I will not be frequently posting “live” as I am this day, because even bloggers need to take a holiday, wouldn’t you agree?  But here I am in my land of bliss, the kind of place that you care for so much that you want to share it with everyone that you love.  But sometimes, logistically, this does not work out.  So here I am without D or my the rest of my brood.  Thankfully I am with most of the rest of my siblings so I am content.  More than content, in fact, I am ecstatic for the blessing of being back on Isla Mujeres once again.

Sweet Dreams on Isla Mujeres

In the days when our family was young, we didn’t get a chance to go on winter holidays.  There were a couple of exceptions for special anniversaries and so over the course of our first fifteen years of marriage, we visited Cozumel and Hawaii.  This took considerable co-ordination on our part to have various people to stay with the kids so that they could maintain their school and extra-curricular activities.  Even though there are far less logistical issues to deal with now that only our youngest is at home, we still want her fairly convenient lifestyle to be maintained while she is busy with university and her work.  She will also have extra dog walking responsibilities as our big old Samoyed collie  is arthritic and blind and will not take care of his personal toileting unless he is lead on a leash.  So because she is still my baby girl, I wanted to leave the kitchen well stocked for her convenience and sustenance.

Daughter #2 is a great cook but not particularly experienced in the kitchen (I kind of hog the room).  Everything that she takes on, tastes delicious, but she is not confident when looking in the fridge for what can easily be assembled with success.  But as luck would have it, on Friday afternoon a package arrived containing a gorgeous new sauté pan from T-fal and six varieties of Hamburger Helper. 

Daughter #2 was elated.  This would take the guess work out of what to pull out for supper (as long as she remembered to thaw the ground beef first). 

There was a beef sale at Sobey’s this weekend so I was able to pick up a value pack which held six portions for $13.80.  I thought that was a great deal for a variety of meals; and Daughter #3 can save the gift card that I left for her from Sobey’s, for little treats like sushi and in-store made pizzas.  Even though my kids are independent adults, I am still their Mom and I am blessed to think that I always will be.

 Kath’s quote: “It is the (North) Americans who have managed to crown minced beef as hamburger, and to send it round the world so that even the fussy French have taken to le boeuf hache, le hambourgaire.”-Julia Child

Love-that is all.

Earlier this week, we were invited over for dinner with beloved friends. At one time, one spouse from all three couples, worked with each at Winnipeg Harvest (in fact Lee was the founder of the amazing organization).  So once again in my life, food (and the sharing of it), drew me to loved ones.  I had been thinking about this particular appetizer recipe for as long as my count down of sleeps for Isla Mujeres, because Parmesan crusted fish is served a couple of places on the island.

The view from the corner table at the Co-op.

My favourite version is offered up at The Fisherman’s Co-op, right on the water and across from the little hotel where we typically stay.

In the end, D made this batch up and so they tasted even better than usual to me, as I didn’t prepare them.  I have posted this recipe today, in case you want to make them for an Oscar watching evening on Sunday.  In our house on Superbowl Day,  D plants himself in his football watching chair and I fix little treats for he and his quests.  On Academy Awards night, the tradition is reversed and he does the same for me.

Me on Isla (ha, ha, this is J2, my legs aren’t long enough to touch the sand).

This is really me on Isla (with Daughter #1)

Alas, this Oscar night I wouldn’t be with D as I will be spending my first night on Isla…

Love-that is all.

La Lomita’s was the very first restaurant we visited on our first trip to Isla Mujeres in Feb 2005.  We landed at noon and decided to pick up some groceries and grab lunch before we took a cab to Punta Sur and our Villa.  We picked up our necessities at Mirtita’s and as we got out Laura’s map to get our bearings, we looked up and saw La Lomita’s.  Wow-what a great place to start our multi-year love affair with Isla and its food.  We spoke to the next table that were salivating over the Chiles Relleno.  We opted instead for papa fritos (french fries from just cut potatoes) which provided my first taste of a squeeze of lime instead of our accustomed vinegar.  We also shared shrimp with garlic and polo frito (fried chicken) with “pink” rice and fuchsia coloured onions. 

We could not get the idea of trying the Chiles Relleno out of our heads and tried to go back on the Sunday of our first week.  We found out and have remembered since, that La Lomita’s is not open on Sundays.  But we went back a third time for our last meal of that first trip and discovered that the Ophelia’s Chiles Relleno were definitely worth waiting for.  The whole poblano chile gets hotter towards the stem.  They are stuffed with a creamy white Mexican cheese, breaded and deep fried and then served on a bed of homemade tomato sauce and topped with cream and a “feta” style cheese. 

We returned for Chiles again in February 2006 when we had a bit of a food “accident”.  One member of our party thought that the green sauce on the table was guacamole and she took a sizable scoop on her taco chip.  It was so fiery that she could hardly speak and it took a good ten minutes before our concern for her subsided. 

When I took my husband to Isla for the first time in January 2007, he was anxious to try the Chiles as well.  There are some situations in life that I find particularly unique-we were waiting for an authentic Isla meal while watching Rachel Ray in Rome on “$40 a Day” which had been overdubbed in Spanish.  The world is a very small place. 

My husband loved the bean soup but saved me from future dismay by not consuming the entire bowl.  Our intention that night was to go out for coconut ice cream but even though we had split the meal, we were too full!  Supper was $14 for two of us including beer.  

We were excited to introduce our kids to the restaurant when we took them there in December 2007.  That experience though was “difficult”.  We were a large group and had all ordered beer when we arrived.  We could see that each time the table next to us finished their beer, the glass was cleared, washed and then delivered with beer to us.  Unfortunately they got the glasses first and we were almost finished eating dinner before we all got ours.  When in Mexico-you just have to relax and do things the Mexican way.  The food was fabulous as usual, so I was content.

I’ve seen mixed reviews on La Lomita’s on the message boards lately.  I hope that all is well for this family.  See you soon Isla. 

Kath’s quote:  “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria.”-David Auerbach