Living in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in BC, we have an abundance of fresh food to cook with, and believe me, I do!
We have 5 daughters, 3 grand daughters, and lots of honorary daughters ...I love cooking for family and friends and they all keep me busy in the kitchen. Here is hoping that this blog will allow my entire family to access those recipes they ask for, and maybe even enjoy a few travel photos!
Something about beach life just makes everything slower …. like sleeping 9-10 hours a night …..
The sun slipping over the horizon in Zihuatenajo
In the past we have stayed at Angela’s Hostel – it is now named Angelita’s Hostel – but closed and up for sale. We chose a smaller hotel right down the street – Fiesta Paraiso. The beds are super hard, but otherwise the rooms are comfy and clean – and the pool is delightful. If we only had a kitchen it would be great for a longer stay. And – 400 pesos per night which is pretty close to perfect.
Poolside at Hotel Fiesta Paraiso – pretty easy way to relax after a busy day at the beach …
Along with beach towns comes a more limited menu and every little beach palapa will pretty much have the same thing on the menu, so pick the place with the comfiest looking chairs! We did yesterday – at Los Gatos beach and enjoyed a great day in the sunshine, swimming, reading and chatting with Canadian neighbours … yes, only Canadians at our little chosen spot. The couple next to us – Alison and Rauz, are a retired couple from Kelowna and they stated we have given them the encouragement they needed to explore a bit more, in particular Mexico City. No doubt we will get together at home to share a few notes! (and maybe a glass of wine)
The beach at Los Gatos – an easy water taxi ride over from Zihuatenajo – beautiful water, lots of loungers to relax in – just watch out for those guys trying to help you in and out of the boat – they are not official in any way, and will want a tip for helping you!! (whether or not you need it) :o)
After our return from the beach we wandered up to a place recommended – Taqueria Papas Loca. This place takes baked stuffed potato to a whole new level. They had a whole row of baked potatoes ready to go, which they then stuff with your choice of fillings; I chose bacon, shrimp and tomato, Grant chose tacos al pastor, pork and pineapple. They were delicious! Huge too … we really should have shared!
These guys work crazy fast – choices of toppings go onto the grill surface, cooked up and diced while the other guy opens the potato, stirs in sour cream and butter, mixes it all in together, toppings applied, cheese applied, lid on to steam it a bit, and presto … whew.
As you can see – you are pretty much sitting in a parking lot. There is some seating indoors also thankfully under a fan. This place is crazy busy and the staff work like frantic bees rushing around. Just as many takeouts as eating in.
Today’s activity was much like yesterday …. beaching it! We walked to La Ropa beach and sat ourselves on the lounge chairs, much like the other Canadian and American tourists and sunned ourselves, swam in the waves and read our books – this after a 10 hour sleep!! When we were exhausted form all that activity we dragged ourselves upstairs and enjoyed a massage with the sound of the waves crashing while we had a very therapeutic massage – those girls really knew what they were doing.
La Ropa Beach at Zihuatenajo
ahhhhhhhh
Walking back we noticed an Italian getting his place ready to go, so ordered a Napolitano pizza (he is from Naples, and this is his specialty), tomato sauce, anchovies and capers. It was delicious, and we ate that as an appie beside the pool.
Tomorrow we are heading out – perhaps to Barra de Potosi, a very small beach town not far from here …. if it has adequate internet access you will no doubt hear from us there!
Our flight to Mexico City was a bit bumpier than usual, but nothing too bad. Arriving at Hotel Puebla around midnight we settled in to a familiar neighbourhood – Roma Norte.
In the morning we were up and on the streets before Mexico City (DF) really came alive. In Grant’s usual fashion we were walking to breakfast about 5 blocks away …. Really I am not sure how many increments of those 5 blocks we walked … maybe 45 minutes? We found El Hidalguense Barbacoa … .this place is only open on the weekends, Friday through Sunday, and usually sells out by noon to 2 ish.
Barbacoa La Higuedense – this lamb pit roasted all night resting on maguey leaves – mouth waveringly tender and delicious.
The only thing on the menu is barbecued lamb and its accompaniments. Many of them ….
The lamb is butchered and put into a pit to roast and steam on top of maguey leaves (the plant that produces mescal or tequila). The entire lamb is put into this, along with seasonings. There is no testing for seasoning through the cooking process, once it is sealed up with the ingredients and covered with yet more maguey leaves the pit is sealed and the lamb allowed to barbecue roast overnight. In the early hours of the morning the lamb is removed from the pit, juices are poured off to create the soup, and the lamb pieces (included the stomach) removed to another maguey leaf lined wooden crate to keep warm. This is then sold in the restaurant along with all the accompaniments, or sold by the kg to go. This place is busy! With good reason too, the lamb was delicious, and those blue corn tortillas so perfect for serving.
el Hidalguense lamb barbacoa (incorrectly spelled on previous photo!)
Our appetites are not used to such a meat fest early in the morning though so we were not really able to do it justice in the form of eating a lot of it, but what we did eat we thought was fantastic. The broth of that soup was unbelievable.
We set out to walk it off and we found a new market – Roma Norte Mercado Organico. This place takes the usual Mexican Mercado to another whole level. What a beautiful building! Such tiny little spots sell a variety of amazing food and beverages. In this market we finally found the sea salt from Cuyutlan that we had walked blocks in search of on our last trip here … Wilson wanted that blog called “Salt of the Earth” ….
Just 1 shot of the magnificent interior of the newest market, in Roma Norte – Mexico City. Amazing food.
Grant had read about the Mercado, and about the amazing Portuguese tart sold there … naturally we had to try it – yes breakfast dessert following barbecue … I’m still dreaming of the delicious crispy flakiness of the pastry combined with the luscious cream filling.
Exterior of Carlos Slim Gallery (dedicated to his wife), like a shimmering mirror.
Next was a taxi to a swanky neighbourhood – Polanco. Definitely easy to tell just how swanky by the size of the Saks 5th Ave store ….. Our destination was an art museum built by an individual that was once the wealthiest man in the world – the owner of Telcel, Carlos Slim. Hard to even describe this building, looking like a mirror of unusual proportions … inside is an even harder to describe art gallery – totally round interior in white with wooden floors.
Interior – the entire upper floor filled with the most incredible sculptors work.
The first painting to greet us was a Van Gogh! In order to ascend the building, you walk up a sloped ramp along the outside perimeter. Not only are the walls sloping towards you (stay away from the outside edge or you’ll bonk your head) the floors have a slight slope as well. Totally disconcerting, and yes – a little vertiginous. The art housed in the gallery is just beyond belief – Salvador Dali, Monet, Renoir, and Rodin and on and on and on.
Renoir landscapes One of the many Salvador Dali pieces “Alice in Wonderland” Italian sculptor – B. Lombardi created this phenomenal lady with a veil
It is just wonderful that all this artwork is free to view, and not only that – not behind any type of glass or protective barrier aside from a few of the sculptures that are just to delicate to risk. Alongside all this prestigious artwork is an entire floor dedicated to Sophia Loren – her clothing worn in movies, as well as clothing worn on a daily basis. Again – none of this behind any type of barrier. The Oscar however was in a glass case.
One of the many Sophia Loren outfits from her movies.
Lunch was street tacos – pretty much guaranteed to be fabulous in Mexico – and for the grand prize of less than $5.00 we enjoyed shrimp, pork, and chicken tacos with some nice cold water. Served up in a jiffy you – feeling somewhat like you were at Subway – you chose your own toppings for the owner/chef to heap on.
Tacos la Hola – another favourite taco joint on the streets of Mexico city.
Salsas and lime available for your own final seasoning and the whole thing was mouth watering, finger licking good. On our way back to Hotel Puebla we stopped at La Ceverceria for a drink – Grant got a cerveca and I got a gin – you should have seen Grant’s eyes pop at the amount of gin he watched the bartender free hand pour in – I was hardly able to get much soda water in there!
Siesta time for a bit – so nice to stretch out after walking a number of 5 block increments.
Dinner was at Yuban – we had been there with Hayley and the girls shortly after they opened a year ago. The place was a lot busier, and with a new team of staff members they are executing Oaxacan cuisine even better than previously.
My only concern was the price of a glass of wine – 150 pesos, which is hugely pricey when a top end meal is 236 pesos. Did I splurge anyway? You bet – twice. I’m worth it. We aren’t sure if they thought I was a famous blogger or not with all the photos I was taking but we sure were treated well, including a complimentary house cocktail at the end of the meal – without question the best mescal cocktail I have ever had.
Pretty darn impossible to not love a mescal cocktail that tastes as good as it looks!
Smoky mescal combined with refreshing cucumber is a great combo. The new house manager – a young guy, also offered to take us on a 4 hour drive to the smaller village in Oaxaca were they source all their ingredients to make their cuisine. I would have jumped at the chance but Grant remembers those roads better than I ……….. In the end, he also gave me his email and said that if I was ever coming back to be sure to let him know so that he was able to take good care of us … hmm – I’m quite sure he has never heard of http://www.chattykathychatsandcooks.com but you just never know.
After a good night’s sleep we had a quick 5 block walk (translate about 30 minutes) to Monica Patina’s deli – we’ve been there before with the family and you will all know right away how good it was.
Back to the hotel to catch a taxi to the airport and an Interjet flight to Zihuatenajo. Sunshine here we come.
Do you ever have left over garlic toast? Bread that is past its “best before” date? Or – as has occasionally happened ….. just forget to take the garlic bread out of the oven to serve??? I can relate to all this very well. Don’t throw it out!
The tastiest use of forgotten or leftover garlic bread is to make bread crumbs. You’ll never buy bread crumbs again!
Allow it to completely dry out by cutting or tearing it into pieces – then spread on a baking tray and just leaving it be. If you want it toastier just put it in a moderate oven (350) and allow to toast a bit more.
When totally dried out, give it a whiz in your food processor, and you have the tastiest bread crumbs – particularly if you are working with leftover or forgotten garlic bread. If you don’t have an immediate use for it, put crumbs in a ziplock bag in the freezer – stays for ages and so handy to have.
~ ~ Melt a little butter in a frypan and crisp the crumbs up – serve sprinkled over pasta!
These make the most delightful tasty dessert – thanks to my friend Jean for preparing these for our Annual Canada Day visit!!!
The strawberries in the garden were ripe so we added a few to this treat, along with just a wee scoop of ice cream ….
These definitely need to be prepared ahead of time but the actual work is pretty easy.
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups caster (or superfine) sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp fleur del sel
1 cup raspberries
Preheat oven to 200 F
MERINGUES:
In bowl of mixer, beat egg whites just until soft peaks form before increasing the speed, adding the superfine sugar slowly – a bit at a time – until fully incorporated. Whip at high speed until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture takes on a shiny, glossy look and nice stiff peaks form up.
Drop a teaspoon of the jam into a small section of the egg white mixture – swirl and and scoop a heaped tablespoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with another teaspoon of the jam, and a bit more of the meringue mixture until you have 12 meringues.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Leave in the oven to cool off and dry out overnight.
SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE
Heat white sugar in medium size, heavy bottom saucepan over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon, and stir a LOT while this is going on, and don’t worry – it will harden and clump as the sugar melts. DO NOT STIR ONCE THE SUGAR STARTS TO CARMELIZE. Quickly stir in the butter, cream and fleur del del (or a flaky sea salt). Let simmer for 1 minute, then transfer to a heatproof bowl and allow to cool completely.
This caramel sauce keeps really well in the fridge, and is amazing on pretty much anything.
ASSEMBLY
Place meringue on plate, lightly drizzle with salted caramel sauce and sprinkle with raspberries – perfection!
I love shrimp cocktail, and this version puts lots of flavour into the shrimp as well as the cocktail sauce – sure to be a hit at your next dinner or appetizer party.
Make sure to use raw shrimp and poach them in this broth – it really does make a difference.
Poach the shrimp:
3 cups water
1 cup your favourite white wine (preferably crisp, light, fruit – think pinot grigio)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1 pound bag of frozen RAW shrimp
Put all ingredients, save the shrimp, into a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil – allow to simmer for about 20-30 minutes to allow flavours to develop, and then turn to a gentle simmer. Add the shrimp, cover with a tight fitting lid and turn off the heat. Let sit for 10 min. Remove shrimp and allow to cool.
COCKTAIL SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup horseradish
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
juice and zest of 1 lemon
Combine all sauce ingredients and allow to sit
Serve shrimp with cocktail sauce and sit back to enjoy the compliments – way better than any shrimp cocktail you buy!
First – no photo yet of the french toast dish!! We dove into this too quickly – but I promise a photo the next time I make this, and it was such a hit that I am sure it will happen again.
I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo of the french toast, but I think you can tell how delicious the blueberry orange sauce is – Stella’s spoon wasn’t fast enough for her so she had to tip it up!!
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, softened
zest of 1 orange
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 loaf french bread – cut into 1″ slices
1-2 cups blueberries
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, butter and orange rind. Add eggs, one at a time until well blended – slowly stir in milk.
Place bread slices in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, overlapping the bread slightly. Let stand 15-20 minutes, or cover and put in the fridge overnight.
Before baking, uncover and sprinkle with blueberries. Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar, and serve with warm blueberry orange sauce.
BLUEBERRY ORANGE SAUCE
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
In medium sauce pan, stir the sugar, cornstarch and water – heat until gently boiling and add:
1 cup blueberries
1 orange – minced fine, and the zest
Cook until the juices are clear and the sauce has thickened.
This is a great change from the usual stuffing – goes really well with any roast – beef, turkey, chicken or lamb. We’ve had it with all! Now a family favourite. Even better is that leftovers make a fantastic snack or breakfast.
Trust me – this will be your new favourite savory stuffing or bread pudding!
Preheat oven to 350
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 tbsp roughly chopped garlic
Saute until onions, celery and garlic are soft and translucent. Set aside to cool.
In large bowl combine:
12-14 cups cubed stale bread (I like calabrese or french)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tin artichoke hearts, roughly chopped (tough outer leaves removed)
1/4 cup minced parsley
Add the onion mixture and the egg/milk/cream mixture to the large bowl with bread and vegetables.
If the bread does not absorb all the liquid right away – set aside until it does.
Put all the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with more freshly grated parmesan and a dusting of salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.
Our family really likes the crunchy bits of stuffing or bread pudding, so I baked this earlier in the day in muffin tins so there were lots of edges, then turned it into a clay baker and warmed it all up for dinner.
If you really want to take this over the top …. crumble a bit of brie cheese into the dry mixture before adding the onion and milk mixtures.
These muffins are delicious, light, fresh and so so simple!
Combine:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Set aside – and in either a blender (or bullet) mix together;
1 orange, cut into segments (remove the zest first and set aside)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Blend well, and then stir gently into dry ingredients with:
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
zest of 1 orange
Stir only until combined – then put into muffin tins.
Makes about 14-16 depending on size.
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. Check them at 12 …
You could easily substitute the cranberries for dried blueberries or raisins – go ahead and experiment.
I decided to do a play on Roger Mooking’s cooking show – with an obedient ingredient ….. Miso! Our halibut is marinating in a miso based dressing, and this seemed the perfect accompaniment.
1/2 tsp chile flakes (to your taste of course – depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
Combine all ingredients in a jar, and shake well. Delicious served over steamed vegetables or a bowl of crispy greens.
Whatever you use here is up to your families interests! This year we made it peanut free for Liv, who is allergic, but pecans, cashews and coconut flakes added lots of interest.
This is our families favourite savoury Christmas treat … we only make it at this time of year for some reason, and we all love it. The butter makes it a treat you shouldn’t have often, but enjoy when you do!
Remember – use your own families favourite ingredients, whether it is the cereal aspect or the nuts – make it your own to enjoy.
1 cup butter
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion salt
1 tbsp celery salt
Melt and stir until seasoning is well mixed. Dip a Bugle, or or shreddie or something in it at this point and make sure you can taste the seasoning – if it needs more flavour, add a bit of each. Remember – critical – taste!! Everybody has different seasoning, and each brand is different in it’s level of flavour. (and freshness)
If you taste it enough you might end up with less to cook………
4 cups Cheerios
4 cups Life cereal (or Shreddies)
1 package pretzels
1 package Bugles (4-6 cups depending on your preference)
1 bag cheese crackers (goldfish) (3 cups)
2 cups peanuts
1 cup pecans
1 cup walnuts
Stir the melted butter/spice mix over the dry ingredients – mix well and bake in the largest roaster you have – it makes a lot.
Bake at 250 for 1 & 1/2 hours, stirring frequently.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container. (at least, try to store it – doesn’t last long….)
