... Crazy Love's influence from Mexico

Provisions in Mexico haven't been entirely different than the US. There are Walmarts and Costcos and a place called Mega that puts my Vons (local grocery) in North Park (San Diego, CA) to shame.

There are a few items difficult to come by.

Wine ... It's expensive and you can't find it in a box here. I had read in Michael Greenwald's book The Cruising Chef Cookbook:

Buy Wine --- plenty of that. It's cheap and available in America, like nowhere else.

I should have loaded up the bilge. But good tequila and rum are very affordable and mixed with V8 splash I feel like it fends off Montazuma's revenge and gives Dave and I a multivitamin boost in one tasty beverage.

Canned or pouches of chicken are sparse. However they have miles of canned tuna in every grocery spot. We did find pouched but spiced shredded chicken that is pretty tasty as long as you are in the mood for Mexican.

Peanut butter. It's available, just expensive and I've found myself aboard with an unbelievably unexpected peanut butter snob. We've imported Santa Cruz's best direct from San Diego. Thanks Carol and Chris!!

Shelf stable milk in drink boxes now make cereal possible every so often.

The bakery sections are incredible and there is a tortilleria in every store. They taste so good.

We're off the map a bit now away from the mass market grocers. But they still have everything we could need. And rest assured the 20 peso beers on the beach more than make up for any missed calories (if only).

We do eat out, however there are plenty of nights we cook in.
Here are some Mexican inspired Crazy Love (Amor Loco) recipes:

Pan Enchiladas

• Poblano pepper
• Onion
• Small can salsa, rojo (red)
• Chilorio de pollo (shredded seasoned chicken)
• Black refried beans
• White cheese
• Corn tortillas
• Green avocado salsa

Filling: Sauté the onion and pepper in olive oil for a few minutes. Mix in the chicken and about a cup of refried beans and the red salsa to taste (we like spicy). Heat through.

Use corn tortillas. Fill, add some cheese and roll. Place in the sauté pan. Fitting in as many that fit one layer in the pan.

Pour the green salsa over the top, layer with some of the extra filling if you like, and top with cheese. Heat till the cheese melts over medium heat.

Serve with chips and Crazy Love margaritas.

Leftovers can easily be made into chilaquiles the next day for breakfast. What are chilaquiles? Only the best breakfast dish in all of Mexico. Essentially breakfast nachos! Fried corn tortillas, layered with the reheated leftovers and scrambled eggs.

Baja Papas

We first saw these at a taco shop in Ensenada. They are a smashed loaded potato. You can get them topped with asada (seasoned beef), chicken, chorizo, cheese...you get my drift.

Our aboard version I like to think as slightly healthier mainly with a few added veggies.

• 2 potatoes or papas peeled, diced, and pressure cooked 4 min at 15 psi
• Poblano pepper
• Onion
• Squash
• Garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Butter or Margarine
• Chorizo (seasoned pork sausage)
• Cheese

Sauté the veggies in butter, season, set aside. Fry the chorizo. Layer the potatoes with the fixings. We used American and a white cheese found at one of the local markets.