Cooking and the Zoo

This week has been busy! After our trip to Valladolid, we started the week off with a cooking class. Participants learned how to make chayitas, lomitos de Valladolid y arroz con leche. Chayitas are made with the leaves of a native tree and corn masa. They are fried and served with a tomato sauce. Lomitos de Valladolid is pork cooked with tomatoes and chiles and often eaten with corn tortillas. Arroz con leche is a dessert made of rice, milk, condensed milk, sugar and cinnamon.

Some of the participants blanched while others chopped and other students made dough. Everyone contributed to each of the dishes. At the end, they got to eat the fruits of their labor and many ended up taking home the recipe sheets. It was great to see them work together and produce a really delicious product. 

The next day, we all went to the zoo! Students were able to see some native species and learn a bit about the fauna of the region. We walked around, took a tour, and even rode a train through the zoo.