gulfporter

@Duvel One of the best love stories I have ever read.

I hate baking. Saw this on Cooks Country the other night and decided to try it. Blueberry Biscuits. Came out fine. I will not bake again for at least 3 months. https://wskg.org/cooks-country-blueberry-biscuits-ep-1505/

Easy lazy Shrimp over (instant) Grits.

Hot-smoked salmon, goat cheese, sautéed onions/peppers/poblano with squirts of chipotle sauce. Pictured pre-fold and grilling. We are lucky to have a Canadian here who smokes salmon for sale. Really intense smokiness with a touch of sweetness.

I make these 2 simple ones regularly for cold plates. Chipotle--Chipotle, mayo and top with cilantro leaves and picked red onions. Mediterranean--Dijon, capers, and as little mayo as possible to bind. Top with halved Kalamata olive.

Grilled pork tenderloin with fresh corn and black bean salad. Served with cherry-chipotle jam.

Tuna here, too. Tuna poké.

It's our 1 year delayed 50th Anniversary trip. We have made reservations for that night in Alicante at https://stekirestaurante.es/ which will be our 1st ever Michelin starred eatery. We prefer tapas and small bites to heavy meals. Any all suggestions in either city appreciated!

The crispy bits sorta did. But wouldn't most 'shrooms fried till crisp get that way?? Next time I have portobellos I will fry pieces until crisp and see.

@Paul Bacino Beautiful cook on that halibut. When we lived in AZ we got halibut from AK snowbirds....I found it difficult to cook without drying it out.

Sautéed pink oyster mushrooms over pasta. Too bad they lose their pink color when cooked.

Did a quick sauté with a shallot and garlic. I had read that if cooked till crisp they taste like bacon. Decided not to do that with all of them, but the smaller bits in the pan did crisp up and were a nice contrast to the softer ones. They were tasty and as with most mushrooms, a good meat substitute. I tried them raw and they were awful--many sites said bitter, and I agree!

Saw these at local market not known for many culinary prizes...wasn't sure if they were a delicacy or a mushroom-gone-bad. Señor Google says they are pink oyster 'shrooms. Some sites say they taste bacon when cooked. Vamos a ver.

Been in this house for 5+ years and this is first bloom (and sadly likely the last) of this agave. Impressive! It's bloom is 6 feet tall. Not sure how it will progress. It threw the bloom literally overnight!

The brand is Granoro made in Bari, Italy. We liked it a lot, soft and creamy.

Gnocchi (store-bought Italian import) with grilled asparagus and a good quality Black Forest deli ham. Mostly olive oil and pasta water for sauce, two pats of butter to finish. Ton of fresh ground pepper.

I bought aged rum to make my backyard bananas into Bananas Foster.

And now .... Bananas Foster in the making.

Finalmente! They are turning yellow...and fast!

Yes you are right it is called corn smut. Also known a corn fungus.....now a descriptor for it is, Mexican Truffle. Oh so posh!

Bacon and Huitlacoche Quesadillas (shown before grilling).

Potato and bacon hash.

It's a madhouse as tomorrow is Día de Independencia; here "eves" are always when the celebrations take place. Streets are already closed so vendors can set up tonight. I went on a shopping walk through town (along with everyone else in town it seemed!), you can feel the excitement--people in such great moods, shouting to one another about their plans for the long weekend. This is first Independencia celebration since the pandemic. Lots of pentup demand. We will lay low for a few days and avoid the throngs...many Tapatíos (what people from Guadalajara proudly call themselves) flood into our village for holidays; others often go to Puerta Vallarta but there are storms brewing that may hit Saturday, so I think we'll get a larger crowd than usual. Seared some sesame-coated tuna to make tacos with pickled red onions and cilantro--the colors looks very MXN for the holiday. I use a schmear of wasabi mayo on the tortilla.

For whatever reason these bananas remained green thru today. They are larger than most we get in our yard. After a week of heavy rain (and a very wet monsoon season since mid-June) the weight of the fruit caused the plant to fall. There were signs of 'lightening' of the green, which precedes ripening. José our gardener cut the bunch and hung outside. I am on Ant Patrol.

Mi esposo likes to eat at 6; I prefer 7. What time we eat dinner at home depends on who's doing the cooking 😉 When we eat out we leave our home on foot at 6 and wander into town. After making our choice of where to eat, by the time we get our food it's generally 7 o'clock. We've been retired almost 20 years (from age 50); in our work years we never ate before 7, most often at 8 o'clock. We also eat lighter at dinner nowadays. When we worked, lunch for us was light. a piece of fruit for me between running errands on my lunch hour. For him a pack or two of crackers or dried fruits & nuts between job sites. Things change with retirement....we now prefer lunch to be our main meal.