Sweet!

In Mexico I indulged my taste for plantains every day. Really, every single day. I ate plantains for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love 'em and they were everywhere so I just ate and ate and ate...

Plantains are such a common food in many countries across the globe. There are as many ways to serve plantains as there are to serve potatoes, if not more. Here is another plantain recipe that is sweet, deserving of a place of honor on any dessert table.

Carmelized Plantain Tart

4 plantains
½ cup granulated sugar
2 sticks salted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup ground almonds

In the bowl of a food processor, mix vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, and butter together until mixture is creamy. Add flour and almonds and pulse until dough forms. Remove dough from food processor and press gently into a greased tart pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Tart shell will be very light brown in color.

Peel plantains and slice thinly. Drop slices into ice water until all plantains are sliced. Drain plantains and arrange on baked tart crust. Sprinkle granulated sugar over top of tart, and place in 350-degree oven for five minutes. Just before removing tart from oven, turn on broiler and broil tart until the sugar topping becomes bubbly and carmelizes.

Just a Few More...

...pictures from gorgeous, sunny, snow-free Mexico.

Yeah, there's a snowy, icy mess predicted for here today. Ugh!

If I close my eyes...

I can hear the waves...


and smell the lime juice.
From the margaritas, you know.

Happy Thursday!

Impressive

We all have them, places we dream of seeing. Experiences we hope to have. Moments we know will steal our breath--if we ever get to experience them. I had one of my someday-maybe-hopefully-I'll-see-that dreams come true when I was in Mexico. And you know what? It was all I'd hoped it would be...and more.

Chichen Itza, which translated from Maya means "the mouth at the well of the wizard"--and if you're reading, Rafael, I remembered!

The ancient Mayan city is on the Yucatan peninsula. To get there, I boarded a tour bus and was taken nearly three hours into the dense jungle. Rafael, our tour guide, regaled us with stories about the Maya people as well as the animals roaming through the jungle outside our bus. I didn't see any jaguars but I had fun looking!

Stepping off the bus and onto the site was like moving back in time. As I said, all my expectations were met. It was actually more than I'd dreamed it might be.

Temple of Kukulkan

It reminded me how small I really am!

One of the serpent heads at the base of the pyramid.

Wouldn't want this guy to bite you, would you?

Temple of the Warriors

There are merchants on the outskirts of the area.

When I stopped to look at some carvings,

I looked up and saw a different view of Kukulkan's temple.

I was amazed and impressed.

So tell me, is there anywhere you're dreaming of going? And if so, are you taking steps to make that dream become reality?

Goals

Yes, it's that time of year again. We all know it as "resolution time" but why don't we call it like it is? For most of us, it's the annual get-in-shape promise we make, then pretty much break, time after time.

No need to be shy about it. Most people do make the lose-weight, get-in-shape January commitment. I know I have. And, most people break the resolution before the snow melts. That's something I've done, too.

Not this year, though. Nope, no huge resolutions for me. Not doing it. No how. No way. No spending hours at the gym. No sweating. No huffing or puffing. No...

Not unless...

Well, when I was in Mexico there was a bit more...ah, shall we say incentive to exercise. A couple of times a day, there were a group of hugely inspiring personal trainers on location. Really. Guys who knew how to make a woman's heart race. They were obviously highly trained professionals who spent years learning about physiology and had perfected the art of training professional athletes. They were incredible, and really very inspiring.

Want to see the training crew? I thought you might, so I brought some photos...

Meet the guys! Do you see how they made all those women in the pool stand up and pay attention? Do you see how they make exercise fun? Do you see...well, do you see their, ah, form?

Note that these moves are not to be attempted by just anyone. Truly, these guys are trained pros who should be watched rather than imitated. Trust me on this. I would never steer you wrong.

I'm thinking that had I stayed in Mexico, I might have made one of those yearly get-in-shape resolutions. But that's not the kind of goal I can reasonably expect to keep here in snowy upstate New York, now is it? After careful consideration and hours spent watching these Mexican athletes, I realize that the kind of dedication and serious commitment it would require to achieve such a goal could only be undertaken in a sunny location. Say, like, Cancun.

Oh, yeah, I'm sure I could get in shape watching this two or three times a day!

So, if you've gone ahead and made one of those exercising goals for 2012, don't hold yourself too strictly to the commitment. Because, really, as you can clearly see, something like that is way beyond most circumstances. Truly, if you plan on keeping your resolution, maybe you should consider hopping on a plane and heading down south to see The Guys. I know they'd be glad to help you reach your fitness goals!

And hey, even if your behind grows rather than shrinks (those margaritas do add up!) it'd be worth it...just to watch the exercise gurus at work, don't you think?

Happy Monday!

Cancun, Mexico

My holiday adventure was in Cancun, Mexico! It was the perfect getaway choice. Fabulous food, new faces and places, music and dancing, a look into the past while headed toward my future...there wasn't one thing about the holiday that I didn't love.

The Christmas tree in the hotel was huge.

I saw several nativity scenes. This one really made me smile--I love the way Baby Jesus is swaddled so well. No chilly baby here!

Maya images covered the columns in the hotel. I spent a long time perusing them, trying to uncover the stories behind the scenes. All very interesting.

And instead of snow, flowers! Everywhere, flowers. What's not to love about a place where flowers bloom on Christmas?