I get talked into a lot of things but for me the oddest was that I was the prize in a local school auction. For your donation, a cooking class on beans and New World ingredients, but mostly chiles, beans and corn.

All the students were parents of children at the school that held the benefit and we had the workshop at the one of their homes here in Napa. As usual, I say yes and later regret being so kind and wonderful, but then I do it and I have a great time. So call me crazy!

I think I get my greatest kick from introducing people to this food and having them get as excited as me. It's all contagious. And I love slipping in my Mexican propoganda in as well.

All the guests tried their hands at tortilla-making and surprisingly, it was the men who really took to it, granted, after a dismal start. As we went on, they started to get almost territorial about it and the women were happy enough to let them go ahead and make the evening's tortillas.

In all, we made beans, tortillas, a fresh salsa and a dried chile sauce, nopales and ground bison. The best tacos were the bison with the red guajillo chile sauce and beans or a simple bison, nopales and green salsa taco.

The group was great and I already received a thank you note from one of the couples who apparently went out the next day and bought a tortilla press and the family made tortillas at home and the kids declared their best meal ever. I am a happy (but firmly retired) teacher!