La Cocina Que Canta Sings Again

I've just returned from a week at Rancho La Puerta where cooking classes at La Cocina Que Canta topped the menu of activity options for me. Three cooking classes in as many days and each was a unique learning experience, not to mention just plain fun.

I've already written about the hands-on class with Chef Jesus Gonzalez that I enjoyed in late April. I did another with him last Thursday with a Mexican fiesta theme. But I also took two classes by visiting Bay Area teacher and author Peggy Knickerbocker. One was hands on and the other a demonstration. What I came away with were not just some marvelous new recipes, but also some new products and certainly novel techniques that led to some delicious dishes.

First the new products. There were three, and I found all of them intriguing.

The first is agave syrup. The Ranch is big on using this as a sugar substitute, both at the cooking school and for guest meals. Also called agave nectar, it's a sweetener commercially produced in Mexico--specifically Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato and Tamulipas. One reason it's become so popular at the Ranch is that it's said to be far healthier than refined white sugar. (I did, however, find a rebuttal online about its health benefits.) But, it's also a marvelous substitute for sugar and honey, especially in cold beverages, because it easily dissolves. Its consistency is a bit thinner than honey. If you use agave syrup as a substitute for refined sugar, use 1/3 of the amount called for in the recipe.

I bought a bottle at the Ranch but locally you can find agave syrup at Henry's, Jimbo's and Whole Foods.

Then there were Chia seeds. Actually, I found these not at La Cocina Que Canta but in the Ranch's dining room. Each morning, they sat in a small bowl next to a bowl of flax seeds.

Okay, so you know the first image that pops up when the word Chia appears.


I somehow missed the part that these are extraordinarily healthy supplements to a daily diet. I'm not the only one. The first person I spoke to by phone at the Hillcrest Whole Foods suggested I try calling Rite Aid or SavOn. Why? Because they sell Chia Pets there, he said.

What he needs to learn is that these tiny seeds are rich in Omega 3 and full of antioxidants. Because they are highly hydrophilic (they can absorb a lot of water), they're great for athletes. They also slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrate calories into simple sugars, so they're a great diet helper and they're good for diabetics. You can eat them whole. You can eat them raw. If you soak them in water or fruit juice (common in Mexico and known as chia fresca), you'll find the soaked seeds develop a gelatinous texture. This mixture can be added to puddings or cooked cereals. Or you can grind the raw seeds and add them to baked goods. I added a smattering to oatmeal at breakfast and tossed some on salads at lunch. I couldn't discern any specific flavor coming from them so it's a neutral way to add some good stuff to your body.

You can buy these online or at Whole Foods, Henry's and Jimbo's (when they're available).

Finally, a bit of a mystery was solved about the garlic I was so excited about finding recently at the La Jolla Farmers Market. We used the same garlic this past week, fresh out of the ground. And here was the source of my confusion. Instead of a head surrounded by dry paper with a dozen or so distinct cloves, the garlic I was trying to play with was spring garlic, more like a large green onion, sans paper and cloves. Peggy pointed out that what we're used to at the market is more mature garlic that developed its papery shield as it aged. The youthful spring garlic we were using was a little juicier (like an onion), not fully developed with cloves and far milder. So, if you happen upon these jewels at the farmers market, grab them and plan to use more in your cooking than you would with older, conventional garlic.


Or, try growing them yourself from cloves of garlic planted in the ground or a pot. According to The Garlic Store, it's best to plant garlic in the fall while the ground is still warm. FYI, bigger cloves equal bigger bulbs. If you want spring baby garlic, plant smaller cloves.

Now, I specifically chose to go to RLP to take classes from Peggy Knickerbocker because I've read her articles in Gourmet, the LA Times, Food & Wine and Saveur. She's also written several cookbooks, including The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook (with the wonderful photographer, writer and editor Christopher Hirscheimer -- also there last week), Olive Oil: From Tree to Table, Simple Soirees: Seasonal Menus for Sensational Dinner Parties (gorgeously photographed by Christopher) and The Rose Pistola Cookbook.

The classes were a treat, not only because she's just lit up while she teaches, but she has -- and shared with us -- lots of great tricks that translated into some wondrous dishes we tasted in class and ideas for dishes to try later at home. These are just a sampling but worth adding to your repertoire:

• Chop the leaves of rose-scented geraniums and add to a bowl of strawberries.
• You know you should toast most spices before using to bring out their flavors, but also toast whole peppercorns before grinding. Try doing this in a sesame seed roaster.
  
• If you make your own frozen yogurt, first drain the yogurt in cheesecloth or a coffee filter for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours (toss the resulting liquid) before sweetening and adding to your ice cream machine. Eliminating the liquid means that instead of having a grainy frozen dish, you'll have the creamiest of desserts, truly reminiscent of rich ice cream.
  
• Roast strawberries. Really. We had this dish with the frozen yogurt and it wowed everyone. Using sliced strawberries, agave syrup (or a sprinkling of sugar), a little salt, freshly ground black pepper and balsamic vinegar, you roast them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The result is lusciously jam-like. (Be sure to let the sliced strawberries macerate in the agave/sugar for about an hour before adding the other ingredients.)
  
• Slow roast tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. This is, of course, an old trick but if you're not going to use them immediately, Peggy suggested putting them in a jar and covering with olive oil. They'll last a week or so in the refrigerator. And, roast them on non-stick Silpat -- these fiberglass and silicone sheets are far better in aiding clean up than using aluminum foil. Sure, you use these on baking sheets for cookies, but they're terrific for simple roasting, too (I used one last night for roasted garlic shrimp).
  
• Use your (impeccably clean) hands instead of utensils. Use them for tossing salad to make sure greens are evenly coated with dressing. Use them to mix bowlfuls of messy ingredients. Coached by Peggy, guest Beth Masegian was utterly blissed out mixing a batch of red snapper ceviche.

• Finally, looks matter when it comes to taste. Think about how you're going plate your dishes -- what they're to be served in and how to arrange them in the serving piece. Peggy shared a tip that Christopher uses for photographing food. Instead of smoothing out something like a large bowl of lentil salad, let it form a more natural mound. It's a simple concept but it does look lovely.

I'm an acknowledged cooking class junkie, but the three classes I took at La Cocina Que Canta have given me a number of things to think about, not only for entertaining but also just going about my normal food routines. Toward the end of each week the Ranch offers a class in "how to take the Ranch home with you." These cooking tips may not have been exactly what they had in mind, but they work for me. That's a great gift.

Have some thoughts about Rancho La Puerta, La Cocina Que Canta or cooking schools in San Diego? Do you have a favorite neighborhood market or shop that carries unique or unusual foodstuff? Let me know or add to the conversation by clicking on comments below:

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A Day in a Singing Kitchen: La Cocina Que Canta

This month has been a whirlwind, what with a business trip and subsequent tsunami of work that has kept me out of the markets and off the blog for the most part. But, life is calming down and in that spirit I want to take a little side trip from market life to a sweet adventure I had before the madness began—a Saturday at Rancho La Puerta to play in their new cooking school, La Cocina Que Canta.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Rancho La Puerta fitness resort, which is just south of the border in Tecate, it’s something you ought to try. And if one of the reasons you haven’t gone is that the typical stay is a week—and at some expense—then the new program they’re launching is the perfect introduction, especially if you love cooking classes (a passion of mine).

What the Ranch is offering is a day trip on Saturdays that begins first thing in the morning at the Old Town Trolley Station. An air-conditioned coach provides transportation down to the Ranch and back. Once you arrive—it takes just over an hour—you’re shown to lockers where you can stash your stuff for the day, which could include a swimsuit, workout clothes, a tennis racket, hiking boots—whatever fits in with the kind of day you want to have. That’s because you can spend the morning before lunch and an hour or so after poolside (my choice), in a fitness class, on a hike though the colorful wild meadows, or indulging in a massage (my other choice) or other treatment like a mani/pedi or facial.

For me, the real fun began in the afternoon when a group of us were driven from the main quarters of the Ranch to La Cocina and the adjoining organic farm. The day was warm but not sizzling as we passed under an arbor thick with pink climbing roses to the sunny patio and then inside the hacienda-style building.

There, a serene tile courtyard led into the airy dining room and a charmingly rustic but amazingly equipped kitchen any cook would lust after.

On the enormous butcher-block-topped island with the requisite cooking school mirrors carefully angled above were what appeared to be several stations with different set ups containing bowls of produce, oils, spices, cutting boards, knives and individual recipes.

Chef and teacher Jesús González, dressed in elegant black, was waiting for us and after a brief welcome introduced us to the head gardener, Salvador. First things first. We were going to pick the vegetables that would go into our meal.

Salvador is a guy who is obviously adores his work and the six-acre organic farm reflects his devotion. In late April some vegetables and herbs were just starting to reach for the sun. The shady mulberry tree en route to the garden was thick with sweet long purplish berries that we briefly stopped to pick and nibble on.

Tomato and pepper seedlings were maturing in the nearby hothouse for later planting, but we made our way past row after neat row of multicolored Swiss chard, fennel, sorrel and mizuna to our destination where the tops of garlic, carrots and onions hid the bounty in the soil below.

Pulling out a small knife, Salvador quickly sliced up a pinkish white head of garlic he had just picked and gave us samples to taste.

It was still warm from the earth, gently fragrant and sweetly nutty. He showed us how to pick several heads and collected them in a woven basket, then led us to the carrots and finally the onions.

The pile in the basket was swelling and beautiful, but he topped it off with some heads of lettuce before shepherding us first through the greenhouse, which we wanted to see, and then back to the kitchen to begin the class.

First we reviewed the menu with Chef Jesús. To start would be “Tacos Delicias,” homemade corn tortillas featuring a hint of fresh jalapeño and spring onion and Three Sisters Mole. The next course was Filo Cups with Gravlax and Spring Onion Ice Cream. Then came a roasted carrot soup with fresh ginger and coconut milk, followed by Fennel Sorrel Salad. The main course was grilled red snapper with peanut butter chipotle sauce, spring vegetable ragout and black quinoa and cranberry salad. And, we had Asparagus Roulades with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes. For dessert was Orange Chocolate Mousse with almond cookies.

Chef Jesús explained the philosophy of the food we were going to be preparing, which was in tandem with the cuisine served at the Ranch—an emphasis on organically grown ingredients, rich in flavor but healthfully prepared in a Mexican Mediterranean style. Instead of sugar, there’s agave syrup. Instead of cream for the chocolate mousse, we would use low-fat cream cheese and cooked carrots. A typically salt-laden gravlax had a mere three tablespoons of salt and relied more heavily on spices like fennel seeds, green cardamom and black pepper corns along with green garlic, brandy, agave syrup and fresh chervil to infuse the salmon with flavor.

Then, he gave us a brief knife skills course along with some additional advice on technique—like peeling ginger with the edge of a spoon instead of a knife and how to make fresh corn tortillas with a press.

With this introduction completed, we were divided into teams of two, picked a recipe and got to work. The chef supervised and was there to help and advise and coach us on, but he was also assisted by the most wonderful staff. About half a dozen young chefs circulated and helped us with whatever we needed—figuring out the recipe, making sure we got access to a burner if we had something to sauté or an oven if we had veggies to roast. They hovered but didn’t interfere, demonstrated but didn’t dominate. So, we learned how to make tortillas, scale a salmon, slice carrots and evenly chop onions. In short, we (including some people who had never cooked before) prepared a fine meal and had a blast doing it.

By the end of the class, we had filled a long table with a stunning array of dishes, at which point we sat down, four to a table to enjoy our meal, accompanied by wine from the nearby Valle de Guadalupe. I think my favorite dish was the vibrant Black Quinoa and Cranberry Salad—so many flavors and textures. And so beautiful. And, prepared by two women who were astounded at what they had accomplished. Neither were cooks.

Black Quinoa and Cranberry Salad

Hands - On Cooking Class, with Creative Chef Jesús González

Serves 6

½ cup red quinoa

1 ½ cups water

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

½ cup fresh mango, diced

¼ cup fresh chives

1 spring onion, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons peppermint, chopped

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

3 cups fresh salad greens

1. Bring the water to a boil and cook the quinoa for 15 minutes. Drain and put the quinoa in a medium bowl.

2. Add the cranberries, pine nuts, mango, chives and onion.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, peppermint, allspice and salt and pepper.

4. Serve the salad on a bed of fresh greens.

Tired, full, but happy, we got to unwind before leaving by being serenaded by one of the staff, who shyly sat down with his guitar on a chair in front of the kitchen island and sang beautiful Spanish songs.

By now it was dark and time to get back to our bus and cross the border. The trip home, including the border crossing, was uneventful. We were back at the Old Town Trolley Station just before 9 p.m. and tumbled into our own cars to go home.

For those who love cooking classes, this is a real winner. Demonstration classes are fine—and the Ranch certainly offers those with Chef Jesús and a multitude of visiting guest chefs during the week. But if you have the opportunity to do a hands-on course, take it. There’s no better way to actually learn how to make a dish than doing it—with the help of experienced hands who can translate what’s on the page into viable technique. Plus, the day itself is a tranquil, delightful experience sans cell phones, computers and other daily distractions.

Saturdays at the Ranch costs $175. Transportation, lunch, dinner, classes and use of the facilities is included. Spa services are additional. For more information, go to www.rancholapuerta.com/saturdays.

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