The best part about Vancouver

When in Vancouver back in June/July we stayed in a cute apartment a bit out of the city. Vancouver was rated the top quality of life city last year and housing costs rate accordingly. This apartment was $67/night, extremely high as far as rents for a studio go. It was in the middle of a hill. A view like this one:

  

was at the bottom of the hill and a grocery store with the most wonderfully high quality produce at the top. Vancouver is a total foodie city, especially if you like Asian food. In addition, it’s very green. Jacob took me to a vegan restaurant called Gorilla Food (pictured below). In comparison, I have to say that Mexico City is actually not vegetarian friendly overall, despite the fact that it’s very easy to make vegetarian Mexican food by substituting meat with beans or cheese. People in D.F. LOVE their carne!

At the travel bloggers conference we attended in Vancouver, we received free tickets to a food convention going on in the same building. It was soooo amazing—thousands of vendors showcasing the latest in kitchenware and with plenty of tasty tidbits to try. Well, we went for broke and bought the Bamix 391200 Hand Mixer DeLuxe White v. It’s a blender that can chop and grind and with the right add ons, even grate cheese and slice potatoes. We use it daily, and although we were assured it is dual voltage it is not, so we bought a big clunking converter that weighs 15 pounds. We don’t need to use the converter here in Mexico.

It was in Vancouver that I started cooking up a storm, and I realized something. It’s funny: I denied myself the pleasure of cooking for my husband because of very strong opinions I have about gender roles and men who don’t help out in the kitchen. Jacob did most of the cooking during our dating life and early marriage. But, there’s something very fulfilling and enjoyable to make food for your husband,  and I relished the opportunity, for what was almost the first time, to cook nightly for Jacob while watching Office episodes. I made a lot of fish—an ingredient Jacob and I can agree on. In those 3 weeks or so, I discovered that the freshness of the produce along with the right blend of spices really can be what makes a dish. I’m told that the freshness of the spice is actually the ultimate flavor enhancer—instead, I’ve opted to carry around in our luggage bags of spices because I never know in a certain destination if they’ll have the spice I want and that would be annoying.

Anyway here in Mexico I’ve decided enough with the variety, I need several dishes and websites I KNOW and can count on in the event I want to have people over. I’m used to trying out new things all the time, but I am ready to have some tried-and-true dinners. What are your resources/favorite dishes for guests? I like allrecipes because it has so many reviewers you can start to tell the good recipes from the bad, but I’d like to know what has worked for other, more experienced cooks. I’ve been using the crockpot here in Mexico just about every night. The produce in Mexico City has not been the freshest, and fish certainly isn’t its forte, but between the Bodega Aurrera (corner grocery), the 7/11, the local market, and Walmart, I’ve been able to get just about anything I could want living downtown in what has been ranked the second biggest city in the world, which isn’t too shabby. I just have to go every couple of days, because I can only bring home what I can carry in my backpack. I guess that is the only time I would prefer having a car. Then again, I could always load up a taxi.