Mazatlan - la semana pasada (Week 9) Our Last Week

Not the most exciting of weeks with three out of the four of us under the weather at various points. To make it worst we've just heard that Bill is now in the hospital in Mazatlan, hopefully all will be fine.

This is also a short week as we left Mazatlan on Thursday to fly to LA.

WEATHER

Perfect as always.

FOOD

Pretty quiet again due to illness.

Tried Tramoya on Palzuela Machado John had coconut shrimp and I had the chicken Caesar salad. Meh on the salad, too soggy. John enjoyed his shrimp.

We went back to Water's Edge as John was dying for another of their steak sandwiches. We decided to start with cocktails something we don't normally do. John had the classic margarita and I went with the Blood Sucker, vodka and cranberry with a lychee that looked an eyeball!

We opted to skip the salad provided with the sandwich and instead ordered this delicious salad to share.

MAZATLAN MEANDERINGS

Monday we went to the Osuna Distillery with Bill and Carol as they were mashing the cactus today, which is not done every day. Bill was in great spirits but when he returned home in the afternoon he started not feeling well.

I went to the Gran Plaza to get my hair cut. Everywhere is ready for Carnivale.

John and I went to Tippy Toes to get pedicures. 

MUSIC

I had to include this because when we were sitting at Water's Edge and it was very quiet we could hear the kitchen staff belting this out.

Weekend Cooking

February 2014 - Mazatlan Mexico

Our last week and some of us have been under the weather. We got together for breakfast at Torres Mazatlan and then went out to visit the Los Osuna Tequila Distillery. Actually you can't call it tequila as that named belongs to the town of Tequila which makes tequila. The same as the name champagne can only be applied to wine made in the Champagne district.

It is known as 100% agave azul - blue agave.


It has been made here since 1876 and is located at the 19 kilometer on the Habal-La Noria highway.

We were excited to go today as Bill had it on good authority from the manager's husband that they would be cooking and pressing the cactus today. They don't do this everyday.




As you enter the property you see rows upon rows of newly planted blue agave.

Where it all starts to happen.

First press

Classical music is played for the distilling liquids.

Where they age the barrels. It felt like it was air-conditioned but it was simply the cement walls providing a controlled environment for the process.

My Recipe Box - Moo Shu Pork

• 
  
  
  Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.
• We had friends over for dinner a while ago and had a delicious roast pork simply coated in olive oil, dijon mustard and honey.

What to do with the leftovers? I love cold pork, my husband, not so much. I made twice cooked pork for him, but it's not a favourite of mine as I don't like reheated pork.

Then I had the idea to make moo shu pork with pancakes, something we both love ordering and often pick up Peking duck to have with pancakes sometimes.

I looked at many recipes and ended up using several ideas and adding some of my own.

This was so good we had it again the next night!

• Moo Shu Pork
• 
  
• 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, julienned
• For the Marinade:
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 4 tablespoon sake or xiao shing wine, can replace sake for dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic

Cooking:

• 6 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup fresh shitake mushrooms, julienned
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup carrots, julienned
• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed, julienned
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic
• 3 teaspoons sake
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Lettuce, or flour tortillas gluten free use lettuce
• For the Garnish:
• Hoisin sauce
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced on the bias or made into scallion brushes. Make scallion brushes by holding the white part of the scallion on one side and making several vertical slices through them. Keep them in ice cold water to make them bloom.

PREPARATION

To a plastic bag, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sake, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and pork. Marinade for at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove the pork from the marinade using tongs and stir fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes, season with salt and black pepper. Transfer pork to a serving plate with the eggs. Wipe the wok clean.

In that same wok, heat a couple tablespoons of canola oil and stir-fry the shitake mushrooms for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden brown. Add in the cabbage and stir fry for another 2 minutes, until cabbage is cooked through but not wilted. Season and toss with sesame oil. Transfer to pork.

In that same wok, heat a couple tablespoons of canola oil and stir fry the carrots and snow peas for 2 minutes. Add in grated ginger, garlic, sake, oyster sauce and stir fry for 1 minute. Then transfer back the pork, cabbage, mushroom mixture. Mix thoroughly to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with hoisin sauce over moo shu pork skins or over lettuce.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Boogie Mar 1

Saturday Photo Hunt

Theme is Boogie

March 2013 - New Orleans LA

Boogie is a given at a New Orleans wedding. Traffic stops and the wedding parties boogie on down the streets. Here are several we happened upon last year.

City Daily Photo - March 1

Posting at City Daily Photo Theme Days.


March is "People on the Street" 

February 2014 - Mazatlan Mexico



In the heart of the city is the zócalo or Plaza Revolución, this shaded square at the center of downtown—near the cathedral, city hall, and post office—is the perfect place to relax with a snack from the adjacent ice-cream and pizza shops or shaved-ice stands, get a shoeshine,
I can vouch for the ice cream!!
Love the ad for Mexico on the back of his newspaper!

Click here to see the magnificent cathedral.

Back in the US of A

And it's looking very grey, dull, overcast, dismal, dreary, hazy, leaden, murky, mousy... and it's is raining!!

Photo is not LA but you get the idea!

Got up yesterday morning to our usual view. Yikes! No wonder John just said can we get on a plane and go back.

Went over to say good-bye to Carol and Bill as he is still under the weather.

Back for breakfast at the palapa and then we were picked up by King David for the 45 minute drive to the airport. Easy check in with Alaska Air and we went upstairs to have a last cerveza.
Downstairs there are lots of last minute souvenir shopping. Upstairs is Carl's Burgers, a salon, and two souvenir shops. Once you go through security there is a duty free. Then downstairs and we board.

We have always had good flights with Alaska Air their flight attendants are pleasant and aim to please.

Going through US Customs was also easy, he only asked how much longer we thought we'd be in the States.

Waited thirty minutes for the hotel shuttle and checked into the LA Hilton, our hotel of choice in LA. John then went to check on the car, which has been waiting for us for 62 lonely days!!
Once I plonked down on the bed I had no desire to move so we ordered room servce, club sandwich and roast beef dip.

Starbucks this morning as we look out at that bleak view.

We will eventually head out to a) rescue the car from captivity and b) head to San Diego.

Friday My Town Shoot Out - Stained Glass Feb 28

I'm posting over here this week.

Stained Glass

October 2013 - Toronto On

These photos were taken on a cloudy autumn afternoon. I plan on going back in the spring to see the gardens.


Casa Loma (Spanish for Hill House) is a Gothic Revival style house and gardens in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914.

The house cost approximately $3.5 million and took a team of 300 workers three years to build from start to finish. Unfortunately, due to the start of World War I, construction on the house was halted. At 98 rooms covering 64,700 square feet (6,011 m2), it was the largest private residence in Canada. Notable amenities included an elevator, an oven large enough to cook an ox, two vertical passages for pipe organs, a central vacuum, two secret passages in Sir Henry's ground-floor office, along with a pool and three bowling alleys in the basement (the last two were never completed).

One of the most beautiful rooms, to me, is the conservatory. The floor marble is Italian but the side panels are of Ontario marble. Covering the Conversatory is a beautiful stained glass dome. Steam pipes kept the flower beds warm in the winter.