For months we have been planning to get back together again. This weekend we are in Glencoe, North Carolina, a historic 1898 cotton mill village that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Deby Thompson, a participant in the 2012 Day of the Dead Photography Workshop, who lives in Glencoe organized this reunion of other workshop participants so that we could keep the connection going that we made during our week together in Oaxaca. Of course, the Tamarind Mezcal Margarita (see recipe below) has something to do with it!
Who’s here? Connie and Kathy flew in from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Helene took a flight from Baltimore. Liz drove from Cincinnati. Deby and I are here from North Carolina. Of course, we started out with a walking tour of the village, wine glasses in hand. Not everyone could make it. Bella is moving from San Jose, California to Northfield, Massachussets. Erin couldn’t get away from work in New York City. Debbie and Doug are in Fiji, and Mark is somewhere in Europe. We missed them but carried on.
When we returned to Deby’s house, we began making our TMMs (tamarind mezcal margaritas), while we all pitched in to prepare dinner.
Recipe–Tamarind Mezcal Margarita (TMM): in a blender combine
- 1 ounce mezcal
- 1 ounce cointreau
- 6 ice cubes
- 3 oz. fresh tamarind pulp (use diluted concentrate if fresh not available and test for taste)
- juice of 1/4 lime
- Optional: rub the glass rim with lime juice, dip in coarse sea salt mixed with McCormick’s Fiesta Citrus Salt Free Seasoning
I had the Oaxaca mole coloradito concentrated paste in my refrigerator. I prepared the chicken Oaxaca style, simmered with sea salt until tender. I used the chicken broth and some of the tortilla masa paste to make the mole. We made organic blue corn tortillas from scratch, green salad with nopal cactus, pea sprouts, pumpkin seeds and mango, fresh steamed zucchini, rice, black beans flavored with garlic. For dessert, Deby brought out the fresh strawberry ice cream from Maple View Farms. And this was only Day One.
Today, we are going for dinner at Dos Perros Mexican Restaurant in Durham after a stop at the Nasher Art Museum at Duke University.
We all brought our cameras, of course, and found some interesting artifacts to shoot in this 1898 traditional North Carolina mill village.
What is amazing is the camaraderie between us and our wish to stay in contact after our organized workshop ended. A very special gathering of women, to be sure! Easy and satisfying. I can’t guarantee that if you attend the 2013 Day of the Dead Photo Expedition that there will be a reunion, but I do know you will have a great time in Oaxaca, just like we did.
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