A Jeanne in the Kitchen

I just love seeing all my birds and all the other creatures around my lakes. Yesterday my friend Lauren and I were taking a walk around our lakes when I looked up in the trees and spotted a Hairy Woodpecker. We don’t see too many of these, so they are always a treat when I do. At first there were two, but one flew away. I guess he was camera shy. But the other one posed for the camera long enough for me to get a few good shots.

Have a great day and make everyday great.

Fadge is a type of Irish and Scottish potato bread. It’s made like a lot of other potato breads with mashed potatoes and flour, except it contains no yeast. Fadge is also called Farls in some parts. Fadge or Farls, or whatever you like to call it, has been around since about the mid 1800’s. You will also hear this popular potato bread called slims, potato cakes or tatie bread too. Potatoes were used as either a replacement or as an enhancement to the flour when wheat was in short supply, thus making it too expensive for the poor people. Potatoes were also used in breads in both Ireland and Scotland because their climates are not known for being conducive for growing wheat, yet are perfect for growing potatoes.

Fadge is an Irish/Scottish potato bread that is very popular and can be cooked in a variety of different ways. It can be cooked on a griddle, or pan-fried or even baked in the oven. As with any dish that has been around for a long time, there are always different variations, such as the proportion of potatoes to flour. Some people prefer more potato to flour, while others like more flour to potato. Some people even like to add apples to their fadge.

I made fadge yesterday in honor of my Celtic roots, both Irish and Scottish. I made mine without apples, since I used apples in my main dish.

Before we left to go down to Cozumel, I had some mashed potatoes that I froze, knowing I was going to use them when we came home. I was pretty sure I was going to make some kind of potato bread with it, and sure enough I did. I made fadge.

Irish Fadge

2 lbs potaotes

1 egg, beaten

1/2 stick butter

3 TBSP flour

2 TBSP chopped parsley

2 TBSP chopped green onion or chives and/or lemon thyme

milk or heavy whipping cream

salt & pepper

bacon fat, or oil for frying

Boil the potatoes and mash them, just like you would with any other kind of mashed potatoes. I use heavy whipping cream in my mashed potatoes to make them extra creamy.

Add the flour, herbs and seasonings, and the egg and mix together well. If you like your bread a bit more stiff, add more flour.

Form the dough into a round and dip into a bit more flour.

My dough did not come quite out how I had intended at first, because my potatoes got a little watery from the freezing. Have no fear though. When there’s a will, there’s a way. I put my dough into an 8 inch springform cake pan, coated with cooking spray and lined with parchment paper. Then added some butter on top and baked it at 350* F or 190*C for about 30 minutes before pan-frying it to make it crispy and brown. This allowed for it to set so it would hold together to pay-fry it.

After baking it I placed it in hot oil and continued to cook it for about 4 minutes per side, until it was golden brown and crispy all around. After it has cooked for about 4 minutes on one side, carefully flip it over with 2 spatulas to continue cooking on the other side.

When the fadge is browned on both sides, remove it from the oil and cut it into 8 wedges. Then serve alongside your favorite Irish or Scottish foods and enjoy. Fadge is very much like a potato cake or a potato latke.

Whether you are Irish or Scottish by blood or just Irish for the day, I hope you all enjoyed your St. Paddy’s Day. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

As you know, we are home now, and I am back to cooking in my own kitchen once again. Even though we are back home in Denver, my taste buds seem to still be somewhere in the Yucatan regions of Mexico. I made some Yucatecan pork for dinner that rivaled many of the dishes we recently enjoyed in Cozumel.

First I marinated my pork chops in lime juice with some chili lime seasoning, garlic, cumin and cilantro for about 3 hours, to make it it juicy and tender and to let all the delicious Mexican flavors penetrate the meat.

Next I made a compound butter of jalapenos, garlic, lime juice, cilantro and more of the same seasonings, as well as a dash of cayenne pepper. Once the butter was made, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it set in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it.

Put all the ingredients together in the food processor except the butter. Once they are all chopped fine, mix it all into softened butter, then place it all on a piece of plastic wrap and roll. The tightly seal it and refrigerate.

I sliced some some onions, red bell pepper and delicato squash into thin slices. and sauteed them all in some olive oil with a dash of the compound butter and salt & pepper for about 5-7 minutes, or until they were tender and the onions were translucent.

As the vegetables were cooking, in another skillet, I seared the pork for about 3 minutes per side until it was crusted over. Get the skillet VERY hot, then add some olive oil and more of the compound butter to cook the pork (you can do the same for either chicken or steak too, just adjust the cooking times as needed).

Once the pork has a nice crust all around, place it in an oven at about 375-400*F for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pork is completely cooked, with an internal temperature of about 160-165*F.

When the pork is finished cooking, top it with the vegetables and sauce. I served this with roasted potatoes on the side, with a glass or two of chilled white wine. !Delicioso!

Just because I am at home now, it does not man I can’t still enjoy the flavors of Mexico. The beauty of cooking international styled foods is that you can still be on vacation even from the comforts of your own home and kitchen, any time. You don’t have to wait for vacation time to come around. You can recreate you vacation anytime you like in the comfort of your own kitchen. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

As you all know, I love my birds and animals in general. So I am always taking pictures of them. Some of the birds we saw a lot were the Laughing Gulls. After clicking a few shots, it was easy to see how they got their name. Yes, they really do look like they are laughing and having a good time.

They come in black and white, and gray and white, with quite a few variations.

Laughter is the best medicine for whatever ails you. Even the birds seem to know this. So laugh and laugh yourself well again.

I love hearing the traditional music of the mariachis, with the blendings of vocals, violins, horns, guitars and guitarrons. Mariachi music is a blend of European and Native music, as well from the African and Mestizo music and has been a part of the Mexican musical tradition since around 1519, when the Europeans first landed in what is now Mexico. The mariachi is native to a region of western Mexico that includes what are today the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Colima; extending as far north as Sinaloa and Durango and as far south as Guerrero. Despite frequent attempts to attribute it to a specific state or town, the exact birthplace of the mariachi remains unknown.

The mariachi band contains the following parts: the violins and vocals are the top voice, the rhythm section is the harmony, and the guitarrón is the bass (like the baroque “basso continue”). The traditional mariachi has six to eight violins, two to three trumpets, one vihuela, one guitar, and one guitarrón. Mariachis became the symbol of Mexican unity, and Mexico City became a popular site for mariachi performances. Influential people provided opportunities for the mariachis to perform.

The singer of this band had a very rich and strong voice. The whole band sounded magnificent. !Que Bueno!

Early mariachis wore peasant garb and had little concern for dressing alike. After the Revolution of 1910, however, modest uniforms began to appear. When for the first time mariachis could afford to outfit themselves elegantly, they chose the suit of the horseman or traje de charro. The gala version of this suit worn by contemporary mariachis – with its tightly-fitting ornamented pants, short jacket, embroidered belt, boots, wide bow tie, and sombrero – was once the attire of wealthy hacienda owners.

On our last visit to Cozumel, in 2021, we were introduced to the delicious restaurant La Choza by our amigo/friend and favorite divemaster, Julio. Mas Comidas de Cozumel – 5 La Choza is where the Yucatecan flavors of Mexico are prominently featured on their menu. “When it comes to Yucatecan cuisine there is only one choice, La Choza. Their blend of European flavors mixed with a taste of New Orleans and Cuba combine to create a mouthwatering array of delicious entree’s found nowhere else on the island. Yucatecan food is its own unique style and is very different from what most people would consider “Mexican” food. It includes influences from the local Mayan culture, as well as Caribbean, Mexican, European (French) and Middle Eastern cultures “.

Last year, a cab dropped us off at La Choza. This year, we found it all by ourselves just by walking around through the less touristy areas of Cozumel. Because we go there so often, we are very familiar with the lay of hand, and know our way around the island pretty well. The food at La Choza was still scrumptious, but this time were serenated by the music of the mariachis too. We had a delicious dinner with show.

Larry ordered the pork fajitas.

I had the chicken mole.

As to be expected, both were very, very good. La Choza is another one of our favorite restaurants on the island. In fact we like it so much, we recommended it to our new friends Milosch and Maureen, and they loved it too.

Next time you are in Cozumel, you definitely don’t want to miss out on this unique Yucatecan culinary experience. And you just might get lucky enough to hear the mariachis too. La Choza is located at 10 Avenida Nte. # 216, Centro, 77600 San Miguel de Cozumel, Q.R., Mexico. They are open until 9:00 PM. There is no need to call, though you can if you like, at  +52 987 872 0958.

Mantente a salvo y mantente bien. Hasta la próxima or stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We see these black water birds all the time, everywhere we go in the Caribbean, and up until now, I never knew what the were. But now I do. They are Great-tailed Grackles. This one bird was just having so much fun splashing around in the wading pool. He was just begging for me to take a series of pictures of him. So I did. 🙂

And at the end, he was very proud of himself and was strutting his stuff.

Life is short. Have fun and play. Sometimes, you just have to make some splashes too.

As I mentioned before, We’re Home Again, while in Cozumel, we ate at a lot of the same restaurants as we have in the past. However there was one new one that we thoroughly enjoyed with our new friends whom we met at our resort. Our new friends, Maureen and Milosch(sp) are from Canada, and were literally staying 3 doors down from us at our resort. We became fast friends and ended up hanging out together for a good portion of the week. Someone Maureen met had recommended Guido’s, located in the downtown district of San Miguel, Cozumel. We were invited to go as well.

OMG!!!!!! Guido’s was FABULOSA! It is my new favorite restaurant on the island. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but once you walk in, it is a completely different experience, especially when you sit outside in their beautiful patio.

Guido’s is a traditional Swiss-Italian restaurant that has been in Cozumel since 1978. We definitely felt like we were dining somewhere in Italy. Guido’s offers “daily specials of fresh fish, seafood platters and meats. Traditional Swiss-Italian cuisine, great tasting pizzas & lasagnas cooked in a well seasoned wood-fired oven and the homemade pastas” .

“There are no secrets to the success of Guido’s, just time tested restaurant qualities:

Consistently good food, pleasant atmosphere and great service.

Our consistency comes from an amazing kitchen staff which has been around for a long time. Yvonne’s dad Guido was a classically trained chef with an amazing curriculum by the time he opened the restaurant. Two of our current chefs learned their French culinary skills from Guido 40 years ago.”

In the evening, all the lights in the trees were brightly shining stars that just made for a perfect romantic ambiance. We were literally dining beneath the stars.

And the food!!!!!! OMG! Everything was fantastico! All four of us thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience at Guido’s. We started off with drinks, including one of their famous pitchers of Sangria.

Cesar was our waiter extraodinaire! He was so funny and friendly, with just enough of sarcasm and spunk thrown in to make the evening super fun.

Once the drinks came, we all shared some of Guido’s homemade garlic bread, baked in their wood fired oven, and some calamari marinara.

Larry ordered the house specialty, lasagna.

Milosch ordered the osso bucco.

And Maureen and I both ordered the chicken stuffed with spinach.

Everything was cooked to perfection. We all raved about the food and the restaurant in general.

We were celebrating Maureen’s birthday and Cesar came out with a beautiful, sparkling mango cake for the birthday girl, that he then lit on fire.

We all had such a fun evening. We will most definitely be going back to Guido’s the next time we are back in Cozumel, and again, and again after. Thank you for a fabulous evening and so much delicious food. Happy Birthday Maureen, and thank you for letting us come to your party. 🙂

Guido’s is located at Ave. Rafael E. Melgar #23 Between 6th & 8th Street | On the Waterfront. You can call ahead at+52 (987) 8692589 or make reservations online at info@guidoscozumel.com or just walk in. We were walk-ins and were treated like royalty.

Yesterday, March 13, “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” had a birthday. We are now 5 years old. There has been a lot of growth, expansion and evolving over the years, with lots more in store. Thank you for sharing the ride with me. I am looking forward to the next 5 and hopefully many more to come. None of this would be possible without all of you. So let’s celebrate together!!!!! 🙂

Cozumel and the rest of the Mexican Riviera have very deep Mayan roots. The Mayan culture is found all throughout the area in many different ways, from their art, to their architecture, and especially in their foods. Mayan foods are not the traditional Mexican foods we see everyday. They are steeped with tradition and history and are full of flavor.

We discovered a wonderful restaurant/cooking class/Mayan history lesson all wrapped up in one in Ix-Kool, located in the Royal Village Shopping Center, right across the street from the main cruise terminal. Ix-Kool blends together the Mayan traditions and heritage with memories and feelings of long ago. Ix-Kool represents life through ancient times. The name Ix-Kool itself, is Mayan and is loosely translated to mean fresh from the garden to the table.

The Ix-Kool experience was a one-of-a-kind, hands on experience. We learned how to make many of the traditional Mayan foods in the traditional ways that have been passed down through generations. We were indeed Mayan for the day.

We scheduled our class for 2:30 in the afternoon. The whole experience, from start to finish is about 2 hours. When we walked in, our table was already set up for us. Our very knowledgeable guide and instructor Juan, lead us through all the steps, complete with the Mayan history of the foods we were about to make.

Step one was to watch a short video of the history and traditions of the foods we were going to make. Before we started with the foods, Juan made us a special drink fit for the gods and the Mayan priests. The drink was made from ground cornmeal and cinnamon, honey and water. Before we could drink it we had to offer it up to the gods in prayer. It was very tasty and refreshing.

Then we made the traditional guacamole (which by the way is the exact way I have always made it too) and some Sikil P’aak, which is a sauce made with roasted tomatoes, habaneros, garlic and ground pepita seeds. Both dishes were made in a molcajeta, which is like a stone mortar and pestal.

The Sikil P’aak was served on freshly made tortillas, which was the next thing we learned how to make.

There are three types of traditional corn tortillas, all made from the same recipe, that are used in all the Mayan dishes. There are the tortillas, the panucho and the salbute.

The tortillas are made from corn that has been cooked for seven hours, then ground down and and mixed with water and a bit of ground limestone.

Then the dough or masa is made and is formed into small balls. The balls are pressed with a tortilla press and are carefully placed on a very hot grill to cook for just a few minutes. The process and the handling are key to making them turn out just right. You have to carefully place the tortillas on the grill. If you just flop them down, they will puff up with air and will be no good. Then you let them brown slightly, and flip them twice.

This is the recipe for the tortillas. To turn them into panuchos, while the tortillas are still on the grill, after the second flip, gently press with a spatula to make them rise up and puff with air, then immediately remove them from the grill and cut a small pocket at the edge, and fill with refried black beans, then gently press together.

To make the salbutes, take the tortilla and fry it in hot oil. Salbutes are very similar to the fried tostadas we all know and love. You can top them with anything you like.

There are three main spice flavorings that are used in all Mayan dishes, and they are all very similar, with only slight modifications for each. They are white or blanco reservado, red or roja reservado, and black or negro reservado. The white is made with green onions and was pre-Spanish. The red is made with red onions and ground achiote peppers, and the black is made from combining the two.

We also made some fresh ceviche with shrimp and octopus,

As the ceviche was “cooking”, we were shown how to make the lima soup. Ceviche is made from raw fish that is “cooked” in the lime juice. You can use any kind of fish you like, but the traditional Mayan way is to make it with shrimp and octopus. Mix everything together, and let “cook” or marinate for about 2-5 minutes, before serving.

Limas are fruit that are similar to limes, but are a bit larger and have more of a sour taste to them. They are green on the outside, with a hint of orange on the inside. They are grown exclusively in the Mayan Riviera. All Mayan recipes, as well as a lot of Mexican dishes, are made with a combination of limas, limons or sour oranges, again only grown in the Mexican Riviera.

Pork is also very prevalent in Mayan cooking. Many dishes have pork in them. Our next course was pork with beans.

This was followed by a plate of both salbutes and panuchos,

followed by some Mexican cornbread with shaved Gouda cheese, honey and coconut ice cream, because we just weren’t full enough. We shared this one. 🙂

The tradition of adding the shaved cheese was by accident, though the ancient Mayans thought of it as a gift from the gods. The cheese came from a Dutch shipwreck, and has been part of the Mayan tradition since the mid 1600’s.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Mayan cooking class, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the ancient traditions and history of the Mayan foods. Most definitely bring your appetite though! You will be eating and sampling a lot of different and very delicious foods. And by all means – PACE YOURSELF! It’s A LOT OF FOOD! As you can see, everything is always very fresh and healthy, but also very filling.

Ix-Kool is located at Royal Village Shopping Center, Av. Rafael E. Melgar Local 53, 77600 Q.R., Mexico. Their hours are from 12-10 PM, everyday except Sunday, though the hours are subject to change. Make reservations ahead of time. They will do a class for two, as they did with us, or for a large group. You can contact them either by phone +52 987 105 9793 or online at ix-kool.com. This is truly a unique, one-of-a-kind Mayan culinary experience, that you will love.

We arrived home late Saturday night. We had a good time, and did a lot of fun things, but the trip did not go as planned. I will do a short series of the fun things we did and saw.

I got sick with a very bad cold and was only able to dive for 3 days. Anyone who is a diver knows that diving with a bad cold, or even a slight cold, can be very damaging and causes a lot of problems. I did once, years ago in Fiji, and almost burst an eardrum. I was deaf in that ear for over a week. So, as much as I wanted to dive, I just couldn’t do it. It is much better to live to dive another day than to die diving for just one day.

This is Julio. We have been diving with Julio for about 14 years, and counting. He’s great. We highly recommend him to anyone, and have, on numerous occasions, regardless of their skill level. Julio will take very good care of everyone. DiveWithJulio.com

We stayed at the same resort we stayed at last time we were in Cozumel, 18 months ago, El Cid, and we dined at a lot of the same restaurants too. Cozumel is, after all, a small island, and when we go back repeatedly, there are only so many new things to find, though we did find some and enjoyed them all.

This is a beautiful map of some of the dive sites of Cozumel. We have dived all of the Western sites many, many times. The Eastern sites are in the open waters, that are not protected and very few dive operators will venture there. Larry and I dive enough that we would be fine, but I would definitely NOT recommend these rougher waters for beginners. In Fact, Cozumel in general, with it’s drift dives, can be very challenging for non-experienced divers too.

Even though I wasn’t able to dive as much as I had hoped, it is the tail end of eagle ray season, and we saw quite a few. They are gorgeous creatures. This is a mural. Our photos from underwater didn’t turn out that well.

Because I was not out diving, we did some of the activities at the resort, El Cid. We played BINGO a couple of times, though we didn’t win anything.

We also went to the Latin Festival, which featured a group of very talented young dancers, dancing to a variety of traditional Latin music or musica. Oh, to be young and fit again. I am a wee bit jealous. 🙂 All of these dancers were fantastico!

I will leave it here for now, but have no fear, I still have lots of very good things coming your way in the very near future.

I am catching up with all the necessary things we have to do once we return from our travels, plus I am still in the recovery phase of whatever nasty crud I caught on the island. I am also planning on the first of my two upcoming eye surgeries, one as early as this coming Friday, if they will still allow me to after being sick. So I may be sparsely posting for a bit. But don’t worry, everything will get back to normal again soon. 🙂 Until then, stay well and stay safe. ‘Til next time.