The Battle for Rocky Point

-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"

Like others in this community I, too, will not dwell too much on the recent ambush and murder attempt on PP’s Chief of Police Erick Landagaray Marcias and his body guard, Luis Huerta Ibarra. And like so many others I, too, send out my sincere prayers and best wishes for their swift recovery and families’ well being.

That said, I am somewhat bothered by those of us who sit on the sidelines and, like a kid watching a school yard fight, most of us are only willing to ‘hold the coat’ for our hero, like Landagaray and others who take on the proverbial school yard bully.

This coming 4th of July, a U.S. holiday, many businesses in Puerto Peñasco are holding a deep breath waiting to see what the ‘traffic’ to our seaside community will be like and although none of us know the ‘numbers’ the fact of the matter is that Gringos will be coming down for the holiday.

Sofrito, the Indispensable Ingredient

Sofrito may not be a word that trips off your tongue when talking about Mexican food, but it ought to be. It is as important to the flavor and texture of many dishes as chiles, cumin, adobo-- you name it. And, like many of Mexico's favorite dishes, it's very easy to make!

Sofrito is a Spanish word referring to a combination of aromatic ingredients which have been finely diced and slowly sauteed or braised in cooking oil. Within the context of Spanish cuisine, sofrito consists of garlic, onion, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil, and it is used as the base for many dishes. Various versions of sofrito are in use all along the Mediterranean, in Latin America, the Caribbean and even the Philippines, under a variety of names.

In Mexico the dish generally follows the original Spanish context, but it can also be made with other ingredients, such as garlic, tomatillos, cilantro and onions to make a pesto-like salsa verde to swirl into soups and dipping sauces. For a great pozole, garlic, onions and annatto seeds are a great combination (the annatto turns it bright orange). The word is kind of loosey-goosey in that way, and additional ingredients are often used depending on the cook and the region.

I like to add a diced red bell pepper to the mix, or maybe a few cubanelle peppers and I also like LOTS of garlic. And maybe a touch of cumin now and then. I use it in everything from Mexican or yellow rice, chili con carne and various soups to sauteed shrimp and the delicious stewed chicken dish that starts its culinary journey fried (Pollo Frito). Try it on its own over spaghetti or fettucini with some Parmesan sprinkled on top for a light dinner. Delicious!

Greg and Joan in Puerto Penasco

Arizonans Greg & Joan made a quick overnight trip to Puerto Penasco last August, and here they're taking you along for the ride via YouTube.

Did they have fun? Did they party hearty on the boat? Did Greg like his new big hat? Did Joan get sunburned?

And most important of all, did Greg make it back to the USA without a passport? Find out when you watch the video below...

Beach Buzz: The Malecon Gets a Facelift & Rocky Point Gets 6 New Theaters

-by La Huerita

Let's start with the HOT stuff: Puerto Peñasco is about to get 6-- count 'em SIX-- new theaters this summer. Well, at least we hope they will be finished by some time this summer.

Metropoli Architects, out of Monterrey, Mexico has been working hard on construction of a $30 Million project near the marina that will ultimately comprise 28 commercial rental spaces (including restaurants and a bank), office space, a building that will house 95 condos for sale (one older press release mentioned timeshare?), a 180-room hotel, six movie theaters and parking for up to 600 cars, all on an area measuring 46,000 square meters (11.36 acres).

To be built in stages, the project was originally advertised as “Puerto Mío, Rocky Point Marina, Resort, and Spa”. I'm not sure if that name still applies, as it is now being promoted as the "Porto Mio Shopping Center".

(click the pic to see it bigger) The first stage includes underground parking, the shopping center and a 6-screen theater complex, each with a seating capacity of 150, that will show first-run movies. The theaters will be operated by Cinemark (“Your Theater, Near You”), a new concept of high quality movie theaters for small cities that puts both national and international film within easy reach of a public that traditionally has to travel hours to larger cities in order to see the latest films. The best part? Theater tickets are cheap in Mexico, generally running in the vicinity of US$3.00! And word is that some of those movies will be in English with Spanish subtitles.

Puerto Penasco Police Chief Gunned Down

Yes it's true, there's no denying it. Just before 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, Police Chief Erick Landagaray Macías was ambushed in front of the Bimbo Bread (Pan Bimbo) warehouse on Rio Suchiate Blvd. He was critically wounded and early this morning (June 20) was flown to a hospital in Hermosillo, where he is still fighting for his life as of this writing.

Landagaray's security guard was also wounded, but is expected to make a full recovery. No one else was hurt, and at this time the assailants are not known.

An investigation into the ambush is ongoing.

I don't have further details that I can confirm at this moment, and I'm not going to speculate. When I have more news I'll let you know.

UPDATE: Below is the official press release about this incident from the city of Puerto Penasco, translated into English by Rosie Glover from Rocky Point News Online:

Look, Up In The Sky, Rocky Point!

-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"

“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” Not so fast, Pilgrim, because according to Tim Johnson of the McClatchy Company, the third-largest newspaper company in the United States, it’s ‘ultralights’ buzzing around Sonoyta, Sonora, and some may be carrying hundreds of pounds of drugs heading for the ‘I-Need’ crowd north of the border!

Apparently what is originating from parts yet unknown in Sonora is that drug gangs “are getting some 'gofer' out there to jump on these things, and then it's, 'Hasta la vista, baby'" and with barely a flight lesson off they go into the wild blue yonder where these winged ‘runners’ have been spotted, in what is being called a “new phenomenon”, many miles inside the U.S.A.

Pupusas: A Salvadoran Gordita

A friend recently took me to a Nicaraguan restaurant where I was turned on to a Salvadoran dish called pupusas. They were good, so I looked them up online to see if I could make my own.

Yup! Lots of recipes!

A sort of cousin to Mexico's gorditas, pupusas are made of thick, hand-made corn tortillas filled with a blend of the following: cheese (usually a soft cheese called Quesillo found in all Central America), cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency (called chicharrón, not to be confused with fried pork rind which is also known as chicharrón in some other countries), squash, refried beans, or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America). The two most common pupusas are the pupusa de queso (cheese) and the more popular pupusa revuelta with mixed ingredients of queso, frijoles, and chicharrón. (Pupusa revuelta actually covers any number of ingredients since it refers to being scrambled/mixed up) Pupusas are typically served with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar) and a watery tomato salsa.

I had the pupusa revuelta, and that's what I made at home. It turned out just fine, though I could use a little practice in the tortilla making part (I lack a tortilla press and had to do it by hand). The image above is from Wikipedia; mine didn't look quite like that. And for a filling I used canned chilorio rather than chicharrón, and queso fresco for the cheese (that's what I had on hand).

Once in a Lifetime: Comet McNaught Over Puerto Penasco

Get out your binoculars or telescope and set your alarm clock for at least two hours before sunrise, and if you're in an area without much light pollution and mountains don't get in your way you'll get to see a rare treat low in the northeastern sky.

Comet McNaught (formally designated C/2009 R1) will be gracing the morning sky through the end of June. It was visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy blob this morning, June 15, 2010) in dark sky areas, but with a little optical help you should have no trouble spotting it.

The comet is currently moving through the constellation of Perseus, the Hero, which at that early hour will be low in the northeast part of the sky.

This will not be the biggest or brightest comet to approach earth, but it has two very special things to recommend it: It's head is a lovely emerald green color, and because its orbit is hyperbolic this is the first and probably only time it will ever be seen from earth. A once in a lifetime event, and you have the opportunity to experience it!

Two Killings Two Weeks!

-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"

According to a June 10th online report in The Dallas Morning News, the FBI (and other witnesses) said that “Mexican security forces pointed their rifles toward U.S. authorities investigating the shooting of a 15-year-old Mexican by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the banks of the Rio Grande.”

Obviously that tragic situation is not directly related (yet) to Puerto Peñasco, but the situation at the U.S./Mexico border town of CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico got worse and could have become even more tragic as apparently both ‘sides’ (U.S./Mex authorities) had their weapons pointed at each other.

A Guide to Mexican Cheeses

If you're lucky enough to live in Mexico or near a Hispanic market, chances are you'll have access to all the wonderful Mexican cheeses called for in traditional Mexican recipes. But even good Hispanic markets in the USA don't carry all of the cheeses, and some of those they DO carry are processed in such a way that they don't retain the character of the cheeses made locally in Mexico. Note that only a few Mexican cheeses are sharp or zesty in flavor; the majority are fairly mild in flavor.

Here, for your edification, is a list of Mexican cheeses, along with some substitutes you can use if you can't find the real deal.

SOFT & SEMI-SOFT CHEESES:

Queso Oaxaca (pictured above) or Quesillo Oaxaca is a white, semi-soft cheese that's similar to unaged Monterey Jack but with a mozzarella-like string cheese texture. It is named after the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, where it was first made. It is available in several different shapes. It is also known as thread cheese when shaped like a ball. Shaped in bricks for slicing, it is called asadero (meaning "roaster" or "broiler"-- see below) or queso quesadilla. Queso Oaxaca is especially popular for use in quesadillas.

Memorial Day Weekend In Rocky Point

Below is a video of a boat trip to Bird Island during Memorial Day Weekend 2010 organized and filmed by my forum friend TwoPesos (aka Mark), from Rocky Point Boat Trips.

This trip was a fund raiser for the Adopt-A-Classroom of Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and special appreciation goes out to Mike the owner and Adolfo the Captain of the Pacifica for donating the use of the yacht and the time of the captain and crew, and, as TwoPesos said, "to all my friends here on the [Rocky Point Talk] forum who made it possible for us to achive our goal and raise $1025.00 for our cause..."

How About a Raffle?

-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"

Over the years we’ve all read PRs, comments on various blogs and in newspaper articles, etc. suggesting the annual ‘visitor’ count to Rocky Point is in the “millions” with the highest stated number that I recall reading declaring that number to be about 3.2 Million annual ‘visitors’.

Most of those comments occurred during the ‘pump-and-dump’ real estate bonanza that swept through Peñasco a couple years back but even today, recently, I’ve read more numbers that I also find hard to believe suggesting, for example, that there are 10,000 Expats living the good life here in PP.

Mexican Fiesta Crab Crisps

Here's another recipe from Mission Foods, and it's a jim dandy! Perfect for snacking or as appetizers at a party, I make these quite often, and just as often double the recipe.

Unfortunately, even with just the two of us at home we usually manage to finish off the whole bunch of these Crab Crisps, so it sometimes actually serves as lunch or supper, served with a cold bebida or two.

Actually, as simple and delicious as these are, maybe it's not that unfortunate after all...

So here you go: MEXICAN FIESTA CRAB CAKES