Author: Rae

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Anticipating Severe Sticker Shock

I’ve been hearing a lot about how grocery prices are going up in Canada now that the loonie is on a nose dive. I thought prices were bad before. My weekly grocery shop was usually 80CAD to 100CAD last summer, and I had to watch my pennies and sales to get it in under that price if I wanted any fresh veggies, meat, or dairy.

This afternoon, I headed to Centro to do my big shop for the month where I stock up on pantry staples, get the meat I’ll eat over the course of the next few weeks (freezing some), and buy produce for the week ahead. Basically a Moose Jaw-style supply run, only I’m buying just for a month instead of a couple of them. Those runs, if adjusted to a monthly basis, were about 400CAD a pop and I still had to shop weekly for some things. My average monthly grocery bill was 500CAD and the only way I could have gotten it lower was if I was living there year round and could really stock up a pantry when there were sales and also take up Charles on his offer of filling my freezer with deer meat. I should stress that don’t buy a junk food or a lot of convenience items and I didn’t even buy alcoholic beer all of last summer, with the non-alcoholic stuff being very inexpensive.

The little Ley in Centro has been totally revamped and carries more stuff, so I hoped that I could do my big shop there since I didn’t have time to go elsewhere. Did it ever! What a fantastic remodel! I found everything I wanted there except hummus, but I did find sesame seeds, so I’ll retry my hand at making my own tahini.

I had 1,000MXN, or about 82CAD, in cash on me but don’t really worry about my grocery budget here since even with eating out, I only average 300CAD a month on food. That’s right. I can eat whatever I want here and go out as much as I want to restaurants and I’m still spending 200CAD less than I do in Canada. So I just put what looked good in my cart and got enough food that I had to take 40MXN pulmonía ride back to the embarcadero. Total cost of my shop? 635MXN or 52.26CAD…

Here’s my shopping list. I’d love to know what a similar list would cost where you live! Prices are in pesos, then CAD. I will say that lots of these items are at sales prices because I don’t like buying things full price, but I do the same thing in Canada so I really am comparing apples to apples.

Avocados, 2, 6.27/0.52

Garlic, clove, 3.6/0.30

Sesame seeds, small packet, 8.90/0.73

Almond milk, carton, 42.9/3.53 (the only thing that is the same price as back home)

Brocoli, large, 4.30/0.35

Yams, two small, 10.61/0.87

Ground beef, pound, 44.05/3.64

Yellow onions, two large, 16.61/1.37

Green onions (échalottes), bunch, 4.75/0.39

Sliced deli ham, package, 58.80/4.84 (this is thick-cut ham)

Lettuce (Boston-type), large, 17.90/1.47

Butter, two sticks, 21.80/1.79

Sliced multigrain bread, loaf, 26/2.14

White potatoes, four medium, 8.05/0.66

Toilet paper, four jumbo rolls, 11.50/0.95

Barilla pasta, two packages, 35/2.88 (this is why I eat so much more pasta here than back home!)

Pineapple, half, 11.66/0.96 (!!!)

Pork roast, small, 50.14/4.13

Beef, two large thin steaks, 46.58/3.83

Tomato sauce, three small tetra packs, 11.7/0.96

Chihuahua cheese, 200 grams, 28.90/2.34 (compare to cheddar)

Oxaca cheese, 400 grams, 55.90/4.60 (compare to mozzarella)

Sliced cheese, 8 slices, 16.90/1.39 (compare to Kraft real cheddar slices or other higher end slices with real cheese in them)

Chinese-style soy sauce, small bottle, 15.50/1.26

Salsa verde, small tin, 8.90/0.73 (compare to green enchilada sauce)

Paper towels, 3 rolls, 20.90/1.72

Raisins, medium bulk container, 17.33/1.43

Yoghurt, 1KG, 18.90/1.56 (granted this is a sale price, but the full price is only about 0.50CAD more!!!)

This was my first time needing a pulmonía to get home from the Centro Ley and it cost me 40MXN, a fair price. I had just what I could carry home on this side. If I’d had just one more carton of almond milk, I would have needed a taxi here, too!

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A Feast On the Beach

I met up with my Wednesday crowd again today, only this time at Pili’s/Rudy’s restaurant. It was a bit of a last minute thing and I didn’t know that the food and booze had all been ordered ahead of time and that whomever was there would split the bill evenly until huge platters of food showed up! What an inspired idea! Lunch ended up being $250 each, and that includes the beer and the tip!

Our event organiser had asked for a variety of foods to be made up so there would be something for everyone. We all got a plate with refried beans, salad, and rice, with access to a bottomless basket of tortillas. To share, we had:

-guacamole (topped with cheese!) and totopos

-garlic shrimp

-coconut shrimp

-BBQed chicken (cut in pieces)

-French fries

-a whole grilled red snapper topped with veggies (I’d never had cooked red snapper before!)

-flan (I declined since I don’t eat eggs)

What a spread! The fish in particular was gorgeous, with lots of caramelised bits. There was more than enough for everyone to gorge themselves.

Most of this crowd is French-Canadian, so it was really nice to break out the joual for a couple of hours. I have to laugh that one couple is from Moose Jaw and another couple was practically neighbours with some of my relatives and know one of my uncles!

The blanket guy did some brisk business with us. I might have come home with a small tablecloth, which will be used to cover my couch… 🙂

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One of Those “Why Do I Bother to Cook in Mexico?” Meals

I’m out of propane (despite being proactive and getting the order in before I ran out) so I can’t really cook much. I was feeling a little off today after yesterday’s carb overload, so all I wanted for dinner was some solid protein. Therefore, I went to Miguel’s and had a sit down dinner there of an “orden de carne asada” (order of grilled meat, in this case beef). I asked for four tortillas to go with it so I could make tacos out of my meal!

Dinner consisted of a really generous portion of perfectly marinated and grilled thinly sliced beef (including a little gristle to eat around), a ladle of refried beans, salsa mexicana, cucumbers, tomatoes, raw sliced red onion, grilled jalapeños, and, knowing that I like grilled onions, Angela quartered one and threw it on the grill with my meat. So dinner was a little of all of that piled onto a tortilla, then drizzled with freshly squeezed lime juice, guacamole (the runny stuff), a spicy red sauce, and a few pieces of chiles curtidos (pickled jalapeños).

There was enough for me to make four generous tacos with tons of filling leftover. I could have probably made eight tacos if I had wanted to, so this is definitely a meal that could be shared or should have been split in two to take half home if I hadn’t been so ravenous from not having had much to eat today. 🙂 And, really, it wasn’t that heavy of a meal. Four tortillas are about equivalent to a slice of bread, one of the reasons I love them so much.

I usually get takeout from Miguel’s, but there are some meals that are better eaten there because you don’t get all the condiments with takeout and they’re what make the meal truly Mexican and so flavourful.

The cost? A mere 70MXN (5.76CAD or 4USD)! I know from buying that same cut of beef for myself now that it was worth about $40 and the other ingredients are really inexpensive staples. So while they do make a decent profit, I couldn’t have made that meal for myself at that price. Definitely a case of it totally being worth it to eat out.

It’s amazing how much better I feel now after feeling terrible all day. I know my body well and what it needs. It’s too bad I had to wait till 6PM to get this meal when I would have done well to have it earlier in the day, but better late than never!

Debbie, I hope your order of carne asada was as satisfying as mine was! 😉

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Oh, Crap!

I was invited by my friends L&N to attend a tournament of “Crap!” on the beach today with a bunch of other people. Thankfully, I was able to shuffle my schedule around so I could go. It was a great four hours on Chivos Beach, Isla’s best kept secret. It is that because the bay there  is super tranquil for swimming and there’s almost never anyone there. The weather was perfect to be sitting under the sun for the afternoon, just hot enough with a cool breeze. The bright blue water was chilly, though!

My place in relation to Palapa Mirador on Chivos.

My place in relation to Palapa Mirador on Chivos.

What is “Crap!” you may ask? Well, having attended and played, I’m pretty sure the best description is that it’s a beach sport that is rather a cross of curling, darts, shuffleboard, pockets, and the entertainment of watching a jousting tournament. A large target is drawn in the sand and you have to hit it with stones from a certain distance, with the rings of the target determining how many points you get. First one to get to 21 points without going over wins the round.

There was about a dozen of us and N had everything organised very well. Pairs of players would go and the winner would go on to the next round, then repeat that until there were only two champions. I did really well in my first round, but choked on my last turn and lost by a point! So I was just a spectator after.

There is a nice restaurant at Chivos Beach called Palapa Mirador so we had tables with food and beverage service. The server there is a Canadian and she has done a nice write up about the restaurant and the beach, so go to her blog for the pictures I neglected to take. 🙂 I have to laugh at her comment about the bathrooms having real doors when the toilets have no seats!

I had four Pacifico Lights and the coconut shrimp over the course of the afternoon. The meal was excellent although the shrimp were not as coconutty as those at the restaurants on this side (but also much less expensive) and didn’t have a dipping sauce. I wound up making tacos out of my meal and loading on the Valentina “hot” sauce, which isn’t hot at all.

What a great afternoon for just $200, plus a very generous tip for our hardworking server! A Monday afternoon on the beach is pretty normal, but a Wednesday is a luxurious treat that reminds me of just how lucky I am to have so much freedom — and how smart I am to be here in paradise instead of freezing my butt off in Saskatchewan!

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A Usually Special Morning Made Extraordinary

I’ve been riding every Monday morning since I got here. It is a cherished couple of hours out of my week. My riding group is wonderful and there’s something to be said about riding down a beautiful palm tree lined beach with a tropical sun beating down on you. Our guide, Daniel, has even let us go out on our own a few times so I have gained more experience and confidence on a horse.

Such was the case today. It was just Sue and me, so Daniel told us to go on and he’d join up with us for the ride back. The weather was just perfect, with a cool breeze and fluffy white clouds. Our horses were chomping at the bit, so we loosed the reins, dug in our heels, and let them fly.

On the trip back, Daniel asked why we didn’t want to go back through the forest and I explained that it’s because of the mosquitoes. I then told him all about the mosquito-borne disease from Africa that has reached North American shores and is causing babies in Brazil to be born with little to no brain. We then talked about the cost of life in Canada and the shock I’m going to experience at produce prices. Sue can follow a little bit and we’d frequently break to have her repeat words and make sure she was following the conversation, and we’d do the same for Daniel with English words.

As we were nearing the end of the ride, we came across a giant green coconut right in the middle of the road. Daniel scooped it up. When we got to our hitching posts on the beach, he set the coconut on a stump he uses to help people mount the horses, pulled his machete out from under his horse’s saddle, and hacked at the coco until there was a drinking hole. Sue and I split it and we both raved at how fresh and cool and flavourful the coconut water was.

But Daniel wasn’t done! He then used the machete to split the coco in two and hacked off a bit of the husk to make a spoon. He then fed us the coco meat! I’ve never had green coconut meat before and it was marvelous. I’ve heard it described as slimy, but it wasn’t unpleasantly gelatinous at all, very cool and smooth and sweet and filling.

Such a special morning deserves a special lunch so I’m off to the beach for a beer and something shrimpy!