cuisine! - Puebla

                                   

The photo above is one of the many murals by 

Diego Rivera at the National Palace, “Painters & Dyers” - 1942
                 

           

Travels  with  Robin
 2021 

 

 

Travel the Ages... From the colonial town of Puebla to the lavish culture of Mexico CIty

 

I have put together a phenomenal nine day guided tour 

Puebla City and Mexico City.

October 8 - 17, 2021

For those who have been on my San Miguel de Allende tours, my Artisan and Architecture tour in the state of Michoacan, Oaxaca tour and exploring the Magic of the Maya World in Chiapas tour, I know if you join me, Puebla and Mexico City will also capture your heart.  
Helping me on this tour is Rick Hall.  Rick has helped me with a few of my previous tours and last year he was selected by the Mexican Cultural Institute of Artisans to be a judge at all the expositions in the state of Michoacan in 2020!  He was the perfect choice for this honor for he has worked directly with numerous artisans in central Mexico over the past 40 years and his personal folk art collection is museum quality.  Rick helped me with my last tour to Mexico City and his knowledge of the history, artisans, the city, etc., was remarkable!  

If you were fortunate to see the Mexican Modernism exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, this trip will really broaden your horizon, especially when we are in Mexico City where you will personally see numerous murals and paintings by Diego Rivera, the other two grand masters (Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfonso Siqueiros) and Frida Kahlo.
The first part of the tour starts in Puebla.  You will fly directly from Denver to Houston and then on to Puebla.  Rick and I will meet you at the airport where we will be escorted to our boutique hotel, a former convent, right in the historic center of town.  Once checked in, we will enjoy a light dinner in the hotel's intimate courtyard patio.

Puebla is a colonial town loaded with Renaissance and Mexican Baroque architecture.  
A city famous for mole poblano, chilies en nogada, excellent dining and Talavera pottery.

 

The first morning will be a walking tour of the historic center starting in the zolcal0

which is bordered on three sides by the original broad stone arcaded buildings (called portales).

and on the south side is the Cathedral.  The Cathedral, considered by many as one of the most beautiful in all of Mexico, was completed in 1648 with bells only in one tower with one bell weighing 8.5 tons.  

A visit to the Ex-Convento Santa Rosa, converted into a museum to display crafts produced in the state of Puebla.  The above is the former kitchen at the convent constructed with talavera tiles filled with huge caldrons and other earthenware utensils.  It is legend that the Dominican nun, Sor Andrea d la Asuncion, created the famous Mole Poblano.

A special guided tour at the renown Taller Uriate, a famous talavera pottery workshop where we will witness the whole production of the talavera pottery.

A stop at the Museo Bello with its eclectic collection of over 2,500 pieces of furniture, decorative arts, talavera pottery all collected by Mariano Bello, a 19th century industrialist who owned cigar and textile factories.

Tour the International Museum of the Baroque designed by Japanese architect Toyoo Ho followed by lunch in the museum's Restaurant Barroca.  Visits to the Museo Casa del Dean, a Renaissance-style home built in 1580 with phenomenal antique frescoes.   A stop at the Casa de Cultura, formerly the archbishop's palace with a facade adorned of bricks and tile.  Up a flight of marble steps to the second floor, you will encounter  the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the oldest library in the Americas.

Dining in Puebla is some of the best.  One night we will dine at El Mural de Los Poblano, shown above.  Another night, at a private home owned by Pueblo's top antique dealers.  Lunch one day in the Cinco de Mayo Market.  And much more...

Our private van and driver will pick us up at our hotel in Puebla and we will be chauffeured to an old gem of a hotel, Hotel Geneve, right in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City.  

Arriving into Mexico City just in time for comida (lunch) where we dine in a funky cantina right in the center of the charming colonial Coyoacan district. 

After comida, we will immerse ourselves into the world of Frida Kahlo when we tour Casa Azul, Frida's gardens, studio and home.

 Frida's colorful kitchen at Casa Azul.   

 

Another morning at the Plaza de la Constitucion, invariably known as the Zocalo, one of the biggest public squares in the world.  We will visit the National Cathedral, one of the greatest religious structures in Latin America, 

and the Templo Mayer, the site of the Aztec teocalli (sacred city). 

A visit to the National Palace, the former site of Hernan Cortes’ residence. 

The most interesting feature of this Renaissance building is the great mural by Diego Rivera depicting the history of Mexico 

along with countless other murals by Diego on the second floor. 

A stop at the Palacio de Correos de Mexico (the central post office) built in 1907 is quite spectacular with its eclectic architectural styles.  Pretty amazing.

The Palacio de Iturbide is one of the best colonial, Baroque buildings in the city.  Built around 1780, it was once the home of Augustin de Iturbide, the first emperor to Mexico after Mexico's independence from Spain.  Later it was a convent, a college and then a hotel before Banamex purchased it.  It re-opened as the “Palacio de Cultura Banamex” and today it hosts numerous temporary art exhibitions, as well as art workshops for adults and children.  The last exhibition was out of this world, who knows what will be in store for us next October.

Another morning we will start at the Museo de Culturas Populares, which has excellent temporary exhibits on Mexican culture and artists.  Comida at one of my favorite places, Los Danzantes, in the San Angel area.  After we will have plenty of time to explore the famous Bazar Sabado, an artisan market that comes to life every Saturday filled with stalls after stalls of handmade jewelry, textiles, crafts... 

Later we will have a leisurely dinner at the San Angel Inn.  The San Angel Inn is a long-standing, venerable institution in Mexico City.  Set in a classic, old hacienda (originally a convent), the atmosphere is elegant with blue-and-white Talavera-style place settings and bright white table linens—it has a true Spanish-Mexican colonial feel and is an oasis of calm in the middle of city.  A special place I have been coming to for over 40 years.

Comida one day at Contramar, famous for their fish and the decor is spectacular.  I love the brilliant blue wall along with the ceiling being covered in the Mexican straw mats, petates.  It's a popular place.  Author and Chef Rick Bayless featured Contramar and the San Angel Inn in his PBS series of, Mexico, One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless.  Check it out, Season 12, Episode 6.

A full morning at the Museo Nacional de Antropolgia which houses a world-renowned Pre-Coloumbian collection.  The museum’s large, central patio is almost covered by a 275 foot canopy which sits on a 36 foot pillar, the largest concrete structure in the world supported by a single pillar.  Now that is what I call a fountain!

The collection in beyond description.  Not only is the collection magnificent, the building and gallery spaces are spectacular.

Cena (dinner) at Los Limosneros, a lovely restaurant that puts a contemporary twist on traditional Mexican cuisine.   The walls of this old structure date back to 500 years, part of the fortified walls built back in the days.

A visit to the Museo Dolores Olmedo, possibly the most important Diego Rivera collection of all belongs to this museum, ensconced in a peaceful 17th-century hacienda.

Dolores Olmedo, a socialite and patron of Rivera, resided here until her death in 2002. 

We will have a relaxing afternoon, touring and dining on one of the colorfully painted trajinera boats

at the floating gardens (Chinampa) in Xochimilco.  Xochimilco, meaning “Place of the Flowers” in Nahuatl is famous for its Aztec-made waterways surrounding the ancient city of Tenochtitlan, which is now modern Mexico City. 

Another dinner in Mexico City will be at 99 Nueve Nueve.  Located on the gorgeous grounds of cultural center Casa Lamm, a Mexican Bistro with Chefs Luis Duran and Monica Beteta in charge of the kitchen where they create fantastic dishes with typical ingredients from all around the country. 

For more information, please email me your name and any other contact information and I will send you a complete itinerary along with pricing, a deposit request form and plane travel information.  I am limiting this tour to a maximum of twelve (that includes me and Rick) and I already have a few signed on for the trip.  Those that have already signed on have been on most if not all of my other tours! 

 

I know we are living in strange and trying times.  Hopefully by the end of summer, we will all have been vaccinated and the worst will be behind us.  Dreaming of traveling again, this is the trip for you.

TRAVEL THE AGES...

FROM THE COLONIAL TOWN OF PUEBLA

TO THE LAVISH CULTURE OF MEXICO CITY

OCTOBER 8 - 17, 2021

robindsg@aol.com