Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

Here is something new, for me, anyway. I baked a cake. (Knew you were coming.)

This is a Mandarin Orange cake, and is relatively easy to make. It requires that you have the ability to whip egg whites, though it does not say for how long, fold the other ingredients into the egg whites, and then bake all of the above in a springform pan, but it does not say how big the pan should be. Annoying, those “little” things.

Another thing I made for the first time, and that was Crema de Chile Poblano soup. Oh, my goodness, was it ever delicious. We are fortunate to eat this, every once in awhile, when we go to Toks, and it happens to be the soup of the day. It is my favorite soup of theirs because it is so smooth, and creamy, with just the right amount of heat from the poblano chiles. So,

I found a couple of different recipes on line, and decided to take what sounded good from each of them, and ended up with a bowl of soup I think many of you would enjoy.

It does not look like much but packs a punch of flavor, with surprisingly little heat. You can always decrease the heat, which is really quite mild, by adding a bit more milk, and, decreasing the water by the same amount. I will post the recipe, with some “working” photos in an upcoming post, because it is taking forever to upload the photos, at the moment.

I hope you will try it, and let me know what you think. But, while I am waiting to hear from you, and, for things to upload, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

My first baking class began this morning, and ended just a while ago.

Lizbeth, from upstairs, wife of Jesús, came down, and I showed her how I make the sourdough bread, complete with feeding the starter. Then, after that, I showed her how to make a regular loaf of bread; one that would be more suitable for their little guy, Gaby.

The kitchen was a “cool” two hundred sixty five degrees Celsius, yet, with my fan blowing on the wind chimes in the laundry area, towards the kitchen, and the exhaust fan on medium speed, it felt like it was only two hundred and sixty degrees Celsius. Such a relief 😮

It was so hot because I was getting ready to bake another loaf of sourdough bread, as I am almost completely out. I give at least a half loaf to whomever asks for it first, so I only have a half loaf for the few days in between baking. Ivan is still unable to eat any. But, soon he will be able.

While we wait for that day, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

We bought a foldable table, from Costco, a few weeks ago, which has since become my new office; pending the end of Phase three of the remodeling.

Phase three will begin sometime in the coming months; exactly when that happens will be completely determined by how quickly Phase two is finished. For now, however, it is what I need in order to keep up with the plants, bills, deliveries, recipes, etc. So busy, yet, all according to my schedule.

I have spent the last several hours trying to download more information on taking care of the jungle that was just delivered, but alas, I could not. The internet is so slow, again today, that, when I was able to download the information, it took about five minutes per plant. As we now have eighteen new plants, it was quite time consuming. However, I do not want anything to die because of my ignorance of their needs. Everything, now, is so beautiful, and lush, and, green.

One of the things I am doing is taking down, by hand, (remember, slow internet?), all of the information I will need in future, in bullet form, in my new little notebook. That way I will be able to refer to it easily, and quickly. For example; the botanical names of each plant, plus, the common names in English, and Spanish. When to water which plant? How much light does each plant need? When do I need to wipe off the large, dusty plant leaves to keep them shiny? How do I propagate this plant, or that one? Which ones need to be misted daily, and which need to dry out completely before watering again?

Soon, this afternoon actually, I will be able to have all of that information in my newest journal, that will also be delivered today, along with my new watering can. Wait until you see that.

It is exactly what I wanted without even knowing it was what I wanted. Hammered copper, to match our copper vase, and copper carnitas kettles, and it will be here today, as well.

I have to say that I absolutely love being retired; having the time to devote to whatever I want, whenever I want, and for as long as I want. If I want to spend ten minutes dead heading my primroses, then I do. If I want to spend five minutes enjoying the rich, earthy smell of the freshly watered soil, in the flower boxes, I will. And, if I want to spend hours on the internet gathering the information I will need for the future of these beautiful plants in my care, then, I will that, too. And, I do. Multiple times every day.

While I wait, somewhat impatiently, for my journal, and watering can to arrive, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: have I mentioned that I have not had any hard alcohol since the twenty seventh of February? My mind is so clear, and my spirit so light, I feel I need to wear heavier shoes to keep my feet on the ground. I cannot remember ever feeling this wonderful. Ever. My joy for living is back in abundance. Amazing.

I am going to post a bunch of photos of the newest batch of plants we just bought. Let me start with this.

I found a gentleman, Luis Valderramma, by name, on Mercado Libre, that gave me his website address, so I ordered directly through him, this afternoon, around one. It is now five twenty, and the plants are here.

Luis was very helpful, taking my order from the online account I made, then, filling, and delivering the order in about four hours. Who does that these days?

Today is a special “get out of work” day, here in Mexico. Most workers were to stay home today. That means that internet traffic is horrendous. That means that the plants I wanted to pay for online, have to be paid for in cash.

Fortunately, for me, anyway, I happened to have the cash I needed for the plants. The other day, I ordered some others, small Eschevieria’s, that will be here within the next week. I ordered a couple of taller plants that will be easy to care for, and enjoy the climate that we have here.

Until everything is settled, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

I was just chuckling to myself. Why?

I am watching a crime series, on Amazon Prime, called Bordertown, which takes place in Finland, and is subtitled. I enjoy subtitles, and use them for English speakers as well, as it is sometimes difficult to understand different dialects.

However, when one is listening to something in a completely different language, one actually needs to read the subtitles to understand the conversation.

I find myself so relaxed by different languages, Finnish especially, that I start taking my eyes away from my computer, and doing other things. Then I find myself having to go back over the past several minutes, while I was “gone”, paying more attention to the subs. Duh!

For some, unknown, reason, I simply cannot stop doing it. Then, when I realize, again, that I was absent, I chuckle, regroup, and rewatch.

Hah. The other day, I bought five pounds of black dirt, and ten pounds of a mixture suitable for cacti, and succulents. All in anticipation of the arrival of a slew of new plants.

I do have a brand new, living room wide plant box that needs attention. Right? So, I am going to give it lots of attention over the next couple of weeks. Should keep me off of the streets.

Until they all get here, and get settled, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Today is kimchi day. Finally. And, I cannot begin to tell you how good it tastes, just with the combination of ingredients!

We started out cutting up the cabbage more than we had originally, the carrots too. Then, we watched the video, twice, and jumped in with all four feet. (Ivan’s and mine 😉

We began by making the rice paste, which is simply one half cup of water, and one heaping tablespoon of rice flour. Combine those, off heat, until all of the flour is incorporated. Then, over medium heat, stir until thickened, just about five minutes. In the last minute, add one tablespoon of sugar, and remove from heat to cool.

Here comes the fun part. We mixed together half of a small onion, grated, five cloves of garlic, peeled, and pressed, one inch of fresh ginger, grated, three tablespoons of fish sauce, one half cup of gochugaru, Korean chili pepper flakes, and the rice paste we made earlier.

Wearing a pair of disposable gloves, I mixed the above with the cabbage, et. al., and put it in a bean pot we have had since forever. It will sit on the shelf, fermenting, for two to three days, or until we feel it has the correct amount of zing. Then, into the fridge it all goes.

As I said, in two, or three, days, this kimchi should be ready for the fridge. Then, whenever we have piece of sourdough bread, with anything, and everything on it, we can have a side of kimchi for extra flavor. We cannot wait. Well, he has to wait until his mouth heals. I will have to let him know how it tastes.

Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: you might consider buying a copy of your favorite books, and movies, while they are still available. It appears the latest news is that many of them will be discontinued because they are racist. Gone with the Wind; Dr. Seuss; several movies as well. Think of Fahrenheit 451.

Soon, Ivan, and I, will be making kimchi- a fermented cabbage dish that he first ate when he was stationed in Korea, during his Army stint.

We have seen multiple YT videos on it, and have gone to the Oriental Market, as you may recall, found the Napa cabbage there, and have been waiting for the right time to start it. Well, that day is still undecided, but soon.

So far, he has cut up said cabbage, soaked, and, salted it. Next, he turned it over every thirty minutes for two, or, maybe it was three, hours, to remove the excess water from the cabbage. Then, I cannot remember what to do. Another video watch in the future.

Today, however, I am making another loaf of sourdough bread. This time, however, I am freshly milling the sprouted Einkorn berries into flour, adding that to bread flour, with the sourdough starter, water, and salt, and will see what happens in the end.

Here are a few photos of the process I just described. You have already seen the soaking, and sprouting of said berries, so I will show you, now, the milling, and combining of them.

So far, that is the process for my making bread. After the last photo, the stretch and fold process takes two to three hours. As it was getting late, I covered the bowl, and put the whole business in the fridge overnight. I will finish it tomorrow.

While I am waiting for the bread to proof in the fridge, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Right now, we are, both, at the dentists office; Ivan is having more surgery with regards to his implants, and me, to replace my temporary crown with the real one.

After we are finished at the dentists office, we will be heading to Superama for a few carrots, and scallions for the kimchi, some gruyere cheese for the egg bites, and bananas for Ivan.

We got consumé for Ivan as well, to go with some crackers for him to eat for the next few days. He came through everything very nicely, as usual, and is on track for the top implanted denture. Soon.

Nothing else to report. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Happy St. Patricks Day, everyone. Irish, or not.

Today, right this minute, anyway, and, the hundreds of minutes that went before this one, has been one super duper day.

It feels like Spring; I guess, because it is Spring. The temperature is seventy five, outside, and, I am guessing, around seventy inside. The air smells clean, and fresh. The sun is shining, and I just fit into a Mexican blouse that I bought three years ago.

It has been hanging in my closet since moving here, and that is where I expected it to be until mid summer. How fun is that?

Last week, (I forgot this), I took apart our Shark Duo Clean vacuum cleaner, and cleaned it completely. There are certain filters one is supposed to clean on a regular basis, well, everyone except me, I guess. You may recall, in a prior post, that I actually read the top of the vacuum cleaner, which said exactly that; clean filters every six months. Duh!

So, now I have, and will, do that, regardless. But, the other day, I took apart the vacuum head, (where you see the orange and black roller brush), and, cleaned it, so it looks like new. Then, I removed the battery from the hand held portion, (the whole thing comes apart), and washed that like no one’s business. When I put it all back together the next day, it looked like I had just bought it, (if you did not look too closely).

Another follow up; here is what the second loaf of sourdough looks like, and then I am moving on. You can see more open holes in this crumb, which, I think will multiply, and become larger, if I do not add a different, stronger type of flour, such as Spelt, Einkorn, or Whole wheat.

Half of this loaf is going to la Dentista tomorrow, and the other half to her assistant. I have learned that one does not need to offer an entire loaf to someone, leaving ones own home without. Actually, even a quarter loaf is acceptable. Yay.

Ivan and I are going to start emptying more totes, rearranging them so that stuff we do not need now, or in the foreseeable future, will go up to the rooftop storage unit. Sounds like a fun day, for sure.

I am not going to comment, much, on the news about what is happening to the US since President Biden was elected. I think, if you watch any decent news shows, you will be saddened. We are so glad we have moved. It is too hard to believe the things we read, and see, in the news channels we watch. Be careful, everyone.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Here are a few photos of the blouses, and the other things, we bought at La Ciudadela, yesterday.

The black material for the blouses, and one of the dresses, is a very light weight cotton, similar to a mans handkerchief, or, better yet, silk, and can be worn in either direction.

I will need these, very soon, as the heat, outside, is already becoming increasingly hot. Inside, here, it rarely gets above seventy two, or, seventy three degrees. The Vornado air circulator helps keep it cool, too; also, I should mention, we are on the West side of our building, with another building, again, to our West, blocking the sun in the afternoon. Yay!

Above, are all of the things that came back, with us, from La Ciudadela. We are sure glad they did, too. We will, however, have to go back, because several items did not make it into our trunk.

We have yet to buy a few tablecloth’s, placemats, wooden spoons, small terra cotta dishes to hold salsas, salt, etc., and, a new blanket for our bed. Also, planters to hold the larger, and smaller plants that will be in other rooms of the condo, not just in the living room.

Until we get all of that done, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.