Baja California’s Best:
                                             Holy Guacamole  
 
I used to travel for a living, all over the United States from my base in Southern California. Inevitably, after a few days on the road, I would really miss good Mexican food and especially chips and “guac”,  my favorite snack combination.  One thing that surprised me across the country was the number of my fellow Americans who didn’t like avocados.  I just could not fathom that. Perhaps, all they needed for enlightenment was to sample a really great guacamole dip.

Now I am retired and living happily in Baja California with access to a continuous supply of heavenly avocados. First off, the ‘cados here are cheap!! Second, there are always plenty of ripe ones. You never wait for them to ripen. So when I want to fix up a bowl of Baja’s Best Holy Guacamole, I can do it right now, not 3 days from now.

I imagine every expat living in Baja, Mexico has evolved their unique and beloved recipe for guacamole. I am no different and, of course, I do think my recipe is the very best. My guac is always a crowd pleaser and puts to shame the typically basic guacamole at the local Baja cantinas.

So here are some hints and the recipe follows.

Good chips make great guacamole even more legendary. Some of the chips I like are:
Mision All Natural, Restaurant Style Tortilla Strips-these are your basic chip
Tostitos Salsa Verde-“spicy” with hint of lime. Very yummy with guacamole
Experiment with “add-ins” for the basic Holy Gucamole Recipe. I really like adding the mangos, in particular,  when they are available.

Holy Guacamole Recipe

  4 avocados (reserve 2 pits)
  1/3 C Sour Cream
  3-4 Garlic Cloves
  3 Mexican Limes
  Salt and pepper to taste
  ¼ c finely chopped red onion
  Chopped cilantro, if desired

Peel and then mash up all the avocado meat. Mix in the juice of 3 Mexican limes. Add 3-4 minced garlic cloves, onion, and the sour cream. Stir well together. Salt and pepper to your preference.

Optional add-ins: chopped cilantro, chopped tomatoes, red peppers and chopped ripe mangos.

For the best taste blending, cover and refrigerate the dip for several hours before serving. To prevent the guacamole from turning brown, put those 2 reserved pits into the dip. There you have it, Baja’s Best Holy Guacamole.

Todos Santos: a Quiet Respite from Cabo

We enjoyed our trip in June 2007 to the famous surf town and quiet Cabo San Lucas neighbor to the north: Todos Santos. The drive north to Todos is pleasant enough, but definitely keep your eyes on the road for the stray cattle, disabled cars, highway repair and 18 wheeler trucks devouring the road when traveling anywhere in Baja, California. The passenger will enjoy a view of the real Baja, with plenty of huge, treelike cardon cactus.

When you get to Todos, be sure to go up and down the handful of streets on foot to fully appreciate the town. We liked the charm of the pretty brick buildings and abundant artistry in the little town. Getting to the beach is best done with excellent directions as the rambling, dusty roads wander about.

 One day we visited the beach and the panga fishermen were cleaning their fish, much to the delight of the virtually tame pelicans, which waited patiently right by the butcher table for scraps of fish.

Shopping is good in Todos. In fact, I liked it better for variety of products and better pricing than Los Cabos. We saw a number of handcrafted products not normally seen in Baja coming from more remote areas of Mexico.

Todos Santos is an agrarian area where Mexicans, American and Europeans live in a comfortable, friendly way together. Due to having more water in this location, the area is comparatively green with lots of fruit trees.

You should definitely not miss the now restored “Hotel California”.  The food and drinks are fine, not excellent. However, the ambiance is very colorful, charming and goes a long way to capture the romance you’d expect from this legendary little hotel.

Nightlife is virtually non existent. Grab dinner at a reasonable hour. This is a quiet place and great for a few days of relaxation or for the surfing crowd, getting a good night’s sleep to be able to tackle the great waves early the next day.

Two eateries we liked: Miguel’s - great breakfast and coffee with open air dining. And “Shut Up Frank’s” - more than decent hamburger in surf relic style.