gulfporter

It's a cool and rainy day in Tucson (we went from 103 yesterday to 70 today). Good baking day! Blueberry sour cream pie.

Review of the GF puff pastry. AWFUL. No layers, no flake whatsoever! Can't say that was a surprise given the ingredients list. Oy!! On the plus side, I saved a lot of calories by not eating the crust. And my filling was good.

I pulled out from freezer some frozen grocery-store puff pastry sheets. To my surprise, they are Gluten-Free, an import from Italy. Mi esposo bought them months ago to replenish our freezer stock, unaware they weren't what I usually buy (Pepperidge Farm). My plan is to make them into turnovers (or square packets) filled with a mixture of cooked leftover chicken shreds, (well drained) spinach and cream cheese. The package shows 400 degrees baking temp; I find I have better luck with Pepperidge farm if I put (well-chilled) item into a 425 degree convection oven. Any advice on using this GF version of puff pastry versus the Pepperidge Farm brand?

Rack of lamb with pearl couscous salad.

Even though it's as hot as hades here in Tucson and I normally drink whites in warm weather, I am drinking red here almost exclusively. Reason: Ozempic makes white wine taste awful! It doesn't affect red, for me anyway.

Blackened salmon with mango salad.

My lazy sous chef (mi esposo) only microwaves corn on cob. It comes out perfect every time.

Sorry no picture. Used white meat from a leftover Costco rotis chicken for a chicken salad sandwich. I remembered when shopping that many moons ago I used to add halved or quartered seedless green grapes to my chicken salad (along with green onion and toasted pecans). Served it on toasted croissants. A cool and refreshing sandwich...yesterday Tucson hit 112. Only going to 105 today. 🌡️🌡️ 🌡️🌡️

Here's how AI describes it, and I'll confirm it. It's the tastiest chorizo I've had in the US; we lived in Bisbee many years ago which is even closer to the Sonoran border than Tucson and I fell in love with it at first bite. It's very well spiced.

In Jalisco, the chorizo is very soft, you cannot form it into a patty. When you fry it, it melts down to almost nothing, a few tasty crunchy bits. It is used more as a seasoning than a main ingredient. Here in Tucson which borders (and was once part of) the MXN state of Sonora, the chorizo is more hamburger-like in texture. I keep it simple, grill the chorizo patty, add cheese and few condiments, but always with fresh cilantro.

Yes, they had a full bin at 2pm.

Scored! Got 2 ears (10 cents total). As I approached the checkout I wondered if they'd take a cc for 10 cents; I don't carry US cash. So I forced myself to buy 2 candy bars to be sure I could charge my purchases.

It's a 4th of July special, but good the whole week. I went by this morning at 9am and the bin was empty! Not surprised. They had a generous limit of 8 ears per customer, per day. Most of my errands take me past the store so I'll check again.

Grilled pork tenderloin. Mi esposo made this Gojuchang sauce.....ez and nice! It's in this burger recipe and went quite well with the pork https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023423-gochujang-burger-with-spicy-slaw Safeway (national US grocery chain) is selling corn on cob for 5 cents an ear this week....and it's very sweet and fresh! We split an ear so that's a 2.5 cent corn half on my plate!

We had 6 large established hosta beds (courtesy of former homeowner). We also had a huge deer population as we lived in one of the last 5 acre subdivisions in urbanized Fairfax County VA, and our home was lakefront. Our winter herds were 20+ and they slept just off our deck! Every spring we'd had at least 3 or 4 fawns. We loved watching the deer. Our solution was to use dried blood as a deterrent, we had to reapply often. We'd do it all summer, then we'd stop in late September and let the deer have at the hosta.

When we lived on 5 acres in Northern Virginia we called our hosta, "deer caviar." How did you manage to beat Bambi to them 🦌

Seared duck breast over pearl couscous salad. I am cooking duck to medium these days as I get more tender meat than when rare. Maybe it has to do with the duck I buy here in AZ.

Maracuya is MXN name for Passion Fruit. Size of oranges, skin is dry and leathery when ripe. More intense than what I've bought in US.

@liuzhou Same in Guadalajara. It's 2nd largest city in MEX, 6+ million population. Literally blocks long for things like sewing machines and repairs; used car parts (at least 3 long blocks); fabric stores, etc. I live in a village of about 6K. There are tiendas in every block many in the front room of a home. While they carry the same snacks and beverages, they all have some sort of 'specialty' such as one sells eggs, another sells fresh baked bread, another sells fruits, another sells cheeses, another sells brooms and mops. It's word of mouth or visual inspections to find out their specialties that the other tiendas don't stock. Over time since our arrival in 2008 these tiendas are fewer due to the expansion of larger groceries and OXXO's (think 7-11 type).

Too true in MEX re: one time finds. Our motto-- See it, like it, buy it. NOW. Another local shopping oddity that at least 3 small business owners here have confirmed to me. When a new item becomes so popular that it flies off the shelves, the business will stop stocking it. Their rationale (?) is they don't like disappointing their customers. Go figure 🤔

First dinner back in MEX after a month's absence. Arrachera. It's marinated skirt steak and this was most tender I've had in years. From a meat provider outside of Guadalajara. Exactly 3.5 minutes per side on a hot gas grill. Perfecto! We ate half of it with puré de papas and some zucchini. The rest will give us a few fajitas or quesadillas. Or steak sandwiches on a local fresh bolillo (yeast roll).

I brought a bunch of these back from Portugal. Maybe you can find in US? Or search for recipe to make your own spice mix??

EZPZ dinner. Frozen mini-meatballs in a spicy sauce over pasta.

You don't need much Spanish to figure this one out.

This one caught my eye today. But have always been fascinated by food crimes and trials. Mushroom Murder Trial in Australia. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/23/mushroom-murder-trial-australia/