On A Quest For...The Real Mexico Chiquito Hot Sauce Recipe

The other day my son came in from Charlotte, NC, and the first place we immediately must visit before grandparents, before family, and before friends...you got it... was Mexico Chiquito. This great tasting cuisine (sure, you can call it that) has been a staple for me and my family since the 1960s.

I remember my tenth grade Spanish class (taught by Mrs. Bernice Hunt...oops, I meant to say Senora Hunt) visiting the original Mexico Chiquito in Rose City's, Prothro Junction (it was Protho Junction back then.) We had to order everything in Spanish, as well as, talk to each other in Spanish AT ALL TIMES. It was a very quiet meal. I remember ordering the Original Mexican Dinner which continues to be on their menu to this very day. This huge amount of tacos, enchiladas, tamale, cheeses, sauces and guacamole always has and continues to come with a special little tomato juice cocktail (LOVE IT), the wonderful, sweet, sweet, sweet (don't ever spill on your blouse because it will never come out) red punch, and a delightful little saucer of sherbet (which by the way is suppose to settle your bulging stomach.) And, all this is served with their bottomless corn, tortilla chips and famous Mexico Chiquito Hot Sauce.

I had tried for years to duplicate this hot sauce concoction (with inadequate results) until one day, my kids found the true recipe on the Internet...yes, the real McCoy..the Real MacKay...oh, whatever! It is such a simple recipe, I can't believe I couldn't figure it out myself. I always added much more stuff than was necessary. Anyway, I guess I don't know everything (SHOCK)and my kids really are able to teach me something (DOUBLE SHOCK)...if I only listen.

Also, it is nice to be able to enjoy the Mexico Chiquito experience these days in Levy on Camp Robinson Road in North Little Rock along with my other Levy Rat friends. And for those in between visits to the restaurant, here's the true Mexico Chiquito Hot Sauce Recipe (I think): In a food processor put 1 heaping teaspoon of Minced Garlic, 1 medium fresh, Jalapeno Pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon Salt. Process into a paste, then put into a bowl. Lightly process one large can of HUNTS Whole Tomatoes in the processor. Do not liquefy!! Pour the tomatoes into the bowl of paste and mix together. Refrigerate for that true MC taste. Tip: Process and sterilize in quart jars so you are able to ship to love ones who live far away. Enjoy!

On A Quest For...A Teeny Weeny, Little Bitty, Microscopic, Morsel of Courage

The other night, #3 and me had dinner with the neatest couple! Did I just say...neatest? I meant to say something like...coolest or most interesting or very fascinating. Anyway, we all seemed to have a lovely time as we conversed about new and exciting things. Mainly, their interesting lives. Yes, there is a slight bit of covetousness involved here, however, the subject of this post is not to talk about other people and their interesting lifestyle, rather it is to contemplate about how my life has turned drastically dull (did I say...dull? I meant to say something like...boring or deadened or even sluggish to say the least!) and especially to talk about how I really need the courage to continue working on my Bucket List!

I know I've talked about my seasonal depression in past posts, but this is different. I have a big case of the Bucket List Blues. By this I mean, I have no courage to do the things I really want to do before I leave this wonderful place called earth. I'm even scared to get on a plane these days! How do I get this thing called courage? That's all the Cowardly Lion wanted in a place called Oz. This is not a rhetorical question...I really need to know. Where do you get your courage to do the things in life that are most important to you, when the Wizard of Oz is not around to hand out a bowl full of it for all us cowardly lions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huxv6Etraf0

On A Quest For...The Perfect Hair Stylist

This quest has been an ongoing pursuit for the last 40 years and I really don't understand why I am not able to keep a hair stylist for any length of time because I always follow Expected Salon Protocol which includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. make an appointment every six weeks


2. arrive on time or often early


3. whine just a little bit about my screwed up life


4. act a whole lot interested in their screwed up life


5. don't drink over three glasses of wine when offered...actually two glasses is risky behavior


6. always love and compliment the end results...no matter what...everything is fixable...usually


7. pay with good plastic money and never choke when the price is given


8. and make a return appointment before you leave.

So what the heck is the problem? I'm not the crazy one here, sooooo...it's gotta be them! Right?

For instance, this past year, I had been going to a really chic salon off Dickson Street...Shag. My stylist had been showing disinterest for awhile and although she did a good job, I realized our days together were numbered. A few of her annoying tactics included keeping me waiting even though I had arrived on time or early, talking on the phone while she worked on my hair, not asking how I was doing or how I have been, leaving me alone while she steps outside to visit her friends and family for extended periods, not asking me about a return appointment, and the final straw...not personally inviting me to Shag's open house (read about it in the newspaper) at their new location down the street. Yes, women do get upset over petty stuff like this!

Anyway, petty me dusted my feelings off my sleeve and found a great new salon on College Avenue...Genesis. My new stylist is Anna, and she did a great job when I recently visited. I truly hope she and I will be able to continue our relationship for a good while. I also met Bert, another stylist...who actually lives in my neighborhood! She invited me and #3 to her church and genuinely told me to stop by her house anytime! Wow, I am excited about the possibility of these new relationships...One door closes, another opens...Yea! I love real people who sincerely appreciate your business, as well as your friendship. I'm going to Genesis from now on to get my hair done because...Nice matters.

On A Quest For...

Relief from this abominable depression I have had the last few months... I looked at my 'to do' list the other day and man, was that depressing! Instead of exciting entries like my lists of 'to dos' past which may have included: study for anthropology test...swim with the dolphins...Vegas this week end...get a combo (manicure and pedicure)...save the world...My present day list activity included: pick up Rx at Walgreen's...mail Dr. Shaw a check...call Monica to set up an appointment for annual pest inspection...call Mother. It's like I've confirmed Dr. Pity and Mr. Boredom as my new best friends on Facebook. Yet, again in another hideous rut!


Depression has run rampant through my life. Having a psychiatrist for a husband(#2) didn't help matters...like the dentist's kids never getting their teeth fixed. Anyway, when somber times would inhabit my body and soul, #2 would suggest that I "shrug it off." What happened to the counselling and drugs...couldn't I get some of that...especially at wholesale prices? Not really, because you see, #2 was concerned about his peers in the health care industry and how they discussed people's problems among each other and we surely did not want details of our unhealthy marriage to get around the community! Heaven forbid people think that a well known psychiatrist had troubles in his own home just like everyone else. Ugh...OK, I guess...

But, I must say, #2 was probably correct (as he usually was about almost everything). Because thru the years, I have found that usually after a long, hard, depressing winter (and that we have certainly had this year) I always experience a wonderful euphoria in April or May called spring fever and all is well in my life again. So, instead of being a depressive in need of drugs and therapy, I've self diagnosed myself with a condition called SAD or seasonal affective disorder which is a type of depression triggered by the seasons that may be related to changes in the amount of daylight during different times of the year. This explains why it comes on in the winter (shorter days - less sunlight) and leaves in the spring (longer days - more sunlight). According to http://familydoctor.org/ about 1/2 million people suffer from SAD and it is more common in women than in men. Also, this disorder decreases as you get older (yea). Some of the symptoms include craving starches (for sure), drop in energy level (a little), irritability and anxiety (#3 can vouch for this), increased sensitivity to social rejection (duh...who isn't), and avoidance of social situations and a loss in the activities you used to enjoy. So right on.

I do miss my exciting past activities that I so eagerly enjoy planning...and I am beginning to feel a tinge of motivation to make plans as spring and summer begin to creep in. Just today I noticed Kenny Chesney was coming to Alltel Arena...I think #3 and I will plan to go. And, I'm really going to work hard at spicing up my 'to do' list...because we all know that it's not what you have done in the past, but what you are doing in the now that matters! In fact, I'm promptly putting 'save the world' back on my list along with 'get a combo'. And Dr. Pity and Mr. Boredom are really gonna have to go!

On A Quest For...

A Beautiful Day...Anyone living in the NWArkansas area knows that everybody, in these here hills, has been on a quest all winter long for a beautiful day! Finally, yesterday on April 8Th, we had a normal, sunny, beautiful, spring day. But, today on April 9Th we are watching and bracing for more BAD weather which includes isolated storms, tornado watches, and high winds. What is it with this crazy weather, especially the last few of years?

The Ice Storm of 2009 was hard for all of us to handle. Many people would go without power for weeks...ten days for me and #3 at the Turquoise House. The City of Fayetteville has yet to clean up all the storm's debris a couple of months later and is negotiating on having tons of tree mulch disposed of in an environmentally safe way. Good luck with that! The City of Springdale is just going to burn their debris to get rid of it. No tree huggers here. And, I read in the Fayetteville Morning News that the City of Bentonville was presented a $1.5 million bill for their debris removal much to the horror of city officials. Just a slight misunderstanding between these elected officials and the company they contracted with to remove the tree limbs. Nice to know elected dignitaries (unfortunately at the taxpayer's expense) get screwed over too, just like the rest of us happy homeowners...but, shouldn't elected officials or board members or the like be held to a higher standard of knowledge to avoid little mishaps such as these or something like that?

And it was just a year ago, to this exact date, that the Fort Smith/Van Buren area got hit with that really bad hail storm. And then another hard hail hit just a short time later for those poor folks. Although, Fayetteville was spared the baseball size hail, we did not escape the wind damage especially at the Turquoise House, where high winds and Hurricane Ike brought down plenty of 100 plus year old trees throughout all of 2008. Fortunately, no damage to house, cars, animals, or me and #3...must be living right.

Then yesterday, as the temperature rose to the 70s, and I noticed the coalescence of the bright, yellow sun with the newly, budding green foliage, I quickly called #3 and requested that he bring home margarita makings of which we promptly enjoyed on our big deck overlooking the hills of the Ozarks. Glad we got that out of our system...because tonight we could be carried away Todo and Dorothy style! So you see why it is, that all of us up in these here hills just wanted one nice day. And that appears to be all we are gonna get. Cheers!

On A Quest For...

The Perfect Latte...it was not so many years ago, I recall, that I was the perfect, little housewife who always got up early with her perfect, not so little, husband and made a perfect pot of coffee before #3 went to his perfect little job and I settled into my perfect little daily housewife routine. Disastrously, these days I have become a shameless, careless, stop at nothing maniac until I get out the door and secure my daily fix...a twenty ounce skinny latte at Arsaga's Espresso Cafe in Fayetteville. Where did it all go wrong? Why am I leaving the house looking really bad with hair tangled, no make up, and frantically plotting (legal) ways to get a jump ahead of the school bus that stops well over a hundred times on Hwy 16 every school day morning? Well, maybe not that many times, but close to. What happened to my perfect little life and that cup of homemade coffee shared with my perfect husband? Hello, my name is Dianne and I'm addicted to skinny lattes.

The girls at Arsaga's relieve my habit at this phase in my life, but it has not always been an easy road to travel. In the past, I resorted to wandering into many coffee shops in the Fayetteville area in the wee hours of the morning to see if they were able to concoct a delicious, creamy, blend of two shots of espresso (perfectly pressed from the perfect fair trade coffee bean) and perfectly steamed low fat milk which is finally topped with about an inch of foam...preferably with an artistic design on top of the drink which is created from pouring the white milky froth over the dark colored espresso. This zany necessity and my road to perdition all started about three years ago when I thought it would be a neat idea to complete my bachelor's degree at the UofA.

Yes, I blame it all on the need for higher education and that 7:30am Spanish class required for my degree plan! Up at 5am, out the door by 6, to the University in heavy traffic (darn those school buses), and spend about 30 minutes on the shuttle bus that would take me from the 6Th Street Parking Lot to the Hill. How could I possibly make a pot of coffee at home with this kind of schedule? So the quest began...first coffee then I started doing the regular latte and ultimately the skinny latte...never ending, always on the move for my latte which kept me alert and kicking as I pursued my degree. #3 would now have to depend on his cup of Joe at the office and as for me, I would get my latte anywhere I could at that hour. Sometimes at Razzi's (UofA student union), or Les Maison Tartes, or a place called Gloria's on Dickson. Then they came to town...Starbucks...and they made a pretty decent latte, but one day I tried Arsaga's and here I am forever hooked! The best around in all the town of Fayetteville!

I have since completed my degree and do not have to get up so early to out maneuver the school bus, but I continue to be dependent on my early morning latte compulsion. At least I am able to couple it with my morning workout routine and all is not too bad a start for the day...if only I could manage to put on some make up and do my hair at that hour...life might almost be perfect again.

On a Quest For...

Perfection...something I have continuously strived for my entire life only never to achieve! Sounds pretty dismal, but not really. Because I have ultimately realised that shooting for perfection seems to always bring out my best efforts. And by doing my best...I tend to have no self-judgments or regrets. Furthermore, I refuse to give up, therefore I am forever and always On A Quest For the perfect whatever!

For instance, lately I've been On A Quest For the perfect biscuit. You, my friend, may not even know what the perfect biscuit tastes like because most restaurants, as well as, home cooks these days tend to conveniently purchase those really bad prepackaged or canned things at the grocery store. OK, I've been guilty of that too. But being the persistent imperfect perfectionist (PIP) that I am, I also have been attempting to bake the perfect biscuit for many years.

This dilemma has proven to be a hit and miss type of situation because I'm a RachelRaysortofcook. That means I have been cooking since I was about 12 years old and I do not measure or follow directions very well. Because of this, my biscuits have not always been the rich and flaky creations we all love with tons of real butter and strawberry preserves on the side. Sometimes they are just OK, and many times they are great bird food. Finally, after many years I have discovered the best and closest to perfect recipe for biscuits and will share that with you right now! The secret is to precisely follow the critical areas (emphasized in bold italics) and whatever you do, don't Rachael Ray it!!!

2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, SIFTED
1 1/2 TEASPOONS SUGAR, SIFTED
1/2 TEASPOON BAKING SODA, SIFTED
1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER, SIFTED
1/4 TEASPOON SALT, SIFTED
1/2 STICK BUTTER, COLD, UNSALTED
3/4 CUP BUTTERMILK OR SOUR MILK* RECIPE BELOW

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into bowl. With your fingers, rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. All at once stir in the buttermilk or sour milk and with a spoon mix just until all the ingredients are moistened and a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead only 4-5 times. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness using a 2 inch cutter, reforming and recutting the scraps. Arrange the biscuits 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven 13-16 minutes, or until they are well risen and the tops are golden brown. *Sour Milk Recipe - Combine 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar with plain milk. Let it set for a few minutes to curdle.

So, my friend, if you haven't yet discovered the perfect biscuit, you are now able to have the best you will ever taste, if you only follow the simple instructions...the hardest thing in the world to do sometimes.