Mexico

I've always wanted to go to Mexico. My friend Beth lives there. She married a Norwegian, and now runs a school in a little town in Mexico. The morning is for paying students and in the afternoon it's free for the poor local kids. She spends 8 months in Mexico, a few in Oslo, and then helps run a school in London, England in the summers. She does all this with her cute little one year old.

It's funny where choices take you. I went to high school with Beth. We did similar things. We were room mates in University, and both traveled afterward. Somehow her path led her to a life of international travel in far away countries. Whereas mine led me right back to my hometown. I only live 5 km from where I grew up. I still hang out with people I met in grade school.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my life, my husband and kids. I'm right where I want to be. I just find it interesting how two people can have similar upbringings but end up with completely different lives.

So here's to Beth and her wildly exciting life. I hope she'd eating some carnitas down South.

Beer and Tequila Carnitas

4 pounds bone in pork shoulder
2 cups diced white onion
4 poblano peppers
2 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp kosher slat divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper or to taste
3 cups diced seeded tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 cup tequila
2 12 ounce bottles of dark beer
20 corn tortillas, warmed

Trim enough fat from pork to yield about 1/3 cup diced. Cut pork into 1" cubes. Heat heavy pot and add fat until a thin layer covers the bottom, about 10 minutes. Increase heat and add onions, peppers, garlic and 1 tsp salt. Cook until onion is translucent.
Add pork and cook stirring frequently until enough liquid is released to cover vegetables and meat. Reduce heat to medium low and cover for 15 minutes. Uncover and bring to a lively simmer until the liquid has reduced to a thick paste, about 30 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and return to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add tequila and and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Add beer and simmer about 40 minutes until liquid has evaporated . Season with remaining salt and pepper . Transfer to a platter and let guests assemble their own tacos with warm tortillas and taco garnishes.

change.

I was doing a bit of optimistic almost-spring cleaning the other day when I came across this envelope, crammed full of hand-written recipes on bits and pieces of paper in various states of disrepair.

It was like finding buried treasure or reading a diary, all of these food-related memories linking me instantly to the moments when they were created; and, as is so often the case with this kind of thing, reading them left me in a bittersweet mood, nostalgic for some aspects of my old life, and fiercely grateful for who I am and where I am now.

I am not the only one in my circle of friends who has a move planned in the not-too-distant future, so I know I am not alone in my looking backwards with mixed emotions while contemplating a leap forward into the unknown.

We're all trepidatious, optimistic, and sad. We all want to embrace what's coming wholeheartedly, but are reluctant to leave behind the joy of the here and now.

We've all done it before, and we will all do it again.

The good news is that with every move, with every shift, comes the chance to lighten our load a little, and to distill the current chapter of our lives down to its essence before starting anew.

This recipe is one of the treasures that I carry with me move after move.

It was a go-to dinner during a phase in my life when several dear friends and I were utterly heartbroken yet managed to eat incredibly well. It isn't much to look at, but it's the kind of dish that you have to serve and get out of the way so as not to be trampled by people scrapping for seconds; and, although I am not a savoury breakfast person, I have been known on a certain kind of morning to eat this by the spoonful, straight from the pan.

"Pork and Beans"
adapted from Nathalie Senecal

5 tbsp vegetable oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
500 g lean ground pork
1 tsp Thai green curry paste, or to taste
350 g green beans, chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1c water or coconut milk

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden.

Add pork and curry paste and cook, stirring, until pork is no longer pink.

Add beans, paprika, sugar, fish sauce and water or coconut milk. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until beans are cooked and much of water is absorbed, 8-10 minutes or so.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice.