I've had fun today, at least this afternoon. The day started out with laundry detail, general housework, then finishing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the four-part trilogy) so R can have it to read without having to pinch it from me. I had said I would go on a photo binge, but the laundry/housework/reading stuff took up most of the day, so I limited my binge to in and around the park. I started out with the office building, which contains the clubhouse, where I'm sitting right now.

I have to carry the laptop from where we are parked, which is way at the back of the park, but after the Mazatlan experience, I'm not finding it particularly onerous. There are no iguanas in here, but there is a map of North America into which people have stuck pins indicating where they live. There are so many pins in the southern British Columbia/Vancouver Island area, I couldn't find a place to put one.


I walked out to the road and took a couple of pictures of what we see, including one wall that always amuses me. When we've been out walking or cycling, I use that wall as my navigational aid.




Looking north along the main road, you can see the mountain that seems to be San Carlos's official symbol. There isn't a whole lot to this town, but it's a relaxing place to stay, except on days like today.



We are right across the road from the beach. Since we got back this time, we haven't walked up the beach. That should be on the agenda for tomorrow.






Today, after the housework and reading and picture taking, I went to the palapa for a cooking class.



A woman named Maria apparently does these classes every week for five weeks, then starts the cycle again with a class on the kinds of chiles and what to do with them. That's next week's class, the one I really want to hear. Today's class was on chiles rellenos. One of the women in the park had inadvertently missed the class and wanted the recipe. I told her I would go home and put it in an e-mail to her, which I did. So here is the recipe:

Chiles Rellenos

Recipe gleaned from Maria’s cooking class at Totonaka RV Park

6 roasted, peeled poblano chiles
Filling (cheese/tomato, cooked chicken, cooked ground beef, or whatever)
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
3 eggs (if I remember correctly), at room temperature, separated
Oil for frying

Have all the ingredients out and ready to go.

Make a small slit in each chile and carefully remove the seeds and membrane. Set the chiles aside.

Make a filling. Maria suggests sliced Chihuahua cheese and diced tomato. You could also use tuna, shrimp, ground beef or chicken. Meat must be pre-cooked.

Lightly stuff the chiles, fasten each of them closed with a toothpick, and set them aside.

Beat the egg whites until they are quite stiff, then fold in the egg yolks – be careful. The mixture should not fall.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate.

Heat the oil in a frying pan at a medium high setting. You will want a pan big enough to cook two chiles at a time. Oil should be about as deep as if you were frying chicken.

One at a time, dip the chiles in the flour mixture. Coat them completely. I think Maria made the point that they should be completely coated, but not to get carried away. ;>)

Hold the chile by its stem and dip the whole thing into the egg mixture.

Fry two at a time, about 4 minutes on each side. They should be well browned, but not burned. Drain them on paper towels. Serve immediately with a salsa of your choice.

*****So next Wednesday I get to learn all about the various kinds of chiles (I found out today that my two favourites are really the same one. When it's dried, its name changes. Never mind. I'll expand my horizons, learn to make my own Really Good Salsas. There's a field trip to the mercado in Guaymas on Friday. I hope we're still here for that.