gulfporter

Grilled salmon with a Mediterranean side of charred grape tomatoes, portobello, shallot, capers, kalamata olives.

Cold plate of Black Forest ham, cambozola cheese, deviled eggs (they look a bit green as I made with chimichurri), sliced apples, olives. Just enough for a hot summer-y evening.

Next year I'll try to remember them for Día de San Patricio ☘️

Lots and lots of herbs and greens, very little pork. Spice mix includes cloves as well as cumin, etc. Every family has their own recipe. Not common throughout Mexico, but find it here and there.

Chorizo verde made into hamburguesas. First pic when they hit the grill, then after a flip and cheese on one.

If you bring your own container(s) you can control the situation. I carry a canvas shopping bag instead of a purse, even when I go out to dinner....I have some nice ones for 'evening wear' 😃 A small New Yorker-branded bag and also a fashionable Smithsonian Museum member bag in black and a touch of lime green (it even has an outside pocket for my phone). I carry 2 plastic containers, one is a split container allowing 2 different food items that won't touch each other (wish I could find another one here). Granted I live in a village in central Mexico but we eat out 5 to 7 times a week and bringing a container that I can fill, carry home and then simply refrigerate is far better than the restaurants' to-go boxes whose lids or covers often don't fit tight enough. And I can microwave some of my leftovers in the same container I took to the restaurant. fyi, when I travel to the US or EU or big cities in MX, I do the same as above.

Grilled portobellos with goat cheese. Later dressed with fried onions/pepper/poblanos.

When the restaurant on our street has Enmoladas de Pato (duck enchiladas covered in molé negro), I run for it! At 120p (incl. tax) or $6.50 USD it's a steal.

Mine is simple and I don't use oil. I thin slice about 10-12 key limes. Then I juice a few more. Our key limes here in MX are very small, btw. I use every Indian dry spice in my cupboard, lots of prepared garam masala, turmeric, fenugreek (that I soften in water the night before), add cumin, garlic and onion powders. Lots of cayenne, though I brought back too much piri piri from Portugal and used that most recently. Lots of salt (I taste mix and when it's too salty, it's about right). No fresh stuff like garlic cloves or ginger, because once when I made it with those, I got mold after a month in fridge. Alternate layer of lime slices with spice mix, then fill with lime juice. I leave on counter a week, making sure to pack down the limes if they get above the liquid (as the lime softens, it won't be a problem). Then I put in fridge. I make a small canning jar of it and it lasts us 6 months...it's super hot and my husband uses very little of it.

Indian spice-crusted grilled shrimp. With homemade pickled lime, raita with cukes and cilantro, mango chutney. Charred some flour tortillas to fake a naan.

Ahhhh....fried bologna sandwiches. The best (and almost only) dish my Dad made for me on Saturdays when my Mom went shopping. We'd eat them in front of TV, watching Sky King. The bologna was thin-sliced and he got a great char on it. Served on white bread with ketchup. Chips on the side.

New crop of green beans grown on nearby Mezcala Island by indigenous community, and sold on street corners in our village. Made a salad of them with dried cranberries and toasted pecans with lemon vinaigrette (as we say here, American lemon). Heated GF empanadas from local chef. I don't need GF foods; I buy these because they have most tender flaky crust and his fillings are wonderful. One of these is poblano with cheese and the other is chicken in molé negro. We are in upper 80s near 90, so I use my outdoor gas grill as an oven to heat foods rather than my uninsulated Mexican stove. This is hottest time of year until our rainy season begins in mid June.

Seared tuna taco on flour tortilla with pickled onion, cilantro, avocado and wasabi mayo.

This is produced by Stanley Tucci who hosted CNN's Searching for Italy. We're impressed and happy that we've been to all of the regions covered so far. Eaten at many of the restaurants she's visited. This week's episode on Oaxaca (best cuisine in MX) included a visit with Muxes which is a lifestyle that few outside of Mexico are aware of. Fascinating! https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauramanske/2023/03/25/eva-longoria-hosts-searching-for-mexico-new-travel-food-show/?sh=28e6bd026625

Marshmallow vodka??? Oy!!

Forgot mi esposo's dessert. Chocolate créme brulee.

Grilled rack of lamb. Planned on side of grilled asparagus; saw some Wednesday and said, Oh, it's too early to buy that. Not a stalk to be seen since then. My old saying (from my Bisbee days) haunts me: See it, Like it, Buy it. Ended up with a grape tomato and Persian cucumber lite pasta salad. Lite = lemon and olive oil dressing. Chipotle-cherry dipping sauce.

Grilled rack of lamb. Over white beans. Need to buy a veg or some greens.

Pearl couscous with portobellos, shallots, tomatoes and cilantro. Topped with grilled salmon.

Poutine. I did watch mi esposo eat some in Montreal. I couldn't get past the look of it.

Blackened grilled salmon over corn/bacon/shallot fry, over baby spinach.

Spotted Dick 😎

Grilled shrimp and goat cheese crostini with pesto and pinenuts.

Shrimp with Candied Walnuts and Udon.