Puerto Vallarta - Our Digs!

Here are the boys with their "face suckers" in the airport.  John, who is actually reading a book, does not look amused!




We stayed in a wonderful condo in Puerto Vallarta. It belongs to friends of Cameron and Michael. It was on the 6th floor with a spectacular view of the ocean and a constant cool breeze. It was very tempting to move to Mexico!

Looking into the large kitchen. The arched window has no glass - it's open and awesome!

View of the sea and a constant cool breeze. 

The far right window lets us look over at our neighbors.

Below us, we could see the beach where we spent a couple of afternoons.

We ate breakfast several times at a cool little restaurant called Fusion.  Small, intimate, affordable, with fantastic food!

    

The guys also made some wicked margaritas and guacamole at home:

John the Juicer Man

I'm not too sure about giving Cam a knife?

Yum!

John and Cam take a rest.

Puerto Vallarta! Excursion to Mascota and Talpa Part 1.

I had a wonderful time in Puerto Vallarta!  The weather was beautiful, and the company even better! My son took me, his husband Michael, and our roommate "John the Wonderful" and we had a great time!

While we were there, Cameron booked several tours with Vallarta Adventures. The first took us up into the mountains of the Sierra Madre to the colonial towns of Talpa and Mascota. We had an exceptional tour guide who knew just about everything you could think of about the history, geology, and culture of the area.  Each village had its own treasures to explore. These villages can earn a legal designation of being "Magical" villages - which means they are a cultural jewel in Mexico's crown and are protected from too much change.  In Mascota, we were given fresh bread from the bakery, and we visited a school where local arts are taught.

The name, Mascota, is not from the Spanish language, where it would be translated as "pet."  Rather it is from Teco, "Amaxocotlan Mazacotla," which means "the place of deer and snakes."

After stopping for a snack of traditional tacos, we visited La Iglesia de la Preciosa Sangre (Temple of the Precious Blood). Construction on this church began in the early 1900's but was stopped due to the revolution. It's not as old as most churches I've seen in Spain, but reminded me very much of them. What I found fantastic here was behind the altar! In all my travels through Catholic countries, I've never seen a statue of Christ like this one! Joe reminded me of the alchemical nature of the statue. It reminded him of the pelican you often see in Christian and Alchemical art.  The pelican was believed to pierce its own breast with its beak and feed its young of its blood. It became a symbol of Christ sacrificing himself for man.











We explored the grounds of the church. They gave us traditional hot chocolate and cookies, and soon we loaded up onto the bus to head for Talpa.

Cameron and Michael

We walked from here to the village center,
where we found a man selling a special chili powder.
He would not disclose the ingredients,
but it was delicious!
We ate it sprinkled on jicama.
I bought a package. The scent was so pungent that my entire suicase
smelled of it when I got home.

There was another church in Mascota, Nuestra Senora de los Dolores.
It sat in a shady square with flowers and trees all around.

Yet another Sorrowful Mother

What's up?

Hello World!

I'm on my way back to snowy Portland tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing the family and friends. Then, on to Puerto Vallarta. My son is taking me on a trip for a week. I have a bit of anxiety about the flight, as always, but I'm excited and ready for the Mexican sun.  (I'm also ready with my mask, my nose spray, and my eye mask.)

Life in the California desert has been nice. Better than what they're having in Portland. But we HAVE had a LOT of rain here this year and it's been colder than usual. I guess the entire Pacific cost is getting that cold wet weather.

Anyway... I really don't have any news other than to say I'm alive and well.

Hope you're all having a great winter.

Love,
Annie

Our Olives Are Finished!

We're very excited. The olives are ready.
They've been out in the sun for about a week.
It's raining today, so a good day to bring them in
and get them jarred.

On the Screen

Nice and sun dried

We are keeping some on the counter for eating this next month.

The rest will be tossed with a teaspoon of olive oil, put into a jar, and stored in the fridge.

We have done a bit more research and decided that is what will work for us.

Free Olives!

What could be better!?

Nutritarian Corn Bread

Well, I had a hankering for bread so I made some nutritarian corn bread tonight to go with my beans.

I used a recipe from Dr. Fuhrman's book.
It ended up not tasting like your grandma's cornbread.It was more like cake - sweet and spicy.

Good with beans!
And great if you're craving bread.

But if you want something more savory, I'd either skip the spice or change the spices.1 cup cornmeal

1 cup oat flour (just make it by putting oats in the blender)
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 dates, pitted
1 cup nut milk
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup baked, peeled sweet potato (I'm not peeling mine)
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Combine cornmeal, oat flour, and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir well and set aside.

In a high powered blender, combine dates, milk, coconut, potato, flax and spices. If you don't have a high powered blender, soak the dates overnight first to soften them.

Combine with dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.

The mixture from the blender is very thick.


Stir in frozen corn kernels.



Pour into non-stick square baking dish, cast iron skillet, or bake as muffins.

I used my cast iron skillet

Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving.



Changes I made:


I only had 1/2 cup sweet potato so I put that plus a half cup of avocado.

NOTE: This recipe comes from Dr. Fuhrman's book.

One person on the website said they added cumin, chili powder, and dried jalapenos.

It got very good reviews.

I will make this again sometime.

Good luck!

Olives are nearly done!

A few days ago, we put two changes of clean water into the jar of olives to begin taking salt and the rest of the tannin out of them.  This plumped them up considerably.  See the first blog here:  DIY Greek Olives and the second part here:  Olives Part Two - I fell off the wagon  (Scroll Down)

I put about a half dozen in a brine of vinegar and water for a couple of days, and MAN, they were GOOD! So I figured they were ready.

Today, Joe laid them out on a screen in the sun. We will leave them out until they shrivel up and dry a bit.

Then, we will keep a jar of them, put in a brine of vinegar and water, in the refrigerator, and pack the rest in freezer bags and store in the freezer. The olives will last 3-6 months in the freezer in brine, but we just don't eat THAT many olives. This harvest should last us a year.

Here are photos of the olives, just laid out on a screen in the sun.

This was an easy project that cost very little in time or money. The olives were free for the taking. All that was needed to prepare them was a gallon jar and about 3 cups of salt. We used sea salt, but you can use any pure salt.

We took mostly olives off the tree, but if you look online, some people prefer the windfall olives. Next year, I may try those as well..

A Frugal Thanksgiving

I love when I can be frugal and make out like a bandit!

We started our Thanksgiving by shopping for food.

As always, I had a list, and on that list was a turkey.

They were awfully big and awfully expensive,

but you have to have turkey for Thanksgiving!

I had put a big old turkey in the cart

when Joe came by and said,

"Did you see those turkeys for $8?"

I said, " EIGHT DOLLARS?!"

Following him back to the frozen section

he showed me a bunch of turkeys that had a tag on them

saying if you bought over $25 worth of food,

you'd get this 14 pound turkey for $8.

SCORE!

We bought the turkey,

and on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day,

it made a wonderful meal!

On Friday, 

we ate leftovers. . .

turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes,

stuffing, and green beans!

On Saturday morning,

I picked all the meat off the carcass 

and put the skeleton in the crock pot

with an onion.

I covered it with water, and let it stew all day.

That night

I took about 2 cups of the broth off the top

and made gravy from it,

and we had hot turkey sandwiches.

YUM!

Tonight,

I've cleaned all the bones out of the broth,

put the broth into the freezer so I can skim off the fat.

I've cut up all the leftover meat,

and will pop in some celery, an onion,

and a bit of rice

and we'll have a nice hot turkey soup!

Perfect on this cold, blustery day!

That $8 turkey has fed us for 4 nights.

Not bad...

Let's Make a Deal!

I've been wanting a small table

to set inside under a living room window,

so when it is too hot or too cold in my "outdoor room"

I can sew indoors.

Yesterday, I found one at a nearby yard sale.

The lady wanted $10.

It's an old metal school typewriter stand,

perfect size,

and I can paint it white and it'll be perfect.

But I didn't want to spend $10.

Sooooo....

I bartered!

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a set of acrylic paints from Amazon.

When they arrived, one of the paints had leaked.

I chatted with Amazon, telling them I would like a replacement

for the leaked paint bottle.

Instead, they sent me an entire new set of paints.

So I had an 18-bottle set of brand new acrylic paints.

I offered the paints

to the lady in exchange and she took it!

I'm so happy!

Here is my table.

I know it looks ugly now,

but free is beautiful to me.

It's absolutely functional, just the right size,

and like me, it will clean up good!

Today I'm starting a new watercolor painting

from my Anna Mason course.

It's going to be a robin, 

for Christmas.

Here is the drawing.

Stay tuned!

Well, I Fell Off the Wagon. . .

Well, I fell off the wagon on my 30 miniatures in 30 days chore.

My mother took a bad spell and was in the hospital 

and then Thanksgiving rolled around 

and well, it just never happened. 

But I promise to get back to it soon.

I did receive my little EFCOLOR Stove, 

which allows me to bake the clay without using electricity. 

It's a tiny stove that is powered by tea-lights 

and I can't wait to give it a try.

I have been working on some watercolor paintings.

I finished the portrait of my son's dog, Data, 

the week before I came to the desert.

I love this portrait.

It really captures this sweet doggie's nature.

I finished a portrait of a white horse yesterday.

I discovered that painting white is really as difficult as painting black.

There are so many colors in a white horse!

OLIVES

The olives we began salting a couple of weeks ago 

will be finished soon.

Tonight I dug one out of the jar and rinsed it,

then tasted it.

Still quite strong, 

but GOOD!

These are going to be awesome,

and it was so easy!

Here is a photo of the jar so you can see how much liquid

has come out of the olives.

They are really shriveling up!

But not quite shriveled enough.

It's time to make another batch of yogurt this week.

But first, I have to prepare for a watercolor class

that I've been asked to teach this week

at the 55+ park where I'm staying.

We'll just be doing simple little "blob" animals

like these I found on the internet:

I think a person could use this method to make

some really cute Christmas cards!

I guess that should catch you up on what I've been up to.

Oh.. about the Camino...

We have had to cancel the Spring walk.

We realized after this year's walk that in order to continue

in the same manner as we have been structuring the trips,

we need some sort of liability insurance.

We do NOT want to become a company.

We want to stay "pilgrims helping pilgrims"

But we also want to protect ourselves and our assets,

so we have put off the Spring trip 

while we explore options that will offer protection we need

but still allow us to help others walk the Camino Santiago.

If you have any good ideas,

give us a shout!

We hate to toss in the towel,

but we can't afford to lose our drawers

because someone gets hurt.

Ok.. that's all folks!

Love,

Annie

The Miracle of the Apples

The day I left Santa Celia on the Aragones Route, I was very hungry. I had not found the tiny tienda in the bar in town, and had eaten nothing for breakfast. There was a definite chill in the early morning air and I pulled the sleeves of my jacket down over my hands to keep them warm.

As I walked, my stomach growled and I began to daydream about food.

" Oh man, I sure would love to have something to eat... some FRUIT would be awesome!"

I thought about figs, and grapes, and apples, and nectarines and my mouth began to water. But there was no town in sight and I knew it was going to be a long day. I should have planned more wisely...

I walked on, and on, one step in front of the other, a kilometer, then two... dreaming about food...

Then, I rounded a corner, and there on the dew-drenched grass, in the middle of nowhere, sat two perfect apples.

I laughed out loud!
It was Camino magic working again!

I picked one up and bit into it.
It was ice-cold, crunchy, and sweeter than any apple I have ever eaten before!
What a treat!

I ate that apple right down to the seeds, then devoured the other.
Smiling and full, I continued to walk as I thought, "Thank you Santiago! Thank you Camino!" 

DIY Greek Styled Dried Olives

I'm finally settled into the desert house. I brought my mother here for a week and we had a good old time. She won about $700 at the Casino and we had a nice buffet seafood dinner. Spending some quality time with her was fun.  I took her home on Thursday and headed back to the desert with the rest of my stuff on Friday. Joe had been house-sitting for mom while we were here, so I brought him back also.

We've spent the past few days getting settled in. Since I'll be here a year and a half, I have a lot more "stuff" than usual to find a place for. I've had to re-order some of my doll-making supplies since I didn't want to drag them all the way to California.

Today, Joe came in with some beautiful olives he picked off the tree in the back yard while pruning it. This gave us the idea to pick the olives on the REST of the trees in the park and to dry them. I love Greek-style olives. They're strong and full of flavor and best of all, they're free!

So we jumped in the car and went hunting.  Most of the trees had dropped their fruit already, but we managed to find enough for a gallon jar.

Here they are. Beautiful. Black. Full of flavor!

Some have already begun dehydrating in the sun,

but that's ok.

Once the olives were picked and washed

we pricked each one with a fork.

We layered them with salt in a one gallon glass jar.

Any glass container will work, however.

Some people use plastic; I'm just not fond of plastic

for long term storage.

We used Pink Himalayan Salt,

but you can use any clean kosher salt.

I get mine on Amazon.com.

This works best if the olive skin is broken.

Some people hit them with a hammer.

Some slit them with a knife.

I simply laid them out on a cloth

and picked them up with a fork,

breaking the skin as I stabbed them.

We didn't really measure.

We just put a layer of salt in the bottom,

then a layer of olives,

then a handful of salt, 

then olives,

then salt.

We had just enough to fill the jar.

Then we rolled the jar until all of the olives were covered.

Here is what they look like:

Now, we will keep the jar in a dark cupboard,

and we will roll the jar each day.

Oily black water will begin accumulating

in the jar.

We will watch carefully,

and once the water has stopped coming out of the olives,

we will pour it off and replace it with 

clean spring water to wash the salt off.

Then we will store our dried olives in olive oil,

garlic,

and maybe some thyme.

They will keep up to two years.

I can't wait!

Stay tuned!