In my next life I'm gonna be a chef

What a round about way to talk about old times in Port Townsend Wash. It started out with finishing 2 years of boat building school at Seattle Community College back in the late '60's. When it came to looking for a job time it suddenly dawned on me that the wooden boats I liked so much were not going to have many job openings. Anything I could find was in a plastic boat factory.

I heard about a wooden boat workshop/coop in Pt Townsend so I had to go check it out. It was housed in a very large old boat house but sadly a little cliquish with the few projects they had. You could pay to work there kinda like a school but not really. They were on a shoe string.

So I got a few dirty jobs in the haul-out yard at the main harbor. Hull cleaning, caulking, painting and a little bit of finish work. At least it was mostly wood. Then a girlfriend moved up from Seattle and we shared a place and met a lot of people. 

Now we get to the chef part .....

Not counting watching Chef Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver cooking shows

Hanging out at two beach bars we fell in with this crowd that would be invited once a week to come to the then best restaurant in town after closing the bar and he would feed anywhere from 10 to 20 people in absolutely gourmet fashion. Mostly we would all chip in to pay for materials but if you didn't have it, it was no problem. I'll never forget his magic and it was all healthy food.

White front is a chain restaurant but good

Red brick to the right was his long narrow restaurant without a deck then

Couldn't find older pictures but seems the Coop is almost a museum

Don't know if they even work there any more it's so clean

Now called the Wooden Boat Foundation

Refurbished BC Forestry boat  from the 1920's

Met a couple who bought and traveled around Puget Sound in what they said was an old US Postal Service Alaska mail boat. It was 50-60 feet long and narrow and could really move with the huge diesel. Long and narrow makes it roll with any type of weather. Looked very much like the Canadian boat but a little more worn. We put it up on blocks in the haul out yard to work on bottom planks ... and there it sat when I last visited PT

The Ex-Western Flyer 

The Ex-Western Flyer (from Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez expedition) sits in the Port Townsend haul out yard totally covered in barnacles while a couple of organizations around Monterrey Bay argue where it will end up. Where it sank I have no idea but interesting boats do end up in Port Townsend,

Where did I go from here ...... who knows?

Virtues of pulque

Preventive Health

In 2007, Slow Food International, which currently represents thousands of projects in over 160 countries, held its fifth international conference in the city of Puebla, where, along with a variety of other traditional food and drink, pulque, with its deep roots and its ingredients sourced locally, was the star of the event. The pulque is slow food par excellence of Mexico. Its unique and delicate process of fermentation, through which a very active team of native bacteria transform the sweet mead and freshly harvested (agave nectar) transform in complex and frothy drink that is easy to take and has a variety of benefits . Nutrition (also produce light joy) These beneficial bacteria limit the transport distance of pulque, since it has a lifespan of 24 hours; in other words, should be drunk very near where manufactured. Scientists and fans fermented foods and their nutritional benefits identified it as a dietary supplement, especially for the elderly and those suffering from kidney conditions. The nutritional analysis indicates that the fermentation process increases their vitamin content of 5 to 29 mg of thiamine, niacin 515mg 54 and 18 to 33mg riboflavin. It also has large amounts of vitamin C, B complex, D, E, amino acids and minerals such as iron and phosphorus. 

Vida y Salud Natural - Salud preventiva

Slow Food International

Another luxury resort for the Costalegre

Just what the hell we need

They're planning another in Riviera Nayarit

One&Only Santa Maria de Xala will be part of a new 1200-hectare development located approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Puerto Vallarta’s international airport. The authentic hacienda resort will command 8km (5mi) of impressive beach front, a connection to traditions past yet offering the latest in ultra-luxury. The resort will offer approximately 75 luxury villas and suites with private pools, providing the perfect accommodation for both couples and families. The development will also include a prestigious One&Only residential component.

The region’s heritage will be woven throughout the resort, utilizing natural elements, to inform the design of both the public and private spaces of the resort. True to the brand’s heritage, One&Only Santa Maria de Xala will offer a variety of world-class cuisines, showcasing regional specialties in restaurants overseen by internationally-acclaimed chefs. All culinary experiences will showcase the incredible local and seasonal offerings. The resort will also house an indulgent One&Only Spa, honouring the region’s heritage by utilising ancient Mexican traditions and holistic practices fused with modern spa therapies, as well as a Fitness Centre offering the latest technology and innovation. In addition, event and meeting space will be available for bespoke gatherings, whether for business or personal pleasure. One&Only Xala is planned to  break ground in 2016.

The projects led by Kerzner International, in agreement with BK Parners, boasts about the announcement, “The locations truly showcase the best Mexico has to offer, each with a distinctive experience, and I am very confident that One&Only will continue to define ultra-luxury in the region.”

One and Only Resorts - Mexico

Two luxury resorts are planned near PV

Discover KaraKara Eco Resort

I swear if all development plans went through and the dead projects brought back to life the whole Jalisco coast would be one solid resort. Maybe that's where they got the phrase "The New Cancun" for coastline near Tomatlan.  These KaraKara  people will take your money even though they haven't yet found a location. How crazy is that?

Phase 1 of the development: We are identifying location and will announce shortly

Some of their nonsense ....

TreaZureZ is a master planned, multi-phased, sustainable development that fuses the rich culture and architecture of old Mexico with today’s earth-friendly water, waste and power technologies.

Phase 1 of the development: We are identifying location and will announce shortly.

Development in this area will include an Eco-Resort containing 24 yurts, a boutique hotel with beach club, residential condominiums, private residential homes, condominium hotel product, a commercial center and a golf course with clubhouse.

Become part of the exciting developments of TreaZureZ by becoming a Private Membership Club Member!

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Experience the “Luxury of Nature” at KaraKara.

KaraKara Eco Resort is located on a spectacular uninhabited 10 km section of beach and private bays on the remarkable Pacific Coast of Costalegre, located between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, Jalisco, Mexico.

The name "Costalegre", which literally translates as "Coast of Joy", is known as "The Virgin Coast" of Mexico. It remains one of the last unspoiled coastal areas of Mexico.

Do not miss the opportunity to be part of this unique project in Mexico!

Discover KaraKara Eco Resort - Website

Carnaval Barra de Navidad

I usually don't have time for parties like this, especially when they are in the middle of the week. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday so during the week it is. I was in Emergency "Fix my Car" mode and the parade passed by the mechanic shop on the highway in Melaque while I waited for my car to be finished. It's about kids and for kids so I have no wise words or history. They have fun and that is about it. Enjoy the fotos

A wet weekend

Good time to stay home  and take it easy

Temperature in the 60's, very grey overcast and constant drizzle

Wondering if I'm suddenly in Seattle

That is rain

My Moringa got away

Moringa is a beautiful tree but mine is out of control. I didn't realize how fast they grow and kinda fell asleep while it shot up. I did cut it off once but from ladder height so it was already to big. The idea of keeping them small is for harvesting leaves and seed pods. This one is flowering the second time so have a few babies around the yard but have not seen the seed pods (called drum sticks). I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cut this down and start over. You can see in the video what I should have been doing all along.

Beautiful flowers

About 5 meters when it should be one-two

Moringa grows very quickly and so must be pruned aggressively in the first year to encourage lateral growth and increased production, as well as ease of harvesting.pruning-moringa

When tree reaches a height of 1 meter (3.25 ft) cut to height of .5 meter (20 in.).
When tree reaches a height of 1.5 meters (5 ft) cut to height of 1 meter (3.25 ft).
When tree reaches a height of 2 meters (6.5 ft) cut to height of 1.5 meter (5 ft).
When tree reaches a height of 2.5 (8 ft) meters cut to height of 2 meters (6.5 ft).

Flowers will appear after 9 months.

Seed pods will mature at around 12 months.

When harvesting leaves or seed pods prune trees to height of 2 meters (6.5 ft).

Growth and Use of Moringa

My day in Fotos

I saw a bit of this looking out my kitchen window about 7:30 in the morning so I went outside to look down the street. Somewhere a few blocks away someone was burning so the effect was sunrise and smoke. Never know what you'll get shooting into the sun.

A little later I went out to shovel gravel into potholes in the entrance road but before I could get started along came the cattle herd. Don't remember if the owner was with them but they do get around by themselves from time to time. They never hurry and even the big water truck behind has to wait it's turn.

Not the best foto but come to think of it there may never be a better one. This is a Higuera Fig that has strangled another tree of some kind and is the only tree I know of that drops all it's leaves like it's fall. Looks like the sunny side is loosing them first.  The strangest thing about it is after it is totally bare it will be fully green again in about 2 weeks. It's a once a year thing.

Rain this winter in Jalisco due to El Niño

8 January of 2015.- The months of January, February and March are traditionally dry. However, the first quarter of 2015 could record sporadic rains in Jalisco, due to the presence of El Niño, which occurs when the waters of the Pacific Ocean have an increase in temperature, reported Meulenert Angel Peña, professor and researcher of the Institute Astronomy and Meteorology of the University of Guadalajara (University of Guadalajara).

"If the tropical Pacific warming more than normal, can cause an imbalance in the atmosphere and that imbalance manifests so that in some areas of the planet rain when it's not the rainy season" said the expert.

Entre enero y marzo habría lluvias en Jalisco por El Niño

Good game Seattle

Good game Seattle

At least Seattle didn't have to pull off any last minute miracles and was in the game all the way. Sad to say I fell asleep before it was over but the weather cut off the SKY satellite reception for all of half-time and some of the second half (I hate half-time theatricks). 

So that's the end of football season and I have no idea what the NFL Channel is going to do for the next six months but I guess they'll survive. Not even this will get me over on the Fox Sports channel with  that damned Canadian Hockey that seems to run all year.