Monday Morning in Mexico

What I love about Mexico. This morning I woke up without water pressure. That’s right, no shower, no flushing the toilet... Last night the water pressure was really low, which is not totally unusual after a busy tourist weekend. But it’s Monday and I have to work today. So it’s 6:15am and I call down to my condo office and I’m told that the water line to our entire complex broke but last night, but it’s fixed now, no worries, they’re just waiting for the glue to dry! (I know nothing about plumbing, and this may or may not be the way water lines are fixed, but I love it!) I am assured the water will be working again by 7am.

The American in me is figuring out how I’m going to get cleaned up and other necessities if I’m out of water – baby wipes, baby powder, deodorant, perhaps a quick dip in the pool or ocean...  However, then thankfully the Rocky Point gal in me takes over. No worries, I’ll just enjoy my morning coffee watching the waves and feeling blessed I get to wake up in such a gorgeous place. Also, I can always take a quick dip in the pool and there’s always baby wipes, baby powder, and deodorant right!

So I relaxed with my coffee, enjoyed the view and at 7:15 (always like to give a little wiggle room for good luck) the water pressure was back on as promised.

The moral of the story...relax, don’t worry...everything will work out ok.

Later that day....

So after hard days work of showing clients around Las Palomas, (fun productive day, but HOT and humid); I decided to treat myself to a nice late lunch at Citron. Ordered a glass of chardonnay and Salmon in lemon sauce with pesto pasta. A while later, the server brings my food, a white fish in cream sauce with a salad. I ask, is this the salmon (knowing it isn’t) he says, yes. Ok, I haven’t eaten all day, it’s 3pm, I’m hungry, no worries, I’m not complaining, I’m eating this fish! It’s delicious! About 5 minutes later, I hear a lady in the next room over say, This is salmon, I ordered the flounder, I don’t want salmon, I wanted flounder. My mouth is currently stuffed with very delicious flounder. Oops! I just figured the kitchen messed up my order, and I didn’t want to make an issue, I didn’t realize it was someone else’s meal. A short time later the manager comes over and asks if I like my dish, yes I do. I think I’m eating someone else’s food though. No worries, as long as I am enjoying it and am ok with the mix up.

While all of this is going on....

There is a 20-something dude at the bar, telling a tale of woes to the bartender. He is apparently stranded in Rocky Point. He came down with his buddies for the weekend. They were partying. Went to the strip clubs. Friend who was driving got a little more out of hand than anyone else. Procured some non-legal refreshments. Everyone ended up at the Puerto Peñasco jail for several hours while it all got sorted out. Said friend thought it would be a good idea to try to drive back to the states before he was legally sober to do so. Smart young man decided he’d rather stay in Mexico than risk his life with intoxicated driver. He was now trying to convince his sister to come pick him up, it was not going well.... suddenly security entered the restaurant letting him know that his friend had returned to get him. Dude paid and left the bar. I am hopeful, they returned to the U.S. safely.

I ordered another glass of chardonnay, enjoyed my wine and my fine fish, and then walked back to my condo to relax and watch the sun set over Sandy Beach.

It was a good day...

Staying Fit and Beach Ready in Rocky Point

Swimsuit season is officially upon us. The holidays and failed New Years resolutions leave many of us with a little extra fluff. It’s really easy, while enjoying life on the beach, to overindulge in cervezas, margaritas and local dishes cooked in oil - and can we just say ... tortillas. However, it’s pretty easy to counteract that with very little effort. Luckily Rocky Point is one of the best places in the world to stay beach ready. You have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh seafood, and staples like frijoles y arroz. Not to mention, you can literally exercise barefoot.

Of course, for the healthiest eating, you’re going to have to prepare your own meals. A trip to the local market will get you the most fabulous produce. Fresh fruit doesn’t even require cooking – maybe just some cutting or blending. You can eat it plain for breakfast or take it with you to the beach for a cool refreshing snack. I love smoothies, you can easily blend up a tropical delight of seasonal fruit for a portable meal. Fresh vegetables - lots of them don’t require cooking either. There are plenty of veggies that can be chopped up and taken with you to eat throughout the day

My absolute favorite way to cook vegetables is to roast them in the oven. I can’t stand two of the most nutritious veggies, broccoli and cauliflower; however, roast them in the oven until they’re browned on the top, and I’ll eat the whole pan. I just tried asparagus in the oven, WOW, it was the best! In the summer if it’s too hot for the oven, roast your veggies on the grill. To keep it super healthy, just use a small amount of cooking spray to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan. I usually just stick to salt, pepper, and garlic for seasoning. Beans and rice are Mexican staples, they’re inexpensive, filling, and when cooked without any added fats, totally healthy. And don’t forget the eggs! You have all those great veggies to make an omelet (awesome easy dinner). 

After the market, stop by your favorite seafood vendor for shrimp or fish and bake it or grill it without oil. I keep my spices pretty simple, but sometimes I’ll add hot sauce to my shrimp for “buffalo shrimp”. If I’m eating out, I stick to ceviche (seafood cooked in lime) for a light, super fresh meal with no added fat.

When I need to cut back on those cocktail hour calories, my favorite “mocktail” is Topo Chico mineral water with ice and lots of lime (vodka/soda, hold the vodka please!) or spicy V8 juice.

Exercise is really easy – just walk – you don’t even need shoes. Just head to the beach, get your toes in the sand and go. Not only are you getting great exercise, but the sound of the ocean, especially combined with early morning quiet, or a sunset stroll, and any stress that you’re feeling just melts away. 

So as you can see, Rocky Point, has all of the best elements for a healthy lifestyle: fresh food + fresh air = physical and mental fitness. 

One Tequila! Two Tequila! Three Tequila! Floor!

What beverage immediately comes to mind when you think of Mexico? Tequila of course! Aside from all of the great times you may or may not remember…tequila has a rich history and is a unique product of Mexico. 

A fun activity, that I highly recommend making the time to do in Rocky Point, is to go tequila tasting at the Tequila Factory. You are guided through the history and making of tequila by Fernando, who also pours samples of each tequila as he educates. First, Fernando is awesome! It doesn’t matter if there is one person in the Tequila Factory or a tour bus full; Fernando entertains, educates, and pours samples –a smidge, a sample, or a “crawl out” shot depending on your preference. You can come in to sample one, or a few tequilas, or you can sample the entire inventory. I won’t give you his whole presentation, because it’s definitely something to experience live, but I’ll give some highlights so you can appreciate what you are drinking from silver to supremo tequila.

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the state of Jalisco. Mexican laws state tequila can only be produced in five (5!) states: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. Tequila is recognized as a Mexican designation of origin product in most countries. The process of turning the agave plant into tequila is a centuries old art form that is unchanged and remains largely a manual effort passed down through the generations. Jimadores are the workers who cultivate the blue agave plant and have to know when to harvest the piñas, or hearts (corazónes), of the plant (usually around 8-10 years). The piñas are cooked in ovens for 30-40 hours until the blue agave is caramelized into sugar. This sugar is fermented and distilled for varying amounts of time to produce different tequilas: silver or blanco tequila is the youngest member of the family. Young being relative, since it took almost 10 years of manual labor for that bottle of blanco to be produced. Next you have Respado, which has been aged in a wood barrel for at least 3 months. Then you have Añejo, which has been aged for a minimum of 16 months. Finally, there is Supremo, which is aged for at least 36 months. 

At the Tequila Factory you get to taste the unique differences in these distillery processes. Manny’s Beach Club tequila, their signature brand, comes from Jalisco. In addition, tequila can be mixed with flavored extracts to create liqueurs. Tequila Factory offers flavored tequilas: coffee, caramel, chocolate, mint, piña colada, almond, raspberry, apple, pomegranate, watermelon, and peach. Fernando has created signature shots layering flavors and a dash of “silver” which are crazy delicious! If there is a mixture you love but don’t want to buy multiple bottles, he will mix a custom flavor for you to take home… that’s customer service! 

In addition to their signature brand tequila, they sell other local brands including Tequilito, which was a house brand served at Mickey’s restaurant in the Old Port. When Mickey passed away, his customers would come in asking for it, so Tequila Factory was able to track down its origins and sells this piece of Rocky Point history as well. You can also buy agave syrup, souvenirs made from tequila barrels by local artists, and actual small barrels full of tequila. 

Now what are you going to do with your tequila?

You can sip it “neat” and chilled. My aunt and uncle mix tequila, lime, ice and Fresca for a low carb margarita. My favorite margarita is the Barefoot Contessa’s “Real Margaritas” which combines fresh lemon, lime, white tequila and triple sec. (I usually substitute Blue Curacao for triple sec because who doesn’t like a blue drink) and it doesn’t have any added sugar, so a splash of agave syrup would be a perfect touch. I also favor a Bloody Maria (tequila instead of vodka) over an everyday Bloody Mary. 

And of course...there’s always the tequila shot... Arriba! Abajo! Al Centro! Pa’dentro!

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