I am fortunate to be a part of an inclusive group: Canola Camp Alumni. Each autumn when a new bunch of campers assemble in Winnipeg and then head west for a weekend farm adventure, the campers from previous years are invited to connect for a lunch or supper with the first-time campers. This year it was at Mayfair Vegetable Farm on the island in Portage la Prairie.

I have been to the island before, to feed the geese and walk its paths. Many Winnipeggers make the drive to pick strawberries on the farm. I was happy to surround myself with old friends, bask in the September sun, learn about life on a working vegetable farm and just “be” for an afternoon.

The Giffin family welcomed us with open arms as do all the farmers that the campers would meet on the weekend.

Not only did they go to all lot of trouble to convert a barn into a comfortable place for lunch, they did so at one of their busiest times of year.

As we sipped upon strawberry water

and tucked in to our delicious lunch of pesto chicken breasts, new potatoes, strawberry salad, beets and parsnips,

Todd Giffin shared his passion for the land, his crop, the many workers that they employ and the people who enjoy the bounty from their efforts.

My favourite taste was the roasted corn prepared in my preferred manner from the Yucatán. The kernels were so sweet and fresh tasting. perhaps because the corn rows were close by.

This is what today’s farmer looks like. Young, fit, hip and passionate about her family, their farm and their toil. Melanie Giffin demonstrated the growing story from seeding, transplanting, caring for the crops to harvesting. Did you know that every cauliflower plant must be closed by hand with an elastic to protect the flower growing in the protective leaves?

A cabbage head similar to this beautiful one that was about to be picked, made it home with me. I plan on making a Chinese cole slaw with it to have for lunches this week.

Hug a farmer.

Kath’s quote: “Farmers love food. I love food = I love farmers”. -Food Musings (a.k.a. Me!)

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

Restaurant Abuelos was a recent find for us, near the end of our 2014 sojourn to Isla 2014 Blog Post. We were absolutely delighted by the find and (in my humble opinion) kinda wished it would have stayed exactly like it was, with its compact space and family members taking care of us.

We remembered the fabulous fish and their street sign indicated that it was still the focus of the menu.

Our server took us on a “tour” of the fish that was available that evening. I couldn’t help but think that the custom would never get past food safety standards back home. But, when in Rome….

Dinner at the second floor open dining room commenced with mojitos and margaritas in hopes that we could cool down a bit.  The evening was humid with no breeze which is very unusual for the island.

D and I couldn’t decide between the coconut shrimp and garlic fish. In the end we ordered both to split between us. Unfortunately, before he could take a single bite, he was overwhelmed by his bad head cold and had to leave and take a walk. This was in no way a reflection on the food because I had a couple of bites and it was excellent. But I had to make our apologies and have our dinner packed up for home.

Once D was feeling better (it took a couple of days), I recreated our dinner in our kitchen at Luna D’Miel. We would have loved to have returned to Abuelos later in the trip but when you are on Isla Mujeres, there are so many excellent places to eat and not enough time.

Kath’s quote: If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.”-James Michener

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

The loncherias are well known in Centro as delicious and affordable places to get breakfast and lunch. Over the years we have enjoyed exceptional and economical fare at all four of the kiosks (there are many references to them on this blog-here is just one: http://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-day-10/) but we return most often to Alexia & Geovanny’s (Av. Guerrero) which is the first stall on the west end, directly across from Las Palmas Hotel.

D chose the Eggs Ranchero. He enjoys the rich yolks of Mexican eggs offset by the slightly spicy ranchero sauce. He likes to scoop up his breakfast with a freshly made tortilla.  We are always surprised to see that the eggs on Isla Mujeres do not require refrigeration. Have you encountered this in Mexico too?

I selected Geovanny’s Omelet with mushrooms and cheese. Although I am accustomed to enjoying my eggs with hash browns and toast, the taste and texture with salsa and rice was perfect and less filling than the traditional manner.

I am always impressed that so much amazing food comes out of these simple loncheria kitchens. When I asked if I could take their picture, they quickly agreed and posed with pride. I love the hard-working islanders. They have from scratch cooking down to an art.

We can also highly recommend their garlic fish, natural fried fish and breaded fish. Everything is affordably priced.

Kath’s quote: “Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”  –Ruth Reichl

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

The patio at 135 Osborne St. has been my favourite Winnipeg one for many years. I was delighted that the little oasis has been resurrected by The Back Rabbit Bistro. Tucked away behind the main building was a vine covered enclosure which sweeps you away from busy Osbrone St. When the strings of white lights illuminate at dusk you could be in a funky Toronto neighbourhood or historic Old Montreal.

On this evening, Beep and I were meeting D for an after work supper. We arrived in advance to be sure to get one of the coveted patio tables.

After a visit and a lovely libation, we were getting a bit peckish and decided to share an order of fries to tide us over.

These were not any old French fries. They had been lightly seasoned with rosemary, dusted with threads of parmesan and served with an aioli for good measure. After we had polished them off, I read a text indicating that D had been further delayed and to start without him. Without further adieu, we got the menus out again and surveyed the small plates and thin-crust pizzas before deciding to order pasta.

Beep’s “go-to” is shrimp and noodles and she was impressed with the number of perfectly cooked shrimp and the lightness of the white wine cream sauce on the linguine. My tastes were opposite but equally enjoyable.

The linguine I choose was pungent with tastes of fresh pesto and olive tapenade (a Southern France concoction) which was rich and hearty tasting. A crumble of feta further elevated the dish and added a creamy texture and pleasant saltiness. Every twist of the fork was so satisfying; I didn’t even offer Beep or D (who had just arrived), a taste.

Service was efficient and pleasant and we could have happily lingered under the leafy canopy for hours.

Kath’s quote: “ If our experience of eating outside is coloured by all these things—smell, anticipation, context, childhood memories, even gratitude—whether or not it really tastes better ends up being subjective.”-Annalisa Barbieri

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

A successful arrival in Cancun means navigating through the airport, meeting the shuttle and being dropped of at the ferry terminal as soon as possible. On this day we touched down at 11:20 and caught the 1 pm ferry.

Although tired and pretty pasty looking, we were happy travelers. The ferry ride over is always the most exciting time of the journey for me.

I love the comings and goings of the Isla ferries. Sometimes I make the crossing, just because.

It is this particular sight that I am enthralled with-the impossible turquoise of the sea.

Although we have made the trek down the airport strip dragging our luggage on previous occasions, on this day we grabbed a cab and dropped off our bags at Luna d’ Miel. As always, everything was in perfect order in anticipation of our arrival. Isabel has trained her small staff well and the little hotel is always a pleasure to stay at.

We then headed right back into Centro to purchase boneless ribs from Tino’s (Blog post), milk for coffee, manchego cheese, lime mayo, cervesas and wine. We considered ourselves all set. It was busy in Centro.

But the lovely islanders were not too busy to welcome us back to their paradise.

One of the many things that I love about staying at Luna D’ Miel is our vantage for sunset. We wondered if it might possibly be a nice evening for one.

We were not disappointed! The sunset was spectacular and we were reminded anew of the beauty of the island.

D had brought a very bad head cold with him, so we intentionally laid low that first evening. Our cozy bedroom invited us home.

I have recently been in touch with Isabel the owner and manager of Luna d’ Miel. She still has openings for the 2015-2016 season. Contact her at this address infolunadmiel@yahoo.com.mx.

Kath’s quote: “She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar.” -Janet Fitch

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.