Café hopping: buy things along the way, eat them in other establishments. Quietly say whoops and keep reading your paper. This whoops moment: sharing Cadeaux Bakery‘s PB and dark chocolate tart at Finch’s after a sandwich feast.

In only our first week in Paris we have managed to resist eating a baguette for every meal – hard to do with boulangeries on every street – and sampled fare from Mexico, Brittany, Morocco, and Israel. Tostadas, galettes, tagine and falafel. Tous étaient très délicieux!

During the second night of my regional Mexican cooking class we uncovered the state of Michoacán. Enchiladas placeras was a new experience, that required passing the tortillas through salsa first before then passing them through hot oil, and then filling with queso fresco and onion. This market-style form of enchilada is actually representative of the earliest form of this dish, which now is presented in many different ways! My favourite dish this evening was the sopa tarasca. A simple spiced up bean purée, the beauty of this dish comes from the layers of toppings included roasted chilies and queso cojita. I promise to share Rossana’s recipe soon.

First night of my 3 week Mexican cooking course with chef Rossana Ascencio: mole poblano. After 3 hours, 2 salsas, a sopa, and chalupitas (including tortillas pressed from scratch), I thought surely it was a joke that we were also going to whip off a traditional Puebla-style mole! But we did it all including charring the dried chilies and toasting the nuts and seeds. Went home bleary-eyed, stuffed and smiling.

The island always treats us well.

Raided a garden today!

Well I try to be, I am a true beginner. I have yet to graduate from the driving range, but I think an ‘ol game of pitch & putt might be the next step.