The Modern Frida Kahlo, Dolores Martinez

It is Wednesday, I’m getting out of the bus, and into the home of Dolores Martinez, who has invited us for a Mexican Cuisine Workshop. Dolores Martinez is a character. She is a singer, a cook and has a warm personality and giving me association to a modern form of Frida Kahlo.

We are seven around the table ready for the class today. We have only taken our sits around the table when Señora Martinez starts to sing. Her voice is clear and beautiful. She starts clapping and we are following her, so we all become a part of the traditional Mexican song she is singing.

Time to be vegetarian

When you talk about Mexican food, is one of the first things that come into people minds often guacamole and Tortillas. Every day does the Mexican eat 300 million Tortillas. Mexico has the world highest obesity level. A title they took from the US in 2013. The obesity level of Mexico has been rising since the 80’s, where there has been a change in the food. Today is more than 33% of the Mexican overweight. The class of today is therefor going to be traditional Mexican food, where we are going back in time. Until now has it been nearly impossible to get vegetarian food here in Mexico, because there always is meat in the food, but the class today is going to be without any meat. The seven of us together with Señora Martinez are going to make nine different traditional salads: Ensalada de flor de Jamaica, Ensalada de Lentejas, Ensalada de Maíz pozolero, Ensalada de Lentejas y Curry, Ceviche de Coliflor, Ensalada de Nopalitos, Besos de Jamaica, Salsa de Cacahuate, Naranja copeteadas de sabor, color y vida.

After the singing is Señora Martinez sitting us all to work with her beautiful Mexican Spanish voice. It’s time to get the vegetables and let the cooking class start. All are getting different things to cute, I’m starting with cutting mangos and avocados, which also is my favourites fruit here in Mexico, cause they taste of so much more here than in Denmark.

You are filing home and save by being in the company of Señora Martinez. We are going to make one salad at the time and then tasting it before we are going over to make the next one. We are taking a small brake half way trough the salads to enjoy Señora Martinez back yard from where she in a few weeks will have a house concert where she will perform with her band. She is serving some local wine from Monterrey while she is talking with a big enthusiasm about what is going to happen to the house concert. The taste of the wine is a bit similar to the ones Mads and I had on your wine tour around Houston. The first one is really sweet and has more the taste of a sweet wine that actually a redwine, where the last one has a bit more power but still not much.

I’ve spent nearly five hours in the company of Señora Martinez with talk, singing and cocking and When I’m walking out of the house of Señora Martinez is it with a smile on my leaps and with a good filing in my body.