gulfporter

I sometimes buy Diet Squirt here in MX, but mostly we 'brew' decaf iced tea in the sun and drink it unsweetened. Or agua mineral which is cheap and everywhere. I prefer agua mineral with lunches when I am not having a wine. While wine pairs well with foods and IMO enhances the dining experience, I never drink a flavored beverage (not even iced tea) with meals when not having wine (or beer which I drink with spicy meals, nothing else).

The birthday cakes of my siblings and all my cousins in the 1950s to early 1960s was always a Duncan Hines white layer cake mix with homemade peanut butter frosting. No idea how that evolved considering neither my mother nor aunt were cooks who went outside the norms of the day. Was it the norm for other families of that era??? BTW, when my mother made the Duncan Hines white cake mix at other times during the year, she always used the whole egg. Only separated the egg whites for birthday cakes.

It's the analog thermometer that I want to replace....want a digital thermometer for inside the oven. Because the digital need a battery, it would require a heat-proof casing. IMO the technology is there, but for whatever reason (cost, lack of perceived demand) no one is making one.

I just figured the new technology would be instant read and all of it inside the oven....evidently that is non-existent. I don't like the look of the wires coming out of the oven on the ones available. I will bide my time until technology catches up with my pipedream.

Rotus, Thx for links, but am looking for a thermometer that stays in the oven at all times, not point and shoot. I remain surprised that the only ones out there seem to be such old technology, but will continue to look. I chatted a few minutes ago with rep at Thermoworks about DOT....the unit stays outside the oven, only the probe goes inside, would have to buy a grate clip and figure out how to mount it and where to put outside unit, etc.

How do you mount it...will it hook onto rack and face forward? Can you remove the probe? I went to site but no pics of it hanging inside of oven that I could see.

I have and use Thermopen and Thermopop. But what I really need is an instant read digital oven thermometer. Mexican ovens are not known for their heat calibration; most do not even have a thermostat. The oven knob on mine is Celsius and the markings are very close together. Most of my recipes are in Fahrenheit. I have tried a few oven thermometers and all are slow in registering temps and have small dials making them difficult to read without opening the oven door. I have searched for a instant read digital oven thermometer and have not found one....most of my searches take me to meat-type thermometers for oven use (the kind with probes). Anyone ever seen what I am in need of?

DId I miss it....what are you paying FOH?

This is only exciting to an expat who despises shredding whole cabbage. It goes EVERYWHERE when I do it, plus the heads here are the size of small planets. A grocer here who tries to cater to expats is now shredding a cole slaw mix. I picked up some fresh mahi this morning, too. Easy summer meal in the offing.

Looking for cold plates for summer. Thinking cold grilled shrimp with dill seasoning may work with feta??? I may do some experimenting.

Here's a more specific question. I get really good fresh large shrimp here, peeled and deveined by the local pescatoria. I often serve them to guests as 'grilled and chilled' which allows me to make-ahead. I either do a dry rub (Cajunesque but of my own making) or slather with a jarred chimmichurri sauce before hitting the grill. Would any cheese "go" with cold shrimp that is nearly naked?

TIme got away from us today and all my fridge and pantry yielded for lunch was locally smoked salmon (hot smoked with wood) and goat cheese. Accompanied by cornichons, sliced hard-boiled egg, black olive/thyme bread and diced red onion. At first I was reluctant to plate the cheese with the fish, but hunger overcame my hesitancy. We both liked the cold plate very much and since I never served cheese with fish before, I was wondering if there are other pairings you have tried and liked.

I used this one, more or less. Stayed with it for the amounts of mango, tomato, onion and red bell pepper. Subbed a serrano for the jalapeno (we like heat). Skipped the OJ and lime juice and subbed a bit of cider vinegar (to taste)....the mango added a lot of sweetness and vinegar seemed a better acid. Instead of cilantro, I used fresh basil and mint, mostly because I didn't want it to be too similar to a standard red gazpacho. https://www.mygourmetconnection.com/mango-gazpacho-soup/ Edit: Made it early in morning to let flavor meld all day. Took it out of fridge 10 minutes before serving to take a bit of the chill off and loosen a bit.

Full agreement here from someone who has lived in Arizona, Mexico and FLorida for the past 15 years. Time to whip out the food processor and light the outdoor gas grill. Mangos are just coming into season here in Central Mexico. Our local trees are heavily fruited, but a week or two from full ripening when the splats! on the streets and sidewalks require some delicate footwork and an occasional glance upward. BTW the local rule is: any mangos hanging over the sidewalk or street are fair game for anyone. Soon the local eateries will send out their workers armed with long-polls with netted ends. It's quite the show! This is a mango and tomato gazpacho with fresh basil and mint. Topped with chilled grilled shrimp.

Spicy Thai Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad

I had the pleasure of meeting her when she came to Ajijic on her book tour in 2010. She was very vocal about food sourcing in Mexico, and was very much opposed that the government was allowing chilies grown in China to be imported in massive numbers. It remains an issue http://www.freshplaza.com/article/168544/Mexico-and-China-in-dispute-over-the-chile-de-arbol After the signing was over, most of the participants hustled off to the buffet in another room (private home). I lagged behind (I didn't know anyone else in the group, most were from a local cooking club) and Diana asked me if I wouldn't mind bringing her a plate. I did and we sat together eating and talking about Oaxacan restaurants for about 15 minutes when she had to leave to head to Guadalajara.

Extra funny to me....when we lived on 5 acres in Virginia we called our hosta, "deer caviar."

Tomatillo gazpacho, topped with toasted pepitas.

Plum and Pecan Upside Down Cake

Polenta in tubes.

We are up to our elbows in fresh blueberries here in MX....some the size of large marbles! I made Blueberry Pie Bars that I found here, https://www.averiecooks.com/blueberry-pie-bars/#. There's a thin layer of Greek yogurt between the base and the berries. The crumble and base were the same mixture. We like crumbles so I've done many over pies and other desserts, but this recipe was first I encountered that didn't require blending the butter into the dry ingredients by hand or pastry cutter. It simply had you melt the butter in the microwave and then whisk in sugar, then stir in flour. Duh!

Eggplant seems to be popular with us omnivores. For parties, caponata is always a winner.

The pita-like tacos arbabes are attributed to Lebanese immigrants to Puebla. FYI, Carlos Slim is of Lebanese descent and I have met a few other Mexicans whose great-grand parents came from Lebanon. https://eatmexico.com/2017/11/the-story-behind-the-first-tacos-arabes-in-puebla/

Depends on the area. Corn is still King by a wide margin. The sound and smells of a local tortilleria are intoxicating. When I lived in Bisbee AZ a few miles from the Sonoran border they tended to sell at least as many flour as corn tortillas (some were sold at our local Bisbee Safeway). Here in Ajijic, only corn tortillas are sold at stalls, taco sands and most restaurants. But the stores carry both, even in most of the little bodegas there will be at least a few packs of flour (probably at a 10:1 ratio in favor of corn). We even have a Taco Arabe food truck in town....tacos arabe originated in Puebla and the tortilla is more like a pita bread. They are amazingly good.

First day back in Mexico after a 2 week US trip. Made it to the pescadoria and got camarones limpia (de-shelled and de-veined shrimp). Not cheap but worth it to me. He charges 300 pesos per kilo. At current currency exchange it comes to 7.20 USD per pound. It is shrimp from San Blas on the Nayarit coast and they are quite large. We can only fit 3 into a medium flour tortilla . Besides the grilled shrimp, there is goat cheese, grilled onions and orange pepper, topped with chipotle. I closed and grilled them after the photo.