August 30, 2021 Lunch - Sawmill Food Hall. Dinner - new recipe - Penne Pasta Primavera with sliced zucchini, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and chicken garnished with buttera

 August 30, 2021 Lunch - Sawmill Food Hall. Dinner - new recipe - Penne Pasta Primavera with sliced zucchini, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and chicken garnished with butter

 Woke up and saw that it was going to be a positive day in the market and checked the news and then ate a blueberry Newton and walked 2/3 mile at 8:30. 

When I returned I worked until 10:30 when I heated a plate of enchiladas and fried an egg over firm to garnish the warm enchiladas that I had garnished with chopped onions.  

Then at 12:00 I drove to the bank and then to the Sawmill Market at 1909 Bellamah NW where I soon met Don and Bev.  We walked around looking at the many different dining and beverage options until Suzette arrived. Since I had just eaten I did not order anything to eat.  Instead I bought a root beer.  Don bought a brisket sandwich at a BBQ shop, Suzette bought two brochettes and Bev bought an interesting circular six cellos pasta with pomodoro sauce. Two things became obvious, this was the Paxton Lumber building and the vendors were offering an interesting assortment of high quality interesting foods.

Willy had said that he liked the Sawmill Mall and I could see why. 

I bought a 12 oz. glass of root beer for $5.00 at a beverage vendor that sold beers, ciders, and mixed drinks by the glass.

Then Suzette said she had ordered and needed a glass of wine, so we walked to the wine bar, where she ordered a glass of Michael Codex Albariño. We were the Molly’s customers so I started talking to the proprietor and he started pouring me Tastes of wine every time I mentioned a wine.  He asked me whether I preferred white or red wine.  When I sad, “white”, he poured a glass of a one ounce taste of Campo Viejo Cava, which was lovely and then a taste of a Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc, which I found musty.  

I then told him of my first experience going to Mondavi winery with Billy in 1969 and entering a small tasting room at the front of the property where Robert Mondavi was pouring his wines and how he offered me a taste of his new dry rose, just as this fellow was offering me tastes, and how I have loved dry rose’s ever since.

The proprietor then poured a full glass of Campo Viejo sparkling Cava as Suzette appeared and said they were eating at a table outside and could I join them, so I paid $8.00 for the glass and joined them, ending my rhapsodic wine interlude.

The food was good, better than I expected. I tried pork brochettes and the pasta dish and liked both.  

Then at 1:30 I said goodbye and returned home to meet my client and his sister for their 2:15 court appearance. I checked my portfolio’s performance at 2:07 and found that it had arisen 1% thanks in large measure to an over $4.00 increase in Apple.

We appeared at the court hearing for thirty minutes and then we talked among ourselves and with opposing counsel until 3:30.

After they left I checked the mail and found two checks, so I drove to the bank again to deposit them.

When I returned home at 4:15 and lay down to watch Ari Melber, my favorite news anchor, Suzette yelled from her office next door to the bedroom that we were expected at Willy’s for a drink at 5:00.  I told her that Secretary of State Blinken was soon to speak and I wanted to hear him.  Suzette told me that the 5:00 time was flexible.

Secretary Blinken spoke at 5:00.  It was a major policy speech, clearly the most important diplomatic statement of the U.S. government so far in this administration and perhaps any administration of the last twenty years, because it reset American diplomacy toward Afghanistan. It was a crisp delivery of 8 key points stated succinctly without editorial comment or hyperbole.  Several things were clear from the points: America will continue to extract Americans and affected Afghans who wish to leave Afghanistan, the Allies including G7 and NATO and the UN have set standards they expect the Taliban to meet in its governance of Afghanistan, the U.S’ embassy and consular staff for Afghanistan will be posted in Doha, Qatar, and several nations, including Turkey, have offered to deal directly with the new government of Afghanistan directly in Kabul.

At 5:15 when the speech ended Don and Bev arrived and we drove in their big diesel truck to Willy’s where he offered us drinks and pistachios on his deck with its amazing view of the mountains.  We enjoyed a pleasant conversation until 6:30 when Willy excused himself to go to the gym.

Dinner - When we returned home suzette and I began to discuss dinner.  Suzette went to the fridge and found the remaining chicken, the tomatoes from her garden at the center, and a zucchini, so we decided to make a chicken primavera pasta dish.  We decided to include onion, portobello mushrooms, and garlic.

Soon Suzette was boiling penne pasta and I was chopping vegetable slices.

I put the vegetables into three bowls as I do for Chinese dishes based upon the sequencing of their cooking times, onion and zucchini in a bowl, mushrooms and chicken in a second and tomatoes in a third.  The ingredient we chose to unite all the flavors of the dish was fresh basil, so after I chopped the ingredients and Suzette began sautéing them in a large skillet I went to the garden and picked a handful of basil leaves and destemmed them and diced them into 1/3 inch squares that Suzette added to the skillet.  Suzette added white wine to make a simple white wine sauce when it mixed with the butter and olive oil she used to sauté the dish.

I then asked Suzette what wine she thought we should drink.  She said a light red, such as Chianti.  I wanted to serve a cool wine because it had been a hot day, so I started looking in our wine fridge in the butler’s pantry.  After a few minutes, I found a 2015 Casa Avril Malbec and decided to try it because I thought Don and Bev should try a good New Mexico wine.  As I recall we paid $40 or $50 dollars for the bottle.  It was Mr. Vigil’s most costly wine and neither I nor Suzette had tasted it, so it would be a surprise for all of us.

I opened the Malbec and carried it out to the gazebo as Suzette was yelling to me to bring the wine.  Everyone liked the wine.  It resonated flavor wise with the anise flavor of the basil, as Bev noted.  It also expressed a smoothness and weightiness that suggested character.  We enjoyed our meal and the wine immensely.

At 9:00 Bev said it was time to leave to go feed Daisy, their dog, so we said goodnight after Suzette planned a spa day for them at the Center and I planned a whiskey tasting at Left Turn Distillery.

Bon Appetit

August 29, 2021 Brunch - Man on a Raft overboard with ham and cheese. Dinner - Chicken and Zucchini Enchiladas

 August 29, 2021 Brunch - Man on a Raft overboard with ham and cheese. Dinner - Chicken and Zucchini Enchiladas

I awakened at 7;30 and checked the news and Hurricane Ida have reached sustained winds of 160 mph with gusts to 185 mph.

I then switched back and forth from v.  Burnley v. Leeds to the news. The Match was fiercely contested.

At 10:30 we put the cover on the camping van and then Suzette made brunch.  We looked for grits put did not have any so Suzette made a warm open faced sandwich with slices of Jarlsberg cheese melted on slices of whole wheat bread garnished with slices of ham and an egg. We call an egg cooked on a piece of bread a man on a raft.  Unfortunately p, as zsuzette was carrying the dish to our plates the eggs slid off the ham.  So I am compelled to call today’s dish Man on a raft overboard.  We scraped most of the egg up and put it back on the ham, a little worse for wear.  The dish was very tasty even with a ruined egg.

I then lay down to watch Manchester Union beat the Wolverhampton Wanders 1 to 0 in a hotly contested game in which De Gea made two spectacular saves from point blank range to protect the win.

At 3:00 we decided to make red chili chicken and zucchini enchiladas for dinner for Don and Bev, who were driving into town to visit us.

We started by boiling six or seven chicken leg quarters and once they were in the pot of simmering water, I drove to El Super to buy the needed ingredients, including grated Monterrey Jack cheese, requeson, and crema Sin sal.  I also bought pasillla chilis, green onions, broccoli, green beans, yellow onions, limes, mushrooms, blueberries, avocados, cilantro, an eggplant, a 12 pack of Dos Equis beer, and bananas.

When I returned I was tired and lay down for a bit after we brought in the groceries.

At 5:30 I got up to start cooking dinner.  Dinner was one dish of chicken enchiladas.  I stripped the chicken meat from the bone while Suzette chopped zucchini and onion and sautéed them with some cilantro.

We then made the red chili using the Shed recipe, except I added 1 1/2 cup of Clamato juice and 1 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup of tomato juice and two cups of chicken stock.

.

Then we soaked 6 corn tortillas in a mixture of chicken stock and red chili sauce to soften them and lined the bottom of a 10 x 15 Pyrex baking dish with the six tortillas.  Then we lay chicken and requeson on the layer of tortillas, then some red chili sauce and then another layer of 6 softened corn tortillas and then on top of that layer of tortillas the zucchini and onions plus some of grated Monterrey Jack cheese and finally another layer of softened corn tortillas and some more Monterrey Jack cheese.  The suzette filled the Pyrex baking dish to the brim with a mixture of red chili and chicken broth.

She then baked the enchiladas in a medium oven for about an hour.  Don and Bev arrived soon after we put the enchiladas into the oven.  Suzette made mojitos for us and we took them outdoors to the gazebo to drink them.

After we finished our drinks and a bit of conversation, we came to check the enchiladas and they were done, so Don and I went to the garage and fetched 5 Dos Equis, which were cold while Suzette cut and plated 4 pieces of enchilada and garnished them beautifully with slices of avocado and dollops of Crema.  

We took our plates and beers to the table in the gazebo and enjoyed a slightly spicy dinner and enjoyed more conversation until I had to come in to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Everyone came about fifteen minutes later and we talked until about 8:30 after we planned the next two day’s activities after which Don and Bev left.

It was a simple dinner that everyone seemed to enjoy.

Bon Appetit 

August 28, 2021 Brunch - Ham and Eggs Dinner - Grilled Steak and Sweet potatoes with a vegetable Medley of Sliced Mushrooms, zucchini, shallot, and Shishito peppers and a Tomato and cucumber salad

 August 28, 2021 Brunch - Ham and Eggs   Dinner - Grilled Steak and Sweet potatoes with a vegetable Medley of Sliced Mushrooms, zucchini, shallot, and Shishito peppers and a Tomato and cucumber salad

I awakened at 7:30 and saw that the Leicester v. Norwich PL match came on at 8:00 I got dressed and told Suzette I was going for a walk. Se got dressed and said she would join me.  I watched the first 18 minutes of the match and then we walked 2/3 mile.

Then Suzette went to work and I watched the rest of green match. Amazingly Liecester won 2 to 1. 

I then made breakfast of two eggs, 1 slice of onion, and two slices of ham sautéed and a slice of toasted French Baguette spread with orange marmalade and garnished with Jarlsberg cheese plated for 23 seconds in the microwave and a cup of chai.

I finished the prep at 10:30 just as the match between Chelsea and Liverpool.  It was a great match that ended 1 to 1.  I did not see the last few minutes, but enough to see the two goals. I had never seen the penalty that led to Liverpool’s goal. It was caused by a player blocking a kick going into the goal with his hand.  He was immediately given a red card and ejected from the match and Salad scored on the penalty kick.  Afterwards, Chelsea was able to protect the tie with a strong defense even though they only played with 10 players.

Suzette came home in the afternoon while I was reading the first few pages of Travels With Charley by Steinbeck.

I watched the news at 5:00 and then went to the kitchen to start dinner.  I had thawed a rib steak after brunch. 

Suzette wanted to grill sweet potato slices with the steak.  I wanted to sauté a medley of zucchini, Shishito peppers, mushrooms, and 1 1/2 shallots plus some thyme and tarragon and about 2 T. of sherry after about fifteen minutes of sautéing.

Suzette also made a salad of chopped tomatoes and cucumber.

It was a great dinner.  The sweet potato slices were a bit dry put we diced them and mixed them with the vegetable medley.

I opened a bottle of 2017 De Ponte Dundee Hills Pinot Noir.

The wine was delicious but not as wonderful as the De Ponte 2016 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir.

After dinner we watched the Mirror has two sides with Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges and a terrific supporting cast.

We stayed up to watch some of Saturday Night Live, but went to bed when we saw it was a re-run.

Bon Appetit  

August 27, 2021 Lunch - Ham and cheese sandwiches Dinner - New Recipe, Lamb Keema

 August 27, 2021 Lunch - Ham and cheese sandwiches  Dinner - New Recipe, Lamb Keema

What a strange day.  It did not go the way I thought it would.  Instead of walking I watched Federal Reserve chairman Powell’s Jackson Hole video speech at 8:00. Then I revised documents for my new case and called my new client who came by to review and sign the revised documents that I then filed in court around 11:30.  I was watching the market off and on and the military reports on Afghanistan.  The market seemed to stabilize except for Moderna that was down almost $20 at one point, but luckily ended down only $15.00 because 1.9 million doses sent to Japan were contaminated.  The Dow was up and the NASDAQ reached a new high and so did my portfolio. Bravo. It s up 21.8% for 2021 to date. Which is good because I am spending money on house repairs.  Greg finished repairing the wood on the patio pergola today.  I felt proud that I had bought 80 shares of Facebook because it went up $8.25 today; enough to pay Greg’s bill and tried to forget that the 500 shares of JD stock I sold to obtain the money to buy the Facebook Stock had gone up $13.00 since I sold them.

I ate granola with yogurt and blueberries and milk for breakfast at 11:00.  At 1:30 I decided to make ham and Jarlsberg cheese sandwiches.  I toasted two slices of whole wheat bread and spread Mayo and mustard on each slice.  Then I added slices of ham and cheese and heated them in the microwave for 33 seconds to slightly melt the cheese and warm the ham.

I drank a glass of Buttonwood Riesling with the sandwiches and ate the last two slices of the lovely red tomato from Suzette’s Center for Ageless Living’s garden in Los Lunas.  Both the sandwiches and the wine were delicious. I lay down but could not get to sleep. I drove to the library and picked up Travels With Charley by Steinbeck and The Night Watchman by Erdrich at 3:00. Then Audrey called at 4:00 and we talked for about 1/2 hour.

Lamb Keema

Suzette arrived at 5:00 and I got up at 5:30 and watched the news with her until 6:30 when she fetched the new recipe in a Cooking Simple magazine. Here is the recipe.

The reason we picked this recipe was because we had all the ingredients to prepare it, including all the exotic herbs like ground cloves, turmeric, and coriander. I first assembled all the herbs and other ingredients.  The only alteration we made to the recipe was, we used a diced ripe tomato from The Center instead of tomato paste, which we deemed an improvement.

I sliced 1/2 onion in half horizontally and into thin slices and chopped about 1 T. each of ginger and garlic, which Suzette sautéed in a large Enameled casserole in 1 1/2 T. of olive oil.  After ten to fifteen minutes when the onions had browned a bit and turned translucent Suzette added the spice mixture she had assembled and we cooked a few minutes more to release the herbs’ flavors.  Then we added the diced tomatoes and cooked the mixture until the mixture thickened to almost a paste and the tomatoes went into solution in about fifteen minutes.

                                                   Sautéing the onions, ginger, and garlic

                                                    Sautéing the spices with the onions

   

                                              Cooking the lamb with the tomatoes and spices
           Cooking the tomatoes with the spices

We then added a lb. of ground lamb and a cup of water and cooked the mixture another 20 to 30 minutes until it thickened into the consistency of a creamy sauce.

We each then toasted two corn tortillas on the open gas flame of the stove and spooned the creamy mixture onto the tortillas and garnished it with fresh minced cilantro and dabs of sour cream.

The sauce melted the tortillas into a soft pastry that formed a soft succulent base for the dish.

I love a Cotes Du Rhone style red wine with lamb. I have found a good Spanish wine that is really wonderful at Trader Joe’s that has the same grape dosage as many Cotes Du Rhone bottles; 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache. It is the 2011 Origon Gran Reserva, which is a real bargain at $5.99.  I have bought cases of it because I love its smoothness and find it goes well with lamb and steaks.

I opened a bottle of it while the Keema was cooking and we had a sip of it while we watched the news.  Then we drank it with the lamb and found it to perfectly complement the Keema as the wine and Keema blended into a seamless whole.

We drank the rest of the bottle after dinner with a piece of fresh Belgium milk chocolate with almonds and it was pretty delicious with the chocolate also as we watched Terminal with Tom Hanks and Zeta Jones until 10:00 when we went to bed.

Bon Appetit

 

August 26, 2021 Brunch - Frontier Sausage breakfast burrito. Dinner - Pork Spare Ribs and roasted vegetables and peach cobbler

 August 26, 2021 Brunch - Frontier Sausage breakfast burrito.  Dinner - Pork Spare Ribs and roasted vegetables and peach cobbler

Today was busy with activities and food.  I walked 2/3 mile at 7:00 and then fixed breakfast.  I sautéed and then poached the PPI handful of trout with potatoes and spinach with more spinach, a slice of sausage, and an egg and toasted a piece of French baguette that I buttered and spread with orange marmalade. 

Then I showered and dressed and worked until 9:25, when I walked to the Palmer’s house for a book club meeting. We met in the garden where we were served a Frontier burrito and orange juice and had a pleasant discussion of the Autobiography of Malcolm X until almost noon.

After everyone else left Peter and I stayed to talk with Charlie and Susan.  Susan made me a pot of jasmine tea and heated pieces of Frontier sweet rolls for a lovely impromptu lunch.

After lunch I went home and showed Greg the rotten wood on the pillars on the front porch and then lay down after watching some news and noting that the market was down.  I napped from a bit after 1:00 until 2:30.  

When I awakened i ate a handful of milk chocolate covered almonds and saw that President Biden was going to speak at 3:00 so I waited and watched him speak until almost 4:00.  He gave an amazing speech alternating from empathy for the 13 servicemen killed by an ISIS suicide bomber to hardened resolve to hunt down the leaders of ISIS responsible for the murders and continue the evacuation mission.

Then a bit after 4:00 I drove to the library and picked up Travels with Charlie by Steinbeck and The Night Watchman by Erdrich.

I returned at 4:30 and was able to talk to Chapado the roofer before meditation at 5:00.

Suzette arrived as we were finishing meditation at 5:30 with three beautiful ripe tomatoes.  She rested with a cocktail as I drank water and we discussed the day’s events and dinner as we watched the news.  Neither of us was particularly hungry or wanted to cook.  Suzette had eaten the Blue Plate Special at the Bistro of Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread late in the afternoon  I had already eaten three meals and a snack.  At 6:30 I toasted two slices of bread for a ham sandwich but when I went to fetch the ham I saw the PPI Pork Spare Ribs and Roasted vegetables in the fridge and felt compelled to reheat and eat them with a beer and slices of onion and the lovely tomatoes.

Suzette soon made a beautiful light dinner of one of the red tomatoes stuffed with ham salad and garnished with slices yellow tomato from our garden and cilantro.  She opened the Buttonwood Riesling bought at the winery on our visit to the Finger Lakes in April. It was not as good as some others we tried but its flavor and character increased as it opened up. 

After our light dinner Suzette made a peach cobbler with the rest of the peaches from our garden.  When it finished baking she made whipped cream sweetened with some sugar and flavored with almond flavoring for a peachy dessert. We enjoyed glasses of Riesling with dessert.

After dinner we were both tired, so at 9:00 I went to bed and Suzette soon followed.

It seems that almost all Americans who wish to leave Afghanistan are out or shortly will be.  By this evening over 100,000 persons had been airlifted out.

There is now some prospect that the Taliban and the U.S. will join forces in some manner to hunt down ISIS.  Probably, the Taliban will supply the intelligence for the US to target American drone strikes.  The U.S. will probably provide assistance to the Taliban to keep the Kabul airport open and the government functioning as it did for the prior Afghan government.  This could be a better result than Vietnam, where the US had no engagement with the country after it fell to Communist control.

I do not think the Taliban want Afghanistan to go back into the dark ages and have every educated person leave the country.

It was said several times that there is a huge difference between those persons who live in urban centers and those who live in rural areas in Afghanistan.

What a challenge the Taliban face.

At 9:00 I checked my portfolio and confirmed the bad news, that today I suffered a loss of .86%. But the good news is that even with today’s loss, my portfolio has gained a massive 20.68% so far this year.

I went to bed happy.

As I was telling the meditation group, you can choose to be happy/positive or sad/negative, depending on how you program your thoughts much of the time, with the understanding that life events will force you in one way or the other.

My dad believed in the power of positive thinking.  I consider it creating your own positive karma. 

The news of the day offered two good examples.  You could be sad that 13 American soldiers were killed or happy that 7000 persons were airlifted out of Kabul and the Americans’ determination that the airlift will continue.  Similarly, you could bemoan today’s almost 1% loss in the Market or focus on the over 20% gain for the year.  I prefer to dwell on the positive.

I awakened at 12:30 to finish this blog and drink a glass of water to help digest the pork spare ribs.

Bon Appetit

August 25, 2021 Lunch - Ham Salad Salad. Dinner - Suzette’s Birthday Dinner Party at Artichoke Cafe

 August 25, 2021 Lunch - Ham Salad Salad. Dinner - Suzette’s Birthday Dinner Party at Artichoke Cafe

I awakened with two major projects today.  I spent four hours in the morning and until 1:30 drafting and filing two pleadings for one case.

At 9:00 I toasted two slices of French baguette and spread them with cream cheese and laid slices of red onion and the Gravad lax and garnished them with capers on one. I spread butter and pineapple marmalade on the other slice and added slices of Jarlsberg cheese.  I drank a cup of hot tea.

Then I made a quick lunch of spinach leaves dressed with Suzette’s Balsamic, basil, and olive oil dressing and a couple of spoonfuls of ham salad and toasted and buttered a slice of French baguette.

I then watched the market close and the Pentagon and White House briefings.  Another day of a small loss.  My portfolio is still up more than 20% for this year.  Impressive by any standard.

I worked on Suzette’s probate case in the afternoon and then at 4:00 I drove to Total Wine to buy a bottle of the most highly rated VSOP cognac for Suzette’s birthday.  When I returned home Suzette had arrived so I sneaked into the bedroom and wrapped the bottle in paper and placed it in a Happy Birthday bag. I then watched the last 15 minutes of Ari Melber.

When Suzette walked in she saw the bag and found the bottle of cognac.  Later she said she wanted to put the bottle in the basement wine cellar for six years.  I was pleased she thought it was a bottle worthy of aging.

At 6:30 Willy arrived and at 6:45 he drove us to a artichoke Cafe.

We were shown to a table on the patio on Edith St.  It soon became clear that the service was impeccable.  Suzette ordered a glass of French champagne. I ordered a glass of Spanish Cava Rose’.  Willy ordered a Malbec.

We ordered a burrata on toast garnished with cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil.  It was deliciously creamy.  Willy ordered citrus olives, a heated olive medley served in a ceramic shallow ramekin.  I ordered a duck rillette, a mixture of duck meat and liver topped with a mixed berry jam with toast points.  Everything was wonderfully flavorful.

                                  Duck Rillette with pickled radish, cornichons, and Mustard

                                        The Burrata Toast with fresh stewed cherry tomatoes 

                                                     The Citrus Olives

Suzette and I then ordered the daily fish special, baked halibut on a bed of mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and roasted carrots.  We tasted a bottle of Bandol rose and it was so wonderful, we took the entire bottle. Willy ordered the 1/2 chicken Diablo.  It was a roasted chicken 1/2 covered with a spicy herb sauce.  The halibut was cooked to firm, but it was still juicy and the carrots were tender and slightly charred.

  The halibut on creamed potatoes steamed green beans and roasted carrots 

                               Willy’s chicken Diablo and steamed red kale

We loved dinner. And the service was attentive hut not intrusive.  There were flies, so soon the service staff placed citronella lamps around our table that eliminated the flies.  I was amazed.

I was thrilled when Suzette chose a 2018 Bandol Rose to drink with the meal.  It was lovely, elegant, and silky smooth across the entire palate.

When we finished our dinner, suzette told the waitress that this was her birthday.  Soon, we were shown a dessert menu.  Suzette suggested splitting a creme brûlée. In a couple of minutes the waitresses brought a creme brûlée with a small birthday candle stuck on the plate. They lit the candle and we all sang Happy Birthday to Suzette.  After we ate the dessert was eaten we signed the check and drove home after a 2 1/2 hour meal.

It was a terrific meal and the service was great.  This was one of the best meals I have eaten in Albuquerque in a long time.  It is great to have a good restaurant in Albuquerque.  It is wonderful to know that Artichoke has maintained its quality of food and service for so many years.

Perhaps we will go out to eat more often in the future.

When we returned home I ate some Swedish chocolate with crushed hazelnuts, some Calvados, and a cup of chai.

Bon Appetit