July 31, 2012
Here is a quick grilled cheese and tomato sandwich to make for lunch for yourself. Serve it with pickles or Italian style marinated vegetables or a green salad. Use any good melting cheese such as cheddar, Swiss cheese etc. This time I had Dutch Mimolette left over from the weekend and I picked up beautiful vine-ripe tomatoes that also made it into the sandwich. It was a simple lunch for one (me) but delish. The... View Article
July 25, 2012
If you have read my Seattle Excursion post you’d know that I sometimes go to great length to find oatmeal for breakfast. Must be my comfort food. Recently I had breakfast at Diner Delux in Calgary and ordered their delicious Maple Fried Oatmeal with Lemon Curd, a fried square of oatmeal served in an individual cast iron skillet floating in a maple flavoured sauce and topped with a dollop of lemon curd. The lemon curd cuts down the... View Article
July 16, 2012
I mentioned that I write travel reviews on Trip Advisor. I have written about a number of hotels on the Mayan Riviera in a series about Luxury Breakfast on the Mayan Riviera and this posting about Puerto Aventuras was submission #7. The Trip Advisor articles have generated so far more that 21,000 readers so I assume people find them helpful. You can find all the submissions in the Travel section in this blog, left column... View Article
June 25, 2012
My interest in wine developed along with my interest in food but it was not until the last few years that I started devoting some time to the formal study of wine. Wine is an intellectual pursuit and a fascinating field of study. It is not an isolated discipline as it encompasses history, culture, religion, economics, geography, science, medicine, languages and finally, travel and cuisine. I have taken pre-requisite courses in the International Sommelier Guild program,... View Article
June 2, 2012
Our place in Mexico has gorgeous coconut trees swaying right in front of our second floor covered patio. They provide shelter for birds perched on their branches and are heavy with large coconuts hanging in clusters, green and heavy with coconut juice. While on vacation there, I try to use coconut in my cooking and have developed a bit of repertoire incorporating it into dishes, both sweet and savoury. One of those creations is this... View Article
May 31, 2012
Those of you who read my blog know that I was in Kelowna on a little vacation. My husband left early to take his staff on an annual weekend in Vegas and I stayed behind to enjoy a few days on my own (my specialty). I cooked happily for a few days but by mid-week my adventurous spirit was tugging at my apron urging me to go exploring. I considered going to the west coast... View Article
April 18, 2012
The Cookbook Company A Mecca for foodies, the cookbook company has been around since the early 80’s I believe and has grown to be a leader in the Calgary food scene. Their beautiful store on 11th Ave has everything a cook may wish for. Specialty and hard to find food items, cheeses, homemade stocks, oils, vinegars and special salts are just a few of the treasures you will find there. They also stock an excellent... View Article
April 12, 2012
This is my fourth review of hotels on the Mayan Riviera offering breakfast to non-staying guests. See previous submissions on Esencia, Maroma Orient Express and Rosewood Mayakoba. I am going to repeat information about Mayakoba that I have written about in my review of the Rosewood, but this will save you from going back and forth between the two reviews. The Mayakoba development is situated about 10 km north of Playa del Carmen. It is... View Article
April 12, 2012
As promised, this is the third submission in the breakfast on the Mayan Riviera “series”. Check out the submissions featuring the Esencia and Maroma Orient Express. More to come so stay tuned. The Mayakoba development is situated about 10 km north of Playa del Carmen. It is a large resort property built among mangroves, forest, luxury golf courses and a beautiful beach that seems to never end. The large Mayakoba entrance is well marked and... View Article
April 12, 2012
This is a second installment in a series I am offering on breakfast on the Mayan Riviera. Most hotels on the Riviera are all inclusive and it is often difficult to find resorts that are open to non-staying guests. We love good food, perfect settings and excellent service, right along with simplicity and authenticity and have developed quite a repertoire of breakfast places to go to wherever we travel. I have decided to share my... View Article
April 12, 2012
A leisurely breakfast is the ultimate luxury and we have made quite an art of the breakfast ritual, wherever in the world we are. While on the Mayan Riviera we frequent a few places that add an element of luxury or authenticity (sometimes both) to our Mexican experience. I thought I’d share some of them with you without (hopefully) writing a tome (large scholarly work…) about it. Here it goes: Hotel Esencia on Xpu-Ha beach... View Article
April 12, 2012
We spend a month on the Mayan Riviera each winter and, given my interest in food, I am always on the lookout for special places to eat. We have our usual haunts, from the ultra luxurious to the local and quaint. This year I heard about Hartwood from a Bon Appetite article a while back and drove down to Tulum to explore and try it out. The Hartwood website advised that they are open for... View Article
