Meling Ranch style huevos rancheros, for a delicous breakfast

The staff at Meling Ranch start showing up at the kitchen annex, located off the main dining room, which is the focal point of the ranch, around seven in the morning, to get the wood-fired range fired up for the morning meal, and to plan the day's activities. When you walk into the kitchen, you'll see the kitchen staff getting the stove fired-up, chopping vegetables and making coffee, and the ranch hands will be sitting at the table, chit-chatting and talking about their daily activities. Wednesday, October 3, 2007, I just had to be a part of the morning routine, as today's breakfast was to be my last meal I enjoyed at Meling Ranch, as Bahia de Los Angeles was calling me.

Photo: Julia and Jicelia are hard at work in the kitchen, preparing breakfast over the wood-fired kitchen range.

I was up early that morning, getting all of my stuff packed to get ready for the day's activities. I looked out of the door of my motel room, and saw smoke rising from the annex of the kitchen chimney, and I ascertained that coffee would be ready, so I decided to amble over and help myself to a cup of hot joe.

Andrea Meling and the girls, Julie and Jicelia, were already hard at work, doing preparation work for breakfast, but the stove was hot, and more importantly, so was the coffee, so after saying "Buenos Dias" to everybody, I helped myself to a cup of joe, and sat down at the table, and started chit-chatting with Samuel, who is the foreman of the ranch. Andrea came over to me, and asked me what I wanted for breakfast. I winked at Samuel, and I mentioned to her that I had a special breakfast request. "What would you like to eat?" she asked. At the time, I was the only guest at Meling Ranch, so I felt that a simple breakfast request was in order, yet it was a request that I truly wanted. "Andrea," I replied, "I want to eat whatever y'all are eating for breakfast today, and I want to eat it with you, right here in the kitchen, where everybody who works here eats." She smiled, and seemed a bit surprised, but she said "No problema," which was ok by me. Actually, it was just a ploy manufactured by me to steal a bit more time of relaxing around the table, talking with the staff, and watching the breakfast preparation in the kitchen. I have a hard time staying away from kitchens, since I love to cook and I have a very hard time staying away from Rancho Meling's exotic kitchen, as it features a wood-fired stove, and very friendly people,which adds up to a winning combination.

Photo: Andrea Meling prepares cooked salsa for the morning meal.

My breakfast was not fancy, as per my request, as I wanted just to enjoy a typical ranch hand breakfast served to the staff at Meling Ranch, without the frills afforded to the guests, and my breakfast lived up to my request. Typically at Meling Ranch, the ranch hands eat first, as the inside staff are the ones who actually prepare and cook the breakfast, so I ate at the kitchen table with Samuel, the ranch foreman, and Sam, the ranch hand. The table was set with a pitcher of ice water, a bowl of honeydew melon slices, the coffee was hot on the stove, my place was set, so all I had to do was to pour a hot cup of joe from the stove, add a little cream, and sit down at the kitchen table and chit-chat with friendly Samuel, the ranch foreman.

Photo: Ranch foreman Samuel, and ranch hand Sam sit at the table in the kitchen, where the staff takes their meals, while Julie performs kitchen chores. Today, I requested to dine with the staff, at the table in the kitchen, where they usually enjoy their meals.

Today's menu featured huevos rancheros, Meling Ranch style. While the coffee is being brewed, I noticed that Andrea was very busy cooking salsa on the hottest burner of the wood-fired stove. While Andrea is making salsa, the girls fry corn tortillas and set them aside, as I pour my third cup of coffee. Oh yes, I notice a pot of beans heating on the side, which is a sign of a delicious breakfast on the way. As I'm sitting at the table talking to Samuel and taking in the odor of wood smoke, frying vegetables and cooking oil, I'm also noticing that the girls are frying eggs over easy, and I almost flat-line, as I realize the delicious breakfast that I'm about to enjoy. Keep in mind that this breakfast is not prepared for me, the only guest at the time, but this is the breakfast that the staff at Meling Ranch enjoys every day.

Photo: Meling Ranch foreman Samuel, to the left enjoys his breakfast, as Andrea snaps my photo. My breakfast is on the plate before me, but notice the bowl of sliced melons, that all of us enjoy for breakfast.

Huevos Rancheros at Meling Ranch consists of two fried corn tortillas, with a fried egg, over easy placed on top of each tortilla, and the whole thing is topped by freshly cooked tomato-based salsa. The salsa consists of diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, and spices such as cumin, salt, oregano and pepper, which amounts to nothing special. The salsa tops the tortilla and egg entree, and a large helping of refried beans is served on the side, which makes a delicious and healthful meal. As a guest, and enjoying all of the perks allotted to a guest, as I chatted with the staff and enjoyed my delicious meal, I really wondered, really, do these folks enjoy a meal like this every day? When I popped the question to Andrea, she said that they do. Really.

As you sit at the picnic table, in the rustic kitchen annex at Meling Ranch, you can't help but to enjoy your delicious meal, as you chat with the friendly staff, and enjoy a meal that you won't find in a restaurant, as you're enjoying a meal with real people, who just happen to live and work at a real cattle ranch, in Baja California, Mexican style.

Photo: Huevos Rancheros, in the style of Meling Ranch. The fried eggs are covered with Andrea's freshly-cooked salsa, which was finished just minutes before this photo was taken.

Do I recommend dining at Rancho Meling's kitchen table with the staff? Yes!