Aimee

Mexico

Posted by Aimee on March 14, 2012 5 Comments

I don’t want to torture anybody too much with vacation pictures, but I just thought I’d share a few here with you today.

The place we are staying at is painted this glorious yellow color that changes with the light.

There are lots of iguanas around - large and small. Most of them appear to be suffering from having their tail pulled off at some point or another, and you can see the tail re-growth clearly on this guy we met on the beach the other day.

Part of the Coba Mayan Ruins that we visited yesterday. See how the tree roots have formed around the archway?

A handsome pelican.

The sunset from our house on Tuesday night.

Today we went snorkeling at Cenote Dos Ojos. Cenotes are fresh water pools with underground rivers and caverns. We snorkeled where we could, but it seemed that the best way to see this particular cenote was with scuba gear on. There were tons of scuba divers there. Amanda and I have pretty significant claustrophobia and aren't all that fond of creatures that live in the ocean and other bodies of water, so we were pretty creeped out by the whole thing. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it again.

We went to Tulum today after our Cenote Dos Ojos snorkeling adventure, and they had beautiful beaches with white sand as soft as powder.

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Sunbathing Nude

Posted by Aimee on March 14, 2012 1 Comment

We came across this sand sculpture on the beach today. She was really a work of art.

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Beef Short Ribs with Chile and Coconut

Posted by Aimee on March 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

I saw this recipe in Melissa Clark’s new cookbook and had to try it. I love the flavors of coconut and beef together. The fact that she added other favorite things to it like chiles and limes only made it more tempting. This was a pretty simple stew to put together, would be suitable for serving to impressed guests. If you can find the short ribs on sale, it won’t break the bank either.

I served it with her recipe for Coconut Rice in the same book. Of course I forgot to copy that recipe to bring down to Mexico and couldn’t find it on an internet search, but there are plenty of other similar-style recipes available, or you can just serve it with a plain basmati rice.

Chile-Coconut Braised Beef Short Ribs

Recipe from Cook This Now by Melissa Clark.

Serves 6

The combination of beef and coconut milk makes this dish very rich and filled with a layer of good, flavorful fat. If you’d rather skim off the fat, make it several hours or even a few days ahead to give the fat time to rise to the surface, then skim off.

To turn this into Coconut Curry Beef, substitute madras curry powder or garam masala for the chili powder.

2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2-inch chunks
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder (you can use hot or mild)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil, for searing
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, deveined and deseeded, if desired, and minced
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
1 small shallot, minced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
Freshly squeezed juice and finely grated zest of 2 limes, plus additional wedges for serving, if desired
Chopped cilantro, for serving
Chopped scallions, for serving

Preheat the oven to 325oF. Season the beef all over with a teaspoon of the salt, the chili powder, and black pepper.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the beef and cook until browned all over, about 8 minutes.

Add the garlic, jalapenos, ginger, shallot, and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until everything is fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes more.

Stir in the coconut milk, lime zest, and juice, remaining salt, and pepper to taste with ½ cup water.

Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook, turning the meat after 1 hour, until the beef is very tender, 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Serve garnished with the cilantro and scallions, and lime wedges on the side for serving if desired.

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Vines & Flowers

Posted by Aimee on March 13, 2012 1 Comment

Some beautiful red flowers wrapped around some old gnarly vines here in Mexico.

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Swimming with Dolphins, Manatees & Seals

Posted by Aimee on March 12, 2012 2 Comments

Since I’m not home on the farm but vacationing in Mexico for spring break with my family, I’ll post about the animals I see when I’m away.

Today we drove to a place about 15 minutes away from where we are staying and went swimming with dolphins, manatees and seals. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we were all pleasantly surprised with the program and how much we got to interact with all of the animals. We spent almost 4 hours there, and most of those 4 hours were spent in the water with the animals.

There were 2 adult dolphins in the tank with us and 2 baby dolphins! They were so adorable, and the mom’s would occasionally swim off to check on what their babies were doing and then come right back. We all got to kiss the dolphins.

We all got to be pulled around by the dolphins while holding on to their dorsal fins.

And we all got to do this, too: We lay in the water in a flying superman position with our legs locked, and the 2 dolphins came up from behind and literally pushed us up out of the water like we were waterskiing. The power of these animals was quite extraordinary.

Then we moved on to the manatee tank. There were five manatees in the tank, the youngest one being only 2-1/2 years old. They sucked in lettuce leaves like vacuums and their little whiskers were the so tickly when you kissed them!

This was the smallest manatee, at 2-1/2 years old. He rolled onto his back and let us hold him in our arms.

Then we got to all swim around the tanks with them with heads of lettuce and they’d come up and eat a few leaves from you, then move on to the next person, and come back for more in a bit. They were so large, so gentle, and so sweet.

The last visit was to the seals, and we all enjoyed them more than we anticipated.

She tried to give Everyone a french kiss.

It was a really fun and informative morning. This is something the kids have been dying to do, and I think Jim and I were excited about it, too.

I can cross that off the Bucket List.

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Garage Door

Posted by Aimee on March 12, 2012 Leave a Comment

Why are the colors in tropical locations always so much more vibrant than they seem to be in Connecticut? Here, a simple garage door with some overhanging vines is transported into a thing of glorious color and beauty in the Mexican light this afternoon.

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Black Bean & Mango Salsa

Posted by Aimee on March 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

I brought only one recipe down to Mexico with me, mostly because I didn’t have a lot of time to look for any more in the madness that comes with trying to get a family of 6 ready to go on vacation and leave your farm behind all while having yours kitchen and family room floors refinished and some rooms painted while you are gone. Amanda may be in college, but we were having major passport-renewal technical glitches that required working out, as she was flying directly from Lexington to Mexico to meet us.

We few into Cancun but are staying in a small town about 1-1/2 hours away called Akumal. We went into the tiny town today and bought the ingredients needed for this salsa and I made it after dinner tonight so that it can marinate in the fridge and we’ll have it tomorrow. I’ve made this many times before, and not only is it great alone with chips, but it’s awesome on fish and flank steak as well. It’s one of those recipes where measuring ingredients isn’t really necessary.

Black Bean & Mango Salsa

Makes about 5 cups.

Published July 1, 1996 in Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. Altered by Crafty Farm Girl, March, 2012.

Ingredients

1 large can (or 2 small) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 mango , peeled, seeded and diced small
1/2 red bell pepper , cored, seeded and diced small
1/2 medium red onion , diced small
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup lime juice from 2 medium limes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 small jalapeño chile , seeded and minced
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 1 hour or up to 4 days.

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Palm Shadows

Posted by Aimee on March 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

Today was our first day in Mexico, and I only left the house to go into town briefly. I am so exhausted from the last few months I thought I'd sleep for days, but was up at 9:00 after going to bed around 2:00 a.m. A power nap this afternoon was required. These shadows from the palm trees were on the stairs as we were heading to dinner tonight.

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Preserved Lemons

Posted by Aimee on March 10, 2012 1 Comment

I recently bought the cookbook Cooking My Way Back Home by Mitchell Rosenthall and it’s really lovely. He has a recipe in there for sauteed scallops with spiced couscous and preserved lemon-curry sauce that looks amazing. After reading through it, I knew that I would never be able to find preserved lemons where I live. Luckily, he gives the recipe in the back of the book. It’s quite easy, but it takes 3-4 weeks to make it in that once you prepare the lemons they have to sit for 3-4 weeks with an occasional shake of the jar, to be finished.

So, if you think this recipe sounds like something you might want to make, then make up a batch of these preserved lemons and you’ll be ready when I am!

He prefers Meyer lemons, which I was able to find at the grocery, but says that regular lemons will work as well. Meyer lemons are a little bit milder and are say to be a bit more like a lemon with a little orange in it. They are a beautiful color and their skin is much smoother than a traditional lemon.

Preserved Lemons

8 to 10 lemons (Meyers are especially fine preserved)
2 to 3 cups kosher salt
6 star anise pods
2 cinnamon sticks
Freshly squeezed lemon juice as needed

Cut a thin slice off one end of each lemon. Then make 2 evenly spaced cuts along the length of each lemon, cutting only three-fourths of the way through so that the lemon is divided into quarters and the quarters are still attached at the uncut end. Pull the sections apart to expose the flesh and pack each lemon with the salt.

Toss 3 star anise pods and 1 cinnamon stick into a sterilized jar, then begin packing the salted lemons tightly into the jar. When you have packed in half of the lemons, add the remaining star anise pods and cinnamon stick, and then add the remaining lemons. As you pack in the lemons, they will release their juice. When all of the lemons are in the jar (or as many as you can stuff in there), the lemons should be covered with juice. If not, add lemon juice as needed to cover all lemons.

Mash down the lemons as much as you can, and stuff more in if you can.

I could only get 7 out of 10 lemons into the jar. I squeezed the remaining 3. You should add enough juice to cover all of the lemons.

Seal the jar and store at room temperature in a cupboard. Shake the jar every few days, and add more lemon juice as needed to cover. The lemons will be soft and ready to use in 3 to 4 weeks.

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A Carpet of Spring Flowers

Posted by Aimee on March 8, 2012 Leave a Comment

Running errands today in preparation to leave for our spring vacation tomorrow afternoon I drove by this lawn that was covered in spring flowers. I only had my point-and-shoot with me, but I still thought it was worth the photo.

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