“Wow, that place smells great! Let’s go check it out!”, growled my stomach.
The lunch hour was well behind us and the smells of slow-cooked meat were wafting out the door, carried on waves of loud Latin beats. Hidden in the faded paint on the wall we could barely make out the word Barbacoa and a picture of a sheep. My stomach growled again
The place was packed, with rows upon rows of well-worn wooden tables filled to capacity with older men in dirty flannel. A waiter cleared off a small table covered in empty beer bottles and soiled napkins, seating us with an easy view of 3 different soccer matches on the wall-mounted flat screens.
This place was seriously local. My skin color was the palest by several shades, and through the dim light and smoky haze I stood out like a sore thumb. Our neighbors to our right immediately engaged us in conversation in a broken mix of Spanish, Tsotsil, and Tseltal (the 2 most common local Mayan languages) that was truly dizzying. “Where are you from?” “Welcome to Mexico!” “You like it here?”
We sipped our warm stale beer from Dixie cups as we waited for our order of tacos, and did our best to participate in the verbal barrage coming our way. Two of our new friends didn’t speak Spanish any better than we did, and the 3rd as self-appointed ambassador did his best to share their questions, difficult as it might be with alcohol hindered enunciation. For 2:00 pm on a Sunday, he was sauced. Hell, for 2 am on a Friday he was sauced
Have you seen the enormous selection of bread that fills an entire row of the big grocery stores these days? The beautiful loaves of organic fat-free, gluten-free, free range, whole-wheat, flax, chia, nut, and seed bread, carefully wrapped in thin layers of plastic by loving machines? We used to buy that stuff… until an accidental discovery that an open loaf was still as fresh as spring rain, weeks after it was opened. Closer examination of the long list of ingredients revealed a long list of preservatives and chemicals
Next stop: the farmer’s market. The beautiful loaves of organic fat-free, gluten-free, free range, whole-wheat, flax, chia, nut, and seed bread smelled wonderful, fresh baked that morning. The owner of the family owned bakery would give us samples and chat amiably while we browsed his wares. And why wouldn’t he be happy, when a loaf of bread cost $6 – $8. But it was delicious and we knew what was in it
Winnie was working her way through a series of world-renowned cook books, and decided to take on a new challenge: home baked bread. She ordered the best selling bread baking book on Amazon, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. Used, of course :)
Like a school girl waking up to Christmas morning, she danced with glee when it finally arrived. The book carefully lays out the delicate art of traditional bread making. All 12 stages, in exacting detail. 8 hours later, exhausted and covered in flour, we enjoyed the output of our own little sweatshop. Without question, it was quite good. But also something no sane person would choose to do on a daily or even weekly basis. Those $8 loaves of bread from the farmer’s market were starting to call us once again. A few weeks later, another unsuspecting patron bought an used book on Amazon (more…)
We’ve shown every month how much we spend on dining out, but what does it really mean? How do you use that information to budget for your own world travels? To help, this is the first of a series of posts where we share 3 meals we’ve enjoyed in different budget classes. Welcome to food voyeurism at its best
Budget Meal
Carnitas is a traditional Mexican pork dish, cooked in a large copper pot with herbs and spices for hours and hours until the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone and can be shredded by hand. Stuff some of this in a hot off the comal hand made gordita with some fresh salsa, and you have one of our favorite lunches
A bit off the beaten path in the Allende neighborhood, the wonderful Bautista family runs Carnitas Bautista. Since they don’t have a website, the address is Guadiana #2, Colonia Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We recently brought a friend there for lunch, and he said, “I didn’t know anything existed in the world that tastes this good!” The reviews don’t get much more glowing than that. And since the place is always packed and we are the only foreigners we see, you know it is good
Trekking in the mountains is hard work. Weight and pack space is at a premium. Every pound must be carried up and down rugged terrain, through thousands of feet of elevation change. You must carry all of your food with you for a week or more, you can’t just stop at a grocery store or order delivery. It requires an incredible amount of energy, so you must eat enough to keep you going but nothing heavy that will weigh you down and make you feel sluggish.
For these reasons, we ate a 100% raw vegan diet while hiking the Wonderland Trail. With no need for a stove, we shed the extra pounds and space required for fuel. Making our own food meant the smallest possible volume, with no extra packaging to pack-in/pack-out, eventually bound for a landfill. Eating raw fruit, nuts, and sprouted seeds meant our body had an abundance of energy with easy digestion.
It also meant a ridiculously low price tag for quality dining. And out of it was born an excellent name for a popular early retirement and travel blog, as well as a great number of requests for one specific recipe
So here it is, the official cracker of Go Curry Cracker!
