A San Pancho Grande Dame

In 1986, Gloria and Ken Hanson built the first home in the San Pancho jungle area called Costa Azul. After searches in Guatemala and the West Indies plus advice from friends in La Peñita, they visited Costa Azul.

Four bungalows owned by the Becerra brothers were all they found. In town, Chalupa’s was the only restaurant, and no shops had opened as yet. A perfect spot, they thought, for tranquil annual getaways from work and winter in home base Sioux Falls, South Dakota. For eighteen years they made the round trip trek in their van.

Ken, a native of Sioux Falls, had been a young U.S. Air Force and later Pan Am pilot when he met seventeen-year old Gloria, also a pilot as well as daughter of a Guatemalan politico. They fell in love and married, a marriage of 67 years that ended with Ken’s death in 2004.

Gloria continues on as the Grande Dame of Costa Azul, living in her striking home. She describes it as “old Mexican style,” referring to palapa-covered open-air porches filled with equipal furniture, parota(Mexican mahogany) woodwork, traditional talavera tiling, and white-walled rooms cooled by sea breezes blowing through doors left open to them. Gloria remembers the construction well and spoke with me about it as we sat on her front porch.

Gloria: “Little or nothing was available in town back then, and Adalberto Garcia, our builder, didn’t have his own vehicle at first. We took our van and went with him to buy bricks and cement in La Peñita. We had to buy everything in La Peñita and haul it back---rebar, lime, screws, string, you name it. And we had to drive to Guadalajara for tile. We made countless trips, as you can see from the kitchen and the bathrooms coated in talavera. ”

Ellen: “Supplies are still relatively limited or prohibitively expensive. What was available to you back then, for example, things like light fixtures, faucets, and doorknobs?”

Gloria: “We brought a lot of them down from South Dakota. We even packed in a refrigerator, a stove, and a couple of mattresses on one of our first trips. We didn’t have many furniture choices back then either, but Ken came up with the design for a rocking chair and made dozens of them himself in his workshop next to the house. You’re sitting in one right now.”

Ellen: “How about construction workers and household help? Were there townspeople for hire?

Gloria: “A few. Adalberto was good and could train his crew on the basics, but he had never built a house this big or complex before. So Ken had to be vigilant and do a lot of training and explaining.

As for household help, Güero has been my gardener and handyman since 1986. Alicia has cooked and cleaned here for 18 years. Her son, Luis, has been with me almost that long.“

Ellen: “That speaks to their loyalty and your fair treatment. I can speak to Alicia’s fabulous meals. It’s such a treat to be invited to your house for lunch. It’s comfortable and genteel at the same time, sitting at your elegantly set table, taking in the view of your garden and the sea beyond, being served by your staff.”

Gloria: “You’re always welcome here; you know that.“

Ellen: “I know that you have taught Alicia to make a lot of new dishes over the years to add to her repertoire of traditional Mexican favorites. Do you have a set menu?”

Gloria: “Yes, we have developed a menu we like. And everything is homemade, of course---even the ice cream. Saturday is and always has been pizza day. Other days Alicia makes chicken in white wine sauce, creole coconut shrimp, chiles rellenos, enchiladas, and her special mole. Along with rice, beans, and salad. For dessert, cappuccinos, espressos, and sundaes with fresh fruit. But we try new things, too, like the meatloaf we’ll be serving you today.”

Ellen: “Yet look at you, so chic and trim. You’re the fittest eighty-something woman I know. How do you manage, faced with such delicious daily fare?”

Gloria: “You know the answer. You used to join me for an hour of water aerobics in my pool. A couple of other women friends come over now. Plus I do Pilates every day, too.. And Robert still comes every Friday to give me a massage. That really helps me.

It’s not just the exercise, though. It’s the life style here---the peace, the lack of scheduling, the long reads in the afternoon, the good night’s sleep. It’s healthy. It’s the life style that attracted Ken and me to San Pancho in the first place and that hasn’t changed much over all these years here.”

(Author’s note: Gloria broke a hip recently and has undergone surgery. My sincerest best wishes to her for a speedy recovery.)

CASA HANSON MEATLOAF

2 lb. ground beef

1 c. bread crumbs

1 small onion, diced

2 eggs, beaten

¼ c. catsup

¼ c. milk

2 T. salsa verde

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

Combine all. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Corazón de Agave

The Pinot Noir my husband is making in San Sebastian needed time in an oak barrel for its finish. He ordered one from a cooper in Tequila and we combined the pick up with touring visitors around the sights. It is a beauty, the barrel, 200 liters, 50 gallons or so, bearing the name of our winery, Las Fincas. The oak comes from Kentucky. If it’s good enough for Mexican tequila it’s good enough for Mexican wine, we say. Besides, I heard they’re cutting down the forest of Fontainebleau outside of Paris for that precious French oak.

Visitors in tow, we toured the Herradura tequila factory. The cores of agave azul, called piñas for their resemblance to a pineapple, are roasted and pressed, the juice fermented and distilled. One always is treated to a taste of the roasted piña on such tours—delicious, smoky-sweet and very fibrous. You are reminded that alcohol comes from sugar. The agave has plenty.

Down the road we stopped by a little table where half a roasted piña was laid out for sale. We were offered the ends of the cut-off spears which were mahogany dark and roasted to caramel perfection. We separated the sweet stuff from the fibers with our teeth just as you’d get the meat off an artichoke leaf. We had already made out purchase when, seemingly as an after-thought, the seller offered us a sample from the piña’s center, its heart, its corazón. It was firmer than the heart of an artichoke but similarly smooth, no fibers. It was even more delicious than the spear ends. We were ravished. I bought a large wedge and began to brain-storm recipes.

First came pork loin cooked and sauced in corazón de agave. In my test kitchen, also known as my kitchen, I wrapped the pork in the fibrous spear-ends, encased it in foil and roasted it slowly. Fibers were strained out, sweetened juices reduced and mellowed with cream, cubes of corazón heated and served beside the meat. Oh, boy.

Then there was corazón de agave pecan pie. I heated two cups of corazón bits with a cup of orange juice and thickened it with flour. Some orange zest for that little edge. After the mixture cooled, I blended it with three beaten eggs and lightly-roasted pecans, poured it into a pie shell and baked it for an hour. Served with cream, it was better than mincemeat.

Now friends are in the act. Lorena made corazón de agave ice cream. Canela proposed mashing it and serving it instead of yams beside the Thanksgiving turkey. Imagine chunks in capirotada, Mexican bread pudding. Feel free.