On our last full day in Oaxaca, I took a cooking class with my friend Valerie. That same morning, we received a phone call from Conor's Mom, because Conor's Dad, Jim, was being transferred to the ICU and was in rough shape. Together, we made the decision to fly Conor to Calgary immediately. He left at about 5:15am and I wasn't able to go back to sleep. I reached out to my friend, Claudia, and asked her to help me with my girls, which she did so willingly and so I was still able to attend my cooking class. 

It was a lot of fun, but it took me probably an hour to relax into it because I was feeling a lot of stress. We cooked on a traditional oven with all organic food. We made a few warm drinks. We made an amazing soup. We made tortillas and quesadillas and memelas and mole with chicken. It was pretty incredible. I would love to do this again! I ate so much delicious food. I had no hunger for the rest of the day! This was such a worthwhile experience and I'm so glad it worked out for me to still go. 

I had to take another cooking class at La Warmi. We made locra de papa (a thick potato soup) that was amazing and I will be remaking it for my family this weekend. The simplest ingredients made into the best potato soup ever! For the next course, we made shrimp with garlic, hot peppers, and parsley with twice-fried plantains. So simple, fresh and amazing. And for dessert, a sweet quinoa made with spices (cinnamon, clove, sweet pepper), three types of milk (regular, evaporated and condensed), raisins, finished with lime zest. It was really good! 

Last week, I went to a 2-hour cooking class at an amazing restaurant, called La Warmi. Warmi is a Quechua (aboriginal) word for strong, self-sufficient woman. It's really interesting to me that there are many Quechua words mixed into spanish here in Ecuador, for example wawa is a word for baby and I learned the word for drunk, but obviously forgot it from lack of use.

I made sure to eat lunch at this restaurant before I signed up for cooking class and it was the best meal I've eaten here in Ecuador, hands down! The cooking class was so much fun! We made ceviche (amazing!), potato tamales, and a fried dessert made with fine grated yuca and topped with a molasses sauce made from panel (a raw sugar), water and cinnamon. I brought home recipes (!) and I can't wait to try making these dishes at home. All the dishes were incredible and delicious. I got to cook with a retired man who is visiting Ecuador with his wife. They live in Seattle. I'm hoping to go visit them and cook with them. 

This cooking class was one of my top experiences in Ecuador! Tomorrow, I'll go sign up and pay for another class! I can't wait!

And this is the lunch that I had before my cooking class. I need to eat here again!!