I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is the last of my 2021 tribute to our beloved Isla de Cozumel. There will be more, as we travel and dive there again, which we all know will happen, just not soon enough. But for now, I say adios to Cozumel. !Te amo mucho!
Local art is prominently featured all over the island, and the airport was no exception. It is so colorful and beautiful and leaves a lasting impression, whether greeting you as you fly in or inviting you back again as you leave.
Of course we saw lots and lots of beautiful fish of all sizes and all colors.
We saw turtles, though not nearly as many as we usually do. Although, on one of our last dives, we did see one HUGE lagerhead turtle.
We saw two very tiny little black seahorses, something we don’t usually see in Cozumel.
No raccoons this time, other than the big statue of one eating a piece of watermelon down at Punta Sur.
Cozumel is my happy place, and is always a little bit like Heaven to me.
Las Mariposas.
Love was both in the air and on the walls.
We flew home on 9/12, the day after 9/11. When we arrived back in Denver, there was a loving tribute to the men and women and heroes we lost on that tragic day 20 years ago. One of the pilots lost during those vicious attacks was from Denver.
Live life to the fullest, with no regrets. Tomorrow is never promised. Take it all in and always do your best to make the most of what you have been given. Appreciate all the gifts in life and make your life as colorful and as beautiful as you can.
Here in the Southwestern part of the United States, Hatch chilies are a big thing. A Bushel of Roasted Hatch Chilies They are very popular and we use them quite often in many different ways. AND …. They are currently in season again.
There is a little roadside stand not to far from us that is busy roasting bushels and bushels of Hatch chilies, in any combination of medium hot, hot and EXTRA hot. We had just finished out last batch of Hatch not that long ago, so it was time to by them again. We love hot and spicy, but we have learned the hard way, that a combination of medium hot and hot is perfect for us. Because they have a deal buy 1 bushel get 1 for free, of course we bought the two bushels.
While the chilies were roasting I walked around and captured some of the local street art on the walls too. It only takes about 5-10 minutes for the chilies to roast in the big roaster.
There is nothing better than fresh, fire roasted green chilies. We use them for so many different dishes and recipes too.
Once we got home, the fun really started. Again, through trial and error, we have learned to clean and seed them and then to separate them into smaller portions before freezing them. They freeze well too.
This is the big bag of chilies we had to process.
We had quite the production line going too. I first split them and peeled off all the skins, then we rinsed them and removed all the seeds before putting them in plastic freezer bags. We both were wearing gloves, otherwise all the heat would have left our hands with a terrible burning sensation. We also would have had very green hands for awhile too.
Just in case you are wondering, after the chilies were all processed, we ended up with 13 bags, each weighing about 2 lbs or 26 lbs of processed chilies. We have plenty if anyone wants some. 🙂
Enjoy your days and stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
My Cozumel coverage is quickly coming to an end, though I still have a couple of stories yet to share with you before my 2021 trip is done.
Because Isla de Cozumel is a tropical island, there is all kinds of wildlife found all over the island. There is a wide variety of birds and wild animals. We did not see the boars or any of the other mammals this time around, because we were not walking around as much as usual. However, we did see a lot of birds and a few iguanas and geckos. You will find these everywhere you go, all over the island.
We saw quite a few pelicans, mostly from our hotel, though they were flying all around us everywhere too.
We also saw these little black birds all around. They were actually kind of pesky, especially when they were begging for food.
As we went further south, towards Punta Sur, we came across a lot of buzzards flying all around us.
There were also some frigates and other birds too, though we did not see as many of those this time around.
And of course, there were a lot of sea gulls too.
Besides the birds, we also saw some iguanas and geckos.
It’s always fun to see how the locals live, especially the animal kinds. 🙂
My latest trip to Cozumel is coming to an end (in pictures and stories), so now it is back to normal, everyday life, as normal as our life actually gets.
We do not really go out to eat that much at home, but this was a special occasion. It was our 18th wedding anniversary. We went to Texas de Brazil (pronounced Tehas), a Brazilian steakhouse. We have a few Brazilian steakhouses here, and their concept is the same, A Little Bit of Brazil in Downtown Denver though we found Texas de Brazil to be the best one. The quality of foods and selection is amazing and never ending.
We arrived just as the steakhouse was opening, which turned out to be perfect timing. Everything was fresh and fully stocked.
Although meats of all kinds are the main attraction, there is also a spectacular salad bar that offers all kinds of fresh salads and vegetables. So even if you are a vegetarian, there is still plenty of food you can enjoy.
My curiosity got the better of me and I just had to ask about the flowers. They are not real, but they definitely look very real. Just imagine how expensive and tedious they would be if they were real.
We started our meal off with a great salad, each of us having something totally different. We could have easily feasted on this and we would have been very happy and very satisfied, but we were there for the meats after all.
As soon as we sat down, a plate of fried bananas and some very creamy garlic mashed potatoes were brought to the table. The bananas are supposed to be a palette cleanser in between cuts of meat.
If you are not familiar with a Brazilian steakhouse, all the meats are served table side by waiters dressed in gaucho style clothes. A wide variety of meats is skewered and sliced off individually at your table. You can eat as much as your tummy can hold, and you can try everything that is available. The selections ranged from lamb to a variety of steaks to pork and chicken and sausages. We tried bits of everything, and it was ALL absolutely fantastic! It was all so tender and cooked to perfection. All of the meats are cooked the gaucho way – over an open flame with natural wood charcoal.
Every person at the table was given a little card. Green means the waiters keep on coming, serving everything they have. Red means you are stopping, or at least stopping for a bit. You can easily change your mind, and flip your card if you decide you want more too.
Because we have dined at these types of restaurants on numerous occasions, we learned a long time ago that 1) DON’T forget to bring a healthy appetite and 2) take very small portions of everything so you can try it all. I stopped long before Larry did, and I gave him about half of what I did try too, though everything was EXCELLENT. It was a great way to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary.
I normally do not feature chain restaurants, but I do make exceptions every now and then. The Texas de Brazil family is growing all over the country, and even internationally as well.
The story of how Texas de Brazil started. “Texas de Brazil began with a dream in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Enjoying the rancher’s life and feasting in the rodizio style native to the region, one of our partners had visions of bringing churrasco culture north to the United States. He wanted to share this unique way of dining where guests indulge in a parade of meats and extravagant seasonal salad area.
The destination for this restaurant was none other than cattle country…Texas. After all, the traditional steakhouse of Brazil blends perfectly with the service and class of the Lone Star State. We are proud to bring our family-owned restaurant to the rest of the world as we expand domestically and internationally. Come and enjoy the culinary experience found only at Texas de Brazil. In southern Brazil, local cowboys called gauchos, prepare legendary feasts in a tradition known as churrasco. They slow-roast meats over open flames and present an impressive display of seasonal greens, vegetable dishes and regional delicacies. The succulent meats are brought to each group’s table and carved in a show of skill and festive offering”.
The Texas de Brazil location we dined at was in Denver, located at 8390 Northfield Blvd., Suite 1800, Denver, CO 80238. You can call ahead to make reservations at (720) 374-2100 or you can find them online at TexasdeBrazil.com. If you have never experienced the Brazilian steakhouse, it is a must. If you have experienced it before, then it is definitely time to experience it once again. You will be very happy you did.
My trip to Cozumel is coming to an end, however, I took lots of pictures of all the beautiful flowers, meaning i still have quite a few more flowers to share with you. I hope they brighten your day like they did mine.
This little pinkish purple flowers with the purple leaves were all over the place. The purple leaves is what really made them stand out.
My Cozumel trip of 2021 is coming to an end, though in reality, we returned home 2 weeks ago (and we have been non-stop busy ever since too). I hope you have enjoyed my Cozumel series. I do have a couple more Cozumel posts for you, then that will be it for this year’s trip. I do have one more great meal to share with you too though.
After our last dives for this trip, we invited Julio and Ishi, our dive masters, out to dinner. We have been diving with them for 12 years now. They are not only our friends, but they have become familia as well. We told them to choose a place and we would pay. They chose a place called La Choza, in the heart of San Miguel. The food was delicious but the company was even better.
Inside, the walls were covered with local art that told the stories of the Mexican way of life. There was even an open air jungle area.
Of course, a nice cool and refreshing margarita was in order, especially since it was out last night on the island. This time I ordered a mango margarita with a spicy tamarind salt rimmed around the glass.
Once again, I must have been distracted, because I didn’t take any pictures of the food. But we were to busy laughing and telling good dive stories, so the food was secondary, although very good. It was a very fun evening. We need to do this more often.
La familia de buceo or the dive family. Julio also brought his wife Natalie along too.
From here, we were all homeward bound, going in our separate directions. We were home to Denver, Nancy was back to St. Louis, and Rich was back to Pennsylvania. We will all be diving together again soon, but for now, home sweet home.
We try our best to make it a policy to NOT eat in hotels when on vacation, for a lot of reasons. However, there are times, when if you want to eat, it is a necessity. When we did some of our night dives, we had to dine at the hotel’s restaurant because everything else had already closed for the evening. Remember, Cozumel is really a sleepy little island that closes up relatively early, especially once the cruise ships have gone for the day. Life In Cozumel.
The food in the hotel was good, but we all agreed it was NOT our favorite. We were staying at the El Cid, which is a beautiful resort. But again, hotel food is not our first choice. But, when you don’t come in from diving until around 8:00 PM, and then need to shower just to be presentable, you go where you can when you can. We did dine with an ocean front view, which helped make amends.
All the silverware was wrapped in a blue leather packet, which was a nice, unexpected touch.
The presentation was nice, but the food was expensive and kind of bland and blah.
Instead of his normal ceviche, Rich started out with some empanadas which looked great.
From the empanadas, he moved on to a fish dish.
Nancy ordered pizza. She instantly regretted it, and granted, it looked as though it was a frozen pizza that had just been popped into the oven.
Larry and I both ordered the seafood pasta plate, which was full of mussels, calamari and shrimp. It was good, but as I said, very bland. It need a lot more flavor and a lot more sauce.
None of the food was bad per se, but we had much higher expectations. Beggars can’t be choosers though, and sometimes, you don’t have options. This was one of those times. Live and learn. That’s all you can do. The food may not have been the best, but the diving was well worth it. 🙂
When life throws you a bag of sour lemons, make lemonade. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
I still have more beautiful flowers for you from Cozumel bonita. I have quite a few more for you too. Enjoy the flowers while you can. Fall is now here, and our flowers are quickly disappearing.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 