Michoacán

Beach cooking whilst the storm passes- hopefully

We spent a few days around the city of Puerto Vallarta, but as things started to build around the whole Corona Virus situation, we figured the responsible thing to do was get to a quiet beach camp, load up on veggies, and see how the situation develops. The standout eats in Puerto Vallarta were some top drawer street tacos- Pastor and also chorizo- maybe equal best we've had to date. The pineapple on the pastor was slowly cooking away on top of the kebab spike, and the guy just niftily flipped a slice off with his cutting knife.

We also had barbacoa - a lamb dish, traditionally cooked underground in banana leaves, and served with the broth on the side. We had ours in quesadillas. Tasty stuff.

Before we set off, we had bought a jackfruit- as in, a whole one- as the pieces we bought were the ripe fruit which is seemingly no good as a meat replacement. What we didn't get told about when asking about the prep was what happens when you try to cut the thing. Basically, everything gets covered in glue! It excretes a natural latex which meant everything was sticking to our hands- neither Lucas or I got a photo because it was so much of a mess that it was somewhat dominating the experience. We've since learned some things we should do next time.

After cutting it all up, removing the seeds - which are the only part the locals eat - I boiled it and then added it to a base of my BBQ sauce and some fried onions, garlic and peppers. Alongside some of Jen's tremendous quesadillas with leftover veggie chilli, the jackfruit got slapped on tacos with chipotle mayo, pineapple, pickled habaneros, tomato and onion. It was a pretty decent first attempt, and it made an absolute ton of the stuff- $4 worth of the fruit made enough to last us about a week of eating, and it looks like it'll freeze well.

The following day, we had a ten hour drive South to get where we are now at La Ticla in Michoacan. Lucas bought a whole bunch of veg, as did we, so we're loaded up and enjoying cooking by the beach.

We've munched our way through some more.of the jackfruit, which Lucas cooled down further eith a bunch of tomatoes and garlic, making it much richer- that was brunch yesterday on some bread with chipotle coleslaw- the boy can cook, so I'm looking forward to learning more from him.

Jen made a new dish of Persian lentils, which were really good. Lentils, carrots, celery, tomato, garlic, mushrooms and some spices, all boiled down until soft. Still to be made are: another Spanish tortilla from Jen; jackfruit stuffed poblanos; roasted tomato, pepper and aubergine pasta sauce; green sauce, and whatever Lucas has in mind. We may be here a while, so it's good we have a decent supply to save us having to go into town When we're trying to keep social contact minimal.

Whilst we're hunkered down, I plan to interview Lucas about his life and food. It should make an interesting discussion- an Argetinian who is veggie is an unusual find. It's been great hanging out with someone who has some things I can learn from, so the next week or so cooking with him should be both interesting and productive.

So, we might be on lock-down, but we're on the beach with our buddy, the sun, and plenty of delicious food to be made as we let the days slip by.Read more