Meatless Monday & Snowy Tuesday

When Taco Tuesday is blurred by the weather in Texas, hang on...it's going to a bumpy ride!


















My Meatless Monday endeavors since the New Year have been making me put more thought into the post weekend meals. We typically get more indulgent on the weekend. Thinking about more positive choices since the New Year have been a goal of mine for our household. This past week was a busy week as we knew on Monday evening that we could receive several inches of snowfall in Central Texas. Seriously, folks Texas does get snowfall now & again. I have friends who are shocked each time they hear we had snow in Texas! A state of this size has alot to offer weather wise & as the old saying goes: "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute & it will change". This Meatless Monday I was busy planning a meal while; figuring out which plants I needed to drag into the house from the garden or were worth salvaging after our previous freezes this Winter.

When the weather folks talk about the three P's.....plants, pets & pipes you had better buckle down & prepare for a real cold snap! I've recently heard family stories of storms in the Hill Country in the 1930's which caused my Grandfather, Aunts & Uncles to haul all the baby livestock into the old Ranch house in Hayes County & bottle feed dozens of goats & sheep in front of the fireplaces for days while the storms raged & the countryside froze. It is a fact in the Lone Star state it can & will drop as much as 50 degrees within hours when a Texas Blue Northern front blasts down through the plains. By Tuesday morning the Austin area had sleet & snow flurries. I saw larger snowflakes than I even remember from living in Alaska as a child. Across Texas weather forecasters & bloggers were in a frenzy as the road crews covered the bridges & overpasses with sand. School age kids were excited to be released early from school & our local golf courses turned ski slopes for an afternoon. We may not see snow often here in Texas but when we do it is a sight to behold & everyone enjoys the excitement.
Of course I digress from the Meatless Monday since Snowy Tuesday temporarily replaced Taco Tuesday at our home!(sheesh!!!)Weather truly was the big event of the week. But quite possibly the best meal of the week was the meatless meal which always gives us a little bounce to our step & manages to make us feel a bit more virtuous for a few days. Taco Tuesday? Well let me just say this Tuesday I thought a pot of soup was good for the soul. Next Tuesday we will tackle the tacos again!


For a little history about Meatless Monday, long before the modern food movement made it cool & hip....Please, people! We reinvent the wheel over & over again. Everything is a cycle, the longer I live the more I realize what is "in" one moment, will be back again if you wait long enough. Thank goodness, this movement is back again~

Two of my top 10 favorite ingredients, how can any meal be bad with Artichokes & Mushrooms?



















Artichoke & Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant
1 1 1/4 lb Eggplant
2 tsp. Olive Oil
1 cup Onions, chopped
1 cup Mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen Artichoke hearts, thawed & chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1/4 cup Vegetable stock *more may be added if needed
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

Cut Eggplant in half, lengthwise, carefully scoop pulp out leaving 1/4 inch shell on the outside. I use a melon scoop to help with scooping process. Chop pulp into 1/4 inch pieces. Preheat oven to 350*.
Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant pulp, onions, mushrooms, artichoke hearts & garlic. Add spices, soy sauce & stock. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender. During this process if more liquid is needed add more vegetable stock to keep the eggplant mixture moist. Remove from heat & stir in rice & half of the cheese.
Lightly oil a shallow baking dish. Spoon cooked mixture into eggplant shells. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the tops. Pour 1/4 inch liquid either stock or water into the bottom of the dish so the eggplant shells will steam tender. Cook uncovered 30 minutes.

It was one of those days....it started with Spinach Salad!

As I bit into my spinach salad yesterday at lunch I broke a piece out of one of my molars! From my lunch hour the rest of the day went downhill. John & I had numerous phone conversations as he was driving back into town about my problem & how best to solve it on a Friday afternoon. I was supposed to meet a friend to have a leisurely visit to a local craft fare. She ended up staying with me till I made it to a late evening dental visit. Quite fortunately John made some calls & has friends who made an appointment with a dentist in Monterrey as well as drove me there with a personal driver. The dental office was near the Hospital San Jose in Monterrey. I really was impressed with both the Doctor & his staff as well as the state of the art equipment. He examined me & told me he would put a crown on my tooth after I saw someone else for an emergency Root Canal!!! The reality is that I broke about half of my tooth on that gritty Spinach Salad! He made some phone calls & within 30 minutes the Dean of the College of Dentistry at TEC de Monterrey who does only restoration & root canals was giving me an emergency root canal till 8:30 pm last evening. I return for the crown on Tuesday & then head to Texas for our Thanksgiving holiday. By then I will be thankful all of this is behind me! Right now my jaw feels like I've been kicked in the head. I think it will be a very low key weekend.

*Of note: I was impressed by the level of care I was able to get & how quickly people responded. Often we think the medical care South of the Border as being somehow less than standard. I can attest to the fact that it was premium care & quite first class. Even if it wasn't my idea of how to spend a Friday night in Mexico~ At one point the doctor wasn't sure the tooth could be saved since there was so much broken out & one of the roots looked inflamed. For the fine care I received & friends who helped with this minor crisis I am thankful this Thanksgiving holiday~

Diabolitos & Dangerous Roadways

After a late night at the Friday wedding, John's week of meetings & my week of visiting we headed back to Monterrey on Saturday afternoon. Our trip was thankfully pretty uneventful but I did happen to capture a "Diabolito", one of the small desert dust cyclones of which there are many in Coahuila. I also had my camera ready as we headed into the hairpin turns of the mountain pass between Saltillo & Monterrey. I was told my a local recently that it is rightfully called "The dead man's slope" or "cuesta de los muertos". The sign alone really says enough... I guess the sign is cheaper than building a better,straighter road to begin with. The many roadside shrines are a testament to the danger & constant conditions which put the traveler in peril. I guess that is Mexico danger, devotion & unpredictable~all rolled into one!

Safety in the work place?

Safety standards in Mexico can be "relaxed" as compared with the States. I am amazed & horrified when I see people try things one wouldn't dream of back home. The mountainside behind our house is being carved up for what would appear to be construction on a road of some sort. I have watched in amazement as the Dirt/Rock moving detail progresses each day. The heavy machinery operator keeps teetering on the brink of disaster with rocks sliding down the mountain both above & below him. It has been rather like averting the eyes from a disaster, I can't turn away. Don't these people read safety manuals or watch the nightly news? I certainly feel like a voyeur to something! The man is far above the houses in the neighborhood, working alone & seemingly oblivious to the danger he is in. The devil may care attitude South of the Border seems to work in this case. At least for another day~

Mug Shots or FM3 photos?

Since moving within Mexico we had to have our FM3 visas reissued. With the reissue comes the "Re-Photo". Who looks great in those photos, ever??? I haven't liked a passport photo since I was 18 years old & a guy in Lafayette, Louisiana "re-touched" my photos at his studio because he thought things looked better touched up.

Having passport/visa photos in Mexico is a dicey situation at best. The Ex Patriots tell wild stories of having to pin all of their hair away from their faces & holding everything away from the forehead & earlobes with their hands as the cameras flash away. Apparently US citizens have ears & foreheads that really make us stand out in a crowd. The rub for me came when I already had a set of passport photos made, then handed them over to government officials, when I was told that my ears & forehead didn't show as much as they should....At somepoint I am sure these all start to look like mug shots!

I finally quit my complaining & had more photos made with the promise that no one sees that photo anyway! Well, my front facing shot was hideous (no Exhibit A on display!) and somehow the woman who took my photo failed to tell me I had a huge hunk of hair sticking out of my head. It almost doesn't matter anyway. Travel isn't what it used to be. Gone are the days when people dressed up & were excited to visit new places. Now fate seems to lie in the hands of someone with latex gloves & an X ray machine. Ah, the Good Old Days!

Long day in the desert~

So, a man walks into a car rental agency....wait, that is no joke, in fact it wasn't funny & there is no joke!! If given the choice between burro & car in Mexico the choice might seem obvious but don't be so quick to decide...





What is a routine rental car experience in the states can turn to an awful nightmare in Mexico! That car doesn't belong to you but the problems could be all yours!! What was to be a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive to Torreon, Coahuila through the desert turned out to be almost 8 hours by the time our day was finished. We noticed the car made strange noises as we were in Saltillo but couldn't find much truly wrong other than high mileage & general abuse rental cars take in Mexico.
Somewhere out in the desert between Saltillo & El Sol Coahuila we had a blow out on a tire, mind you there was a double trailer 18 Wheel truck barreling down the Cuota in our lane behind us.(very scary) John pulled, over called someone who told us the problem was by definition of rental policies in Mexico our problem!!! We then proceeded to empty the trunk of the rental car to find the jack & spare tire. Tire wasn't inflated & jack was inoperable. This was a huge problem as it left us stranded. Through many many phone calls John finally managed to convince someone we couldn't repair the tire, the car needed repairs & we needed a new car!! All of this seems a simple process in the US but here in Mexico is a different story entirely. Basically if you rent a car South of the Border it "sucks to be you" if there are problems.
Never one to take no for an answer, I think John was "¡cliente enojado en el desierto caliente!" or angry client in the hot desert~as the rental agency phrased it!
While we sat in the heat in the desert, miles from anything we did see the local farmers go by with their cattle & burros. What else can one do sitting in the desert but try & enjoy the local terra vista?
Long story short we were tired, cranky & both needed a bath at the end of our long day but we did arrive at our hotel in Torreon, many hours later.
Moral of the story: beware of car rental agencies in Mexico, especially if that company once had the "Juice" running through the airports advertising how customer friendly they are!!! Out of country car rentals? That can be a stacked deck, with the customer the ultimate looser!!!
My personal motto right now? I am getting tired of these personal growth opportunities, somewhere South of the Border...

?And what to my wondering eyes should appear?

We were having a relaxing brunch at poolside this morning when we were joined by a not so welcomed visitor! The Mexican Black King snake or Lampropeltis getula nigrita thought it was quite appropriate to drop in for a quick Sunday morning visit. Needless to say, breakfast was over pretty quickly at the Casa Kincke! The Mexican Black King snake is called the Poor Man's Indigo snake, since the Texas Indigo were managed by the King Ranch in South Texas to control the Rattle snake population. If that is this fellow's job, then so be it!

For more on the Texas Indigo; which this guy owes his life to at our house, check out the King Ranch site:
http://www.king-ranch.com/wildlife.html Otherwise if this guy had fallen into the category of water moccasin & or been in the pool it would have been Adios! at the end of a shovel.

Pot of Iced Tea & Hot dogs on Pizza!

Dining experiences abroad are what makes life a little more interesting. Northern Mexico is full of many great & surprising flavors but there some which defy explanation. We recently stayed at a hotel & ordered a Pepperoni Pizza along with iced tea. The iced tea arrived in a tea pot, normally when we order té helado, we are greeted with a glass of iced tea as we would in the states. (to each his own, the tea was cold & had to be sipped out of a small tea cup~) I somehow though Pepperoni was known the world over, after all it was on our dinner menu. However when the Pizza arrived we were quite shocked to see un-cooked hot dogs cut up on the top of a dough that was barely cooked & layered with an assortment of crunchy veggies. Surprised?? Yes, happy with our choice? Not!!! Destined to repeat this dinner choice again? The Chef getting a recommendation to be on "Top Chef" reality show from us? I think not! The look on my husband's face when he saw hot dogs? Priceless!!!! Living & learning down somewhere south of the border~




















A not very good Pizza~although you have to smile at the odd choice of pepperoni substitution! Somewhere in Little Italy there is a pizza maker laughing!