Adventures in cooking

Spring is finally here. I no longer need to wear my jacket around the house or to find a 'guatero con uñas' ;) I'm also seeing signs of Spring in the variety of foods showing up at the supermarket. Well, at least at the large supermarkets in San Antonio, a 30 min harrowing bus ride on cumbia-filled, people-filled microbuses. Tangent: one of my favorite things to do in South America is ride buses. Mostly because of the music, the crazy drivers, and the fact that they're so adventurous compared to the States. So I actually look forward to going into San Antonio. Here's what a Saturday morning on the micro is like:

This week, though, I was so excited when I found cherries at Malloco, the supermercado in Las Cruces:

I'm also getting really good at cooking, mainly using recipes from the Paleo Diet Cookbook (on my iPhone - so convenient) that include ingredients I find at the supermarket. The best thing about these recipes is that they're super easy. I always thought that cooking meat would be time-consuming, but it takes no longer than boiling a pot of pasta. Here are some examples:
 
 

Bacon! I always used to shun bacon when my dad would cook it for breakfast. I never realized that it was basically jet fuel. They sell fresh pancetta in the deli at the Jumbo supermarket in San Antonio, although its kind of expensive. The woman had to ask me three times if I was sure when I asked her for 1 kg (2.2 lbs). She looked at me as if I was going to have a heart attack and go broke right on the spot. I just told her 'segura, porque vale la pena' (one of my favorite expressions in spanish).










Eggplant grilled in olive oil and topped with blue cheese and tomatoes. Super rico!
















Chicken thighs with creamy coconut curry and cauliflower. This is my favorite dish. To make the coconut curry takes 20 minutes, max. I've made it several times since finding coconut milk at San Antonio because its so easy and tasty. 













Celery braised chicken thighs. That sounds so gourmet! But it was surprisingly fast and easy to make.

I'm getting hungry just writing this!