gulfporter

Instead of Asian noodle salad, maybe an Asian slaw? Or grilled asparagus served chilled or room temp tossed with lemon and garlic.

I have a ton of "homemade" crystallized ginger I bought at an organic market (it's in my Mexico freezer). When I return I will experiment in turning it into a ginger syrup, then use in beverages. I am thinking it would be good in a white sangria.

We "commute" between our Mexico and Florida homes every few months, but only stay a week or so at the FL house so I don't do a lot of grocery shopping. We keep butter in the freezer and it lasts us a long time. But we ran out so I bought some this morning at Publix. When the heck did Land O Lakes butter go to $5.50 a pound (even the store brand was just under 5 bucks)? My best guess is the last time I bought butter was last Thanksgiving (or maybe earlier than that). Granted Publix is not a discount store but it is where I normally shop and my recollection is that the last time I bought butter it was in the 3 dollar a pound range.

I brought a bunch of ground piri piri packets back from Portugal for myself and friends. We are now looking to either make it into piri piri sauce or for a tested recipe for piri piri chicken, that starts with the ground pepper. Anyone have one? Obrigado in advance.

Our last dinner in Lisbon was at a hole-in-the-wall place favored by local hipsters and backpackers. Food was beyond expectations. The couscous was exceptional....oven roasted eggplant and tomatoes, almonds, fresh mango,, yogurt and arugula...very well balanced and flavorful. Also shared an aged goat cheese baked and topped with caramelized red onions and what seemed to be a pound of toasted walnuts. Best white sangria of all I tried here....5 EU for 1/2 a liter. Cost of meal with wine and grilled bread was 23 EU.

Enjoyed her story very much, nice balance of personal struggle and food prep. Particularly interested in the Bangkok government's attempts to crackdown on street vendors. That is an issue in Mexico as well. Hate to see street food disappear. I fear many 3rd world and emerging world governments think "street food" is somehow a detriment, something that needs to be purged. Our little village was vying for Pueblo Magico status and one of the requirements was that street vendors of all kinds be banished or relegated to official stands/homogenized/standardized carts, etc. Thankfully we never achieved that "status." Just like every mall in America has the same stores, the same look. They want to do the same to street vendors.

Dinner was a few glasses of vino verde and a shared shrimp ceviche. The ceviche's other prominent flavor was fresh pineapple. This was at BarBica, a sidewalk cafe just a few doors from our Lisbon rental apartment. The sidewalk is adjacent to the route of the Ascensor da Bica, a tram that goes up one of the steepest streets in this part of Lisbon.

Went to a modern Lebanese restaurant. At least at Lebanese, I KNOW the eggplant will not be undercooked (I run into undercooked eggplant so often in the US and MEX, I understand why some people hate it). We lived in DC-Metro until 2003 which had wonderful Lebanese eateries, but this little spot in Lisbon really hit the mark with the quality of ingredients; you can really taste the difference when a place uses top notch olive oil, and in this case, makes their own yogurt. Shared 3 starters and each had a crisp vino verde. Tab was 36 EU, a bit on the high side but it is in the trendy area very close to Time Out Market. First two are eggplant dishes. The first was grilled eggplant in yogurt over crispy pita sticks, with almonds. The 2nd was fried eggplant over a really smokey eggplant baba ganoush, topped with arugula. The last dish was tender seared tuna over hummus. Their pita bread was excellent, too, light and airy with a bit of a char.

Lisbon lunch today. Smoked cod with a peri -peri pepper relish. And a small basket of deep-fried cuttlefish with a creamy tartar sauce. I tried a featured rose' which was surprisingly dry and refreshing, with a satisfying bitter note. The last time I had a rose' was in the 1970s when they were sweet and cloying. DH had a local draft beer. Tab was 25 euros in a local but hipster-ish place off the tourist track.

Went to a nearby (5 minute walk) trendy spot in Lisbon's Cais do Sodre district, Taberna Tosca. I had the pork cheeks in a delicious wild mushroom wine broth, topped with crispy sweet potato shards....the meat so tender it fell apart with my spoon. DH had a tempura shrimp pancake with green curry sauce....nice clean fry, excellent batter and sauce. My pictures do not do the dishes justice. Excellent Portuguese red wines, meal with wine was 30 euros.

Lunch was brunch today, as we acclimate ourselves to Lisbon's time zone. Eggs benedict, but with a ham more similar to a Spanish serrano and a nice slice of a hearty Portuguese bread instead of the English muffin. Two definite improvements. Hollandaise was excellent and the orangest egg I've seen in awhile.

So jealous of your kitchen width; we have a galley kitchen here in Mexico and my DH and I constantly bumping into each other (and he's ultra slim and I'm average sized). Though to be honest, we jostle each other in our FL kitchen too, which is a 15 foot square. Maybe after 47 years of marriage we still like to cuddle 🤗

There is a Walmart-Mexico near Ajijic. They had the best pork tenderloin, a cut not offered in any of our Mexican butcher shops. I bought it weekly for at least 6 months. Then, voila! they disappeared. I asked el jefe at the meat department, porque no mas? He spoke English and said, "Senora, it was so popular I could not keep enough in stock to please everyone. So I stopped ordering it." I was told the same thing at a local papeleria, where I had been buying bubble-wrap (not a common item). I think it's almost endearing; instead of disappointing customers because they run out of items, they simply stop carrying the item?? But then again, I have been accused of being a Pollyanna.

Darn, I was hoping I was given bad info and they were simply out of stock at the moment. Have been locating French bakeries in our area and no one makes them, but a few are already closed for the day and I will continue my hunt. My friends who hooked us up with these treats bought them in Ajijic at a French bakery a bit outside of town; said they made them only on weekends, but not every weekend. Not having an item with any consistency is what I'd consider 'a Mexican thing,' and perhaps also 'a French thing?' 😎

We flew to US last night, and first thing this morning, I went over to Trader Joe's (St. Petersburg FL). Sadly, no caneles. The associate remembered them, looked high and low in the frozen dessert area and said they must have been discontinued. Oh phooey!

Most ovens in Mexico have no thermostat. The "ideal stove control" is a wooden spoon inserted in the oven door jamb when the oven overheats.

I hate my corner cabinet too. To it, I relegate kitchen purchases that I regret, but won't admit to my DH. It's my Black Hole of Calcutta.

I started the topic because we also own a home in FL where we've also had plenty of local contractors working over the years. I never heard them talk about food. Here is what our FL contractors talk about. Fishing Sports Traffic Fishing TV Shows Fishing Current Weather Past Storms/Hurricanes Fishing

It's not that my Spanish has improved all that much, but for the past 4 months I have focused on listening. Over the years my vocabulary increased, but my ability to understand a fast-talking local remained almost impossible. Currently I'm using online sites that don't cut me any slack....they speak as fast as most Mexicans do. Last week, we had crews at the house doing maintenance and a few repairs and I was able to eavesdrop fairly effectively. I quickly discovered that all they talk about is food! One would mention a place with the "best" tacos de pulpo (octopus) and it would set off a round-robin of comments from the other workers on their food finds. It went on literally non-stop all day; even when the maestro (boss) showed up, he'd join in with his recommendations. At times there were some heated exchanges over the "best" this or that. I asked a few guys about some spots. Alas, their highly recommended taco stands open after 9PM, most not until 10PM. A few open at 7AM for breakfast for workers heading out, closing by 9AM. I may make it to a breakfast stand that they told me is only a block away, set up early in front of a family's house....I walk by that house daily (but always after 9AM) and there is no indication it sells tacos.

Our French Canadian friends brought these to us. We had never had them, or heard of them. They are insanely good. The outside crunch and chew, and the soft and wet interior.....ooh la la.

Last week at our tianguis (open air market), I asked Denis (a Frenchman now living in Guadalajara) who makes and sells his own pate', quiche, duck confit at the market, if he could get me duck breasts as my local Mexican butcher has been unable to locate any. I got them today, two frozen together. The price was 380 pesos per kilo. At today's exchange rate, that would be $9 USD per pound which seems reasonable given it is considered a delicacy of sorts here. One of them my DH will make into duck prosciutto. The other will meet the fry pan soon enough.

Have always been fascinated by this aspect of the food industry; looking fwd to the release. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/dining/catering-new-york-city-hotbox-lee-brothers.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

I grew up in a family that observed meatless Fridays year-round. We often had potato pancakes served with both sour cream and cottage cheese (not mixed together). This conversation has made me nostalgic for that meal. I haven't bought cottage cheese in decades; not sure if it is available here in MEX. If not I will look forward to this meal next trip north.

I gave up a long time ago on finding my taste bud doppelganger. For outside the US travels, I like Culture Trip. Not in-depth reviews by any stretch, but they list the dish(es) that epitomize the eatery, have a corresponding map on each page that highlights the restaurant you are reading about. They break down Food and Drink to several categories making it more manageable for me. Many of the categories are by neighborhood, always a help when arriving in a new city. We will be in Lisbon next month and here is Culture Trip Lisbon Food and Drink Page. I link to and then read the sub-categories that most interest us. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/portugal/lisbon/food-and-drinks/

Today is 3.14 so go grab a piece of pie! Pie is not a common menu item in MEX. But there is a fine French patisserie on our street and we scored a few mini-quiches for lunch.