On many calendars Wednesday, February 22, 2012 is the beginning of the time before Easter known as Lent.  “Mardi Gras” when literally translated means Fat Tuesday or a time to indulge in sugars and fats before the Lenten fasts begin.  

I am often in Mexico for this day, when Carnivale is celebrated with the same intention.  The time is spirited and festive with colourful costumes, all night dances, parades and other such merry-making.

We love  New Orleans.  The city, especially the French Quarter is a fascinating place to stay and the eating adventures are unequalled.  So any time an opportunity arises to dine Louisiana style, we grab it.

Now if you can’t get away to celebrate Carnivale or Mardi Gras, fear not, for Mardi Gras is once again coming to Winnipeg!  We plan to attend and have an authentic Louisiana dinner at the Food, Oyster & Wine Bar that will seat 200 and be set up at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Chicken Creole

We will have the opportunity to choose between Chicken Creole or Gumbo, Crab Cakes or even alligator Fritters.  We’ve gotten a preview look at the menu and all features are very affordably priced from $5-$15. 

Chicken Gumbo

There is a nightly Parade and over 30 entertainers including many directly from New Orleans.  I have a collection of Mardi Gras beads from our time in New Orleans.  How I earned them is a story in itself and a secret that I am not quite ready to tell.

Crab Cakes

Warm up winter in Winnipeg!  See winnipegmardigras.com for more details.

Kath’s quote:  “New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.”-Mark Twain

This is what the top looks like when it comes out of the oven.

I thought nothing of the fact that I was making Lumpy Bread recently until I casually tweeted about it and Dig In Manitoba asked me to share my recipe.  Trouble is, it isn’t a recipe per se, just a “process” that I can restate here:

I use my breadmaker constantly, but perhaps surprizingly, not for making bread, but for making dough.  I have the portions for a basic dough etched in my brain and I use this as my basis for numerous concoctions. 

So on this day, once the dough cycle had completed itself, I removed the dough and cut it with kitchen scissors into big hunks and placed these into a stainless steel mixing bowl.  Next, I stuck my head into the cheese keeper in the fridge and pulled out whatever had not been wrapped carefully and was hardening at the edges-in this case havarti and white cheddar.  I threw these into my Magic Bullet and pulsed for a few seconds.  This produced some grated cheese and other pieces still in quite large cubes-perfect for this recipe.  I tossed the cheese with the bread dough and a couple of glugs of canola oil to encourage the surfaces of each to meld together.

A side view where the cheese and dough have softened and married each other.

I greased a bundt pan with olive oil  because I like the brown and crunchy texture that it produces on bread crust.  I love the new silicone bundt pans for a task this.

Now I could have thrown different types of cheese and/or garlic and herbs or even softened onions into this, but this is what stared me in the face, when I opened fridge door, so I went with it.

The bottom of the bread when it was turned from the pan.

So as you can see, not much of a “recipe” but  I served it with soup and more cheese to our dinner guests that evening (9 babies & toddlers and their 4 sets of parents) and everyone seemed well-pleased. 

 Kath’s quote: “Bachelor’s fare: bread and cheese, and kisses.”-Jonathan Swift

By 9:30 am I had already seen the sunrise, walked and explored for 2 hours and had coffee with my sisters on the veranda.

My first impression is that this is an island of contrasts: the coral cliffs and the garbage dump, the resort homes and the Colonias, the vast ocean and the locked beaches.

We had a wonderful breakfast of oatmeal, mango, banana, pineapple, Brazil nut yogurt and slices of fresh pineapple. We had thought that we would go to Garrafon but the wind brought in clouds & drizzle so we headed into town instead.

Our plan that first day worked so well we repeated it every other day-walking downhill to Lancheros to catch the bus and cabbing it home when we were full of margaritas and had groceries and shopping to carry.

We met the most wonderful couple from France via New York. This was their sixth year to Isla and each year they stay a week longer. When I saw this beautiful woman again it was at the Fat Tuesday event-she greeted me like I was an old friend.

This picture is with Sister #3 from a subsequent trip to Isla.  The gorgeous Betty in this photo now lives in Isla Heaven.

We shopped and then went to the Sunset Grill for lunch. We shared all the board recommendations (Julie’s board in those days): Coconut Shrimp (even though it is not usually served at lunch) were huge, lovely and sweet, Nuke Nachos and Chicken Chimichangas. I’d never tasted them before but Sister #3 said that they were the best she had ever tried. We even loved their chips and salsa but actually we loved them every Isla restaurant that we went to. We had Strawberry Margaritas that knocked us on our butts. The waiter got us beach chairs and Sisters #2 & 3 had siestas, while I walked the beach.

Upon return it started to rain (pour in fact) but we had brellies and walked to the big Supermarket to buy more groceries. We were getting the hang of Centro by then but still had not found the Navy store or Hortencia’s. Because of the rain, we cabbed back to the villa for books and siestas.

That evening we found out that the rumour was true-there is nothing happening on the south end at night. We tried the lounge at the Spa-closed and then thought that they must have a bar at the Castile… Instead we walked home for another villa night.

But we learned that day-Sister #1: that Mexican cats don’t look like North American cats and Me: that no matter how much you wish and hope, you cannot control the weather.

Kath’s quote: “It isn’t so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs.”-W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert & Sullivan

There was a time when the only Moxie’s location that we were aware of in Winnipeg was at St. Vital Centre.  The restaurant was a perfect destination for us when the kids were younger because we could bribe them with the promise of going out for lunch if they were good while we got some shopping done. 

Well times have certainly changed.  Recently, Daughter #1 wanted to purchase a Macbook Air but was hoping to put it on my credit card (and then she would transfer the funds to me).  To inspire the transaction, she promised lunch out and we found ourselves at Moxie’s Polo Park.

I chose the special that day – a blackened chicken Club Sandwich.  I would have preferred less bread but the fixings inside were a lovely taste combination.

The sandwich came with a Caesar salad, tossed just the way that I like it-easy on the dressing.

Daughter #1 treated herself with the decadent grilled lobster and brie sandwich.

It too was served with a nutritious salad filled dried cranberries and a crumble of cheese.

The restaurant was filled up with a diverse crowd that afternoon.  There were lots of fellow shoppers, perhaps some of  whom were accepting or taking bribes as well…..

 Kath’s quote: “A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster, salad and champagne. The only true feminine and becoming viands.”-Lord Byron

Pretty much every year since 2005, I have been on Isla at this time.  I’ve already come home from this year’s Isla time, so instead, I got out my travel diary and photos and have this (and many more) blog posts to share with you from my very first visit to Isla Mujeres. 

We enjoyed a fairly uneventful flight except when Sister #2 gets called back down to the check in counter because she had stated her birthday as a date that hadn’t occurred yet. She obviously needs a rest. I guess all three of us needed a rest. I was running on 2 hours of sleep. We agreed we were pooped but pumped!

We were seated in row 2 on a very big and full plane. The leather seats are exquisite turquoise. Row 2 should be an advantage for the immigration line but there was a whole section on the form that we had not filled out and so we waited for quite a while in line. But then green lights and we are on our way. Met by a driver from AGI holding a sign with our name. The 3 Sisters agree that it was worth every penny of the $38 US to see him there.

At the port, we had just missed the 11:30 am ferry so we had a couple of minutes to get our bearings. We met Judy who lives on Isla ½ of the year. Her husband is the artist who has pictures hanging and for sale at Casa O’s. She had been to Cancun to get some framing done and could not wait to get back to her island. LOVED the ferry trip – identified Garrafon and Lancheros from the water.

I love looking at myself and my sisters in this photo taken just seconds before our lives were forever changed by our precious Isla Mujeres!

We decided to get some groceries and have some lunch before cabbing it to Punta Sur. We consulted our trusty Map Chick map with recommendations of others and decided upon La Lomita. Wow-what a great way to start. Homemade Papa Fritos (French fries) that were perfect with the squeeze of provided lime. We also shared shrimp with garlic and polo frito (fried chicken) with “pink” rice and fuschia coloured onions.

The bed that I chose at Villas Punta Sur was pushed right up against this window so I could always feel the breeze and hear the sounds of the island.

We cracked our first cervezas while we unpacked and then headed to the pool for the late afternoon sun. Met Steve and Lorelai from Minnesota and a couple from Montreal who were also staying in the villa. While Sisters #2&3 lied in the hammocks under the palapa I went to explore our neighbourhood. Judy spotted me as she was watching the fading sun from her condo balcony and waving good-bye to the Garrafon day-trippers. I got just a bare glimpse of the sunset over the palm tops from our veranda.

Made us a light pasta supper. The wind was changing direction (from south to north) and kept blowing the gas flame out on our stove. We shared coffee on the veranda and chatted about things learned that day. For Sister#3: that even the word “EEZ LA” sounds like a happy sigh. For Sister #2: the amazement of travel-slept in our own beds and then had lunch at La Lomita! For me: that God made a colour I had never seen before-the colour of the water on the ferry crossing. We tried to read but I heard lights clicking off at about 7:30! The adventure awaits….

Kath’s quote: “Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”-Federico Fellini