Salsa, Guacamole, Enchiladas -- OH MY!

Since coming to Japan my taste buds have been introduced to some wonderful new types of foods, such as Indian, German, Persian and Vietnamese. However the one type food you cannot easily find is Mexican. And when you do, it isn't exactly what we are used to back in the States. If you were to ask most of the American families here what type of foods they miss the most, I would bet Mexican would be pretty close to the top of the list.

I was so excited when I found out CHIC was offering a Mexican cooking class this programming session. And although the menu was mainly items I already make at home, I didn't care.  IT WAS MEXICAN FOOD! Plus I love taking cooking classes and figured it would different than how I cook at home.

It took us two hours to work through the menu: Fresh salsa, guacamole, homemade chips, tortilla soup, chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice and refried beans. I think by the time it was all finished I must have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation of tasting it all.

Tortillas cut and ready to fry

Our teacher showing how to properly cut jalapenos and avocado

Ready to mix! YUM!

Cooking the chicken tortilla soup - yes that is a whole chicken

Blanching the tomatoes for salsa

Shredding the  chicken for enchiladas

Mixing the enchilada filling

Getting ready to make refried beans

My appetizer plate - homemade chips, guacamole and salsa

Tortilla soup all ready to eat

Main course

I had to be rolled out of the room after we were all finished. It tasted like authentic Mexican food (It was the homemade chips that sealed the deal). And almost every recipe was different in some way than how I cook at home, so it was not just tasty, but beneficial. I cannot wait until the next program. Rumor is we will be doing chicken mole and stuffed poblano peppers. Can we say YUM!

German Cooking Class

One of the great things about living here are all the cooking classes CHIC offers. Recently I took a German cooking class, featuring "winter menu" foods. The only thing that could have made this class any better would have been a nice tall German beer.

We started the class off making Schwarzwaelder Kirsch Becher (Black Forest Cherry Cups). The dessert tastes better if they set for at least an hour so it made sense to make them first.

Next, we made Mixed Salad with Bacon and Mushrooms. It was a delicious mixed green salad with a homemade mustard vinaigrette dressing and warm mushrooms and bacon.


A Kartoffelgratn it Saurer Sahne (Potato Gratin with Sour Cream) came next. It was very easy and to make it a bit fancier, each serving was made in an individual ramekin dish.


The menu consisted of two main dishes, although our teacher told us that normally you would only make one. However, she wanted to teach us both, and who was I to complain about two main dishes?

The first one was called Rinderrouladen, or in English, Beef Roulade. It is a piece of thinly sliced beef with onions, pickles, mustard and fresh thyme rolled inside, then sauteed in a vegetable cream mixture. In the end this mixture is turned into a vegetable cream sauce and served with the beef. I was a bit worried about what exactly this would taste like, but I really liked it. I think if I could make this without the kids watching me, they would really enjoy it too.

The second main dish was Schweinefilet im Speckmantel, or as we called it, Pork Fillet Wrapped in Bacon. This was my favorite of the day. We braised the meat on the stove and then made a garlic and walnut cream sauce to be served with the meat. It was like heaven in my mouth.


We steamed some fresh vegetables and our meal was complete!


If anyone wants one of these recipes, post here or email me. I would gladly send them to you. Not a menu for quick weight loss obviously. In a few weeks I am going to another German cooking class. This time it is a traditional Easter menu. I can't wait.

Lebanese Cooking Class

One of the really cool things that CHIC offers here is cooking classes. Each semester there are always several classes to take, from Japanese to Chinese to Thai to Indian. Usually there are a few other cooking classes being offered that have to take just to see what they are all about, like Lebanese, Persian and Dominican.

Today I went to a Lebanese cooking class. The food was fantastic and the recipes were ones that I actually could make at home. Our teacher was this cute little lady from Lebanon, who has lived with her family in Japan for 20 years.
We learned how to make several Lebanese dishes.

Fattouch - Lebanese Salad made with lettuce, tomato, peppers, radishes, purple onion, mint leaves, parsley, cress and pita bread croutons. The dressing lemony balsamic. Very easy and delicious.


We then made homemade hummus and baba ghanoush. I have never had homemade hummus but it was very simple and so delicious. Baba ghanoush is a creamed eggplant dish. Surprisingly, I really liked it.

The main dish was Riz Be Djaj. This is a chicken rice dish, with ground beef added. I was surprised that the main spice in this dish was cinnamon. On top was slivered almonds and pine nuts. It wasn't as easy to make as the rest of the dishes, but I think I may be able to do it on my own.

We also learned how to make a cucumber yogurt sauce, similar to what you would get with a gyro. I already have plans to make this sauce over the weekend.

For dessert we had a Lebanese Semolina Cake. I would describe it as a sweet cornbread, with walnuts. Different, yet good.
Here was our lunch.

Next week I have signed up for a Chinese cooking class. I can't wait.