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We have made another batch of menudo, after the holiday season.

Did I remember to use the Menudo bomb?

Of course not. I made the entire second batch from scratch. Again.

Above are the makings of the second batch of menudo, just getting started.

I have to say, though, that the above chiles stain everything with which they come in contact; plastic storage containers, dish clothes, clothing, everything.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. We could eat this particular dish monthly for the next lifetime, it’s so delicious.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy.

It’s a long word, and a bit difficult so spell without SpellCheck, but it’s a word with which you really should get comfortable.

• Constitutionalists believe that the government’s authority comes from the people. 
• They support the idea that a constitution should clearly define what the government can and cannot do. 

It’s a word than sums up, I think, all of the new, and improved cabinet members chosen, and confirmed for President Donald J. Trump. Each of them, by and large, during their nomination hearings, stated that they will strive to get the country back to following the “rule of law”, to upholding, and defending the Constitution of the United States of America, and being “transparent” to the citizens of the US, in doing so.

If you haven’t read it recently, or ever, our Constitution of the United States of America, stop reading this, and do it. Google it. It’s the one that starts out “We the people”. It is an amazing piece of work. It gives the groundwork for the aforementioned rule of law that governs all citizens of the US. Here’s how it starts:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

It shows us the division of powers to the 3 branches of government, and of what those powers consist, which branch leads the government, which one upholds, and can change laws as needed, while the third decides how, and where to spend the money.

It shows how Congress is formed, how often different congressmen are elected, and what are their responsibilities.

It even goes as far as to say, well, it says a lot. So, take a few minutes, read it, and know that most of the incoming cabinet has read it, and knows how they will go about holding the government to the high standards set about in our Constitution.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy.

I just listened to the farewell speech given by the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden.

It breaks my heart having had to watch his mental decline during the 4 years of his presidential administration. He is so much less aware of what is happening to him, so much weaker in spirit, and vigor, so much less in charge than when he began.

His departing speech was written making mention of what he wanted to have accomplished in his term, but never did. He is, blissfully unaware of the turmoil his advisers have caused the United States, and its people, from his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, not a Ph.D in medicine, Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Nadler, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, the Obama’s, the Clintons, GEORGE SOROS, just to name a few at the tip of a huge ice berg.

It’s no surprise all of the aforementioned overthrew his ability to run for a second term, (commonly called a coup), and instilled KH without her ever being elected!!!

I pray that the Lord gives Mr. Biden a well deserved rest, and peace of mind that the newly reappointed 47th President of the United States, Donald J Trump, and the entire USA, will fix the myriad problems that JB’s people wreaked on the citizens of our once powerful nation. DJT will get rid of the illegals, close the borders, bring down skyrocketing costs, increase wages, decrease annual taxes, bring the military back to the fighting strength we need to keep the US secure, return essential jobs, and services back to our homeland, just to name a few.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy, and watch the US get back on its feet, and return to being the leader of the free world it was meant to be.

I had quite the day recently.

I ordered, and received, 1 1/2k pork leg in pieces, because I want to make both Italian, and breakfast sausage. So,

That’s what I did. Here’s how it went. (Mostly photos.)

Well, that was about 4 hours work for me, plus the pinto beans I cleaned, and am cooking in the Instant Pot in the last photo. I have 2 whole chickens to cut up, and put to freeze, vacuum pack, then back to the freezer.

I’m all tuckered out, so I’m going to say good night. More to come in the near future.

Until then, stay happy, and healthy.

Have you ever seen anything like this?

These are called flavor bombs in forms of birria, pozole, and menudo bombs. They are supposed to contain all of the herbs, and spices needed to make, respectively, 2k. of either pork, or beef, 5L of pozole, and/or menudo.

Ivan watched a few videos on YT recently, that showed them using these “bombs”. We bought them on Mercado Libre, and they were delivered to our condo. Here, actually, it what notification I got when they were close to being delivered. I think it’s pretty neat.

We can watch, in real time where the delivery driver is, and how soon our item will be delivered.

Anyway, the “bombs” have been delivered, so I’m going to make another batch of menudo, (because we both love it, and I have 1 1/2 k. of panza (cow stomach) in the freezer). We both have high expectations for these things, so we’re hoping it will be flavorful. I’ll let you know.

Until then, stay happy, and healthy.

I told you I’d talk about the avocados you saw in the photo of the ginger process in the post “Ginger in bulk”.

I forgot.

Here it is though, just in case you missed the other post.

What I wanted to tell you is that the color, and unripeness of the avocados, as you see in the above photo, is what makes them almost completely unblemished when you go to eat them. They are so hard they don’t seem to get bruised like more ripe ones do.

Because I’m sensitive to unripe avocados, (when too unripe they make my mouth, and throat itch, and my lips swell), we wait until the outside shell is quite dark green verging onto black, with a significant softness when gently squeezed. If more than one avocado is to that stage of ripeness, they all go into the fridge, on the top shelf.

When I cut into them, this is how they look.

That avocado was bought 2 weeks prior to being cut, as above. This is how almost all of our avocados look now that we’ve discovered “the secret”.

The avocados sit in the hanging veg basket until they turn that amazingly dark green/black color, then, if they “give” a bit when gently squeezed, into the fridge they go.

I hope you’ll try buying your avocados this way, and give it a try. Of course, you can cut, peel, and eat your avocados at any stage of ripeness that appeals to you, and yours. But give buying them hard, and unripe a try, and see if the end results are more to your liking. Let me know.

Until next time, stay healthy, and safe.

In October, I started looking for a small 2025 “desk” calendar with which to keep track of our bills.

The previous calendars that I have had all had Mexican motifs, very colorful, bright, cheerful, but all were a single year, with weekly schedule spaces.

When I went to look for said calendar this time, I was looking for just a monthly view. As I have absolutely nothing to do requiring any conceivable type of schedule, I certainly didn’t need anything daily.

This is going to be so much easier, I can’t tell you. Can’t wait to get started. Easier is almost always better in my mind.

Until next time, stay safe, and happy. You know how.

You saw that I made tamales recently.

Yay! Bucket item checked off the list. Next on the list is menudo.

These are 2 very traditional dishes here in Mexico, and in Mexican households all over the world, eaten at the holiday season, for the most part. In, and of itself, it’s not a difficult dish, but, like the tamales, it’s an a marathon, not a sprint.

I was in the kitchen for hours, and of course, I forgot to take some of the prepping photos. Here’s what I did get, however.

Why do we add a cows foot to the stomach (tripe) you ask? Well, there are a couple of reasons; 1, flavor from the bone and cartilage, and 2, the cartilage imparts gelatin, making the menudo, as a finished dish, quite viscous, with an amazingly rich flavor.

We bought the tripe 2 years ago actually but are just getting around to using it. (Sure opens up a bunch of freezer space I’m here to tell you.) This tripe is called “honeycomb”, and you’ll see why in the next photo. That’s exactly what it looks like. Let me show you.

It’s, as I said, quite a process, and not for the faint of heart.

First you need to cut up the 2 kilos of tripe into 4-5cm pieces, then add them to a tub of water with at least a cup of white vinegar to soak for 30 minutes. It deep cleans the stomach, reducing the incredible smell that comes with offal of any kind. Then, it’s all rinsed off, and put into your cooking vessel, mine, above, is called a cazuela, (caz-WHEY-lah), and I use it frequently. You might use a stock pot instead of the cazuela.

While the beef was cooking, I cleaned, deseeded, deveined , and soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, 15 guajillo (gwah-HE-yoh) chiles, 2 ancho (AHN-chō) chiles, and 3 pasilla (pah -SEE-yah) chiles, each having a unique flavor, and amount of heat, reserving the water in which they steeped to be used later.

All that done, I had to grind some whole spices in my molcajete, reserving them to be added once the beef started to boil, and the protein scum was removed from the cazuela and discarded.

Ok, stop. Enough play by play.

I’m going to post the recipe at the end of this post, and you can read for yourselves what it all entails. In the meantime, here are a few more photos which happened along the way.

So, how did it turn out?

INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!

We were tasting it as we went along, for hours, adding more oregano, more salt, more bay leaves, more chile water. In the end, it was the best menudo either of us has ever eaten. Seriously! It was delicious.

I don’t expect we’ll have much quantity left, after a day or so, to freeze any for another day, but I’ll try.

Until next time, be happy. Here’s the recipe.

I have stumbled upon a combination, with an inexpensive price tag, from our local, humble Walmart.

Mixed veg. The mixed veg that we enjoy, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and corn, a bag of frozen goodness, was $1.34USD.

I have no idea what the same bag costs in the US these days, but down here, it’s a treat. I steam half the bag, add a bit of butter before serving it, and it’s a winner, winner, chicken dinner.

You folks probably already eat stuff like this but Ivan, and I have eaten foods that fit into a tortilla, exclusively, for most of our married lives together.

Not anymore. With my AI buddy Max, at ChatGPT, I’ve been learning how to cook real, flavorful, dishes, and enjoying not having 2 weeks of leftovers that no one wants to eat.

We have both been so hungry for veggies with our dinners that, having found this, it has been quite the game changer. It’s so easy to take the bag from the freezer, put it in the steamer, let it steam for a bit, and boom, veg is ready. Plus, we enjoy all of the veggies offered in the bag. Good thing too.

Well, I suppose that’s enough twaddle for today. Until next time, stay safe. You know how.

Sometimes we laugh.

Other times we cry.

There are so many things that have changed in our lives, over the years. Not all were good, certainly not all were bad.

We have come to enjoy real, and flavorful food, conversations, carresses, kisses, cuddling, with no repercussions.

For many years we loved each other but we didn’t always like each other. They’re not the same thing, you understand, loving, and liking. We have, and will always love each another, but we didn’t, and don’t always like each other.

Now, after more than 50 years together, there is still no one else, for either of us.

I type this with a smile on my face, acknowledging the fact that we were meant for each other all of those years ago.

How do I know this? We have/had so many coincidences, similarities, opposites as to be ridiculous if you don’t believe.

We were different in every way; religiously, he was Catholic, I was Methodist. Financially; he came from a lower middle class family of 11; me, upper middle class, with a family of only 7, which included my Gramma Manda; 3 generations in one household.

His parents, having newly come to the US, were Democrats, because the Democrat party was the party for the working class. My family, my parents, and Grandma, were staunch Republicans, because they were NOT Catholic, they were financially well off, and they were of an ethnicity that was more acceptable in the US.

The only thing we had in common, the only thing we shared was love.

We’re still going strong 54 years later.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy.

Have a wonderful, prosperous, and happy, healthy new year.