What's Cooking in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

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

Cook spaghetti. Fry garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, chilies and oregano in oil for two minutes. Add tomato sauce and cook 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add spaghetti.
Rip a handful of basil over it and drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.

Warm Salad

2 red onions cut into 16 pieces
8 rashers of Italian pancetto or bacon
olive oil
fresh thyme
arugula
balsamic vinegar
fresh parmesan
2 tbsp. pine nuts

Fry bacon until crisp add olive oil, thyme, onions, pine nuts, and salt and toss in pan for 5 minutes. Put arugula in salad bowl drizzle with balsamic and grate fresh parmesan on top.

Open a good bottle of merlot and enjoy!

Cooking in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

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.

Christmas was always a different story as I love to make the seasonal favorites handed down over the generations in my family.

Recently, my daughter was house bound for a short time due to health issues and she became bored and started watching the Food Network. She had dabbled in cooking when she was at university and always had made tasty dishes to please her brother and housemates.

For about two glorious weeks she took on the responsibility of cooking every day. My husband and son were coming home from work at 4:30 pm to see what creation she had made that day and to enjoy the wonderful smells wafting through the house.

She made, jerk chicken with wild rice, chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce, Cuban pork roast with savory mashed potatoes, flank steak marinated in tequila and cilantro and many more very delicious delights. Her desserts included profiteroles, chocolate éclairs, key lime pie all made from scratch with exceptionally good results.

Every day she watching the Food Network and would go online to the recipes and make a list for me to do the shopping This suited me find as I love food shopping here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala as it is always a challenging affair to procure everything on said list.

She cooked with fresh herbs and lots of interesting spices and it was a wonderful two weeks for all of us.

She is leaving with her boyfriend to go back to London in January and I am sure my husband is going to be in the seat next to them with his napkin in his chin.