First, About That Cow

We wanted a name that conveyed our sense of fun because we believe travel can be so much fun--and so are we!  We also wanted a name that conveyed food and cooking.  After all, both are important in our lives and our tours are centered around food and cooking, not to mention eating.

So we brainstormed. 

We had a lot of fun considering a lot of names.  Arlene and Mary’s Excellent Adventure?  No, this was your adventure, not ours. We finally settled on – we thought – Fork in the Road Tours. We believed the name was perfect: it combined both food and travel.

But, alas, that name was too perfect and was already taken. So it quickly became Knife in the Road Tours, which sounded too much like a highway robbery in progress and was just as quickly dropped. We thought of Spoon in the Road Tours, then The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon Tours. This led, obviously enough, to The Cow Jumped Over the Moon Tours, which, presto, became Jumping Cow Culinary Tours.  By that time, we were out of wine and names. So, there you have it and here we are.

Please join the two of us, along with the dish and the spoon. Let's run away and jump over the Earth to interesting places, full of art and food, history and culture.

For more information, please call 503.708.8096 or use our contact form.

Arlene Krasner

In December of 2005, my husband and I packed up our car, our dog and cat, and followed our bliss to Mexico.  We gave each other a year of doing what we wanted.  And I wanted to write about food and travel. We loved our first year in Mexico so much that we extended our stay an additional year. We recently returned to the States and now I’d like to share my love of Mexico.

During my time in Mexico, I wrote numerous articles about Mexican food and cooking for Sally’s Place Website (www.sallys-place.com), a website for the food enthusiast and industry professional.

I also took many cooking classes from a variety of teachers, including Susana Trilling.

Before our Mexican sabbatical, I had worked at many things. I taught sign language to chimpanzees and composition to college freshmen.  I mentored college students, managed hardware engineers, and taught writing to technical writers, English majors, and Engineering majors.

Yet I remained first and foremost a cook. At age 5, I cooked hamburgers on the hot radiator in our apartment in New York. I learned about good food in New York City during the late 60’s and 70’s and San Francisco in the mid-to-late 70’s. And I watched the food explosion in Portland, Oregon, starting in the late 80’s to the present.

During graduate school, when I was not running after chimps to teach them Sign Language, I ran a catering service. With access to a professional kitchen and an extensive wine cellar, I was able to produce gourmet dinners for visiting faculty members.  When I transitioned to teaching college freshmen, I moonlighted as a cook for a fraternity house.

I expanded my knowledge by taking cooking classes whenever I could. In San Francisco, I took classes from Anne Willan and others. In Portland, I took classes from Susan Hermann Loomis and at the Western Culinary Institute.

In 2005, I volunteered as a kitchen helper for a self-published cookbook.  As a kitchen helper, I tested and evaluated recipes. It was great fun and very educational. 

My current project is Editor of the Mujeres en Cambio Comida Cookbook, which is due out by the end of this year. Mujeres en Cambio is a volunteer organization that provides scholarships to rural girls so that they’ll stay in school beyond the compulsory 6th grade.

I am looking forward to sharing my San Miguel experiences with you and creating new experiences.

Mary Norquist

Thirty years ago I went to Mexico for the first time. Today I still get that same sense of excitement knowing that I’m going to be transported to a culture rich in history and traditions. And, like most cultures, a great deal of tradition is built around food.

I’ve traveled extensively in Mexico and love the coastal areas and the inland, mountainous areas equally. Though many people think of Mexico as a resort mecca…which it is….it is also a country of warm and welcoming villages that each have their own special ambience.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to spend several months in San Miguel de Allende. So much has been written about San Miguel, there’s probably not much to add, except to reiterate that it is truly a magical place. I would compare it to many European countryside towns.  The picturesque village of San Miguel sparkles like a jewel in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Growing up in Louisiana, I was exposed early on to great southern cooking. Life began for me on a dairy farm where I helped hook up the cows to the very technologically advanced (for the time!) milking machines. We made fresh butter and cheese and, of course, had fresh eggs, chicken, and meat.

We visited New Orleans for Mardi Gras every year and to visit relatives. Mom always made our Halloween costumes too large so they would still fit when Mardi Gras rolled around. We’d feast all week on jambalaya, muffaletta sandwiches, shrimp étouffée, hush puppies and corn bread.

As I grew up, I moved to other places and learned to love those regional cuisines. Barbecue in Memphis…who knew they put cole slaw on their pork sandwiches!? Freshly caught Rainbow Trout in Colorado; steaks and TexMex in Dallas. And, of course, today Portland, my home for the past 30 years is made for food-a-holics.

Between meals, I’ve worked in high tech, nonprofit management, and residential real estate. But my avocation has been travel and experiencing other cultures and cuisines. My travels have taken me to France, Spain, Germany, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Hawaii, Canada, and extensively in the U.S.

It is my hope that you will join Jumping Cow Culinary Tours and experience the culture and cuisine of San Miguel de Allende.