Early morning

This morning I couldn't sleep beyond 3:00 AM! I think the house is on my mind and all the many questions I have about it. Were there any drawers in the kitchen? Could we use the wash board sink to do dishes since the kitchen sink is only a single basin? And so on. My family thinks I'm nuts to try to wash dishes in a wash board sink but I'm on a creative role! We shall see! :-)

In any case, I got up around 5:30, went to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee and then took my coffee and my camera up to the terrace! I had my prayer time and then took a video of the sun rising over Taxco. If I can figure out how to post it I will include my video in this blog!

Yesterday Gary and I went to the mercado, not to explore but to actually buy groceries. When I was in Mexico City, everyone I bought from spoke some sort of English and gave the prices in numbers that I understood. Of course, I don't expect Mexicans to speak English any more than a Chinese family would expect the grocery store clerks in Loveland to speak Chinese. However, it is rather a shock for me after shopping so successfully in the Mexico city markets and having a blast getting a good deal on local items. But now we are in Colonial Mexico where there isn't a high American expat community. It's obviously sink or swim where language is concerned.

In any case, Gary and I walked down to the mercado, bolsas and a grocery list in Spanglish! I realize that I will need Gary with me in the mercado for quite some time. I'm having a difficult time hearing the numbers and understanding everything. I really need to practice counting to about 500 in Spanish so that I can easily understand the prices. And of course pesos are in large denominations so many things cost hundreds of pesos, which puts number learning in a larger scale. cinco pesos is easy but nothing costs cinco pesos, it is more like sesenta y ocho, which is sixty eight or about $5.50 in dollars.

In any case, every time I bought something Gary was there to help me hear what the merchant said and to find the correct denomination of pesos. At times I felt like such an idiot. Thankfully everyone is so kind and accommodating. At one place I was buying several items and asking for specific thing such as arroz integral (brown rice). I got so nervous from all that I was trying to say and listen to that when the senorita finally understood what I wanted I said, "Buenos Dias" instead of "Muchas Gracias!" Then I about died of embarrassment (But not embarasada, which is being pregnant!) and corrected myself. It's as though I have all these Spanish words swimming around in my head and when I get nervous I can't access the correct ones!

Gary and I were carrying two large bolsas that we nearly filled, translate HEAVY!!! We bought raw chicken sitting out looking a lot more disgusting than they do all nice and tidy at Whole Foods. We bought tomatillos, avocados, jalapenos, tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, blackberries, pineapples, brown rice ;-) popcorn, onions, and fresh tortillas that we watched being freshly cooked as we stood in line to buy some. They were incredible!

Gary and I then began the ascent back up the mountain towards home. Wow! I don't know how many kilos we were carrying but both bolsas were very very heavy. We walked up up up the hill with those heavy bags and really got a cardio workout in the process!

When we got home I had to pile all the beautiful fresh produce on the table and take a picture!

As soon as we got everything put away and had some peach nectar to drink (LOVE the fresh fruit drinks here in the tropics!), Nathaniel, Bethany and I began to cook! We made fresh Mexican tacos. I had never read a recipe for these and never saw them being made but we have eaten them a couple of times at restaurants and at our friends house here in Mexico.



I didn't have time to take a picture but these are what I made



Therefore, I dove into creating my own version of Mexican tacos! I sizzled some very lean strips of beef, while Nathaniel and Bethany chopped and diced tomatoes, avocados, onions, garlic, and the hottest jalapeno that we've ever come across! (Nathaniel's finger tips were literally burned from handling them!) We made fresh guacamole and fresh homemade green chili sauce, I put a little bit of the sizzled beef into a fresh tortilla (small) along with a little bit of white cheese. I rolled it up and sizzled it in a hot skillet. I did this time after time until I had a nice baking dish full of these Mexican tacos (very different from American tacos). I placed them on individual plates, sprinkled cheese on top and drizzled them with hot green chili sauce with a side of guacamole. We sliced the pineapple and served our meal. Everything was incredible! I was so thrilled that Gary and I were successful at shopping at the mercado and then, with a lot of help from Nathaniel and Bethany, we made this delicious comida! I love cooking with fresh ingredients right from the mercado. It is SO much fun! I can't wait to make this for Oscar and Silvia and their family!