Beach BBQ ala Mexicana

Saturday, January 7th....beach BBQ day!!  Mirella and Alex came by early in the afternoon and we all figured out what to cook, made a shopping list, and went shopping.  On the menu....

• Guacamole
• Salsa made from roasted veggies
• Frijoles (beans)
• Queso stuffed chiles
• Grilled pineapple
• Carne Asada marinated in pineapple juice
• Tortillas & Tostadas
• Pineapple water, beer & wine

Abraham melted down some manteca (lard) in a pan and heated dried chili pepper in it.  He then fried a few tortillas in it to make wonderfully flavorful tostadas.  The chiles were then ground up in a molcajete for the guacamole.  Can't believe we didn't get a pic of the beautiful guacamole!

Beach BBQ at Playa Los Avenados

The Playa los Avenados is beautiful and we were pretty much the only ones on it.  Beautiful water with the sound of the waves, soft sand, jungle to one side, lava outcroppings on the other, a makeshift palapa area, and good people made this the perfect spot for a beach BBQ.

Getting ready to start the fire

Digging the BBQ pit

The BBQ grill was made by digging a hole in the sand, placing large concrete blocks on the side, filling it with wood, palm fronds, and charcoal brickets (called carbon in Mexico, it's charcoal made from wood, not the stuff we buy in the States), then a grilling grate is placed on top.

Veggies roasting for salsa

We roasted tomatoes (jitomates), chiles, onions (cebollas) that would get mashed together with lime and salt for a simple, rustic salsa that we enjoyed with our Carne Asada.  We also roasted Poblano chiles and when they were fully roasted they were filled with cheese, toothpicked together, and put back on the grill to let the cheese melt...yummy!!

We listened to music, laughed, drank, enjoyed the mota, and Mirella & Sam even sang a chorus of "come on baby light my fire" while sharing a bottle of vino!  Cheba had a blast getting tons of attention, running on the beach, and getting scraps from EVERYONE!!


The most amazing part of this experience is how we managed to work together and enjoy time together, even with language barriers!  Just proves when there's joy and love in the heart, you can overcome any obstacle!!

Hasta luego!

Bill & Sam