gulfporter

Our local hospital food used to be great; a year ago this month mi esposo was there for 3 days and had chicken pipían, shredded beef tostadas and various frittatas and molletes for breakfast. Sandwiches for lunch such as pierna (pork leg) on fresh bolillos (rolls) with fresh pico de gallo. I was there overnight last month and got dry toast, watery oatmeal and a vegetable soup devoid of any seasoning. Turns out the hospital hired a dietician a few months ago to cook "healthy" meals. Prior to that you ordered off the menu from the small restaurant next door to the hospital. Ah, progress??

Francisco's family owns a small coffee farm in Veracruz. He brings beans roasted at the farm and also hand grinds beans for you. I like his strongest beans finely ground and he has an electric machine to do that. 250 pesos per kilo for the 'muy fuerte y molido fino'; his whole beans sell for 230 pesos per kilo. He parks his truck at the side of the road in Ajijic, Jalisco where we live. He disappears for a few weeks when he sells out and returns to Veracruz to visit his family and load up.

Shiitake mushrooms over angel hair. Olive oil, butter, shallots and garlic. Shot of chopped arugula on top. EZ PZ.

Kimchi pork burger with gochujang sauce. Trust me, it tasted better than it looks 🙄

After a big lunch at a Jewish deli, we went light for dinner with avocado halves and a simple black bean and corn salad.

Angel hair pasta with caramelized shallots tossed in olive oil, red pepper flakes. Brown in separate pan: panko with crushed garlic. Top the cooked pasta with the panko, zest of lemon. We do a lot of last minute cold plates; usually have in fridge prosciutto, a few cheeses, assorted olives, mango chutney, Dijon. If I plan ahead I will have fresh fruit and deviled eggs. Serve with good crackers or sliced baguette (often have 1/2 baguettes in freezer).

We prefer Chile Garlic Sauce over Sambal Oelek and we freely substitute in recipes. Had always thought they were one and the same, other than the garlic. But this website does a good job explaining the differences. https://missvickie.com/sambal-oelek-vs-chili-garlic-sauce/

Our microwave got eerily quieter....a sign that it's dying. I went for style over substance (my other small appliances and canisters are red). Ordered from Amazon Mexico and due here this week. We don't use the microwave much especially since I treated myself to an electric kettle a few months ago. Not only do we use it for tea, I can get my pasta water to a boil far quicker than stove-top at our altitude.

Seared sesame crusted tuna over avocado with fresh corn, pickled onions and cilantro.

Potato hash with bacon, onions, peppers and poblanos. I bring home most the roasted new potatoes that come with our restaurant meals and make a hash for weekend lunch.

@rotuts Here is their wine list. fyi, prices in MX Pesos, so divide by 20 for US equivalent (100p = 5 USD). And also this link to a story on MX's award winning wines. https://newsinamerica.com/en/entertainment/2021/twenty-three-mexican-wines-won-accolades-at-north-americas-largest-wine-competition/

A local bakery expanded to serving meals. The hit of the meal was this Duck Confit on an 8" piece of freshly baked baguette. They were oh-so generous with the duck. The owner is featuring mostly Mexican wines; can't remember the one I had but we plan to return soon.

Traditional in September for Día de Independencia, I scored an early one for lunch today. I made them once....labor intensive with a lot of finely minced dried fruit, chopped nuts and ground beef (or pork). Sauce is creamy walnut, topped with fresh pomegranate seeds.

My first meal out in an entire month (down with Covid in July, then had hip replacement 2 1/2 weeks ago). Have had CFS, Chicken Fried Steak Have had CFC, Chicken Fried Chicken But this was a first: CFL, Chicken Fried Lamb Oh so good! And just 180 pesos or 9 USD including taxes.

I always put some Red Hots in my apple pies before baking when we lived in US.

Nothing Fancy is delightful; feisty Diana (age 96 during filming) is seen driving the back roads of Mexico in a beat up standard shift pickup! I had the pleasure of meeting her at a book signing here in our village when Oaxaca con Gusto was released.

Shrimp and bacon over polenta.

Descanse en paz. What a life she lived...to age 99. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/obituaries/diana-kennedy-dead.html

Nobody wants either, but high inflation means restaurants need to either raise prices, or to cut expenses. Personally I find many eateries have overloaded the plate for years; many diners were led to assume their meal is a plus-one, with expected leftovers to take home. I'm not a fan of leftovers; that could be based on my food preferences, many of which do not reheat well or stay fresh enough in the fridge. So I have no problem with restaurants shrinking my meals a bit while maintaining their previous price. Curious to hear from other diners and from restaurant owners/staff.

Seared tuna over corn salad.

Buying lamb is a crapshoot here---often too lean and tough as cowhide. Got lucky today with the most tender rack we've had ever--including in the US when we bbught NZ racks at Costco years ago. Sundays we eat our comida as midday main meal. Grilled up nicely, served with corn and black bean salad and a chipotle-cherry dipping sauce. I used traditional marinade of lemon, rosemary, garlic, Dijon and olive oil, overnight.

Easy, quick and tasty. Spicy Italian sausage in a red wine sauce over angel hair with fried peppers and onions, topped with goat cheese and arugula.

I use ground pork for burgers here; personal preference. Bun it on toasted Bimbo rolls (think Wonder bread), with a squeeze of gochujang (I stock up in US or pay the piper here when I see it). A local organic shop stocks locally made kimchi which we mound on top of the grilled burgers.

Kimchi burgers are planned, but since it's not a holiday here in MX, I have workers scheduled for Monday and if they are working near the grill, we'll switch to something indoors, but nothing specific in mind.