Mexican Memories

On Saturday I couldn't resist another visit to Pallant House Gallery to see the wonderful artwork by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  Chichester is the only UK location to benefit from this major touring exhibition from the Gelman collection.  Originally scheduled to finish on 2nd October the date has been extended to 9th October, so I may just manage one final trip before the vibrant and thought-provoking exhibition moves on.  I'm no art afficionado, but these paintings were reminiscent of a fabulous holiday I had in Mexico, starting in Mexico City and seeing the huge Diego Rivera murals in situ at City Hall, experiencing the largest and oldest cathedral in Latin America with the heady smell of incense, to exploring the ancient city and archaeoligical site of Teotihiacan.  After the intensity of Mexico City flying to Cancun to meet my dear friend Tim and collect a hire car meant we were then free to experience the delights of the Yucatan Peninsula.  From the pyramids at Chichen Itza, to the colonial architecture of Merida and glorious coastline complete with Mayan ruins at Tulum, one particularly special place to stay was the Hacienda Temozon.  Wealthy sisal plantation owners used to have amazing properties built, some of which have been converted to luxury boutique hotels with stylish accommodation.  Offering total comfort, authentic cooking and the best Margarita cocktails you'll ever taste, the Hacienda Temonzon provides hospitality in the same way guests would have experienced in the heyday of the Mexican southeast.  Consequently I'm inspired to dust down my Lourdes Nichols cookery book and prepare some suitably Mexican dishes to recreate the flavours of the sunshine and happy memories.  As a more recent advocate of Mexican cookery I'm a fan too of Thomasina Miers, but Lourdes is the mother of Mexican food in the UK and originally blazed the trail that introduced the British to the delights of Mexican cuisine.  With some unseasonally warm weather forecast for this week, it's the ideal opportunity to cook up a personal fiesta and make the most of it.