Herbs in Mexico.

There are herbs that increase love, decrease gas, settle the digestive tract,ward off evil & calm a baby with colic. I don't know that I believe in all of the folklore that goes along with some of the plants. Trips to the nursery find me returning with herbs I plant in pots around the patio. My favorite here is Cilantro. While I don't grow it because it is very cheap in the stores this place is a real herbal melting pot with what is used in la cocina!

Cilantro is plentiful & mere pesos in Mexico so I have been making a family favorite which is a recipe my mother passed on to me. I will continue making all of my salad dressings here. Long gone the days of Wish Bone & Seven Seas Salad dressings. And Ranch dressing, I can't imagine what they would call it here! I miss the days when I could go to an aisle in the grocery store & see rows of different brands & flavors. Here with fewer choices I just have to be more inventive.

Cilantro Dressing
1/3 c. lightly packed cilantro with stems
3Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1/2c oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp mayonaise
Mix in blender till smoothe...makes 1 cup

Fuego!



Aida~Opera Monumental!

Saturday night John & I attended a spectacular performance of Aida in Torreon at Estaduio Revolucion. The world premiere was in Monterrey Mexico 2 nights before Torreon's performance. There were 180 Actors, a chorus of 80 & a massive stage with 27 meter screen that had images of Ancient Egypt which seemed to sweep the audience into the production. Set in Ancient Egypt the plot of Aida has all the elements of any great story: Doomed love, War, Betrayal & Jealousy. We were blown away by the Scenery & Fire that is used to punctuate the storyline & could actually feel the heat in our VIP seating. The show is billed as Monumental Opera on Fire! Priceless! People Watching in Torreon on a Saturday night: Magnifico!
for more info on the show: http://www.aida-on-fire.com/index.php?id=7

John & I are looking forward to seeing a production of Aida here this weekend in Torreon. There will be hundreds of cast members, actual fire on the stage, huge sets. A nice cultural experience I am sure. The production is a traveling group from Germany. It will be unique since John will not be the only blond man in Torreon for the weekend.
Being in Mexico has given me more time for the things I haven't done the last few years, cooking is one. I am posting a recipe that is an adaptation of a recipe that was used by Roxanne Hill to feed hundreds of hungry people last year at Stony Point. I have made a few changes but most of the recipe is the Roxanne original!

Chicken Enchiladas

13 oz. canned Tyson chicken, drained

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. sour cream, thinned out with 3 T. milk

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

10 oz. mexican rotel

15 oz. green chili enchilada sauce, Hatch is prefered

1 small chopped white onion

24 white corn tortillas

Save some of the onions and shredded cheese for topping. Mix the chicken, cheeses, rotel, and onions together. Warm the tortillas in the microwave then stuff and roll. Lay them in a pan, pour the sour cream mixture over the enchiladas, pour over the green chili sauce, then sprinkle on the remaining onions and cheese.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

*thanks again Roxanne! Cooking down here is a challenge when you go to the stores. You begin with the list you want to come home with & end up leaving the stores with what you can find! Adaptation!

This is a toast to the Mexican Independence Holiday~ just barely survived no thanks to the fireworks & thunder & lightening that seemed to make us feel we were in Baghdad Friday night at 11pm!!!

Okay here is the recipe for

Trudy’s Mexican Martini:

2 shots tequila
1 shot sweet & sour
1 ¾ shot orange juice
1 good squeeze lime juice
green olives

Pour all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well pour in a martini glass with some olives. Garnish with some more olives on a small skewer or toothpick.
*If you want to thank someone please thank Olga Essary!

Casa de Madero Winery

Wine & History...great combination!



Historic Parras
We visited Parras Coahuila, a beautiful Spanish Colonial town set in the hills between Torreon & Saltillo. Parras is the home to the oldest winery in the Americas the Casa de Madero Winery. The town has an array of churches & colorful homes of which many date to the 1500's. The altitude was high enough and the desert far enough that the air felt very fresh. John & I jumped ship on our winery tour and walked around on our own, no one noticed two less people.

Not amused!
Do I look amused??
The pecan picker in question!
Trash day in las Isabeles

On our recent trash pick up day I was more than irritated & not very amused by the behavior of the sanitation workers in our little burg. I was upstairs changing clothes & heard the trash truck arrive at our house when I was rather shocked to find the tree shaking outside of the bedroom window. Well, what to my wondering eyes should appear??? A human head! One of the workers felt very agile & certain that he could shimmey up the pecan tree near our room & was up there grabbing pecans~which I might add are still green. He also was looking back at me look at him! Well, I raced downstairs more to retrieve our trash can than to catch the pecan thief but he was already up the neighbors pecan tree staring up at their window? What gives I would like to know? Is he really after pecans or is he a local Peeping Tom? I really have to wonder. Would a 9 iron to the head stop this peeper? Only time will tell. But I have photos this trash day of the same pecan picker at work prior to his repeat tree climb. I have put him on the alert that this Gringo is watching & not amused....

Flooding on Independencia
A Fog of Dust!


Mexico a place of extremes
Torreon has frequent dust storms which fly in & cover everything with dust. (everything is an understatement) For the moment before the dust hits, the breeeze feels good then one realizes it is nothing but dust blowing & it is a scramble to close doors & windows, etc. The dust at times looks like fog even till it hits your skin & eyes, then there is no mistake! This weekend we dealt with rain. While local street flooding kept us close to home. The rest of the week here is predicted to have 60% chance of rain. More rain here in the desert! Oh boy, the rain seems to bring out the critters here. The only good point to the extremes is: our storms move in & out pretty quickly. Not much slows the pace of life down in Latin America. Traffic has got to keep moving & horns continue to blare!

Off the Beaten Path

Mountains & Rivers & Dams

Rugged Beauty




John & I visited Presa Fransisco Zarco which is a beautiful mountain area south of Torreon where a dam provides a fresh water source for this area. The lake & Rio Nazas there provides recreation and more importantly fresh water for this area. The mountain terrain is breathtakingly rugged.

Art & Culture
Downtown Art in Torreon Arocena building
John visits Museo Arocena
Museo Arocena, Bravo!
Cow Parade in Mexico? Cows create interest!
Plaza de Armas

Torreon along with Mexican history are proudly represented in the new Museo Arcena. Paintings both contemporary & classic as well as artifacts from Europe & Mexico were beautifully arranged in the galleries of the new Museum. Four floors of extraordinary objects. Outside we were amused by a Cow Parade much like the same exhibits held in the U.S.A. Appeal of Cows is universal it seems.