Food, people, and time-shares!

Let's face it!  Time-shares are a big business in Mexico, not just Vail, Steamboat, or other resort towns in the world, let alone the US.  Everyone has a "deal for you" line.  One time we were walking down the street and had an offer of $2000 dollars, then the next sales guy says $3000!  I'm sure that was in pesos, but that is because we are a little more savvy to the pitches now.  If you have the time, need the money, or are just interested in what the sales person has to say, go for it!  But beware.  They will try to use every sales pitch known to man in order to get you to buy.  We purchased a week at the resort pictured here because we own at one of the sister resorts in Cabo, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach.  We love it!  And we are never sorry that we purchased our weeks with Pueblo Bonito resorts.  That's something you need to feel after you buy, so be sure you have all the information when you do buy.  One of the things that was so important in buying where we did was the humanity that was enriched for the areas populous.  The children of all the employees in all of the Pueblo Bonito resorts are able to go to school!  That is pretty unusual for a resort, but it's run by an owner who came up through the ranks of the business, and he is a citizen of Mexico.  He wants to help his employees, not just providing a good working environment.  He builds housing and schools for not just the employees, but the communities that these resorts are in.  And he does provide wonderful places to purchase!  We had lunch with two couples from Canada that were very upset with the accommodations they had.  The place was run down and the A/C didn't work.  It can make for a miserable vacation.  So buyer beware.  There are some lovely places besides where we purchased, so take a list of places you may get roped into looking at just in case.  A great place to find info is at Trip Advisor, which is a wonderful on-line site.

The people of Mexico have always been so nice to us.  If we're lost they help.  If we can't find the right word in Spanish, they try to help (and most speak better Engilish than we do Spanish).  If we need a taxi, they will call one for us and make sure we are safe in the mean time.  I'm never afraid there.  Never!  Above is my wee friend Miguel whom I was privileged to meet the week before.  His mom makes ends meet by selling necklaces in the old square downtown.  The kids that are older, and some not so old, sell roses in the square also.  We have the attitude that a dollar to us isn't so much compared to what it means for a family to feed themselves there.  And, I love it when Jerry buys them for me.

The food is, as I've stated before, terrific!  This salsa was created at table side for us, and was stellar!  I will be trying to recreate this dish tomorrow.  The main ingredients are fire roasted chilli's and tomatoes.  With our meal there, as you can see, is a wine from Mexico!  Wow... what a surprise!  We didn't know they even bottled wine.  This one is a Cabernet Sauvignon, from Casa Madero, and I believe it was a 2006.  Not stellar, but was passable with dinner.  As with how Chilean wines have become, I expect there will be some real winners in the future for Mexico's wines.

Until tomorrow, best of food, wine and health to all.

Bacon wrapped shrimp in Kahlua

This was one of my favorite dishes that was served in only this restaurant as far as I could tell.  Tony's served up a unique combination of brain pleasers!  I will be trying to make this and post my results. 

Mazatlan, which means "land of the deer" (or dear land literally), is the shrimp capitol of the world.  It is also a huge production area for tomatoes.  There is even a tomato on the licence plates of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico for this reason.  Pacifico beer is the number 3 industry of the area.  Tourism is also high on the list of income for this area.  We went through our hotel to book tours, partly because it was cheaper, but also we trusted our time-share hotel to uphold the high quality that is what makes us buy with them.  Vista Tours in Mazatlan has excellent guides.  They are knowledgeable, speak good English (though you have to pay attention), are always willing to answer questions or repeat themselves, and will accommodate your needs if you let them know what is required (bathroom break, drink need, etc).  Never be afraid to ask politely for a water or bathroom stop.  Your guides can only take care of your needs if they know what that is.  On the tour shown above, we were going into the oldest bakery in Mazatlan.  We came out with three bags (one quart size or so) of goodies!!!  Needless to say, Jerry and I both gained weight on this trip.  The next tour that took us into a bakery, we came out with only one bag that wasn't even full!  Good gosh!  But I must say, they have the best baked goods I've had (not including bread). 

Tomorrow you will learn more about the food, people, and our resort.

Back from Mexico

Mazatlan, Mexico Great food, awesome people, fun beaches, interesting history, and wonderful architecture!

We just got back from 2 weeks in Mazatlan, and we are ready to go back!  It's cold in Colorado!  But we miss our kids and dogs, so here we are. 

What a wonderful place though.  I learned some new techniques with cooking, new ingredients to explore, and took in some great culture.  Found some great "tequila" that can't be called that due to the fact that it's not made in Jalisco, Mexico.  I'll post more on that later. 

The food in Mexico is so different in each area you visit.  They all have regional differences that are unique and awesome.  Visitors should never look for the best "Americanized" Mexican food, or what you had in a different part of the country because that would be setting yourself up for disappointment.  Instead, what we do is research on-line before going to a destination, then get local in-put to have an idea of what we want to eat.  All the food we had there was fantastic!  We wanted to eat where locals went for good seafood and we found it!  When you've lived in a coastal state and you move to a land locked one, it's great to find the fresh stuff again!  This week I'll be blogging on some of the stellar dishes we tried.  Pictured above is my plate (we both had the same thing) with two Spiny Rock Lobsters.  It's good, but it's not as sweet as the kind we get from the east, which I love.  The restaurant is either called, or is located at Playa Bruja.  If you can't find what you want in the way of fresh seafood here, you probably will have a hard time finding what you want.  If you can, go for the better tequila in your Margarita.  It's worth it!  We didn't have one bad one the entire vacation!

Good to be home.

This was a very easy salad type side dish that is full of nutrition!

Quick and delicious! 

Core and halve 3 green apples that are from the *organic section of the market.  Slice very thin and place on an individual sized plate, and add washed blueberries on top.  Add thin slices of good cheddar cheese (I used a 3 year aged Tillamook however any cheddar you like will work).  Drizzle a good balsamic vinegar on, and serve.  I used a vanilla, fig, flavored balsamic from Whole Foods.  It is in an elegant bottle, cheap, and yummy!  Everyone loved it!  Easy for RV'ers also.

*Organic food with a peel is best (such as apples, peaches, nectarines, etc.) because pesticides are absorbed into the peel of these kinds of food.

Buffalo with Creamed Wild Mushrooms

Easy and quick meal that's very elegant. 

Buffalo ribeye steak (can be marinated in oil and seasonings)
Pat dry and let sit out for approximately 5 minutes before grilling.

Place 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium.
Pour sliced mushrooms of choice (I used shiitake, portobello, and crimini) into pan and stir.  As they begin to get limp, season with sea salt or other better *salt.  Stir frequently.  When mushrooms are cooked through, add 1/4 cup white wine.  Cook for another 2 minutes stirring frequently.  Add 1/2 cup of half and half and let reduce.  Additional wine may need to be added if the mixture gets to thick.  Season with plenty of pepper and re-season with salt if needed.  Serve hot over grilled steaks.

Wine:  2005 Vulcano Gran Reserva, Tupungato area of Mendoza, Argentina.  This wine is 50% malbec and 50% bonarda grapes.  Both of these grapes are a favorite of ours.

* note that the salts I use are gourmet types.  Regular salts can be used, however they do not complement the dish you make as well as gourmet or kosher salts.

Scallops with eggplant and mushroom casserole

Scallops

Rinse scallops and place them in a colander to drain.
Mix approximately 11/2 cups of bread crumbs of your choice (I use flavored ones) with
1 tbsp of creole seasoning.  Tony Chachere's is a good one.  This is spicy, so the amount
should be adjusted to your preference. 
Heat 1/4 oil (I used grape seed oil because it can take higher heat without creating toxins, plus
it is almost flavorless) in a large skillet.  Swirl heated oil in pan to coat the bottom evenly.
Lower heat to medium.
Dredge each scallop in the bread crumb mix so it has a light coating and place in the pan.
Remember which scallops you put in first, as you will want to turn each one in the sequence
in which they were placed in the pan.  Turn after approximately 1/2-2 minutes on each side or
until there is a nice golden brown color 1/4 inch up each side.  Do not over cook, as this will
create tough meat.  
Place in a warm dish as each scallop is removed from the pan.  Serve immediately.

Eggplant

Peal one medium sized eggplant and cut in half length wise. 
Slice in a food processor or by hand (thinly). 
Place sliced eggplant in a baking dish that has been coated with olive oil.
Add salt and pepper to taste over top of eggplant.
Drizzle top of eggplant lightly with olive oil.
Add one small package of sliced button or crimini mushrooms over the
eggplant and press down to compact the layers.
Add salt and pepper to the top of the mushroom layer.
Pour one package of Italian cheese blend over mushrooms and spread
evenly.

Bake at 300 degrees until the top is lightly browned (approximately 45
minutes to 1 hour).

Wine:  2006 Artisanal, Chardonnay.  Willamette Valley, Oregon

Scallops with Mushroom and Eggplant Casserole

Fun dinner!  Whole Foods forgot to give me the scallops they were putting on ice for me, that was to be the intro for Thanksgiving dinner.  The guy remembered me (even after 6 or 7 weeks) and gave me 2 pounds of the freshest scallops for free!!!  Needed to take Heidi to the vet at 4:00 to see if she had a bladder infection, so in order to have the eggplant dish, it was made 15 minutes prior to leaving!  Stuck it in the oven at 200 degrees, and left.  It was looking good when I got back 2 hours later, so left it while I prepped the rest of the meal which would take just minutes to make when Jerry came home from work.  What a tasty, tasty treat!
I'll write up the recipe tonight hopefully.  So busy getting ready to leave for Mexico on Monday!

Fresh ingredients and nutrition

Fresh ingredients are important for not olny good flavor, but added health benifits. When buying peppers, yams, squash, lettuce, and many other vegetables, get the darkest in color possible. Darker colors mean more nutrition inside. Use the freshest items you can get. Buying local produce gives the greatest benefits. Remember that as soon as something is picked, it will start losing vitamins (except for broccoli). I'm not sure, but it seems reasonable to me, that if you buy tomatoes on the vine there will be more nutrition than if you buy ones that were picked green and not on the vine. Growing your own and picking just before using is best of course. I grow my own peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and a few other things, right on my deck. Some of those plants are brought indoors for the fruits to mature in the late fall. I will touch on growing a deck garden later this year.

Tomato Basil Sauce With Meat Ingredients: Onion (preferably sweet yellow) Meat (sausage, ground or cubed meats) Vodka (non-flavored) Fresh pimento or sweet bell pepper (red, yellow, orange) Garlic Fresh oregano, thyme, and rosemary Red wine Salt & pepper Sugar (optional) Tomato basil sauce (your favorite) Prep: Slice the onion in half, then slice into thin pieces. Pull or cut the stem from the peppers and remove the seeds, cube or dice. For fresh garlic, slice or dice the cloves as desired. Remove the leaves from the stems of the oregano, thyme, and rosemary. Chop herbs or leave whole, but discard the stems. Let’s cook: Sauté onion on medium low until limp and transparent. Stir frequently (do not burn). Brown desired meat (I used Jimmy Dean reduced fat sausage and diced Capocolla ham which can be chopped into desired size while frozen). Bring to medium high heat after meat has browned. Pour ½ cup of vodka (more or less) into the cooked meat and onions and let that simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add peppers and herbs to mixture and return heat to medium low. Pour approximately 1 cup of red wine into cooked ingredients and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Using a pepper grinder, add approximately ¼ - ½ tsp, then ¼ tsp of salt. (Sugar is optional, but if you have added a sliced warmer chili as I did with the other peppers, you may want to add about 1 tbsp to reduce the heat level created by the chili). Add tomato basil sauce to the mixture, put a lid on the pan, and simmer on low for 30-60 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so. (Note: I rinse my jars of sauce with wine or in this case about 1 tbsp of vodka to rinse and add those last bits of goodness to the mixture before putting the lid on. Remember to recycle the jar!) Serve over noodles of your choice. Wine: 2007 Legado Munoz (~ over ‘n’) Granacha, Toledo, Spain Also with this dish, most Spanish (Tempranilo works well) wines will work, or try a Chianti.

This is last nights dinner. I will be listing the recipe soon. The main dish is a tomato basil sauce with sausage and Capocolla ham, which was served on spinach, basil, and garlic linguine. Also pictured is tomato and avocado salad with a vinaigrette, and butternut squash drizzled with olive oil. Busy day! See you tonight.

In the beginning of my blogging adventure!

My first blog ever, and I want this to be the start of something good for my children and friends. When cooking main dishes, remember that you can add or subtract ingredients as you like from the recipe. Experiment, get your hands in there, let your senses work by smelling and tasting ingredients before you add them to your dish. I call this flavor memory that you can use to decide if you want to add these things to your dish or not. Once in, it won't be extracted from the dish easily if at all. Use fresh ingredients when possible to get the greatest nutrition from what you eat. In this blog I hope to add tips for growing small gardens like I have on my deck. Growing your own herbs is easy with the right knowledge. Travel tips on staying well and making the best of your experience in food and local flavors. Also, yummy RV meals that are easy, and require little prep time. Wine is our passion! As well as good food. They need to match in a way that the food compliments the wine, and the wine does the same for the food. It also seems like it would be good to add tips for ease of prepping, finding the best ingredients, what to look for to gain maximum nutrition, and other tips that can add to the culinary, wine, and travel experience. So here's to a beginning of something new, exciting, and fresh. I hope family and friends, that you will enjoy seeing what we are doing, whether it's at home or with our travels. Here's to good food, good wine, and good health!