September 7, 2019 Lunch – Greenhouse Bistro Dinner – Sashimi, Sushi Rice, Seaweed salad, Squid Salad, and Japanese Pickles

September 7, 2019 Lunch – Greenhouse Bistro  Dinner – Sashimi, Sushi Rice, Seaweed salad, Squid Salad, and Japanese Pickles.

Two fabulous meals today.  The new Bistro menu and a deep dive into Japanese Cuisine.

I awakened at 7:00 and after a bowl of granola, milk, blueberries, and yogurt, and a little work I rode to Rio Bravo and back.

T.R. and Linda picked me up at 11:45 and we drove to Suzette’s Center for Ageless Living in Los Lunas for lunch and treatments and rest and relaxation.

We toured the gardens and buildings on the campus with Suzette and then walked to the Greenhouse Bistro for lunch.  I was excited because today is the first time I have had to try the new menu prepared by the new chef, Tanya.

We all ordered something different items. Suzette ordered the Vegetarian Spring Leaf Wrap (steamed diced vegetables wrapped in a leaf of butter lettuce and a rice paper wrapper like a Vietnamese Spring Roll served with fresh crystallized ginger and a peanut fish sauce dipping sauce. A bite of the roll dipped in the dipping sauce and eaten with a piece of crystallized ginger was wonderful). Linda ordered a Grilled Reuben Sandwich (Warm Corn Beef, sauerkraut, provolone cheese, and Russian dressing pressed between two slices of dark Pumpernickel bread served with a small salad),  T.R. ordered the Bistro Steak Burger (a hamburger served on a fresh premises baked hamburger bun with all the fixings served with a small salad). I ordered the Pear and Duck Salad (a lovely plate of alternating slices of lightly sauteed Asian Pear grown in the Center’s orchard and duck breast glazed with a honey balsamic sauce and served with a pile of ancient grains [brown rice, barley, and quinoa] nestled in a butter lettuce leaf ).  Here are pictures of two dishes.

I also ordered the new Signature Chicken Noodle Soup made with the Center’s fresh garden vegetable and chicken stock heavily infused with fresh oregano.  It turned out to be a thick soup full of vegetables, chicken meat and premises made fresh noodles. A hearty soup that T.R. loved.  My only suggestion is that the final soup should use fresh chicken meat and vegetables to give the soup an even fresher flavor.

T.R., Linda, and Suzette drank glasses of Stella Artois on tap and I drank glasses of lemonade with the meal.

My overall impression is the Greenhouse Bistro is it offers New Age-High End casual dining in a rustic dining room in the country setting among organic gardens in which the vegetables and spices are grown. Very much like the gem like Michelin starred French restaurants that dot the countryside of France.

The Bistro has its own baker, so it makes all the breads and an array of desserts on premises.  We could not stay for dessert because we had treatments in the Garden Gate Day Spa across the parking lot.  We left T.R. in the restaurant and went to the Spa for treatments at 2:00 and after my treatment I met him in the hot tub and swimming pool area inside the spa and we talked and soaked and swam from 5:00 until 4:00 when Linda was through with her treatments.

We then said goodbye to T.R. and Linda and Suzette and I drove back to the house.

When we arrived home a bit after 5:00   

We started dinner by making sushi rice.  I boiled a cup of Jasmine rice and we flavored it with a dressing made with 5 T. of rice vinegar, 5 T. of sugar and 4 tsp. of salt.  This was the amount of seasoning for three cups of rice, so I over sauced the rice by three times, which gave it an intense sweet and sour flavor that I really liked.

Suzette plated the seaweed salad and squid salads in the middle of a large platter and I then added sliced piece of the sushi grade tuna and ½ of the 2 inch wide Salmon steak I had bought at Talin Market around the salads.  Here is a picture.

Suzette went to the basement and fetched a bottle of sake and heated a small pitcher full of it in a bain marie in the sauce pan I used to make the sushi rice dressing and I heated water and made a fresh cup of green tea.  Suzette fetched chopstick holders, rice bowls and dipping dishes and filled the dipping dishes with soy sauce and wasabi sauce and I fetched the container of pickled ginger and we were ready for a huge sashimi dinner as we watched No. 9 ranked Texas in a spirited losing effort against No. 6 ranked LSU until 8:00 when we watched Father Brown and at 9:00 Death in Paradise.

At 7:30, Suzette drove to the store and bought a container of vanilla bean ice cream and after we each ate a small bowl of ice cream, with Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and Suzette’s homemade brandied maraschino cherries for dessert.

At 10:00 we went to bed after a pleasant day of relaxation and good food.

Bon Appetit