gulfporter

@btbyrd The NC problem is governmental. The Chair of the ABC board just resigned. The distribution contractor whose contract began in July implemented new software for ordering and inventory which coincides with the mess that started around that time. The NC legislature held a hearing recently but didn't get a lot of answers, per this article. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina/articles/2021-09-30/liquor-shortages-on-nc-shelves-gets-legislatures-attention

Lunch at a nearby seafood...high quality ingredients, low prices. Entire meal with 1 beer and 1 agua mineral was 208 pesos (under 10 USDs). The NOT a corndog is a huge banana pepper stuffed with smoked marlin; blue shrimp were inside a fried flour tortilla; I always have their battered and fried avocado taco. Nice ambiance, too...you can see palapa bar seating and the open kitchen in the back.

@shain We were also in a pasta mood last night. Quick and easy; angel hair with hot Italian sausage, onions and peppers, goat cheese and basil. "Sauce" was white wine and chicken broth reduced with the sausage.

Don't see many painted skulls, but the pan de muerte is everywhere. Street vendors will be selling bunuelos de viento, by far my favorite Mexican treat.

Put on your sunglasses 😎

It's actually in a clear Pyrex pie pan. It's my tiled counter that is showing thru the Pyrex.

My first attempt at a Far Breton. Came out rather pale. I will conveniently blame my Mexican oven 👩‍🍳 Tasty though! I used orange liqueur to steep the prunes.

Not technically a Farmers' Market, but the young disabled man who collects parking fees at a pop-up lot on weekends was selling ciruelas that he and his brother plucked out of the plum trees on our street. For 10 pesos (50 cents, US) I got a large container. They were a mix of ripe and green; the green ones are turning nicely. These are not cultivated plums, though we wonder if there was an orchard here long ago. Across the street from my house is a large former hacienda named La Ciruela and the plum trees are in neat rows on our street and 2 adjacent streets. The fruit is extremely sweet--surprise! Not much edible fruit as the pit is about 75% of each plum. Most of the trees are quite tall, though locals manage to pick them using make-shift baskets on bamboo poles, some use swimming pool skimmers. Many stand on the roofs of their cars to pick, have seen some horseman stand on their saddles!

Eggplant 'ragu' with Indian spices served with garbanzos topped with cilantro and preserved lemon yogurt.

Udon noodles with shrimp. Topped with peanuts and green onions.

Carbfest....we usually eschew pasta at home, but mi esposo is looking to gain back a few pounds. Penne rigate in a light cream sauce with shallots, garlic and peas. Topped with toasted panko with pine nuts. I bought these pine nuts in their shells from a street vendor. Had to bust them with a hammer, probably lost half due to my learning curve. The nuts are very small and pink in color after toasting.

Mi esposo is spending the night in our new local hospital after a procedure this morning (in the past he would have had to go to Guadalajara, an hour away). Today is a major holiday, Día de Independencia. Despite the holiday, his specialists were there for him at 6AM (it was an emergency). They called in the whole team from Guadalajara after determining what was needed; they got there in 45 minutes. Amazing health care here. Dinner.....Tostadas de Tinga de Pollo. After he told them how good they were, they brought another plate for me.

Mi esposo found a box of imported risotto mix in the back of a cupboard (we bought a lot of packaged foods at the beginning of the pandemic). Labelled Risotto Milanese with Saffron. Saturday I had a lunchtime appointment so my DH decided to make it. Awful...so salty! But plentiful...it made 4+ cups. He barely touched it. I told him to save it and I'd figure out a way to resurrect it. Today I added fresh corn off the cob, sautéed poblanos/onions/red peppers and a few handfuls of grated jack cheese. Threw in some panko and few eggs to bind it. Pan fried them on high heat. These risotto cakes were tasty and crunchy. I made a lime and cilantro mayo with a dash of chipotle.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken Thighs with Prune/Green Olive/Pecan Couscous. https://www.andiemitchell.com/grilled-moroccan-chicken-thighs-with-pecan-couscous/ I used the above recipe EXCEPT I doubled the marinade/paste so I could convert some of it to a serving sauce. I also increased the spice level and amount of prunes and olives, both in the marinade/paste and couscous. I had enough marinade/paste that I reserved half of it for the eventual sauce. To make the sauce, I diluted the paste with a bit of chicken broth.

Yesterday I made my first meal since early July; I had hand surgery on July 5. This Friday the doctor OK'd me for light KP duty (kudos to my husband for his divine cooking, excellent ordering of to-go and deliveries, not to mention helping me dress for the initial 2 weeks). I made this recipe (sorry, no pics...out of practice) https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/masala-chicken/17928/?itid=lk_inline_manual_25 Developed by Chetna Makan, a British Bake-Off finalist 2014. The flavors were fine, but it didn't get crispy enough which is likely due to my Fear of Frying. Made a raita with Persian cucumbers using the only non-sugared yogurt we can find here (from a local goat farm). I took an open jar of locally made mango chutney and ramped it up with garam masala, fresh ginger, fresh serrano peppers. All in all a fine meal that I want to try again to see if I can get a better crust. Decided it needs a 3rd condiment...multiple Indian condiments are essential to a great meal IMO. This morning a whipped up some Lime Pickle...I sliced the small smooth Key-type limes (mostly all we see here) very thin. I am hoping they will be edible in 7-10 days.

Soba noodles with stir-fried eggplant in a hoisin-citrus sauce. Topped with spicy peanuts and green onions.

Lamb arrachera and mashed camote (sweet potato).

Blackened grilled salmon with sautéed radicchio and apple. Squirts of chipotle mayo and cherry-chipotle jelly.

Light meal....tostadas topped with grilled/charred zucchini strips, goat cheese and a few hefty splashes of Cholula hot sauce. Cholula is made here in Chapala; recently sold to a conglomerate. Hope the quality stays up there.

Seared sesame-crusted tuna with corn/tomato stuffed avocado; garnish of pickled red onions.

Grilled shrimp and grilled eggplant slices. Served with chipotle mayo drizzle.