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New member living in Tlaquepaque


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Greetings,

Originally from the New York metro area, I moved to Tlaquepaque in March 2020. Prior to coming to Mexico I spent 20 years in Southeast Asia (mostly Thailand but also Cambodia and Myanmar), and I before that I lived for 5 years in the South of France. I'm a media (especially video) producer, and my work can be seen at www.martinamada.com.

Now that I'm vaccinated I look forward to getting out and about more, and to my first visit to Aiijic. The closest I've been was Jamay, where at a lakeside restaurant I had a catfish in a red mole that I will never forget. 

I play a lot of tennis and ride my bike daily.

I speak Spanish, French and Thai for whatever that's worth.   

Enjoying life here with the only thing lacking - the fresh herbs etc. needed to make Thai food. 

I look forward to being a part of this community, and to continuing my education about life in this part of Mexico. 

Martin

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I think about any herb will grow well here.  My wife has an herb garden of the classics...   cilantro, peregil, orgegano...What would you grow for Thai food?

 

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On 4/12/2021 at 6:21 PM, tkessler said:

I think about any herb will grow well here.  My wife has an herb garden of the classics...   cilantro, peregil, orgegano...What would you grow for Thai food?

 

Kaffir lime leaves, (the bulbs of) the lemongrass plant, and galangal root are all essential for Thai cooking. None of these are grown commercially here. It would take several years for a kaffir lime tree grown from seeds to reach a height that would allow you to harvest the leaves. To grow the other two items you need the bulbs and roots to get started, neither of which can be legally imported. (I know cause I wrote to the phytosanitary department of the government.) Apparently there is a Thai restaurant in CDMX that has their own Thai herb garden. Maybe some day I'll visit them and learn how they got it started.  

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On 4/13/2021 at 1:04 AM, gogirl said:

Welcome fellow New Yorker! We don't get many from that part of the woods down here!

Thanks! Not sure I consider myself a New Yorker any more, having spent the second half of my life outside the US, but I still managed to find my way to a friend's place on Central Park West on a recent trip. I wanted to bring back some cheesy souvenirs, but sadly pretty much all those Eighth Avenue shops have closed.  

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Do some research on exotic plant sellers in Mexico. My neighbor got a kaffir lime plant from a friend in Vallarta who grows and sells exotics. You could also likely find galangal, which would grow here easily, and lemongrass isn't that hard to find- I know many people here who have lemongrass growing, as did I (mine expired when a housesitter forgot to water it).

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13 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

Do some research on exotic plant sellers in Mexico. My neighbor got a kefir lime plant from a friend in Vallarta who grows and sells exotics. You could also likely find galangal, which would grow here easily, and lemongrass isn't that hard to find- I know many people here who have lemongrass growing, as did I ( mine expired when a housesitter forgot to water it).

I'm living in an apartment, but maybe if I move to a house one day that has a place for a garden, I'll take another stab it. On the other hand if you can tell me where your neighbor got the kaffir lime tree I could probably manage to cultivate one of those! :)

 

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1 hour ago, MartinAmada said:

On the other hand if you can tell me where your neighbor got the kaffir lime tree I could probably manage to cultivate one of those!

Yes, give me a week or so- my neighbors are up in Canada, I'll have to email them for their friends' contact info.

You could also grow lemon grass and even the other roots in pots on a balcony if you have one. I did that for years with a lot of plants when I was renting, then transplanted them into the garden when I bought my own lot.

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Lemon grass can be grown in a pot easily and so can the keffir lime tree and any herb if you can get the seeds. You do not need to denude  a keffir lime tree you just take what you need.. I cook thai and vietnamese food several times a week so it is possible. If you are really picky you can get seeds for what you cannot find and grow them, You can grow almost everything here.  In Chiapas I find a lot of what I need in the medecinal stands rather than in the herb places. The basil  and rosemary are used by the witch doctors so you only find them in the traditional medecine places, same with lots of herbs. 

Buy a keffir lime at the nursery behind Super Lake grocery store in San ANtonio and buy lemon grass as well and keep them in pots. 


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Mexicans make a tea out of the leaves of lemon grass and it is found in markets throughout Mexico at the medecinal stands or in the backyard of people. It is widely sold at the market in Chiapas so I bet you could find it in Guadalajara.. Ginger is everywhere but I have not found fresh galangal here. Not yet...

 

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19 hours ago, bmh said:

Mexicans make a tea out of the leaves of lemon grass and it is found in markets throughout Mexico at the medecinal stands or in the backyard of people. It is widely sold at the market in Chiapas so I bet you could find it in Guadalajara.. Ginger is everywhere but I have not found fresh galangal here. Not yet...

 

 

Sadly the lemongrass leaves aren't much good for making curry pastes, soups and salads, for those you need the bulbs. Have you seen the entire stalks with their outer leaves and bulbs intact for sale in Chaipas or just the leaves? Dried, the latter are available here too, but I haven't found any of these fresh herbs at the mercado de abastos. And if not there, I'm not sure where in Guadalajara to look.  If I saw lemongrass growing in someone's backyard you bet I would ask them if they could spare a few stalks for replanting. I believe there are commercial growers of galangal in California but you're not supposed to bring it across the border. 

 

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20 hours ago, bmh said:

Buy a keffir lime at the nursery behind Super Lake grocery store in San ANtonio and buy lemon grass as well and keep them in pots. 

 

San Antonio? I'm assuming you don't mean the one in Texas. But apparently there's a Super Lake in Guadalajara. Is that the one you mean?

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20 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Yes, give me a week or so- my neighbors are up in Canada, I'll have to email them for their friends' contact info.

You could also grow lemon grass and even the other roots in pots on a balcony if you have one. I did that for years with a lot of plants when I was renting, then transplanted them into the garden when I bought my own lot.

Thanks, working on getting a balcony as I write this.  I don't have one now but I may be moving next week...

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