Britain’s celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, is going to be cooking for the G-20 Economic Summit in the UK next week.

I thought, therefore, it might be fitting to share one my favorite recipes of his with you. My family has always loved Pasta Puttanesca which is loosely translated to “street walker’s pasta” as it is a mish mash of on hand ingredients.

Pasta Puttanesca

1 package spaghetti
2 cloves garlic
1 handful of drained capers
2 handfuls pitted black olives
12 anchovy filets chopped
3 red dried chilies crumbled
1 tbsp. oregano
olive oil
tomato sauce
fresh basil
salt and pepper
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The other day our daughter who currently resides in London, England was telling me about a wonderful green curry she was making. She was telling me about the ingredients which I thought would be a challenge for us here in Ajijic.

To my surprise and joy I went looking for these ingredients and Pancho (bless his heart) had all but one ingredient – the lemongrass.

You start with Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste. On the label it tells you how to make green curry with cubed skinless, boneless chicken, using coconut milk, bamboo shoots, frozen peas, brown sugar and fish sauce. They also recommend you use fresh basil for garnish.

After following these directions I added the following ingredients as advised by our daughter, the chef.
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Well it is here again. The annual Chili Cookoff which is being held at Tobolandia located at the carretera and the libremiento in Ajijic. The cost is 15 pesos for adults and 5 pesos for children. There is ample parking in the rear for 10 pesos. It runs from Friday, March 6th to Sunday March 8th from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm daily.

This is a local event first founded by the late Morley Eager (of the Nueva Posada) some 30 years ago.

It will be a little different this year as the relationship with the International Chili Society is no more. Economic concerns have caused this three decade association with the International Chili Society to come to an end and for many competitors coming from other countries Ajijic was the highlight of their yearly touring.

However, this has created more opportunities for local participation and the rigid rules are now a little more relaxed such as being able to put beans in your chili if you so choose. (more…)

The Joy of Cooking

For me, not so much. I don’t mind cooking and when we were in Canada I did a great many elegant dinner parties for clients with little or no help quite successfully. I loved “The Joy of Cooking”, Julia Child and Elizabeth David.

At that time we had a Filipino nanny for the children who had worked in Hong Kong for 4 years prior to coming to Canada and she was a fantastic cook who made a wonderful Peking Duck among many other savory and delicious dishes. We were running our own business and I did not have to cook for 7 and a half splendid years.

I started cooking again when we moved to Ajijic, Lake Chapala and my husband decided to go back to work here. I had to cook almost every day and as I said I didn’t mind the cooking – what I did mind was trying to come with what to cook. I was never the type to go online to find wonderful recipes and my repertoire was rather limited. This was also because, for the most part, I was cooking for the kids. (more…)