Villa Santa Cruz February Newsletter by Jessica Canepa

Boutique Hotel February 2011 Newsletter from Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico www.villasantacruzbaja.com ________________________________________________________________________

Greetings from Todos Santos, where fresh seafood and produce abound! We here at Villa Santa Cruz strive to reduce our carbon footprint and thus make it a priority to use fresh and local food in the meals we prepare for our hotel guests (breakfast and lunch are included in our nightly room rates). In honor of this healthy lifestyle effort, we have dedicated this edition of the newsletter to eating organically and locally in the Baja!

Villa Santa Cruz News – Congrats Raffle Winner! In honor of our six rescue dogs, we donated a weekend at the Villa to the 8th annual Fur Ball, a local charity event held on February 13th that raised funds for the care of stray animals in Todos Santos. Our donation set a new record for most raffle ticket entries!

The Fur Ball raised $8,000 USD for the Amigos de los Animales de Todos Santos. To learn more about their organization or to make a donation, please visit www.bajarescue.org.

– New Wireless Internet We installed a wireless router with a faster connection. It has never been easier to stay in touch! – Organic Garden in Bloom Our Villa Santa Cruz vegetable garden is now giving us beautiful produce. We’ve used fresh basil, spinach and zucchini in our meals. Just waiting for the tomatoes to come in…any day now!

Matt & Jessica with our Fur Ball winner Congrats Susan!

Fresh Catch!

Fresh Fish from Playa Punta Lobos

“Fresh Catch” takes on new meaning in Todos Santos! Bypass the middleman fish markets in town by heading straight to the beach to buy fish directly from the local fishermen. Find a spot on the sand and watch the panga boats land on the shore with their fresh catch – fish that was literally swimming only hours before. Chat with the fishermen, choose your fish, and have them fillet it for you on the spot. With a wonderful variety, from Yellowtail and Red Snapper to Grouper and Tuna, it is easy to make a delicious dish! Here’s one of our favorite ceviche recipes.

Visit our Facebook Page to see a video of the panga boat landing on the beach!

Playa Punta Lobos is at KM 64 between Todos Santos and Pescadero. Fishermen land Monday through Saturday between 3pm and 4pm.

RED SNAPPER CEVICHE Ingredients: – 2 lbs of fresh red snapper fillets bought from Punta Lobos beach, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, deboned – ½ cup each fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice picked from Villa Santa Cruz trees – ½ red onion, finely diced – 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced – 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced – 2 tsp. salt – ½ cup cilantro

Instructions: In a non-reactive casserole dish, either Pyrex or ceramic, place the fish, red onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, and salt. Cover with lime and lemon juice. Let sit covered in the refrigerator for one to two hours, stirring halfway through. During the marinating process, the fish will change from pinkish grey and translucent, to whiter in color and opaque. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Organic!

Fresh Produce from the Villa Santa Cruz Garden & Fruit Trees

Incorporating organic local produce into our meals at Villa Santa Cruz is one of our highest priorities and is simply done by tending to our organic vegetable garden and mature fruit trees. The Baja region is blessed with a growing season that spans almost the entire year, making fresh and local produce staple items. On our 45 acre property, we have beautiful fruit trees mangoes, bananas, papayas, guavas, pomegranates, passion fruit, limes, oranges, and tangerines – perfect for morning smoothies and afternoon margaritas. And, in the garden, we have hearty zucchini, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, and more… Delicious meals are ripe for the taking!

Our Spinach …

and Zucchini

BANANA GUAVA BREAD Ingredients: – 2 cups flour – ¾ cup sugar – 1 tsp. each baking powder & soda – ½ tsp. each salt and cinnamon – ¼ tsp. nutmeg – 1 egg – 1 cup mashed very ripe banana and fresh guava from Villa Santa Cruz Trees

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then add the egg and fruit, mix well with a wooden spoon. Scrape batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer plunged into the center comes out clean. *Added benefit – this bread will make your house smell wonderful!

Banana & Guava Trees

Farm Fresh Eggs!

Our Chickens

Every morning before breakfast service at the Villa, we stop by the hen house to collect fresh eggs to use in our morning meals. It is a unique experience to eat our fresh eggs – the yolks are lighter and we love that they are healthy, local and hormone-free. Happy chickens make tasty eggs! Here’s a favorite breakfast recipe:

EGG TORTILLA CASSEROLE A Villa Santa Cruz Guest Favorite! Ingredients: – 12 corn tortillas – 2/3 cup chopped green onions – 1 (4 ounce) can each sliced black olives & diced pimento peppers, drained – 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green peppers, drained – 8 ounces each Monterey Jack & Cheddar cheese, shredded – 5 eggs – 2 cups milk – 1 (8 ounce) jar salsa

Instructions: Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with 4 tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 each of the green onions, olives, chile peppers, pimento peppers, Monterey Jack cheese, and Cheddar cheese. Repeat twice with the remaining ingredients. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and salsa. Pour over the layered ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the casserole from refrigerator, and remove plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 45 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve with sour cream and avocado. Enjoy!

Don’t Miss Out!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN TODOS SANTOS

Historic House Tour – February 27 All proceeds support local charity programs and the Todos Santos Bomberos. Todos Santos Film Festival – March 4 to March 7 All events take place at the Manuel Márquez de León Theater, located on the main plaza in the heart of the historic district of Todos Santos. Visit www.todossantoscinefest.com for more information. 2nd Annual Artist Studio Tour – March 20 Sponsored by ARTS (Artists of Todos Santos) Todos Santos Home & Garden Tour – April 9 Featuring the neighborhood of La Cachora Norte. Sponsored by the local school, Escuela Pacifica. ________________________________________________________________________

We hope to see you at Villa Santa Cruz for a fresh meal soon! Saludos,

Matt & Jessica Canepa John Brown Proprietors Villa Santa Cruz – On the Beach

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