Cochinita Pibil – Bringing a little bit of Mexico to Brazil

Mexico City will always have a very special place in my heart. In fact a year and a half after leaving Mexico, both C and I still miss the country, the life we had, and our friends dearly. The older more travel weary Foreign Service Officers say that your first post is always your favourite, and I think there is an element of truth to that.

Our life in Mexico had so many firsts and life milestones. Not only was it the first time C and I lived in the same country, it was also the first time we lived together!  So many experiences go hand in hand with that such as discovering ourselves and each other, as well as discovering the country we were living in. It was also during this time, that we got engaged, adopted our beloved Mexican street cats and got married. Ultimately Mexico was where our family started.

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C and I at our engagement party!

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Introducing The HUNT Guides

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Over the last few years, I have been incredibly lucky that I have been able to travel as much as I have, and have had the opportunity to eat at some absolutely wonderful places. So when I was approached by my good friend Andrea who works at The HUNT to write a guest post for them in regards to food and travel, I jumped at the opportunity. Keep Reading

Working In Mexico and What to Expect!

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Cartoon from http://ljkrakauer.com/LJK/80s90s/spanish.htm

When I was living in Mexico City, I was lucky enough to get a pretty good job working as a locally employed staff in the U.S. Embassy’s HR office. Although my actual duties were rather administrative and dull, I immensely enjoyed my time there. Not only did I get to learn about the inner workings of an embassy, but I also got a direct exposure to the working culture of Mexico. Some of which really took me by surprise and were completely different to the work environment I had experienced before. Keep Reading

Happy Birthday The Travelling Chopsticks!

Exactly 3 years ago, The Travelling Chopsticks was born! Time to crack open the bubbly!

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Picture from: http://onlymissm.wordpress.com/

What started off as a  rather timid blog to keep my friends and family posted on my life in Mexico, it has slowly gathered momentum and morphed into the cooking and travel blog that it is today.

It has turned into my creative outlet and something I am immensely proud of. A project that is ever evolving, ever growing and in a way taking on a life of its own. What has been incredibly encouraging and rewarding is the warm reception that the TTC has received from my friends and family, and people who have stumbled upon it all over the world. Your comments and enthusiasm has really motivated me to keep on going. Thank you :)

As I was rather shy and self conscious in the beginning of sharing my blog with everyone, I feel that there is some really good content that has been overlooked, so as a little birthday homage to The Travelling Chopsticks, I have put together a list of all my favourite  and most memorable posts I have written over the years and thought I would share them with you.

1. Hello World: My first ever post, written almost a month after I set up The Travelling Chopsticks as I was so nervous about writing in a public forum.

2. Corrida de Toros: My first (and last) bull fight.

3. Christmas Away from Family

4. Oaxaca

5. Shrimp Bisque: One of the best recipes I have come across and one where I was so impressed with the outcome.

6. Long Weekend in Guanajuato: A little trip outside of Mexico City

7. Survival Tips for an Expat Lady of Leisure

8. Saffron & Shrimp Risotto: My all time favourite recipe and comfort food!

9. Day of the Dead & San Angel

10. Roast Duck: A tedious recipe but one where I was very proud of the outcome

11. Tamales: One of my absolute favourite days in Mexico City, where my colleague opened up her home to me and taught me how to make tamales with her family.

Once again – thank you to everyone for all your support, encouragement and kind words. The last three years has been such an interesting journey and hopefully we will go on many more adventures together in the future!

Skål!

P.S The Travelling Chopsticks now has a Facebook Page…I know, I’m finally getting on this Social Media bandwagon! If you would like to see mini-updates of my life in Brasilia and around Latin America, please go ahead and ‘like’ my page :)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Travelling-Chopsticks/424827514288003

Breakfast Sandwich, Mexican Style

When I first moved to Mexico 3 years ago C’s colleagues invited me to the office for breakfast one day.  One of his colleagues Luis, was going to prepare a special breakfast of green chorizo for us.

I had never seen, let alone heard of green chorizo before and I was excited – it turned out to be one of my most memorable and enjoyable breakfasts I have had in Mexico. When I told Luis this a couple of weeks ago, he insisted he would make it for us one more time before we left.

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Change Is In The Air!

About six month ago, C and I found out that our next post was going to be Brazil, more specifically Brasilia. Although that was a bit of a surprise to us as we both had our heart set on Tokyo, however what really threw the spanner in the works, was that instead of moving in the summer of 2014 which was the original plan, they wanted us there this year. I felt robbed! Robbed of my 1.5 years left in Mexico. My 1.5 years left of exploring this wonderful country. My 1.5 years left of working and earning money.  Our 1.5 years left with the great friends we have made here. Nevertheless this is the nature of the beast, and it is a lifestyle that both C and I got involved in with our eyes wide open. Keep Reading

Best Tourist Attraction in Mexico City – My Personal Favourites!

Mexico City can be rather overwhelming the first time you visit this colossal city. There is so much to see and do, but where to start? Here are my top ten absolute favourite places to go when we have guests in town, and I thought I would share them with you.

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When Violence Rears It’s Ugly Head

I always try to focus on the positive in Mexico and Mexico City as I believe that Mexico receives so much negative press already. I really wanted to show another face of Mexico to my readers, I wanted to show the beauty of the country that I have grown to love and the generous people who live here.

However, sometimes the ugly side of Mexico rears it’s vile head and you are faced with the cold facts that Mexico can be a dangerous and unpredictable country. A country where you should always be on your guard and should always be aware of your surroundings. Keep Reading

Magical Malinalco and Ancient Rituals

Between having houseguests, the insane amount of travelling C was doing  in May and having a very active social calender in June, I don’t think C and I have spent any quality time together since April!

So when my incredibly lovely friend Kirsty got in touch with me one day when I was feeling particularly burnt-out, and said that she, and her equally lovely boyfriend Fer wanted to treat us to a weekend in Fer’s family hotel as a wedding present – I couldn’t have been more excited or jumped at the opportunity more quickly!

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San Miguel de Allende

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Roughly three hours north of Mexico City lies the beautiful colonial city of San Miguel de Allende  – or SMA as the locals call it. Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2008, San Miguel de Allende truly has a magical feel surrounding it. With its well preserved Baroque architecture and layout, coupled with its vibrant mix of people, SMA is a destination worth visiting in Mexico. Keep Reading