Page 189 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2020 South Africa

One daily activity in Trinidad is to while away ready to climb mountains! There was no need, for
the time on the steps of La Casa de la Musica sip- our next stop was Carlos’ family farm, a compound
ping mojitos and listening to live music. Dancing consisting of housing for his 11 family members,
erupted around the plaza soon after sunset, and a as well as a vegetable garden and small orchard.
strikingly tall black-skinned woman in an immacu- Our host proudly showed off a pig pen and a
late chef’s jacket approached each table. “Would chicken coop. ““We have to grow our own food.
you like to try my gratin of seafood?” asked the im- That’s how we survive,” he explained. Lunch with
posing chef whose toque towered over our table. his extended family turned out to be a highlight of
The cooking class at Casa de Tonia, a private our stay.
home converted to a casa particular, dispelled the We had planned to spend our last night at Casa
memory of the previous evening’s lackluster Carlos y Oralia. On the way back to Havana the
gratin! Our professional chef/instructor Eduardo, Ernesto (“Che”) Guevara Sculptural Complex in
flanked by an English translator, demonstrated the Santa Clara was a requisite stop. The memorial
art of cocina criolla using his grandmother’s houses the remains of this longtime friend of Fidel
recipes. For two hours, he directed us as we sliced Castro’s and one of Cuba’s preeminent revolution-
and diced ingredients in his small and well-ap- aries. A youthful uniformed guard was all smiles
pointed kitchen. In no time, we turned out fufu de when we invited him to pose alongside us.
plátano, a plantain puree mixed with pork fat and Carlos’ last requisite stop was at Los Martinez, a
pork rind, sopa de frijoles colorados flavored with thriving family restaurant by the roadside: “These
a mild sofrito pureed peppers, and much more. people know how to make a Cubano sandwich,” he
Most instructive was his use of latitas, empty cans proclaimed, as we bit into our warm roll filled with
of sweet condensed milk instead of a measuring warm shredded pork and sliced ham smothered in
cup. (So was the ingredients list that called for melted Swiss cheese and fresh pickles, and sipped
“chicken bottoms” instead of chicken thighs!) Our goblets of fresh guava juice. Our guide was right
cooking completed, we retreated to the far end of once again.
the patio, around a massive table set with crystal Carlos Eire’s book “Waiting for Snow in Havana”
and china. When we remarked on the ubiquity of describes how the author’s favorite pastime as a
Moros y Cristianos, instructor and staff burst out young boy was to have his father drive through the
laughing: “El frijol se le hace diario en Cuba!” (In waves crashing onto the Malecon. Susan had ex-
Cuba, we make beans every day!) pressed her wish to do the same. On our last
Trinidad once was a hotbed of revolutionaries. evening in Havana, we joined a crowd of ebullient
So were the jungle lined hills of Valle de los Inge- young Cubans running through the waves along
nios, which we explored during our excursion to the promenade. Drenched and happy, my friend
Topes de Collantes and Parque Guayanara na- and I could leave Havana having fulfilled our own
tional park. Our hike took us deep into the lush “fantasia”.
greenery, to the exuberant Salto de Caburni wa-
terfall and the frigid waters of a popular swimming
Kitty Morse is the author of 10 cookbooks, and
hole. For this senior citizen (albeit in good shape)
a staff writer for Wine Dine and Travel.
hiking downhill to the falls, then climbing up again,
necessitated more effort than my daily exercise
routine! Luckily, Carlos had planned a restorative Susan McBeth is the founder and president of
stop at a nearby family-run coffee plantation. Af- Adventures by the Book (www.adventuresbythe-
ter my first shot of potrerito—a Cuban espresso book.com) and Novel Network (www.novelnet-
spiked with rum, lemon juice, and honey, I was work.com)

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