Kitchen Essentials

I tend to have people over to my house often whether it is for a nice sit down meal or it is to watch a movie. I have learned that there are some items that I must always have on hand in my kitchen. Some of these items include a combination of dark and light beers, limes, hot sauce, and HOMEMADE beans.
I made the mistake once of serving beans from a can and everyone knew right away that they were not homemade. Before arriving in Mexico I had never made my own refried beans but now I like to think I am an expert. After all, my Mexican friends think I make some pretty darn good beans. The recipe is actually pretty simple. Put some black beans in a pot and cover with twice as much water. Let the beans sit over night. The next day, boil the beans for 2-3 hours adding salt half way through the boiling time. The key is to make sure the beans are really soft after the boiling process. In a sauce pan, saute a finely chopped onion in about a tablespoon of butter. Add the drained cooked beans and mash them with a potato masher. If the beans appear too dry, add some of the broth the beans cooked in. Add salt to taste when done. Simple as that. Give it a try and trust me, homemade beans are WAY more yummy then frijoles de lata (canned beans)!

The Rents Visit Continued

Well, my parents are already back in Colorado but I didn't blog enough about their trip so I thought I would post a couple more pictures and tell you about everything we did.

The best way to see any city is to walk around A LOT. We did some great walks in Coyoacan with Endo. Here are my parents outside of the church La Conchita. Built in 1521, this church is thought to be the first Christian building in Mexico City.
We also did a lot of walking in Chapultepec park. We visited the Castillo de Chapultepec as well as the National Anthropology Museum, which is the largest museum in Latin America and is VERY impressive. It would takes days to get through everything in the museum. Below is the view from the Castillo de Chapultepec looking down Reforma with the monument to Niños Héroes, 6 young soldiers that leapt to their death from the United Stated Army rather than surrender in 1847, in foreground and the Angel of Independence barely visible in the background.
Here is my dad and me at the Castillo de Chapultepec.
In addition to the above adventures we also ate a nice dinner in La Condesa on Thursday night. Friday night I invited all my friends over for dinner to meet my parents. On Saturday we went for a nice run where I typically go mtn biking and then we hit up the Saturday art market in San Angel where we also ate a great meal at one of the restaurants on the square. I think that about sums up my parents' visit. It was good to have them here and I wish more people would come visit and see what an incredible city I live in.

The Rents are in the House

Yup, my parents are visiting me. They got in last night and will be here until Sunday morning. Their visit is perfect timing because I don't have to work this week, its Semana Santa, i.e. Spring Break. Today we spent the morning in Coyoacan going for a run in Los Viveros and then took Endo on a walk to the center of Coyoacan. Here are my parents in the center of Coyoacan.
My mom and dad joined Endo in his morning greeting to the coyotes.
We then headed to the Centro Historico. First we grabbed a bite to eat at a very nice restaurant that over looks the Cathedral on the Zocalo.
Next was a visit to Palacio Nacional, which is similar to visiting The White House. In the Palacio Nacional is an incredible mural by Diego Rivera depicting the history of Mexico.
My parents are troopers and put in a good day being tourist in a rather overwhelming city. Between taking the metro, watching protests, breathing in the pollution, and pushing are way through crowds, we are all very tired and are spending the evening enjoying my nice apartment.

Birthday Party Galore!!!

On Saturday night I hosted a birthday party for Wolfgang, Abraham, and Ivan. It was a fun night with a large mixture of people. My roof terrace is the perfect place to host a party.

Here is Daniel the Mojito Making Master
Here is Abraham and I with Wolfgang being silly behind us. Abraham is a very close friend. He met me in Loredo, Texas to drive with me to Mexico City last November. Since then Abraham and his wife Pilar have has always been there to help me out. On Sunday they invited me to have Pozole with their friends and family for Abraham's birthday. Abraham's mom makes a very tasty Pozole!

Friends

On Saturday, Barby and Hector moved into the apartment directly above Daniel's apartment. Now their living arrangement is a lot like Friends and I have been given the role of Phoebe, the crazy one that doesn't live in the same building but is welcome to visit at anytime. I am sure there will be many Friend's marathons in their apartments and I can't wait because I am a huge fan of the show!
Daniel, Me, Barby, Ofelia, and Hector outside their building.

Monumento a la Revolución

Last Saturday . . . I know, I know . . . last Saturday was a long time ago and I have been really bad about updating my blog as of late. In any case last Saturday I met up with my friend Victor in the Centro Historico. I hadn't seen Victor in a couple month so it was nice to catch up with him. The highlights of our walking tour were as always the Zócalo, La Plaza de Computadores (this place is incredible. Its like a typical Latin food market but everything being sold has something to do with computers. You can find anything you have ever wanted there. It was a little overwhelming because its packed with people), yummy tacos at a side street cafe, the fancy new trains on the metro line 1, and the Monumento de la Revolución (photo of Victor and me below). We discovered where the swig dancing crowd hangs out on Saturdays as there was a live swing band and tons of people dancing at the Monumento a la Revolución. Overall is was a nice afternoon in the city. Thanks for the company Victor.

Morning Walks

Now that Endo can't come to work with me and chase squirrels around several times a day, I take him on a long walk every morning before I head into work for the day. We pass through some very beautiful parts of Coyoacan on our walks. Here is a picture of the coyote fountain (Coyoacan means coyote) in the center plaza of Coyoacan. Endo likes to put his front legs up on the fountain and say hi to his friends every morning. In the background you can see the main church in Coyoacan and a couple of 50's style school buses that some school was using to take their students on a field trip to Coyoacan.
I have no idea what the tree in the photo below is called but these trees are blossoming everywhere right now. Their beautiful purple flowers always bring a smile to my face.

New Office

Wolfgang and I have moved offices. Now we have a nice view with trees and all. Wolfgang had to move from our old office so that another post doc to move in. But I decided I would stick with Wolfgang and move too. We added a touch of Europe in the office with posters of the Tour de France. We also got brand new desks put in. We feel pretty at home in our new office.

Lost in Translation

Last Saturday I had several friends over to enjoy my now World Famous Pies. I made two blackberry/strawberry pies. I can buy a good size bag of blackberries on the side of the road to Ajusco, where I go mtn biking, for about $2.
Here is the story behind the get together though. I wrote an email to all my friends inviting them to a "Noche de Pies Famosos de Megan." The email kept talking about my famous pies. It didn't even dawn on me that in Spanish, pies means feet and in Spanish pies is spelled pays. My friends are still giving me a hard time about my famous feet.