I’ve been fascinated with sea creatures, both real and mystical, from the time I could swim at the age of two. I wanted to be a mermaid. And my favorite movie of all time is, of course, the Disney classic “The Little Mermaid.” But if I had to chose which animal I would be, my answer is always a dolphin.
There are more than 40 species of dolphins around the world. Growing up sailing in San Francisco Bay, both bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoise sightings were common and always a joy. We rarely saw large pods, though, and mostly only viewed them briefly surfacing before disappearing under the dark water near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Cruising the warm waters of Mexico has been a sheer delight with an abundance of dolphins often approaching our sailboat and dinghy and entertaining us with playful splashes and jumping our bow waves. Bottlenose, common and spinner dolphins are found among the islands in the Sea of Cortez and also enter the Bay of La Paz to frolic amongst the boats at anchor.
When we’re at the marina we like to take the dinghy for sunset “dink and drink” outings, putter around the bay, land on the mogote for a beach stroll, and cruise along the malecon. It’s our version of a “Sunday drive.”
Macaroni and cheese is one of our favorite comfort foods. I’ve made it a kazillion ways using different varieties of cheese, baked, straight from the pot, with a bread crumb topping, and without.
Sometimes my recipes are created out of necessity, as in this case. I bought a 4 lb pork loin that I thought would be great for my hubby to smoke. I’ll be the first to admit that I have no clue as to the fine art of barbecuing, grilling and smoking. He mentioned that this cut might dry out but went ahead and brined and smoked, spending all day tending to our main course for the evening. And lo and behold, he was right. It was far from tender and juicy and instead almost inedible.
Hubby has been doing a ton of meat smoking since we were gifted with a mini-Traegar barbeque from his Dad. We’ve done salmon, whole chickens, corned beef (which makes pastrami), and beef and pork roasts. Roasts end up in recipes for two or three meals and I try to be creative in changing up the flavor profile so we aren’t eating the same thing every night.
Chicken wings don’t have to be a guilty pleasure. I’ve found that baking them is as delish as deep frying, and far more heart-healthy (not to mention less messy).
Vivo O Sonho 