CACTUS BABIES

The semi-desert in Mexico where we live is home to thousands of types of cacti.  Having inhabited less arid locales all my life, I was not initially fond of cacti.  But after visiting cactus propagation farms and seeing such a huge variety of types, I'm now a fan of the cactus.  Our cacti are busy propagating themselves at the moment.  No seeds for them!  They've found other ways to multiply.

This one (not the big middle one but the ones surrounding it) throws its babies around when we're not looking.

This one keeps its babies closer.

This one sprouts rabbit ears.

A growth on the top.

Growths out the sides.

This is the same plant as above.  It goes up and down.

Tumor-like growths all over the trunk.

Can you see the new growth at the base?  Pulling the weeds from around the bottom is a delicate operation I haven't perfected yet.

Presumably you can twist off the babies, put them in dirt and get a new plant.  I haven't tried it yet.

And the pièce de resistance:  a bright yellow flowering top.  I can't wait to see what happens next.

The expert at the cactus farm said to water them once every six months and never to fertilize, which would replicate conditions in their natural habitat.  We have friends with huge cacti on their patio growing over the top of the roof.  They'll need a crane to remove them.  They water once a week and use Miracle Grow once a month.  I guess it depends on what size cacti you want.

HACE MUCHO SOL. . .

so we ordered a sun screen for the pergola.  Two people showed up for the installation:  the woman, Reyna Rosano, who owns the store where we bought it, and the man who would do all the work while she supervised.

There was a long piece of material with one man and one ladder.  I wondered how that would work (el sr J was at the gym).  Silly me.  A rope served as the other man as the real man went back and forth on the single ladder.

He put it in backwards the first time.

His toolboxes were a disorganized mess.  It took him a long time to find what he wanted.

He also needed a lot of time to pause and think what he was going to do next.

Did you know you could keep scissors in your ladder?

He was almost done when he thought he discovered that the hooks to hold the arms were the wrong kind.  Reyna started to call the factory in León.  I looked at the hooks, held them up to the wooden supports, and showed how they might work.  Reyna blew me a kiss and hung up the phone.  At that point I lost all confidence in the guy and started praying for el sr J to return from the gym.

He did, and everyone else seemed to be satisfied with the end result.  The screen goes up and down and can be angled out at the bottom (with the arms attached to the hooks) to let more air in.  It not only blocks the sun from the patio so we can eat comfortably there, but also in the kitchen, an added benefit I hadn't foreseen.

I was rattled.  Reyna was delighted.

PASTRAMI

A nice piece of pecho from market:

5 days in brine in the fridge:

3 hours in the oven:

sliced:

A pastrami sandwich for two:

OREJA DE BURRO

Don't know what it is in English, but it sure is a weird looking plant:

It puts out more babies than one of Reagan's imaginary welfare queens:

Babies down the leaves. . .

Babies in the flowers.  Anybody want one?

GRUYERE

Kept in wine fridge for 2 months:

I save these plastic containers.  They have holes in so the cheese can breathe.

A little white mould?

The wooden spears keep the cheese from touching the bottom of the plastic container.

Cut in half.  El sr J thought it tasted too salty, so I tooth brushed it with vinegar and water and now it's delicious.  At 6 months it might be even better, but I couldn't wait.  Next is Asiago.

THANKSGIVING IN PATZCUARO

Although the Patzcuarans were happily unaware that we were non-celebrating there.

A couple of women in local garb.  I loved those aprons.  Coke is the human fuel of Mexico.  Even abuelas drink it.

My Thanksgiving dinner was a plate of tiny silver fried fish, heads and eyes included.  El sr J chose something else on the menu.  As you can see by my attire, it was really cold there.

We were the only people in the tour van so I requested and got a side trip to a cemetery.

Santa Clara de Cobre is a small town near Patzcuaro in which 90% of the males work in copper.  All the copper is from recycled material.  Above is a chunk of it which is going to be heated and hammered down.

The fire

The hammering.  Manly men.

We each chose a pot.

I'm willing them to my sister.

PATO DE COSTCO

We bought a frozen duck from Indiana at Costco:

We thought it would be too much meat for just us, so we invited el sr J's biking buddy for dinner.  He wasn't sure he liked the idea of eating duck, but since no other invitation was forthcoming, he accepted.  When he arrived he said he wasn't very hungry because he had eaten a big breakfast and lunch.

We used this recipe:

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/11/the-best-way-to-roast-a-duck-hello-crispy-skin/

Here it is right before the glaze:

And ready to carve and serve:

We had very little left over.  Mr. B.B. had a hearty appetite as it turned out.