I love to look at recipes, but mostly I read them for inspiration. Very rarely do I follow one to a tee. I really enjoy intuitive cooking and find that some of my favourite dishes have been created this way.
Earlier this summer I was having company over for lunch and I had a big craving for shrimp. So after looking at a few recipes I decided to create my own version, based on what I had on hand and what flavours I enjoy. I was very please with the final product so decided to jot down a recipe so I can remember how I made it when I am craving it again. And also so that I could share it with you.
Shrimp Salad Sandwich
10 oz cooked shrimp, chopped
1 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp cucumber or celery, finely diced
2 tbsp mayonaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1/2 tbsp fresh dill weed, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
2 croissants
butter
leaf or butter lettuce
Mix together all salad ingredients. Half the croissants and butter each side. Top with lettuce leaves and shrimp salad and serve open faced.
Kath’s quote: “My perfect meal would be: shrimp cocktail, lasagna, steak, creamed spinach, salad with bleu cheese dressing, onion rings, garlic toast and a dessert of strawberry shortcake.” -Joan Rivers
If I had to pick my all time favourite comfort food, it would have to be holubsti, aka cabbage rolls. The best time of year to make them is summer and early fall, when the cabbage is sweet and tender.
There are all kinds of cabbage rolls made in many Eastern and Eorpean countries. Growing up, my Mom made big hearty rolls stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, onion and rice. I always enjoyed them but my favourite holubtsi were made by my long time boyfriend Steves Baba Shafirka. Like many Ukranian Babas, she made her delicious version with a bacon and rice mixture with lots of cooked onions and smothered in tomato juice. Her’s were tiny compared to my Moms version. Baba didnt have a written recipe, but she showed me her tricks. I did my best to write out her recipe. That was more than 40 years ago and I have likely made them a hundred times since. So I hope you enjoy them. Smachnoho! Literal translation: “have a tasty meal!”
Baba’s Holubtsi
Ingredients:
1 cabbage
1 c long grain rice
375 grams side bacon
2 small cooking onions, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
19 oz can tomato juice
Directions:
With a large sharp knife, cut out the core from the cabbage. Place the cabbage is a deep pot of boiling water. After a few minutes, the outer leaves can be separated. They should come away easily, if they are tearing they are not ready to be separated.
Pull 4-5 leaves from the head but leave them submerged in the pot of boiling water until they are soft and pliable, about 5 minutes. Continue this process until all the leaves are separated. In a saucepan, place 1 c of rice. Rinse rice at least 3 times to remove excess starch. Cover with 2 c of water and a 1/2 t of salt. Bring to a boil. Give the mixture a stir. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a seperate saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat until all the fat is drawn out. Drain the majority of the bacon fat. Add the onions, cook until lightly btowned.
Add to the cooked rice. Check the rice for salt level and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spray a roasting pan with nonstick spray. Set aside a few leaves of the outer leaves of cabbage. Using the smaller and medium leaves for the rolls.
Place a spoonful of the rice mixture onto each inner cabbage leaf, roll up, tucking in the ends and place in the pan. I like to trim down the centre rib of the leaf to make rolling easier.
Pour tomato juice over the cabbage leaves. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1-1/2 hours until tender.
Kath’s quote: “In grandma’s cooking, ‘a pinch’ is code for ‘as much as your heart desires.’”
It was our last full day and there was another gorgeous sunrise to get it going.
D made a sensational breakfast. He is a trained but uncertified chef. What he is particularly good at is repurposing leftovers in fresh and novel ways. Good thing, as we had a fridge full of food that we needed to use and distribute. He learned this when we owned a number of buffet restaurants back home.
I was glued to the suite. I wanted to soak everything in and bottle it up until our next travels. Plus, I only had a 1/4 left of my book and I wanted to finish it before we left.
During our twnty years visiting the island, I was always told to stay out of the ocean on the east side. I spotted someone enjoying the crashing waves that day. Joe had great water shoes to protect against the coral and enjoyed walking into the surf too.
We walked into Centro for our last sunset. I am so blessed that D and I love so many of the same pleasures in life. He is the reason we get to travel as often as we do. His hobby is finding affordable airfare, packages and offers and he has us listed on Home Exchange now, so we are trading our city and lake homes with other folks wanting to do the same. He is not yet retired, but can work anywhere in Canada, so we have a fabulous west coast adventure coming up this fall.
I always seem to take more photos closer to departure day. I guess it is my way of storing up these memories. I must have 1 Zillion sunset photos but it is never enough. I am always on the search for that “not to be missed” shot.
Many years ago, we made the mistake of not taking food with us to the airport. We paid a fortune for a ghastly pizza and so now we always plan ahead. We had declared Sonny’s was our favourite pizza on this this trip so we returned for dinner that evening.
We savoured our last glass of wine under the stars. Isla you give me so much. Each and every time.
Departure Day: I am never sad when I have to leave the island because I know that it will always be part of my life (in some way or another).
Our normal routine was followed that morning- D at tennis, me putskiing ( a made up word) and enjoying my last coffee while gazing at the turquoise sea.
After another yummy breakfast, we divided the spoils of our bar and kitchen and took 2 cabs in opposite directions.
Joe and Deb to join friends at Punta Sur and us to the ferry.
It was a rather uneventful way home.
What did I come back to? My D (husband for almost 40 years), my six wonderful kids (including 2 SILs and a DIL), my five amazing grandkids, my enormous family (50+), two homes (one in the city, one at the lake), my one church, two gardens to tend, satisfying work to do and hundreds of Isla pictures and thoughts and a thousand precious memories. There, I counted my blessings….
Kath’s quote: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”― Terry Pratchett
Perhaps God knew that my days on the island were winding down. The sunrise that morning was spectacular! I could have posted one of a dozen pictures of it.
Joe and Deb served up breakfast (again).
They along with D, headed to Castilla de Garafon to snorkel for the day. On the otherhand, I stayed put to soak up our little place on a perfect day. Sue came and joined me but they had just shocked the pool and we couldn’t swim. But never fear, I was into another fabulous book!
On Isla, my hair is a real challenge. I have naturally curly AND naturally straight hair. It is an unusual situation and quite a challenge because one lock of hair will shape itself into a beautiful ringlet but the next, will be poker straight. It is impossible to curl the straight clumps for a unified look, so I straighten the curly ones. That is, if I have an hour to spare and on this day, I did! And then I took a selfie (or course).
We were going to walk into Centro that evening but I caught the beginning of a gloomy sunset before we left.
While walking, the skies cleared and it got hot! I captured this image while en route. Between the exertion of the walk and the last heat of the day, my hair was a curly/straight mess just in time for dinner.
Grill Garden is one of my top ten favourite restaurants on the island. Right off the top, I love the ambience. If you are a regular to the island, you will know that it is a tough choice to whittle it down to ten favourites. I absolutely cannot believe the quality of Island food! I don’t know how it compares to other popular destinations but you know what? I am hesitant to explore other locales because I love island food so very much.
Even though we were there to sample their new menu, I just had to have one of my old favourites-their fried cheese in cilantro sauce! We sampled many new menu additions and it was a “blow your mind” kind of dinner. Read here for all the amazing details. https://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-2024-restaurant-features-grill-garden/
We were home in time for wine on the balcony where I daily thank my lucky stars that Isla Mujeres is a permanent fixture in my life.
Kath’s quote: “Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life.“-Jack Canfield
We decided to make it a pool day as the opportunities to do so were fading away. Sue joined us for water time and visits with her Minnesota friends.
We were visited by the resident Iguana, that one of the guests decided to feed.
I love being this close to accessing the Caribbean!
We stayed pool side until there was just this little crack of sunshine on the shore.
Sue treated us to dinner at Rosa Sirena’s. It is lovely being up in the trees with a light breeze (but the spiral staircase to get up there was a bit tough).
We started with beautifully crafted cocktails!
There were beautiful views from our table.
And equally beautiful food. We ended dinner with this gorgeous coconut cheese cake.
Owners Debbie and Willy are wonderful hosts and it was so lovely to finally meet them. We arrived home to share some night time wine with Deb and Joe.
Kath’s quote: “I’m going to soak up the sun…”- Sheryl Crowe
