Month: August 2014

Closest Supermoon of 2014 on August 10

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Super Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On August 10 at 7:55 pm, we will be able to watch not only the largest moon but also the moon that will be at the closest point to the earth in 2014 rising out of the Sea of Cortez in Los Cabos.  Because the moon shines opposite the sun at full moon, you will see the moon beaming all night from dusk to dawn.  This extra-close full moon is likely to usher in large tides along the ocean shorelines for the next several days.  The best place to watch it is on the beach facing east and I hope everyone can enjoy this magical display.

I am going off the Baja Beaten path for a moment to introduce you to Kris Rudolph from San Miguel de Allende in the State of Guanajuato.   I had a lovely visit to San Miguel with my dear friend, Nettie, a couple of years ago and there you will find cobblestone streets, every kind of restaurant, bountiful outdoor markets, art galleries, jewelry, museums, music and more. I wanted to take part in the culinary scene so I took a cooking class with Kris Rudolph at her cooking school, La Cocina.    Kris has owned and operated El Buen Café since 1991.   She writes a Travel Newsletter entitled Delicious Expeditions and she arranges Cooking Trips to Europe and Mexico along with Writing Workshops in Guatamala.  I enjoy her Newsletters where she describes her latest adventure and she always inserts a good recipe from her travels.

This recipe is from one of Kris’ trips to Italy:

Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Crostini 

This is a simple yet delicious appetizer.

4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 8-10 thin slices of French bread
  • 1/4 pound Gorgonzola
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation

1.    Place butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat.  When melted, add pears and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add sugar and continue cooking for a few more minutes, or until caramelized.

2.  Slightly toast bread on both sides. Spread on Gorgonzola while still warm. Top with a spoonful of pears and a sprinkling of walnuts. Serve warm.

If you are interested in following Kris Rudolph, you can sign up for her Delicious Expeditions Newsletter.

Back to the Baja, I received a nice e-mail from Melissa Castaneda – the woman who was displaying/selling her jewelry at the Pedregal Farmers Market on Saturday.  She has invited me to attend her jewelry-making class.  I plan to take her class at the Atelier Naica Studio and I will take photos of my creation to share with everyone.

Finally, I will be posting my Shrimp Curry recipe on Thursday after several requests.

Buen Provecho, Akiba

Farmers Market – Pedregal

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Farmers Market – Pedregal

Saturday and Wednesday Mornings, 7:00 to 11:00 am

Camino del Colegio 225, Just off Miguel Angel Herrera, Cabo San Lucas, Phone: (624) 172-0129 | Inquiries call Monica cell 624-122-5560

I stopped by the Farmers Market in the Pedregal on Saturday morning to see what was going on.  Unlike most Farmers Markets, our markets pretty much close for the hot summer months, but the Pedregal Market stays open all year.  It is located in the courtyard of the Mar Adentro Spa and Wellness Clinic.  Mar Adentro means “Inner Sea” – Whole Body Wellness.  Monica Diez Rivera is the owner and she “walks the walk” when it comes to holistic well being.

There were only two vendors selling produce along with organic eggs and chickens.  But that said, I still found beautiful arugula micro-greens, tomatoes, grapefruit, summer squash, mangos, fresh herbs, cabbage, sweet potatoes that had a cream colored skin and purple on the inside and nopal cactus paddles.   I was given a yellow fruit that I have not seen before called Sapote.  It is a soft edible yellow fruit that dates back to the Aztecs.  It is not quite ripe yet so I am unable to give you a report on how it tastes. There were loaves of beautiful fresh bread and muffins.  The Taco Bar was open and busy as was Penny Lane Cafe.  I would call before you make a trip there as their hours seem to change and I was told that they may be closed the first two weeks of September.

Arugula MicroGreens

Basket of Vegetables

I met a lovely young woman named Melissa Castaneda who works with Atelier Naica  Jewelry Studio where they offer custom tailored jewelry courses and workshops.  This is a hands on course and your creation is yours to take home at the end of the day.  Melissa was selling some of her creations of lovely silver pieces with precious stones.

Melissa Jewelry

If you are interested in taking a class or doing a workshop, her contact details:

Melissa @ateliernaica.com, www.ateliernaica.com, 624 128 1921

Even though the market is quite small, I still felt it was worth making the trip.  All the produce that I brought home was very fresh, organic and of high quality.

I have a fantastic recipe for Nopal Cactus with Carmelized Onion, Guajillo Chile and Cheese   Nopal Catcus paddles

Ingredients

  • 3 dried guajillo chiles, seeded and torn into flat pieces
  • 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1/2 14.5 ounce can diced tomato (preferably fire roasted)
  • 1 lb nopales cactus paddles (I prefer the smaller size)
  • 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • 1 large white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • Salt
  • A little sugar if necessary
  • 1 cup (4 oz) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese
  • cilantro leaves
  • tortillas

Instructions

  • Prepare the guajillo base.  Heat a medium 10 inch skillet over medium.  Toast the chiles by using a metal spatula to press them against the hot surface for a few seconds, until very aromatic, then flipping and pressing the other side.  Roast the unpeeled garlic, turning from time to time, until soft and blotchy-black in spots, about 15 minutes.  Cool and peel off the papery skin, break the chiles into smaller pieces and combine in a blender jar with the garlic and undrained tomatoes.  Blend until smooth – this will take a minute or so because of the tough chile skins.
  • Cut the cactus into squares that are a little larger than 1/2 inch.
  • Prepare the dish.  In a large 4 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium.  Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until richly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the cactus, cover the pan and cook 5 minutes.  Uncover, raise the heat to medium-high and cook stirring frequently until all of the cactus’s sticky stuff has evaporated and you hear the cactus sizzling in the oil.  Immediately set a medium-mesh strainer over the pan, pour in the chile mixture and press it through.  Stir everything together and let it cook until the chile mixture has thickened to the consistency of tomato paste.  Stir in 1/2 cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes.  Taste and season with salt (usually about 1 teaspoon) and a little sugar if necessary to balance the chile’s natural astringency.
  • Serving.  Serve the warm mixture with the fresh cheese, cilantro and warm tortillas.

This recipe is from Rick Bayless.