beyond cinderella

Over the Memorial Day weekend the whole Taos, and Questa, New Mexico area was overrun with motorcycle riders to the tune of 20,000 bikers descending upon this area. Good for the economy, but that did add to the already busy holiday weekend traffic for the area. So of course, the last thing we wanted to do was get out and add to the traffic congestion. We decided to stay put, and just hang out at the RV Park. But, whatever was I going to do to keep myself busy and entertained? Well, I did what I love to do best… I cooked.

On Friday I made a batch of paleo friendly sweet potato salad,

and a batch of sautéed cabbage and beet greens (a new favorite of ours),

and fried up a batch of crisp bacon to sprinkle on top of those dishes just before serving.

On Saturday evening Bill/papa grilled pork chops, and I served them with mashed cauliflower, with homemade mushroom gravy, and the sautéed cabbage and beet greens. YUM!

On Sunday, we tried to make paleo catfish nuggets, and served them on paleo tortilla’s with carrot slaw. I had to make carrot slaw because I used all the cabbage in the cabbage and beet greens dish.  Carrot slaw was my plan (B) that would have saved the day,

except that paleo catfish was the nastiest thing we ever made, and I could not even begin to gag it down. Bill, on the other hand, didn’t like it either, but managed to eat most of his. That boy has to have a stomach that will tolerate anything, even if he doesn’t like it.

Not me, I not only dumped the catfish out of my tortilla, and replaced it with some bacon I already had fried up, I dumped the rest of the package of frozen catfish as I wasn’t about to try making anything “paleo friendly” with it again anytime soon. Again, it’s good to have a plan (B).

As much as I LOVE to cook, I’m really not a big fan of cooking to this paleo food plan. I find it very difficult to make things taste good when you can’t use the “normal ingredients” that make things stick together…

On Monday, Bill/papa grilled brats, and I served it with grilled onions and red peppers, and the sweet potato salad I already had made. Winner, winner, fabulous dinner.

In the end, over the weekend we made three meals. Two of those meals were delicious, and one that I considered a complete disaster. Some might say two good out of three is not bad.  I say one bad out of three, is still BAD!

Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping in Taos. Thursday we will spend the day packing up, and Friday we will move on down the road to Antonito, Colorado.

Stay tuned!

Bill/Papa and I took a day trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico yesterday. We have been there before, many years ago, and loved everything about the whole area. So, since Santa Fe is only about 90 miles from where we are staying in Questa, New Mexico, we knew another visit was a must.

Everything pretty much looked the same as the last time we visited. I did a little research, and learned that “The long shady portal boarding the north side of the city’s historic plaza, the Palace, now part of the State Historic Museum, is a visual icon of modern-day Santa Fe. This portal serves the Native American Vendors Program which has been operating for over six decades. A daily lottery ensures a rotating selection of artisans from various pueblos throughout New Mexico.” Here artisans show their goods on blankets spread out on the sidewalk. One has to be careful taking pictures there because you really should ask permission if you are going to take a close-up photo of one of the locals selling their goods. I totally agree with that rule.

All of the “old town” Santa Fe area is beautiful,

and colorful, and I so love lots of color in my life.

After spending some time getting re-aquainted with the area, Bill/Papa and I went to the local Public Library and asked for a good recommendation for lunch. Hey, if the Library doesn’t know, who else do you ask? We were directed to a “hot spot” called “The Shed”. We had lunch out on their lovely patio.

I had the blue corn tortilla green chili beef tacos, that came with pinto beans and posole (hominy and meat, traditionally pork, and spices). I loved the posole, but I love hominy. Bill/Papa, not so much. But we both overall loved our lunch.

After lunch, we continued our walk around the town square,

going in and out of all the little shops,

and we visited The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi,

a beautiful Cathedral, both inside and out, but unfortunately, I was having a “senior moment” and at the time, could not remember how to turn off the flash on the camera, and no flash photo’s were allowed inside the Cathedral.

While we were shopping, we came across lots, and lots of colorful, full-sized, Mexican Sombrero’s . When we had our home, I looked high and low for a full-sized, colorful Mexican Sombrero to hang on the wall, but never found one I really liked, or I wasn’t willing to pay the asking price. But, score, today Bill/Papa and I found the perfect, colorful, mini-sombrero, that I think works perfectly in our motorhome. Even better score at just $3.00.

And ever since we became full-time RVer’s, we never leave any place we stay, for any length of time, without a magnet for our fridge. So of course, we had to find the perfect magnet to represent our return visit to Santa Fe, and our stay here in New Mexico.

So enjoying our time in New Mexico. Love that we planned a whole month to take our time, and really get to know what this beautiful state is all about. The people are so kind and welcoming, and we are taking every opportunity to get to know the locals, and get a better understanding of the whole culture of New Mexico.

Stay Tuned!