Mexican Food Extravaganza

We are blessed to have good friends who have their own place down in Puerto Vallarta and are generous enough to share their escape with us. We headed down to Puerto Vallarta for the New Year and had a great time. The food was great, the weather was superior, and the friendship was incredible. We visited a number of beaches, took a boat out into Banderas Bay and enjoyed several meals at nice restaurants along with too many cervezas.

The highlight of the trip may have easily been getting back to fresh, locally sourced produced straight from the farm. Some people may find it intimidating to cook your own food in the land of Mantazuma's Revenge, but our friends had found good places to go and we enjoyed several nice meals at their place. The one thing I will mention is that a foreign butcher shop is not for the faint of heart!
The produce down there is super fresh and best if used immediately. We made several trips to the market over the course of the week, and each trip was well worth it. We got our hands on fresh cilantro, ripe avocados, fresh sour cream, tortillas that were pressed right before our eyes and delicious, lip-burning and flavorful salsas. Cooking and gathering around the table together was a special treat elevated by the fresh and flavorful foods.

We also enjoyed several nice meals in local restaurants that featured settings that could not be matched. We were lucky to have such knowledgeable hosts that also have an eye and stomach for good food, and they helped us navigate our way to some great meals in places that thankfully, were not crawling with tourists.

I already miss Puerto Vallarta and have to get back down there soon. For now, I'll just try and stay warm by keeping my oven busy. The chicken is roasting and the bread is rising!

Happy Eating,

-Teddy