HOT Summer Nights
Hey There Hi There Ho There, Talleyho'ers How are you handling our medium warm summer after midnight's? I am a big believer in commenting on stuff even things that have warts which more the most...
Forum Discussion
When the humidity goes above 80% I like to lower it down to the sixties. Mid August to the end of September is the high humidity period. With episodes of "la Canicula" Dog days. Hurricanes push a large bubble of significantly warmer air ahead of them. When that happens even the locals get grumpy. Mattresses get dragged out onto porches, and when you see them they look like they have the measles (bites).
I discovered that sugar and high carbohydrates and high temperature do not get along. Being kids and young ladies, the girls automatically reach for the sugar, sweets, and candy. Away goes the sugar and out comes the Stevia. Lowering blood sugar really seems to help. I managed to hook into a 100 ml bottle of thick maple extract (not artificial). So they get "Hot Kakes". Grandpa has his half-a-melon (cantaloupe) and banana for breakfast. The Diablo liquadora (blender) gets a workout. Fruit, ice, a dash of milk and a plop of cream gets whipped into a slushy. I down it, avoiding sinus whiplash if I can then head for the shower.
The shower is the savior of life in the savanna for me. An overhead 12" sprinkler, spikes to hang clothing a towels on (scorpions) and amazingly a rinse off takes less than three minutes. Women hate the stuff but for me the diswashing liquid Trip Cloro cleans out skin pores better than bar soap and leaves me refreshed for twice as long.
I get a "skin head" haircut which seems to catch on as a limited local style when guys figure out it really helps to keep the head cooler especially at night. Mexican "guapos" the young studs have elaborate hairstyles stiffened with gel. Guess a rooster has to show stiff tail feathers and all that.
Comfortable living means keeping a head of lettuce in a 2-gallon zip loc with a tablespoon of water. Amazing increase in storage life. Cole slaw is another favorite. Cold chicken, and marinated shrimp salad called cebiche is a staple. Finding the best tostadas is a must. A tostada is a disc. But much higher corn is used to make them than in a totopo a corn chip. And about 99% less salt. Mexicans refer to corn chips (totopos) alimento de chatarra (junk food) but to tostadas as a genuine alimento (foodstuff).
When I go to Patzcuaro I go to the very rear (al fondo) of the market on Plaza bocanegra the smaller of the two markets. The sellers are getting used to me so they know when I ask for Zarzamoras (blackberries), Frambuesas (Raspberries), and Mora Azules (blueberries) it's going to be a compra mayoreo (like wholesale) and not just a handful of stuff. The last time I went, I returned home with 38 pounds of fruit. A Sunday is spent sealing 4 to 6 oz portions in small sandwich (no seal) bags. Then they go into a chest freezer. Brenda thought I was nuts making up the bags, that perception lasted lasted until I caught her with her hand in the freezer. There's also mango and pineapple two fruits grown locally. The girl's dental bills have plunged since the days of them begging for Abuelo! Abuelo we want 500 grammos of emm e emmies (M&M's).
I discovered that sugar and high carbohydrates and high temperature do not get along. Being kids and young ladies, the girls automatically reach for the sugar, sweets, and candy. Away goes the sugar and out comes the Stevia. Lowering blood sugar really seems to help. I managed to hook into a 100 ml bottle of thick maple extract (not artificial). So they get "Hot Kakes". Grandpa has his half-a-melon (cantaloupe) and banana for breakfast. The Diablo liquadora (blender) gets a workout. Fruit, ice, a dash of milk and a plop of cream gets whipped into a slushy. I down it, avoiding sinus whiplash if I can then head for the shower.
The shower is the savior of life in the savanna for me. An overhead 12" sprinkler, spikes to hang clothing a towels on (scorpions) and amazingly a rinse off takes less than three minutes. Women hate the stuff but for me the diswashing liquid Trip Cloro cleans out skin pores better than bar soap and leaves me refreshed for twice as long.
I get a "skin head" haircut which seems to catch on as a limited local style when guys figure out it really helps to keep the head cooler especially at night. Mexican "guapos" the young studs have elaborate hairstyles stiffened with gel. Guess a rooster has to show stiff tail feathers and all that.
Comfortable living means keeping a head of lettuce in a 2-gallon zip loc with a tablespoon of water. Amazing increase in storage life. Cole slaw is another favorite. Cold chicken, and marinated shrimp salad called cebiche is a staple. Finding the best tostadas is a must. A tostada is a disc. But much higher corn is used to make them than in a totopo a corn chip. And about 99% less salt. Mexicans refer to corn chips (totopos) alimento de chatarra (junk food) but to tostadas as a genuine alimento (foodstuff).
When I go to Patzcuaro I go to the very rear (al fondo) of the market on Plaza bocanegra the smaller of the two markets. The sellers are getting used to me so they know when I ask for Zarzamoras (blackberries), Frambuesas (Raspberries), and Mora Azules (blueberries) it's going to be a compra mayoreo (like wholesale) and not just a handful of stuff. The last time I went, I returned home with 38 pounds of fruit. A Sunday is spent sealing 4 to 6 oz portions in small sandwich (no seal) bags. Then they go into a chest freezer. Brenda thought I was nuts making up the bags, that perception lasted lasted until I caught her with her hand in the freezer. There's also mango and pineapple two fruits grown locally. The girl's dental bills have plunged since the days of them begging for Abuelo! Abuelo we want 500 grammos of emm e emmies (M&M's).
