Aaron came by around noon to deliver a check and we decided to go to lunch together. We discussed all the options in the neighborhood since he had a 1:00 telephone conference. He mentioned Central Grill and Vinaigrette. I mentioned Mexican food. He mentioned Duran’s Pharmacy and I mentioned Garcia’s Kitchen. We decided upon Garcia’s Kitchen. I drove us there through the neighborhood in a couple of minutes. When we arrived, there were folks waiting to be seated even though the sign said “Seat Yourself”. Aaron said, “Shall we sit at the counter?”, which had a number of seats open. So we took seats at the counter.i loved sitting at the counter. The service was prompt and it had a different feel and perspective from a table in a back dining room; more in the flow of activity. I ordered my usual, Huevos Locos with red chicle on the side and double beans with corn tortillas. Aaron ordered Tres Tacos consisting of a chicken, a beef, and a brisket taco and fried potatoes and beans. We each ordered a sopapilla for after the meal
Huevos Locos is really the Mexican dish called Machaca, which is eggs scrambled with fresh chopped sautéed jalapeño pepper, tomatoes, onion, and beef brisket. The first and best Machaca I ever ate was at a ranch house restaurant in Baja California in 1972, when my then girl friend Val Ostarch, and I were driving south from L.A. to Scammon’s Lagoon, near Guerrero Negro to watch the Gray Whales. We camped in a tent on the beach, picking clams at low tide and cooking them with rice. Perhaps the most idyllic and primordial experience of my life.
There were no tourist accommodations in1972 because the then new national highway had just been completed, so we had to gas up our VW beetle at small villages and ranch houses. At one ranch there was a small restaurant and I ordered Machaca, described as Huevos Rancheros with meat. The meat was chopped beef jerky that had been rehydrated and still had a sinewy toughness to it that made the dish quite unique especially when juxtaposed with the fluffy scrambled eggs. I am reading Kit Carsons Autobiography and the memory of that first beef jerky Machaca at that ranch in the wilds of Baja California resonates with me as I read about his years of eating only what they killed as they traversed what was to become (in no small measure, through his direct efforts) the Western States of the U.S.
After lunch I sent default notices to the tenants at 524 Romero and worked on a Motion to Reconsider in the LRG adjudication. Scott Boyd and I are trying to prevent the years of considerable effort and expense expended by the farmers who settled the Mesilla Valley beginning in the early 1800’s from being wiped away by the U.S.’ seizure beginning in 1896.
At 5:00 I watched the business news and then the News Hour until 7:00 when we began cooking. I had called Willy at 6:00 to invite him for dinner when I saw that the World Cup Qualifying match between Mexico and the U.S. was being broadcast live. We had a rib eye steak, so I decided to make one of his favorite dishes, Beef Fried Rice. Fortunately, we did not have and PPI rice so I made freshly cooked basmati rice with chicken stock and a small handful of Lilly pods.
Stir Fried Beef
I then chopped a medium yellow onion, a zucchini, five or six white mushrooms, seven or eight shishito peppers from Mexico, and about 1 T. each of ginger and garlic. I then chopped the approximately 1 lb. rib eye steak int ½ inch pieces.
We stir fried the garlic, ginger and meat and removed it from the wok. We then stir fried all the vegetables together for about twenty minutes until they were cooked. I added 1 T. each of Chinese cooking wine and soy and 1 tsp. Of sesame oil. I then made a thickening Sauce with the same amounts of the same ingredients plus 1 T. of cornstarch and two or three T. of water. I added the thickening to the wok and when the mixture thickened we were ready to eat. Willy fetched Coors beers from the garage and we each piled the stir fried beef dish on a mound of warm rice and watched the exciting finish of the soccer match, which Mexico won on a header from a corner kick in the last three minutes of regular time.
Bob Appetit
There were no tourist accommodations in1972 because the then new national highway had just been completed, so we had to gas up our VW beetle at small villages and ranch houses. At one ranch there was a small restaurant and I ordered Machaca, described as Huevos Rancheros with meat. The meat was chopped beef jerky that had been rehydrated and still had a sinewy toughness to it that made the dish quite unique especially when juxtaposed with the fluffy scrambled eggs. I am reading Kit Carsons Autobiography and the memory of that first beef jerky Machaca at that ranch in the wilds of Baja California resonates with me as I read about his years of eating only what they killed as they traversed what was to become (in no small measure, through his direct efforts) the Western States of the U.S.
After lunch I sent default notices to the tenants at 524 Romero and worked on a Motion to Reconsider in the LRG adjudication. Scott Boyd and I are trying to prevent the years of considerable effort and expense expended by the farmers who settled the Mesilla Valley beginning in the early 1800’s from being wiped away by the U.S.’ seizure beginning in 1896.
At 5:00 I watched the business news and then the News Hour until 7:00 when we began cooking. I had called Willy at 6:00 to invite him for dinner when I saw that the World Cup Qualifying match between Mexico and the U.S. was being broadcast live. We had a rib eye steak, so I decided to make one of his favorite dishes, Beef Fried Rice. Fortunately, we did not have and PPI rice so I made freshly cooked basmati rice with chicken stock and a small handful of Lilly pods.
Stir Fried Beef
I then chopped a medium yellow onion, a zucchini, five or six white mushrooms, seven or eight shishito peppers from Mexico, and about 1 T. each of ginger and garlic. I then chopped the approximately 1 lb. rib eye steak int ½ inch pieces.
We stir fried the garlic, ginger and meat and removed it from the wok. We then stir fried all the vegetables together for about twenty minutes until they were cooked. I added 1 T. each of Chinese cooking wine and soy and 1 tsp. Of sesame oil. I then made a thickening Sauce with the same amounts of the same ingredients plus 1 T. of cornstarch and two or three T. of water. I added the thickening to the wok and when the mixture thickened we were ready to eat. Willy fetched Coors beers from the garage and we each piled the stir fried beef dish on a mound of warm rice and watched the exciting finish of the soccer match, which Mexico won on a header from a corner kick in the last three minutes of regular time.
Bob Appetit
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