Culebra Q Flag Pastelon

A few weeks ago, a LOT of food was delivered to me by angels good friends who were taking free food around the island. There were all sorts of things in those many bags, one being canned beef. I've never used canned beef before, to cook anything (I'd been using the cans as hand weights, but that's not the same). Then I saw Digna's post about using it for pastelon. According to Wikipedia, pastelon is the following:

Pastelón is a Puerto Rican casserole dish layered like Italian lasagne made with exclusively sweet plantains, stuffed with mincemeat, vegetables, and bound together with beaten eggs. Wikipedia

Place of origin: Puerto Rico

Some people think it's the same as piñon, but I am smart enough to not go there. 

It also happens to be one of my very favorite Puerto Rican dishes. Some people also really like corned beef hash. That's another thing to do with this meat that you will never see anything about from me.

You can slice plantain the fancy way, cut in half
and then cut horizontally, like you are filleting a fish
or cut down vertically while holding its very slippery flesh.
I chose vertically.

Frying ripe plantains is something I do have some experience with. They were a childhood side dish that my Dad and a family friend Pompeo would make, from Cuba days. Salud to you two! Whenever I eat them, it's one of the most comforting of comfort foods.

I've thinking about making pastelon for weeks now, slowly remembering to buy this or that. There are as many recipes for this traditional dish as there are for potato salad, or lasagna. Whether it's cultural or family tradition doesn't really matter, what matters is the basics of ripe plantains, some sort of meat and beaten eggs. Some say cheese, some say no cheese. I chose cheese. Some include vegetables, some don't. Are olives a vegetable? 

This is a messy business, or at least it is in my case,
 but fun. If one really went nuts, making your own
sofrito, etc., it could be a day of fun, but I cheated.
I cheated with the cheese too but only because I
couldn't find a block of mozzarella and
I'm not a queso blanco fan. Shoot me.

I went basic. The only other time I've ever made pastelon was more than ten years ago at a friend's celebration of life dinner on St. Croix. I had, basically, all of the ingredients but had no idea what I was doing, so I called the only person I knew then who made it and served me some of its deliciousness, Neil Romero, here on Culebra. He talked me through the recipe, I made it, it was excellent. It didn't hurt that for the meat some wonderful local Crucian ladies had made the filling for about two hundred empanadas and there was plenty left for me to play with. Mine was absolutely not even close to as good as theirs, but still, canned beef and all, it turned out  to be pretty good.

As usual, I looked at probably five recipes and went with what I had and what sounded right to me. As usual, play with your food!

First I heated up the canned beef, then drained it of a LOT of fat
and extra liquid.

Then I added sofrito, tomato sauce (that had some tomatoes in it),
green olives, cilantro, garlic, and I threw in a dash of cumin.
Because I could.
I didn't have adobo or Sazon, it worked anyway. 

It was time to start layering. Let me say this about that, I definitely did NOT have enough plantain! This isn't a big dish, but two pretty good sized plantains only gave me enough for the bottom layer and a middle, with a few token strips on top. Lesson learned.

Once all layered up, it was time for the beaten eggs to be poured over the whole thing.

Ok, pretty much the whole thing.

Into the 350 degree oven for 25 or 30 minutes, until it gets that golden look. I almost hit it with the broiler, but it looked good enough as it was. 

Lo and behold, it was good enough!

I know, the plantain looks like bacon. It's not.

In the end you have this sweet and savory dish, a bit of slight zing from the olives, the mellowness of the tomatoes, with melty cheesy goodness. Truthfully, I don't taste the eggs at all, I think they just get sucked into the other ingredients and become the tie that binds.

I probably need to make it again, to use up some of these ingredients that were just for its own self. There's plenty of time.

Have a wysiwyg Wednesday! Do something worthwhile. Willingly.

Laughing All the Way

The other day I was crossing the bridge, with no camera of course, and the canal was covered in laughing gulls, skimming the surface of the water for happy hour snacks. On the off-chance that they would gather again, I went back yesterday, with my own happy hour libation, to see what might be going on. Apparently, like us, they are creatures of habit as long as there is something on offer.

If I were really clever, I'd have made a video too, but it completely slipped my mesmerized mind.

The laughing gull ballet begins.

Have a saturated Sunday! Do something serenely satisfying.

Wait! Isn't Coronavirus the Best Excuse?

Apparently not. Someone told me the other day that they read my last blog entry that was over a month old, along with the other very spaced out ones, and I realized, crap! I have wifi! I should be doing the blog! What is wrong with me? Of course, nobody answered. 

But yesterday evening, something so ridiculous happened that I realized I had to write it out, for me if for nothing and nobody else. I was thinking about my children and a photo that my daughter had sent me of herself, in this sleeveless top. That made me think about the weather, which made me think about webcams. I've seen the green flash out there a few times and it was almost sunset there so, logically, why not check it out?

There is an inn out there called The Inn of the Lost Coast. We usually park there when ordering pizza and then go to the field next to it to picnic, it's an area I know well. If you're interested in why it's called the Lost Coast, along with other assorted bits of trivia, go here to Roadtrippers for more information.

The Inn has four webcams on their page and I was checking them out when I came across one that totally alarmed me. There was a sailboat, all sails up, in the middle of the very large rocks near the shore, getting turned by wind and waves but making no progress getting out of a very perilous situation.

I couldn't imagine what the hell was that boat doing there; engine failure? Ill or dead captain? I texted my daughter and sent her the link and we both freaked out for about 30 minutes as it turned this way and that, unable to get out of that washing machine. Why were the sails all up? What was going on? Was everybody going to die? Was it a solo sailor? Should we call the Coast Guard? 

I said she ought to call the Inn first, in case they already called them. It was so scary to watch and feel so helpless. 

In a few minutes I get about 20 laughing/crying emoji's. In case you don't know what a laughing crying emoji is, it's like the happy face of the 60's, but with tears and laughing instead of just that goofy smile. Like so. Except a few lines of them. LOTS of laughing crying going on from my loving daughter. 


And then two words. Weather vane. Freaking WEATHER VANE! Which becomes immediately obvious once I wasn't you aren't just looking at the boat. Which is a weather vane. 

She said that the manager ran out to the deck to be sure of what was not happening. Then, as he was laughing, he said the head emergency rescue guy was actually staying at the Inn, so it would have been easy to get them going in an emergency if there had really been an emergency. 

After a while, when we could breathe again, we decided it really did happen and that we were heroes, just another thing on another day, humble in the face of effusive praise, we were ready for when another potential tragedy would find need of our heroic skills. 

And that's our story. We're sticking to it. Just the facts, ma'am.

Just to show I'm still on Culebra, where quarantining is not a cocktail. Still.

I was really trying to capture a laughing gull flying through but so it goes.
I like the palm.

Papaya babies

Signing off from Culebra. I can see California from here, just not very well. 

Have a facultative Friday. Do something funny (whether you mean to or not).

Culebra's Slide to Spring ~ Valentine's Day 2020

While I am gone from Culebra for a few months of the year, all the shades of seasonal weather get felt when I am here, which is why every cool night, every not blaringly hot day is that quiet delight that we all express and enjoy. No sweat face!!! 

G'morning, too bright to look at water

Talk of weather might seem cliche' and boring, but when weather is what is constantly around you, when there is no giant building using a/c to while away the hottest hours, when hard rains and lightning and thunder are truly a local phenomenon, as in, it rained on my roof but not on yours, 1/4 mile from me, or, the whole ISLAND got rain! which, for a 3 x 7 mile island doesn't seem too extraordinary, except that, it is. Weather is part of the story every day, where "I wore a sweater last night!" is cause for oh my.

I took this while chatting with Allie.
She told me it was rainy and grey in California
so I sent this to torment her, because that is what good mother outlaws do.
She loves me anyway.

Oops! Where was I? Ok, on a housesitting hilltop, surrounded by this weather. Reel it in, MJ. I know I should go to town and do something, but leaving seems too difficult, I might miss too much, it happens so fast. From steel grey to heatherish lavenders, greens and blues, the water never stops calling. The clouds skitter through. Tropical plantings make wind music in the day and feather brushings at night. I'll get to town, but not quite yet.

The same outlook, literally five minutes apart in time. The above is not in black and white, it was more like all the color had been leached from the sky and sea, leaving mercury.

It stayed bright the rest of the day, keeping me walking in circles around the decks and yard to drink up the views. Yes, dizzying. 

What it looks like from here when you fly in

This morning, as the dogs ran the front and back yards, I wandered with them, camera in hand. I'm not really sure who wanders with who, it doesn't matter as long as they return when I call and they always do. That's what being the Treats Queen gets me.

Classic!

Strawberry cactus (yes, the fruit is edible!)

A banana quit swooped by.
It wasn't until I saw this on a bigger screen that I realized
how much I love this repeated from nature color palette.

It's Valentine's Day, a more emotional, commercial, endearing and historically ridiculous holiday may not exist, though there are some good contenders in American culture. But who cares, when the idea is sharing love? Platonic, erotic, courtly or simply sweetly romantic, love is not a bad thing to celebrate, even if it's just with a spoken greeting and smile. 

Have a freehearted Friday. Do something fortuitous. And happy Valentine's Day

Soothing the Soul with Water

For some people, it's wide open fields, or maybe it's mountains. For me, when everything inside is roiling, water is my drug of choice for smoothing the sharp edges, calming down the brain turmoil and giving me perspective about my place in the world, in pain or in joy. It works. 

"According to scientific studies, being by the sea has a positive impact on mental health. Minerals in sea air reduce stress. Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain (they’re also present around waterfalls), which improves alertness and mental energy. And salt in the water preserves tryptamine, serotonin, and melatonin, which aid in diminishing depression, giving us a better night’s sleep, and boosting feelings of well-being.

Even the sound of water has positive effects on our mental health. Water sounds have long been used in meditation to create a soothing atmosphere for our minds. Science suggests that the rhythm of ocean waves and tides coming in and out can affect the rhythm of the neuronal “waves” in our brain, encouraging a more peaceful pace of thought." Source

It doesn't escape me, ever, how fortunate I am to live in a place where this solace is easily accessible. Joy joy!!

The weather was a perfect reflection of my emotions, dramatic clouds of grey and white, half the sky the blue of dreams, the other dark with rain. It was that duality, with its insistence to not ignore the light, even in the dark. Acknowledge the dark, follow the light. 

If there are spirit animals - 'spirit animal refers to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies' source - then it makes sense to me that there are spirit places. The ocean is mine. 

I left these caption-less so you can create your own or just take in the view. Maybe the sound of those very small and gentle waves coming in would have been good to add. It wasn't a pounding surf, like the other day, but a subtle and rhythmic lapping on the shore, a watery lullaby. 

Just thinking about it makes me realize I need to go back. Now.

Have a totemic Thursday. Do something tantalizing. 

Culebra Life's a Beach. Really.

There are days in winter here that remind us of all of the best parts of living here. The sky a deep and clear, somewhat surreal blue, the clouds a perfect contrast rather than the threat (or welcome promise) of rain. The waters, calm or churning, are an indescribable palette of shades from deepest blues to the most delicate greens, with dashes and flashes of lavender, adding to the dazzle factor. The sort of days when Francie and I used to say, looking at the water from some hilltop while heading to work 'The painters showed up, on a holiday! Good job!' That's how it was yesterday.

It began with one of those brilliant color full dawnings that mesmerize, until the sun blindingly breaks over the horizon, or spins into view for you who prefer the technical (and you know who you are).

Peeking through the palms

Oh my!

Heading out to an appointment, I was early (I know, really? What a surprise) so stopped at the old dock to enjoy the view and maybe try to be on time. Oh my stars!

Bay magic

All work and no play has never been my problem. There was more to enjoy inside of this gorgeous day.

Spindrift

Giants' toys

Waves exploding against the rocks, feel the power!

It's really almost impossible to not see intention here

PFM

Yes, it IS a rock egg cracking open and out of its shell

Tree sculpture

The rest of the day dissolved into itself, and night drew down. I know some people think this is how every day is here, complete with beach  boys bringing frothy drinks, complete with umbrellas. Ok, it is.

Have a mentally melodious Monday. Do something magical. 

Some Culebra Christmas Moments 2019

The Christmas season around Culebra isn't just the parade, though this year's parade was spectacular, or Santa coming to Milka's, another 'best ever' event this year, or the early morning sounds of parranda's, waking you if you aren't participating, with happy music. It's a palpable feeling, walking down the street, greeting friends or just the people you see so often, heading to the Post Office, in the markets, gazing over the bridge. It's pasteles and coquito, pernil and arroz con dulce. The smell of holiday foods cooking wafts through the streets.

Yadi Elfette
(thanks for getting my coquito!)

Greetings of the season, smiles and hugs, the cooling weather - it all combines to make it feel like Christmas - in a place where many, with an anticipation of snow and sleigh bells, wearing layers on layers of puffy clothing to stay warm in frigid temperatures can't fathom having that Christmas feeling, where the water is swimming temperature, the sun is warming and maybe a light second top after sunset is almost too much. 

A pirate ship in the bay

That's our holiday season. And it's not even close to done.

Baked and decorated by a very busy Mrs. Claus.
Each boy and girl went home with a present from Santa!
Thank you, Milka's, for this yearly gift to Culebra, y'all rock!

 (Note: these are not the best photos, I was pretty much standing in bad light and this guy kept jumping in front of me. I didn't push him down, but I thought about it. Hopefully you'll get the idea!)

The start of much more drama to come

Vieques showed up!

Mrs. Christmas

Mr. & Mrs. Christmas's house,
the first place that makes me know 'tis the Season!

With snow!!

This outfit was stunning!

Enjoy the vibe of the night!

And a good time was had by all (next year, I'll stand in a different spot)! 

In the lull time, when Old Year's Night and New Year's Day are approaching, with Three King's Day after that, it's a good time to recuperate! 

Have a savory Saturday. Do something sublimely soothing!