Homemaking

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My RV Oven Is So Very Special

Oh, I’ve missed my RV kitchen, especially my oven! I use my oven a lot and I really missed in Mexico.

As some of you may remember, I bought myself a cast iron Dutch oven for Yule. It’s a pot with a tight fitting lid that can go from stovetop to oven. I can’t wait to sear a pork roast in it later this week and then transfer to the oven to slow cook!

Well, quite a few of my friends in Mexico are or were RVers. Those of them who saw the Dutch oven thought I was nuts for believing I could use it in my RV oven. Having seen dozens of RV ovens, I’ve only ever seen another one as large and usable as mine, and that was an upgrade made after purchase, so I understood their concern. Many RVs don’t even have a real oven, just a convection microwave. Some folks, like my friend Vicki, find their oven so useless that they have to make space for a large toaster oven instead.

In my case, I moved the rack to the lowest position to fit the Dutch oven in with an inch to spare at the top, so it will be easy to pull in and out, even when super hot.

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I’ll also be able to store the pot in the oven, with the baking sheets and cast iron frying pans fitting neatly under the broiler.

My oven also heats very evenly and is good for baking. Don’t buy into the myth that you can’t cook or bake in an RV as you can in a stick home. Instead, insist on a better and more usable oven!

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Unpacking Is a Chore

I awoke to sunshine at 6:15 this morning. I really don’t remember mornings here been so bright! I thought I might be able to go back to sleep, but was not able to. I read for a bit until the call of breakfast was too loud to ignore. Interestingly enough, I’d been up over an hour and awake for nearly two before I even thought of having coffee!

After a lazy couple of hours doing a more thorough sort of the mail, I finally dressed and started to bring things in from the truck, unpacking as I went along. I never think that I picked up much extra stuff during my travels until I found myself at a loss as to where to put everything when I get home! But I finally got things under control (nowhere near done) and was able to head to town to get groceries.

The road out to highway 2 was the best I can ever remember it being, with only one or two serious potholes, so the drive went quickly. My first stop was the carwash to fill one of my five gallon jugs with potable water. Thankfully C&C had warned me that there is no water filling at the grocery store right now since the renovations are still ongoing and that the carwash was the place to go. I was not impressed with the carwash station since it does not fill the jugs completely.

I ran a couple more errands and then went into the grocery store. It was a mess. I’m disappointed that so far all the upgrades are cosmetic. There sure isn’t any extra space! Prices were dire, but I shopped the sales and actually had something to show for my $125 (including quite a bit of meat). Kale was on sale, so I’ll be having quite a lot of that in the next week!

Back home, I was able to put together a nice lunch even with the kitchen being only half unpacked, then I headed to C&C’s to get non-potable water for doing dishes and washing myself. Charles was on his way over to my place to level Miranda, so he helped me with the water and then we headed back to Haven with Brutus in tow (he’s so shaggy he looks like a bear!).

It took quite a bit of doing, including two trips back to his house by Charles for different jacks and some tool fetching on my part, for Charles to get Miranda level for me. Even though the gravel is hard packed now, he could only lift Miranda so high before the jack would sink into the ground. He finally got her up using two jacks. She’ll stay on them for the time being, with a large log under the frame also holding some of the weight, but Charles intends to get a different type of jack and some blocks to do a more permanent job. Miranda has been unlevel for so long that it feels strange to have her level! When I moved her last year, I should have brought her west a little bit and out of the dip her left driver’s side tire is in. Live and learn…

After he was done, he graciously helped me get my swing out of the shed and set up. The weather is so unseasonably warm that I know I’ll use it all of this month as well as through June and so it’s worth setting up. Then, I offered him one of my last two Pacificos!

The beer pretty much knocked me flat, so I spent quite a bit of time in the swing, enjoying my view and the fact that I have internet in the yard now!

Then, it was time to deal with the kitchen so I could make dinner. I’m nowhere near done, but I was able to make brown rice, caramalised onions and Brussels sprouts, chicken, and gravy — even if I had about as much energy as it takes to open up a tin of beans and eat them cold! 😀 But the effort was worth it! Fortified by my yummy dinner, I did a clothes putting away blitz and then set up my office since I have a medium-sized job due Monday night that I’m hoping to start on tomorrow.

As promised yesterday, here are some pictures of the door damage. It’s hard to see because of the black on black. Charles is certain the damage was not there when he came by on the 27th and so this would mean the attempted break-in occurred while the neighbour is out on bail…

In this picture, you can see the gap between the door and the frame, as well as scratches and the torn rubber gasket. The door is bulging outwards.

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The door bulge is more visible in this one. The scratches betray the amount of effort made to get in. I’m happy to know my deadbolt and frame are that good!

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And here’s the damage to the frame:

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Finally, all the nasty haze during the day is so worth it in the evening…

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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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Lunch in Town

I had a bit of a homey morning, doing laundry and catching up on some chores and bookkeeping. Around 1:00, I decided it was too nice of a day to spend on the computer so I put on my new dress and a new scarf and headed off for lunch on the Malecón.

On the way, I stopped in at the Mercado with the hope of finding a very lightweight dressing gown, something I’ve been wanting for quite some time. I struck out at the thrift shops back home and I didn’t like the selection in stores. I just wanted a pretty cover-up to wear over my skimpy jammies so I can have my coffee outside or run out to get the water without having to get dressed first.

I went up two aisles in the Mercado when I spotted something on a dummy. I had it taken off for me to examine more closely and was surprised that it was absolutely perfect:

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It’s almost like a kimono, so it has a very ample cut. The length is perfect, not so long as to get tangled in it, but long enough to be modest. It will make a good beach/swimming pool cover up as well. I was quoted $250, countered with $200, and was told that the best price was $230, which seemed fair to me so I happily forked over the money.

I then headed to the Malecón to have lunch at El Shrimp Bucket, a chain of shrimp restaurants. I was wary about eating there, but read several reviews that left me intrigued. I knew it would be a pricy meal, but haven’t had a really nice meal out in ages. I ordered a Pacifico, which came with a frosty mug, and hemmed and hawed over the menu. Everything looked good! I ended up having the “camarones a la suiza” (Swiss-style shrimp) because it had tomatillo (green tomato) sauce, which I love.

Shrimp-wise, the meal was worth its hefty $212 price tag. The portion of plump charbroiled shrimp was generous and perfectly cooked. But the dish could have stood a few minutes under a broiler to properly melt and even char the Chihuahua cheese. The roasted vegetables (zucchini, carrot, and eggplant (!)) were sparse, but very tasty. I was surprised that the rice was of the plain old white variety since rice tends to be so flavourful in Mexico. But it wound up being the perfect base for consuming a very tasty red sauce. There was also a sweet salsa that I’m pretty sure had real maple syrup in it (!). It was great for dipping the veggies in and even complemented the green sauce. Oh, and I had a bun, which I used to mop up every last drop of that yummy green sauce. All the salsas were just spicy enough for my tastes. The only one I didn’t try was what appeared to be a tartar sauce, since that’s made with mayo.

The meal was good enough that I’d go back to El Shrimp Bucket to try their much more reasonably priced shrimp, bacon, and avocado tacos! Their beer is the same price as everywhere else on the Malecón, so the frosty mug alone makes a return trip inevitable!

There’s a raspado (shaved ice) shop almost right next door, so I popped in for a dessert that would be much lighter than an ice cream and more refreshing on a super hot day. They had a gazillion flavours and I opted for piña colada. I want to go back and try some others!

I got in to discover that the plumbing faery came by in my absence! I have hot water AND pressure in my shower!

Am I glad I did my housekeeping before heading out, though! 😀

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Sometimes, Even the Dictionary Can’t Help

Today was the day to go pick up my new scarves and dress, so the plan was to do lunch, pick them up, then do a big shop for groceries.

For lunch, I went to Tony’s Burgers in the mercado to have one of their beef burgers. It wound up being quite good since it was made with real beef, but the patty was really thin and there was too much bun. I would rather pay more (it was $37) and have a better meat to bun ratio. Next time, I’ll ask if I can have two patties and I’m sure I’ll still come in at less than I would pay for a burger at Beach Burger. I even found Tony’s burger better than the super pricy ones at Mary’s in the Golden Zone, even if those have more meat. I still can’t believe it took me this long to discover Tony’s!

My things were ready for me when I arrived some time later at the seamstress. I hadn’t double checked my receipt when I went in last time and didn’t realise that her sister had put down seven scarves instead of eight. I paid for the eighth one and will have my friend Janet pick it up sometime next week and bring it to me on a Monday when she comes to Isla to ride.

Here’s my finished dress:

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I look forward to being able to wear this one in Maz.  I’ve been wearing it around Isla without the straps, but I’m too much of a lady to go to town dressed like that. It’s a really flattering style and I’m happy to now have two dresses in that cut and fabric.

Here’s the first batch of scarves:

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The colours are a bit off because of the weird lighting in the house. The far left one is actually a really deep brown, the middle one is steel-coloured, and the one on the right is a very dark purple. They’ll make nice neutrals.

Here are the more fun ones, with their colours being more reflective of reality:

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The one on the far left is blue and white, then there’s a dark pink with white splotches, then a lighter pink with white flowers, then a mint green with purple flowers. The eighth scarf also had a bit of a tropical vibe and is similar to the one on the right.

The seamstress wasn’t pleased with the fabric I bought since it’s not super great quality and warned me that I shouldn’t be surprised if I snag a scarf and the fabric starts to run. I expected this. Modatelas (literally fashion fabrics), a higher quality fabric store, just opened by the Mercado to compete with Parisina and I’ll go there and look for better fabric, preferably a stretchy cotton, since the seamstress is available to make me more!

I then hiked a couple of blocks to Alemán and waited a few minutes for the Sábalo bus. On it, I met a Colombian hotelier who made me promise to go check out Colombia someday, something a colleague of mine has also told me. They both said the same thing: Colombia is a cleaner, better organised, safer, and cheaper Mexico that is currently a really well-kept secret since most of the world hasn’t figured out yet that Colombia is no longer the terrifying place it was 20 years ago. One day. 🙂

I really didn’t feel like going all the way up to Soriana, so I decided to do my shop at the big Ley. The bus was extremely crowded and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get off. So as soon as I saw the Domino’s in the distance, with the turnoff to go to the big Ley only a block or two past there, I beeped the button. Sure enough, it took so long for people to let me through that the bus driver got impatient and drove off, only stopping again when I made it to the rear exit door and beeped again. That was fine as it brought me about a block closer to Ley. I hopped off and walked the three or four blocks to the store.

Ley had everything on my list, including hummus, but I got a little frustrated that all their beef was labeled “beef flesh.” I have no idea what I bought, but I’m hoping it’s similar to the “sirloin” stuff Soriana sells that I like. I really stocked up on meat for once since they had some good prices.

There was a woman promoting a product’s two-for-one sale. I had her hand me one and realised that it was a competitor brand for Tajín, the fruit seasoning (salt+chile+lime) I’m not nuts about, but which is strangely addictive. I’ve been wanting to try this other brand, La fina, so I put two bottles in my cart (for a grand total of $14).

The veggie section surprised me when I found kale. It wasn’t labeled and there was no price, but it was very fresh and there was so little of it that I grabbed it all, about the equivalent of two bundles’ worth at a supermarket in Canada.

The cashier asked me what the kale was and, of course, I completely blanked out. I pulled it up in the dictionary on my phone and told him to look up “col rizado” (spelling it out) or “repollo rizado.” Neither one came up. The produce manager came over and asked me where I had found the kale because he had no memory of it coming in. He went to look and confirmed that there was no label for it.

Finally, he said, “How much would you pay for this in Canada?” I did some math and figured about $40 (3CAD). His eyes went wide and he said, “That’s crazy!” He scrolled through the produce prices list a bit more and said, “It looks like fancy parsley. How does $14 sound?” SOLD. Then I told him I bought it all and he wouldn’t have to go through this again, which is where the accumulated crowd just lost it and doubled over laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

I then grabbed a pulmonía for the embarcadero (had a nice conversation with the driver), struggled to get my bags to the lancha because the package carrier guy wasn’t around, and accepted help on this side to get them into a pulmonía. I had to share it with a family going to the beach and as soon as we turned off the paved road and started to weave through the alleys to get to my house, the patriarch of the family asked where the hell we were going because he knew the beach was “that” way. I interjected and said that he was dropping me off at my house, which surprised him. Where the heck did he think I was going laden down with toilet paper, laundry detergent, and tons of food?! 😀

It never ceases to amaze me how a mundane day of running errands is so special down here!

Now, to figure out what I’m doing for dinner with all that kale!