I make this corn chowder with fresh corn scraped with a knife straight off the cob. In addition I do not throw away the cobs but rather use them to flavour the stock. It sounds like a lot of work but really, it isn’t, and the resulting soup is delicate and flavourful. The potatoes make the soup thick and velvety and the corn give it a lovely texture. I suggest that you use an immersion... View Article
I found these giant white pumpkins at a farmers market in Kelowna and brought them home to Calgary at the end of the summer. After sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks observing the scene, they ended up being cut in half, rubbed with butter, sprinkled with brown sugar and roasted in the oven until tender soft. We ate one half just at it was, scooping the sweet flesh out of the... View Article
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
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
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
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
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
Apples It’s hard to think of an apple as a seasonal fruit because a good selection of apples is available all year round, flown in from wherever they happens to be in season. The apple, however, is a fall fruit and if you have ever seen an apple orchard, those trees laden with golden, red, green or pink fruit in September and October are as exciting as anything I have ever seen (I live a... View Article
Cactus pears arrive at the market in early fall and remain there, keeping an eye on the going on, until springtime. Like it’s name indicates, a cactus pear is the fruit of the cactus plant and true to the origin, it is protected by sharp and prickly thorns from the would be cactus pear assassins. Do not give up though. By the time the cacti fruit makes it to the market it has been stripped... View Article
Candied nuts are part of my kitchen repertoire. I make a batch and keep it in the freezer to use when called for. I use walnuts here but almonds, macadamia, hazelnuts and other nuts work just as well. To use in salads just scatter a few nuts over the top after you have tossed the salad with the dressing. Ingredients: 3 cups walnuts 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup honey 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon... View Article
Agave and crème fraiche combine to make a sweet and tangy dressing that goes particularly well with bitter greens such as arugula, endive and radicchio. I find that this dressing works best when blended with the help of an immersion blender Ingredients: 1/4 cup crème fraiche 1/4 cup agave syrup 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup canola oil Directions: Combine all ingredients in a cup and blend with an immersion blender. The dressing will... View Article
Salads, especially those that include nuts and cheese, are particularly good when you add some nut oil to the dressing. Here is a dressing using hazelnut oil and some ground hazelnuts as well that give the dressing body and texture. Instead of using all hazelnut oil I divide the amount and use half vegetable oil and half hazelnut oil, for a slightly milder version of the dressing. You can however use all nut oil. Ingredients:... View Article
