Gettin' Tattooed in Mexico - Guest Post Fred

Another guest post from our dear friend Fred.  Boris and I have both been tattoo'ed on more than one occasion but I have never  been able to describe it more than to say, "Those that say it doesn't hurt are LIARS!"  Fred of course is far more eloquent then I and has described in detail his incredible adventure here in town getting one of the coolest tattoos that I have ever seen!

November, 2012

Mexico in the News... and it's not too shabby

I have been wanting to share these articles with you.  

From USA Today and Book Author Shannon O'Neil: Column: Mexico isn't a gangland gunbattle

From The Economist and Alamy Shutterstock: The rise of Mexico America needs to look again at its increasingly important neighbour

Certainly gives you a different idea of Mexico...especially in wake of the shootings in the States!  Common' over!  The water is GREAT!

Thought Provocking

What would you do if you could....?

Little brain tickler before New Years Resolution time

Christmas Letter 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

First we want to say thank you for all of your support & encouragement this year.  Your constant cheering has helped spur us on through our adventures.

This year has been just that; an adventure!  What a wonderful adventure it  has been!  We crossed the border into Mexico the first part of January from there we traveled to 16 States, 26 Cities and over 6,000 miles exploring Mexico; it's rich culture, heritage, history & cuisine.  After three months of travel we were TIRED & ready for home...except we didn't have one yet!  

We headed for San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato a small town we visited that we knew within an hour of visiting we would call home! We settled into a cozy apartment on the outskirts of town with a gorgeous view of the lake.

We were home!  Shortly after we adopted Lulu, much to Meeki's dismay.  Although they are getting along fantastically now!

Our catering business was up and running, through not as hard & fast as we had originally planned.  So after nearly ten months of divine retirement we opened our own little restaurant   We have been super busy with the Cafe & we have made lots of friends.  Each day continues to be an adventure & we are enjoying every minute of it.

It is easy to say that change is scary and stay in your comfort zone.  But if you embrace it & keep moving forward the rewards are endless.  Many people have called us crazy moving to another country, traveling, trying to start two new businesses & dealing daily with a mountain of unknowns,  Maybe we are crazy...but we wouldn't have it any other way.

We encourage you this coming year to embrace the unknown, accept change, take a challenge & most of all deserve your dreams!  We can guarantee that you will not regret what you did!

All  our love, all the way from Mexico!

Boris y Jessi

New Kids on the Block - Guest Post by Mari Osa

New Kids on the Block- Jessi and Boris  By Mari Osa

***Check out her blog over at www.mexicohousesitter.blogspot.com

Mari Osa and Larry at La Cocina

It opened a month or so ago, a tiny two table and one small counter restaurant called La Cocina de Boris y Jessi on Ancha San Antonio Calle. My brother, Larry and I noticed the tiny place with the Chef in his official cooking jacket and the lovely woman, we later learned was his wife. 

Chef Boris and Jessi seem way over cultured and high class for the tiny space. We could not resist asking them what their story was. Fresh from the US California wine country where Boris cooked for a winery and Jessi worked for a high end hotel.

They had had the life of high stress and fast pace.  Now they are seeking more balance. La Cocina offered a great opportunity to have a quieter venue to offer their talents to the world. The restaurants simple layout makes dining very intimate. The "kitchen" is an open space where Boris is easy to watch and talk to while he is cooking for you. His stories are as engaging as his food. 

Jessi and Boris decided on quality meals, only doing breakfast and lunch. Proportions are just right for the very reasonable price.

Coffee, which is a big issue for me in San Miguel, is excellent. Like everything Boris does with food, his choice of coffee is very deliberate. Its a blend of organic coffee he has designed himself from national growers and roasters.

Today they tell me they have changed the menu several times to reflect customers comments and desires. They say that they both feel it is important to listen and interact with customers.

Larry and The Le Mieux Bagel

My brother, Larry, suggests a bagel combination of cream cheese , thinly sliced tomatoes, and drizzled with a light herbal olive oil. Boris listens and begins to gather all the ingredients while we talk and he makes himself one. He agrees that it is unique and really good. He adds it to the menu the next day after adding his own touch of a small fresh basil leaf to each tomato , which certainly improves the visual presentation .  Simple and very tasty- he and Jessi decide to name it the Le Mieux Bagel in honor of my brother. Luckily, Le Mieux means The Best in French. 

The Le Mieux Bagel:
Toasted Bagel smeared with Cream Cheese, topped with Tomato slices and
sprinkled with fresh basil, salt and pepper and little drizzles of Olive Oil

Boris and Jessi have all the ingredients for success. They are clear about their goals to stay balanced and enjoy their business and customers.They are offering their years of experienced quality for a great price.  Well worth a visit on your next visit down the Ancha San Antonio.

Day of the Dead - Guest Post

Last night we took down the altar, marking the end of Dia de los Muertos.  My first Dia de los Muertos has been a wonderful one. I feel so much more connected to the people that we honored.  I find that even tonight I am missing them again, as if they just left us yesterday... It is so difficult to wrap up in words all the sights, sounds, feelings....  there is just so much that goes into and comes from these festivities.  One of our guests at the Cafe in the past month Fred and Diane are from Sonoma County, our wine country neighbors, shared with us their thoughts and feelings after their first Dia de los Muertos in San Miguel.  Fred is an incredible writer and has agreed to let me share with you his words.  One day I hope to write as well as he does ;)

Thank you Fred for sharing with us.

Day of the Dead - Artwork Around Town

There were so many instillation's of art work in honor of Dia de los Muertos around town that it took two newspapers just to map it all out- and even then they did not cover everything!  One of the major art instillation's this weekend were these gigantic skulls roughly 3.5 feet tall that was given to various artists and galleries around town.  They decorated the sculls and they are on display all over town.  At the end of the week the skulls will be auctioned off.  I was only able to see a few of the sculls so far but I will do my best to get out there this week and try to find the rest of them.  

Day of the Dead - Altars, Catrinas and Mojigangas in the Jardin

Downtown this weekend was a sight to see!  So much to see and do!  The Earth Harp was strung from the front of the Paroquia (the main Cathedral in town) to the front of the Jardin (the Central Park Plaza).  It was incredible.  I am still looking for a good video on youtube of it to share with you.  The one I found does not do justice to such an incredible instrument.  But I encourage you to Google it!  There are lots of pictures and videos in other towns shot during the day, so it is easier to see.

Day of the Dead - Home Altars Explained

Wow what a fantastic weekend!  I have never seen so many wonderful and beautiful things.  I made my first ever altar this weekend.  We honored my Suegros (mother and father in law) and Boris' Grandparents.  For never having done one before I think I did a pretty good job!  But it was still a lot of fun to see all of the altars around downtown.  I will share some photos of those for you as well.

Day of the Dead - Alters

I will be taking many pictures this weekend of my FIRST Dia de los Muertos in Mexico.  I am very excited. I want to share with you some of the things that I will be seeing in advance so that you may understand a little bit more of what you will be seeing in the photos.

Breakfast at the Organic Market

If you have never been to the Organic Market on Saturdays in San Miguel it is well worth the gander.  Be sure to stop by the Ojala Ninos table and support a fantastic cause!  My favorite thing to try at the market is the different types of Aguas, and Atoles with a very spicy side of Conejo Birria.  Boris always gets an assortment of tacos.

Before & After- Getting to Opening Day

Open for Business at Long Last!

Yesterday was our Opening Day of La Cocina de Boris y Jessi.  It was incredibly successful and we are so happy with the way everything turned out.  We still have to do a little touch up paint here and there and figure out how to get our sign hanging up were it belongs...But mostly only little details that we would notice.  It did not really sink in how far we have come in so few days until I looked at the Before and After photos that we took...  Take a look for yourself!

Bread Pudding

Boris makes the best bread pudding.  I especially love it when he makes it with his Brandy Caramel Sauce.  I love to drown it in that sauce and then heap it with the fresh whipped Vanilla Bean Whip Cream that he makes too.  If Caramel sauce is not on the menu who can go wrong with a beautiful Anglaise?  Heaven!  This was a simple bread pudding that Boris made for us at home one night.  Ahhhh!

Bread Pudding will certainly be one of our Dessert Specials at the Cafe.  Trust me!  You will not want to miss out on this one!

Fried Chicken

Can you believe that I have never fried a chicken before?!?!?  I don't know why I have never tried it...but there you have it!  Boris helped me out and we made a delicious panko crust for the chicken.  He coached me through how to heat the oil to just the right temperature.  For a first attempt I think I did goooooood!  Crunchy to the last bite!  I am so thankful to have such a good teacher!

Fantastic News!

We will be opening our own cafe in the next couple of weeks!  We have a great location on Ancha San Antiono  #35 across the street from the Instituto Allende.  We will be serving breakfast and lunch with specials each day ranging from Mexican food, American food and Boris' specialty- Italian.  Everything will be homemade, fresh and from local ingredients.

More details soon, as well as some before and after pictures :)

Breakfast Cups

We have been playing around with the idea of what we call Breakfast Cups.  You may have seen a Martha Stewart recipe circulating the web recently.  We have changed up the recipe a little bit and with quite a bit of success   For starters, if you use Texas Muffin Pans instead of the regular size you don't have to cut and shape and mangle the bread.  I just cut the crust off of a regular piece of bread, brushed it with melted butter and then using a cup that fits down in the tin I just smashed the bread down into its place.  Not only was it quicker and easier but you don't have to worry about removing some of the egg whites so it will fit.  

I also learned from my mistakes.  Bacon and chistora is a terrible combination.  If you cook the whites and then add the yolks on top they turn out more runny.  The "Cups" pictured below are this very flop that I learned from.  

I love the idea of being able to grab a full hot meal on the run in 15 minutes.

Tianguis Treats - Atole and Cafe de La Olla

I love Cafe de La Olla! Brewed in a clay pot with piloncillo and cinnamon sticks it is smooth and sweet (but not too sweet) with a hint of spicy cinnamon....ahhhh!  Makes waking up early for the Tianguis worth it.  Atole is something I am still just discovering.  It comes in many flavors.  The one above is Amaranth Seed and I really enjoyed that one.  More traditional flavors are corn based.  Atole gets you ready to conquer the day, giving you tons of energy to make it through the morning.

We have been so busy (we are working on a surprise that I will tell you about very soon!) and have been running lots of errands.  I may need a cup of each today to get me going strong and steady for the long days work ;)

What are you waking up to?

La Mesa Grande

We have been meaning to test out this cute little spot and finally had the chance while waiting for the parade to start the other day.  I am not certain if I should call it a cafe or a bakery.  Either way it is delicious!  Great quality acidic Veracruz coffee, daily baked bread...ahh!  I really enjoyed the Croissants and would go back for many other baked treats.  I still am trying to get used to no Cream for coffee whenever we go out.  Coffee is just not the same for me if it is not creamy :(  Especially since many of the high mountain coffees of Mexico are so high in acidity... it needs cream, plain and simple!

The environment is calm and relaxing.  The Mesa Grande (big table) sits up front and people can read, sketch... I am a huge fan of community tables!  They are so inviting and friendly.  

Good to the last drop, and crumb :P

Daily bakery specials and the Mesa Grande

How do you take your coffee???

Ballet Folklorico San Miguel de Allende