The Starving Artist :: Mirlitons or Chayotes

:: If you're afraid of butter, 
use cream. ::
- Julia Child

For as long as I can remember, Mr. Bordelon grew mirlitons on an arbor he constructed just in front of his carport.  There was always an over abundance of these "Aligator Pears", and as Mr. Bordelon was a generous man, he provided the neighborhood with more mirlitons than most of them cared to eat.  For the entire month of November, his wife, Miss Adelaide, secretly called "That Lady" by MaMere, which is a whole other story, pickled, chopped and stuffed the heck out of them.  My sister and I can attest to Miss Adelaide's competence with this wrinkled vegetable.  Throughout our childhood, we ate at least one meal a week at any given neighbors' home and without a doubt, Miss Adelaide Bordelon would have been crowned Miss Mirliton had such a title existed.  

Miss Adelaide's Mirliton Casserole
Servings : 8

Ingredients

• 3 mirlitons
• 1/2 lbs of large shrimp, chopped (crabmeat is equally delicious)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup bread crumbs, unseasoned
• 1/4 cup of Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of olive oil 
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 2 tbls of minced parsley  
• 1 garlic toe, smashed
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, any type
• 2 large eggs, beaten 
• Cajun seasoning to taste

In a large pot, boil the mirlitons for 40 minutes, until soft.  Remove and allow to cool.  Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix the breadcrumbs and melted butter, and set aside.  Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl, allowing room for the chopped mirlitons.  Once the mirlitons have been mixed in with the other ingredients, add half of the breadcrumbs and melted butter.  Stir everything together one last time and place in a greased casserole dish.  Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the reserved portion of breadcrumbs and melted butter.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.

YUM!

Create the life you want!

The Broad 

Vegetable Soup
Gumbo Style

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Billet Doux : Cherchez La Femme

:: Is there anything, apart from a really good chocolate cream pie and receiving a large unexpected cheque in the post, to beat finding yourself at large in a foreign city on a fair spring evening, loafing along unfamiliar streets in the long shadows of a lazy sunset, pausing to gaze in shop windows or at some church or lovely square or tranquil stretch of quayside, hesitating at street corners to decide whether that cheerful and homy restaurant you will remember fondly for years is likely to lie down this street or that one? ::- Bill Bryson

The last two months have been crazy busy.  I'm spending as much time as possible with dear friends that own homes in the Yucatan yet, do not live here.  They explore expatriation for snippets of time, some just long enough to forget the purpose of socks, and others just long enough to taste the fruits of their encore professions.  Our hearts are warmed by the reunion and when they return to the Northlands, wherever the conversation trailed off, it will be picked up again this time next year.  

Still a tourist in my new home, I tag along on their adventures to discover the rich offerings of Mérida and the Yucatán.  When my next visitor, author Mary Helen Lagasse, arrives from the States in late May, I will greet these now fresh places with a gaze reserved for a long ago lover. 
 

[ Viviana Hinojosa :  Studio of Melva Medina & Abel Vasquez  : Samuel Barrera ]

The Mérida English Library has added an art studio crawl to their already successful home tour.  Both have ignited the propane flame in my heart and soul.  I may be wondering an immense landscape without a map but, I have a history of making things come true!  Plans are already being discussed with the SoMe (South Merida) Social Club members of La Ermita.

[ LA68 :: SOURCE :: revistaorigama.com.mx ]

Just as I was missing SXSW in Austin, Miss Bella Bell, a precious Southern prize from Auburn, AL, invited me to a documentary screening at LA68, a cultural center dedicated to Elena Poniatowska.   Everything, and by that I mean every inch of this property and what it offers, was on par with love gushing!  Poniatowska's daughter and son-in-law have created a fantastic tribute to one of Mexico's best known feminist activist writers.  I cannot wait to go back for a meal, a reading or lecture and of course, another film.  

[ Celestun in January ]

Yes, that's me wearing a flaming red bathing suit on a deserted beach in Mexico (in January).  I changed the font size on purpose.  I don't really like to brag but geez, could it get any better than this?  I don't think so!  G and I spent several hours walking up and down this pristine beach collecting shells followed by a delicious seafood mid-afternoon lunch.
 

[ Uxmal Ruins ]

I really do work here.  In fact, I often work so many hours that I can't attend social events that are truly important to me.  However, work must be balanced with play so, for my birthday my very lovely friend from Maine took me to see the Uxmal ruins.  They took my breath away.  I was unprepared for what influence 1,000 compact buildings, begun in 850 A.D. would do to my perception of humankind.  I am profoundly thankful to all the generations that have come before me, showing us all that the sacred is alive today.  

As we approach their departure dates, I will dream of our future adventures.  Next time the snowy egrets land, my greeting will include wrapping them in a well worn suntanned map.  Gracias!

Create the life you want!
The Broad

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Sunday Morning Edition 2, No.3 (2013) : The Outside Reflects The Inside, Again

 The Real Lives of the Expats Living in Your Travel Guide

[Source :: Jazz In Strange Places]

Tom and Martha hadn't had the chance yet to meet the neighbor on the beach that was building this beach house, but they were sure he had some interesting stories to tell.

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