Saturday, June 6, 2009

Food Photos

Yes, I've gone all out today, but this really is an exciting development in our lives. We love grilling, but our teeny Weber grill didn't fit in the car when I moved here, so we've gone without for two years. I know you're probably thinking that we could've just bought another one, but we've tried really hard not to buy duplicates of things that we already have in storage. Money isn't exactly plentiful down here.

Well, Ibis broke down a couple days ago and now we're the proud new owners of a Mexican-style grill.


Isn't it cute? So far we've had carne asada (flank steak) and marinated chicken breasts. Yum. The best part -- for me -- is that he does the cooking.

Another photo I want to share with you is of a mango that Ibis prepared for our nephew last week. It's quite common to see vendors at the beach (or any other event with a lot of people) selling mangoes that are sliced up to look like a flower. The cuts make it easier to eat without making a mess of yourself, and the slices also make it easy to douse it with salsa. Yum!


Robin and I had discussed these on her blog after she returned from Mexico several months ago, so Robin, this is what I was talking about. Except they serve theirs on a wooden stick, not a knife from the silverware drawer. The "petals" on the vendors' mangoes are usually a little prettier, but you get the idea.

Any grilling favorites you'd care to share?

17 comments:

Benjamin Solah said...

That looks really yum!

I bought a new wok the other day.

Buying new homewares stuff is strangely a lot of fun ;)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Ben, I loooooove home stuff. We got married five months before we moved so we have all the appliances I like (coffee pot, etc). Mmmm...

Nadine said...

I love when we BBQ cause then the hubby does all the cooking!! And there is just something about meat and veggies that are grilled on the BBQ - delicious! We also like to take a whole head of garlic, slice off the top and put a little olive oil on it, and then wrap it in tinfoil and place it on the grill for a while. Delicious!

Okay, now I'm hungry :)

erica m. chapman said...

Awesome grill! And that Mango is way cool.

Yeah Ron does all the cooking over here. I'm a horrible cook. That includes grilling. A few days ago he made home-made cordon bleu's. They were pretty good. He likes to make up stuff in the kitchen. Last night he mad a sort-of italian jambalaya. It was too spicy for me, but he loved it.

Enjoy your eatin'

JLC said...

I do the grilling during the week so the food is almost done by the time hubby gets home from work. Its a lot of fun and I like experimenting with different foods. We only eat chicken, turkey, and fish, but we also like to grill asparagus, peaches, and sweet onions. Its one of the reasons I look forward to summer.

JLC said...

Nadine.. I just read your comment. The way you cook garlic, is the same way we cook onions. I core out the middle and stuff it with butter before wrapping it in foil. I need to try your garlic technique!

Nadine said...

Turkey, I've never tried it with an onion, but that sounds delicious!!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Nadine, I agree -- the onion sounds awesome! We grill a lot of vegetables on the grill and Ibis bought corn this morning, yum, but we've never tried the butter trick.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, peaches? I've never heard of that! Sounds good though.

We need to get back in our grilling mindset -- it's been so long. We love grilling veggies then making salsa with it (ie blending everything in the blender). Yum!

Robin said...

Oh, Melanie, how pretty! I'm really impressed with Ibis. Well, even more impressed. I'm going to show the picture to Alex!!!!

Sharon Marriott said...

Where did you get that BBQ? I am heading down to our place in Barra De Potosi and buying a BBQ is on my to do list.

I enjoy reading your blog when I am at home in California.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, it's yummy too!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Hi Sharon! Ibis said he bought it at the market in Zihua for 120 pesos, but then he said if you're gringos it will probably cost 240 pesos. ;) Either way, it's cheap. The charcoal came in a plastic shopping bag so I'm guessing he got that there too.

Good luck!!

Allen said...

I think it is interesting the differences in culture when it comes to BBQ. In the north barbecue is a verb. It is something you do. Here, it is a noun.

Virginia has been famous for Barbecue for centuries. My family's barbecue rub goes back to before the Civil War. The rivalry between Smithfield, Virginia and Smithfield, NC has caused more divorces than any other event.

Of course, it might be hard to get a whole hog on your grill.

When you finally find your way near me, I'll make sure we put the pig in the ground, toast the buns, fire the still, and spread the Sunday paper over the picnic table.

You want coleslaw on yours?
And I assume everyone will be drinking sweet tea.

I just need a head count.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Allen, I am aware of those bbq differences. :)

I had a friend in college from Smithfield, VA, and every time he went home we asked him to bring us a ham. He never did.

I will pass on the slaw, but YES, I would love a pitcher of sweet tea. It's been AGES. Thanks.

Sharon Marriott said...

Thanks for the information on the BBQ. I'll have to look for when when I go over to the mercado. That would be the perfect size for my balcony.

By any chance do you know where the kitchenware store across from the mercado moved to? It was a fairly large store on the block north of the fabric store. It was gone when I visited at Semana Santa but someone told me that they had moved.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Sharon, I can't think of one north of the fabric store, but there is one south of it, a couple doors down from that chicken place on the corner with the orange & white awning. There's a newspaper stand, then a store with tons of DVDs (that's where I get mine) and they have a lot of kitchen stuff. I go there for a lot of things, so if you can't find what you need in the market itself, I'd suggest them.