Smithy

I thought this would be a good opening to remind folks of our Molé Cook-Off, way back when. But when I looked at it, I discovered that it's strictly for Molé Poblano with a bow toward other molés in the introduction. Hmm, maybe we have another topic for a Cook-Off.

This seems so (heh) foreign to me. In the United States there only recently has been a relaxation of the standards for cooking pork, to make sure trichinosis is not an issue. Was that never a problem in Germany?

I have the same question. Is it cooked? It doesn't look like it.

My darling is in burger nirvana: he's eaten hamburgers THREE DAYS IN A ROW! I didn't show you the Burger King whoppers we ate in Deming. We'd finished our shopping and were faced with a 35-mile drive back, and were too hangry to think straight. They were filling. He claims it was his first burger in months, not counting our Superburgers. He adored it. The next day we were in Palomas, and you've seen that burger. Yesterday I finally convinced him that we should have a late lunch at the Patio Cafe. The Patio Cafe is a small place across the street from the public library. It has a great reputation. Problem is, it's only open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Our recent experiences notwithstanding, we don't usually have large meals in midafternoon. I convinced him that we needed to try it. 3 burgers in 3 days convinced him. This sight startled us when we pulled up to park. How long has it been since you've seen a working pay phone? The Patio Cafe shares a building with the Tumbleweed Theater, which occasionally still features shows (of the stage type, not the screen type) although it isn't the going concern it once was. Still, there's a side entrance from the Patio Cafe's courtyard to the theater. It was too blustery to want to sit outside. In we went. (I shot this just before we left. The place was full when we went in.) @heidih, I wish I'd seen your speculation about oilcloth before we went here. I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff as we saw at The Pink Store. It probably is oilcloth, but now I can't go back to check! Eventually the waitress came over to greet us. It was already 2:20 and we apologized for coming in so late. Was it too late to get something, given that their closing time was 3? No, she said, but it had been a very busy day and they were out of almost everything: pork, chicken, soup...the litany went on. We said we'd come in for burgers. She brightened. "That we can do!" She gave us menus. My darling's face fell when he spotted the pork tenderloin on this next page. He'd love to have tried it. When he looked at the burger list, he brightened right up again. "We'll have to stay here another 2 weeks so we can try everything!" he quipped. We placed our orders. Our waitress told us we'd gotten the last two burgers! They really HAD run out of inventory, and they'd had to turn another potential customer away. While we waited, we discussed the decor. American kitsch, I think I'd call it. Our lunches were HUGE. Wildcat Burger, with tots, for me. Green chile cheeseburger, with fries, for him. The table had mustard and ketchup, and the waitress brought us mayonnaise when we asked. My darling kept wondering what his burger was missing, and finally decided it had been Miracle Whip. We hadn't thought to ask for that. I don't know if she could have provided it. The onion slices were a bit skimpy, but these burgers were massive anyway. We shared a few tots and fries with each other, and he was good enough to give me his pickles. He ate his entire burger, but brought fries home. I ate all my tots, but brought about half the burger home. I just finished it for a late breakfast. Even half of it was huge!

I have a dim memory of those table hooks, but I was much too young (and not well enough behaved) to be a young lady! While I have your attention, @Nancy in Pátzcuaro: I'm about to go on a hunt for Mennonnite cheese. I've learned that it's a Chihuahuan specialty. You're considerably farther south than that, but I wonder how widespread that cheese is. Do you get other states' specialty cheeses? Does Michoacán have a specialty cheese of its own?

Thank you so much for that information! Now if I can only remember the word, next time we go there I can ask for a perchara for our table. Looks like my darling used it exactly as it was intended.

That's a good question. When I think of oilcloth, I think of something still a bit more fabricky, if that's a word, with a more obvious surface texture. However, I might be confusing it with oiled canvas such as was used in our family's early camping tents. If/when I get back there (I may make another trip before we leave) I'll check it out more carefully.

I mentioned before that the mariachis were playing. When I went into the restaurant area, I discovered that they were playing to a single large table rather than working the room as they usually do. I did a double-take. (No, it wasn't for me! But I chose to feel honored anyway. 😄) My darling had already settled into his chair and started working on the chips, salsa and pico de gallo. If I'd been there in time I'd have ordered guacamole also. He never thinks of it. The pico de gallo had a nice bite: sharp onions, just the right jalapeno heat. I'd have appreciated a bit more tomato in the mix, but it still tasted quite good...especially on a chip, and topped with salsa. We ordered more margaritas. The ones from the front desk are complimentary and come in plastic cups. These are somewhat larger. They're all delicious. I don't think they're very strong, but the flavors are perfect and we certainly didn't need to get snockered before going home! Like Shelby, I love huevos rancheros. Other dinner plates looked great too. In the end, I ordered what I think I've ordered there every time: chiles rellenos. The refried beans and Spanish rice finish out the plate. The plate is huge! The rice had a delicious tartness that I think must have come from the tomato sauce. I should try to make that at home. The cheese is "Mennonite cheese" and is very melty and rather tart. I need to go look for that at the local store before we leave. My darling claims to like Mexican food, but he never remembers what anything is and goes for the familiar stuff. He's never met a burger he didn't like, so he chose hamburguesa con rajas. Fries on the side. The rajas are small strips of sweated green chile. I didn't ask what type, but I suspect poblanos. They had a bit of heat, no sweetness that I could detect, and only a touch of the tart sourness that I associate with green (i.e. unripe) chiles. At any rate, his fries and burger were excellent although neither of us thought the chiles added much. As for me: well, my lunch was FABULOUS. I do love good chiles rellenos. I had a disappointing one a week or so ago, and wrote about it here. This chile was meltingly tender, filled with that delicious Mennonite cheese, and topped with a nice red sauce, pleasantly tart but not spicy-hot. There wasn't a trace of the skin that has to be removed after roasting. (I find that to be one of the more onerous parts of prepping roasted chiles.) This "taste" picture isn't the best, but the money shot simply refused to be shot. I swear it wasn't the margarita. The last time we came, my chiles rellenos seemed a bit perfunctory...almost like institutional food. If I hadn't had a reason to go back this trip, I might not have bothered going. I'm glad I did. These were wonderful. I asked the wait staff to tell the kitchen how good it was, and gave a good tip. I hope it's shared around. Here's more of the place. Want cut-paper flag strings like these you see along the ceiling? They're offered for sale, in nice flat bundles. I'd thought at first I was looking at cut-paper placemats when I saw them in the store. So are rolls of the plasticized tablecloth fabric. And see that funny stand holding something at an angle in the lower right corner of this picture? We don't know its stated purpose, but it was perfect for supporting my darling's yucca walking stick. We admired the huge dolls and the ambience (and the birthday sign) once more, and paid the bill. It looks alarming, but the exchange rate is 30 pesos to 1 USD. Well worth it, especially because I only ate one of my chiles and brought the other home for later. I do wish, however, that I'd remembered my "complimentary margaritas" ticket! It was in my wallet, but I'd forgotten it was there!

Shelby, they ship. 😉

It would be a gross understatement to say that The Pink Store is a visually busy place. The instant you walk through the door, you're confronted with jewelry, pottery, clothes, hanging doodads, and a friendly clerk who says, "Hello and welcome! Would you like something to drink?" Of course we would. One of his helpers scampered away for our requested margaritas, and we began strolling. Actually, my darling wandered away to find a table at the restaurant before our margaritas arrived. I went to find him and deliver his drink, and took some good-natured teasing from some other Americans at the basket in my hand. "Looks like you're getting ready to load up!" I was, and said so: "And I haven't even started drinking yet!" But I was On A Mission. Being On A Mission didn't mean I couldn't enjoy looking at the various gewgaws. Want party banners or baubles? Here they are. Want some glorious and showy glassware or statuary? Here you go. The taller of the two blown glass vases had fairy lights inside it, but they don't show well in the picture. This checkered box, when opened, featured tightly wrapped coils of some sort of wood or paper strips (balsa?) that you can pull out in various ways to make decorations or decorative bowls. The one in my hand had been lacquered, so I assume it was sturdy. (I didn't try collapsing it to see.) More gorgeous glassware, including drinking glass and pitcher sets. I didn't take pictures of their clayware, or plasticized fabric suitable for tablecloths, or even dinner dishes. You'll see some of them in the restaurant photos. What I was after was a glass pitcher with a blue rim. A friend wanted one to match her drinking glasses. Come to think of it, I wanted one too! One thing I've learned from this store is not to take opportunities for granted. I have a large salad bowl that matches this pattern, that my parents bought in Mexico decades ago. About one decade ago I saw individual salad bowls here that matched the pattern. I didn't buy them, for some reason escaping me now. I've never seen them since. I wish I could find them. Anyway, I felt and inspected the pitchers until I had two that seemed well made (all of them did) and well balanced, with handles that weren't too large to feel comfortable. The salespeople very obligingly took my basket for safe-keeping while I was eating. I admired the large stars overhead, designed to take candles or lights (I've always wanted one of those, but have no clue where I'd put it) then settled on a couple of smaller ones. They open too but I'm not sure I could find a small enough candle to go into one. All the while, a group of mariachis was playing in the restaurant. I went in to join my darling, eat and enjoy the fun.

Palomas, Chihuahua is the border town just 3 miles south of our current camping spot. We don't know the town well, but have made a point to visit every time we've stayed here for a few days. It's easy: park for $5 in the lot on the U.S. side, walk across the border. Make sure you have your passport first! We're never checked when going into Mexico, but prefer not to test the effort required to get back into the U.S. without them. This memorial on the inbound side has changed since our last visit a year or two ago. When we first started coming, the memorial plaque was in Spanish. The poster at the base was probably added when the plaque was changed. On the outbound side, this beautiful sinuous plaque lines the wall. Some of the places mentioned have changed (Martha's Place in Columbus, for instance) but it was never intended as an actual map. I've been told that the reflection on the sidewalk when the sun is low is stunning, but I've never made the trip that late in the day to enjoy it. Here's an explanation of the artwork: There are other signs of continued cross-border harmony and cooperation. This isn't the place to discuss them, but it's nice to see. Our destination lay a few blocks south of the border crossing. It has a marvelous shop and a wonderful restaurant. I'll show you the interior of both later, but here are photos of the menu. Sorry one of them is so fuzzy, but you should be able to read the bold print. What would you have ordered?

It's windy here: red-flag warnings, several days in a row. No campfires, even though we were hoping to cook outside. Before I forget, and before I launch into something long, I'll show you another of my use-it-or-lose-it-despite-being-tired dinners. I don't remember exactly when I decided I had to do something with the brussels sprouts lurking in the crisper drawer. It was a good time to dispense with the bratwursts whose mates hadn't impressed us, and augment it with bacon. The sprouts needed trimming, of course. I also had cherry tomatoes on the verge. After the meat had browned and mostly cooked, I added olive oil and let the meat finish cooking while the halved sprouts browned. A bit of good balsamic vinegar for liquid, then on the lid went as the sprouts steamed. Once the lid came off, our remaining and withering cherry tomatoes went in to get plumped and warmed. (There's a chopped Campari or two in there also.) Just before serving, I added shavings of that good English cheddar and tenkasu, and tossed it all together. Tenkasu. Tenkasu. Yeah, that's kinda fun to say too. Topped the dish with more cheddar shavings and spätzle/tenkasu, and served. Well worth the minimal effort, and it used up some things that needed using up. The leftovers were good too; he had them for lunch the next day.

I'll be curious to see what you think. Amazon says they're now temporarily out. You must have started something!

Interesting about the mushroom idea. I really need to play with mushrooms more. But isn't surimi a form of fish?

Catfish chunks. I thought of @Shelby when I saw that, but I'm sure this wouldn't measure up to hers.

Our neighbor across the way stopped over yesterday. "I gotta show you something." He showed me a photo on his phone. That's our rig in the picture. Look closely. See Bigfoot looking into the bed of our pickup? He said it took the longest time to figure out what it really was! Here it is, in better light and as seen from our campsite. I'd love to see it draped in white for Hallowe'en. Boo!

We drove to Deming, about 35 miles north, yesterday for some prescription refills and (what else?) groceries. Pepper's Grocery Store has a beautiful motif representing the local Native American tribes and artwork. We only needed "a few things" but that didn't stop us from strolling the aisles and looking at their wares. I was surprised at the variety of barbecue sauces, mustards and other condiments. No Creole mustard that I could see, even though there were a lot of Louisiana-influenced spice mixes and basting sauces. They had frozen fish offerings I'm not used to seeing... and an excellent collection of parts from beef butchering. That's tripe in the lower right corner of the collage. They also carried the usual overpriced beef that we admired but wouldn't (and didn't need to) buy. I remember when chuck steak was a cheap cut!! They also had racks of pork ribs, at pretty good prices, but we still have some in the freezer. There's a good selection of Hatch green chiles already processed, with different heat grades, as well as red chiles. Their alcohol section is in a small, enclosed area. There's a pretty good selection of wines, beer, and hard liquor. I'd thought we were out of Kilt Lifter country, but found more there. This wine bottle intrigued me, although I didn't buy it. I love the name and label! I couldn't help perusing the flour aisle to see what I could find. No Bob's Red Mill white rice flour, though they offered his brown rice flour. But lookee here! Look at the price! @Dave the Cook was right: this is significantly cheaper than the Bob's Red Mill stuff. Here's some of what I bought. I forgot to photograph the frozen chile pulp before stowing in the freezer. On the way out of town, I burst out laughing and made my darling pull over so I could take pictures of the "Shed Superstore". The fine print under "WE SELL SANITY" lists "He/she sheds" along with "Hobby Sheds" and something else.

The Amerind Museum is on my wish list, and I suppose we could take one for the team and stop to see The Thing some day, too. 😉 Our main issue is that once we hit the road we want to cover ground. Our rig isn't very conducive to setting up camp and breaking the next day, for reasons I've discussed before. We both have said that there are places we'd like to see that we aren't seeing. On the one hand, I don't particularly like riding every day, although he does; I like to settle in and establish a social life where possible. On the other hand, with a more nimble rig we'd feel freer to simply stop when we saw something interesting. I'll have to look for a likely camping spot in or near Texas Canyon. It does look pretty from that roadside rest area.

Yup. This one has the spiky thingie insert I remember, although I believe hers was the green yours showed. It's hard to believe my mother ever would have purchased something like that, given her thrifty nature. Maybe it was a gift.

My mother heard about it and we tried it at home: whack the whole head, core first, on the counter or sink edge. It was supposed to knock the core loose so you could pull it out. Now that you mention it, I think she had a "lettuce storage" bowl with a conic center to hold the cored lettuce head in place. Is some Tupperware recommendation where she learned that trick, I wonder?

I'd thought Tupperware was a thing of the past until last summer, when I ran across a Tupperware sales booth at a Farmers' Market. I was surprised to see how their products had changed as far as sturdiness and design. I was also surprised to learn that they had some sort of return / exchange program in the name of sustainability. If I could find some of my mother's older pieces that I no longer used, regardless of their condition, I could return them and get some sort of exchange credit for newer items. I didn't follow through and have forgotten the details, but it was an interesting idea. I wonder how much that added to their debt load when they couldn't afford it.

I forgot to mention above that usually, by the time the lemons are too old, they've started to rust the interior of my canning jar lid! Not that I pressure can them, but I often put them into canning jars.

@ElsieD, FWIW I often use the pith too. As @blue_dolphin said, it's useful for boosting the flavor of a sauce. As she and @Margaret Pilgrim said, the pith and peel become one. You can't really separate them. I don't think I've ever had mine mold, but I have kept them too long to the point where they'd oxidized, turned dark, and begun to smell more like bad furniture polish then lemons. That's when I've pitched them. I don't think you need worry about food poisoning, either with the homemade or commercially preserved lemons, for reasons blue_dolphin gave above. The worst that's likely to happen is that the food won't taste good.

That looks delicious. Have you posted a recipe above? If not, can you point to a recipe?