July 2, 2026 Breakfast - Pain au Chocolate. Lunch - leftover Cashew Chicken and Chicken and Mixed Vegetables and fried rice. Dinner - 80/250 celebration with Seafood Paella, Piperana Salad, Watermelon and Feta Salad, and Lemon Tiramisu

July 2, 2026 Breakfast - Pain au Chocolate. Lunch - leftover Cashew Chicken and Chicken and Mixed Vegetables and fried rice. Dinner - 80/250 celebration with Seafood Paella, Piperana Salad, Watermelon and Feta Salad, and Lemon Tiramisu

We spent most of the day shopping and preparing for tonight’s Neighborhood party to celebrate my 80th and America’s 250th Birthdays.

After eating a pain au chocolate with a cup of chai I drove to El Super and bought boned chicken dark meat quarters, three bell peppers, green beans, three smoked pork cutlets, two cucumbers, and 1 1/2 lb. of medium shrimp

What Is Pipirrana? 

Pipirrana is a simple salad from southern Spain made of diced ripe summer tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers tossed in a sherry vinaigrette. At the restaurants where we tried it, it was typically served as a refreshing first course or as a side dish to a second course of seafood, such as octopus or tuna.

Countless variations of pipirrana exist, such as mojete or piriñaca, depending not just on the region, but even down to the city. In Jaén, they make a dressing with boiled egg yolks, garlic, and stale bread thinned with olive oil and vinegar. In Murcia, they roast the tomatoes and peppers. And often, canned tuna and hard-boiled eggs make it a more substantial meal. But they all feature the three essentials: tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.

When I returned home I ate the leftover Cashew Chicken and Chicken with Mixed Vegetables with the fried rice from Wednesday’s lunch at East Ocean.

Then I drove to Smith’s to pick up the clams and mussels I had ordered but they had not arrived yet so I bought the 20 fresh little neck clams and three 1 lb. boxes of frozen mussels in garlic and wine sauce plus blueberries, cream cheese, milk, and another plastic container of cherry tomatoes.

I was tired but made it home and rested for an hour.

Then at 3:00 Aaron arrived with a loaf of Le Quiche country whole wheat and a double baguette that we sliced, buttered, wrapped in aluminum foil and heated in the oven.

Aaron also brought a large igloo cooler filled with four bags of ice at 3:00. We put the eight bottles of Pinot noir rose petillant natural sparkling wine (Pet-Nat) plus two bottles of Bandol rose, a bottle of Pinot Grigio, several beers and two cans of apple cider in the cooler to chill in the shade on the back patio. We set up two tables next to the raised beds and added chairs to seat 14 and set the table in the gazebo for 6.

We divided effort, Aaron prepared the watermelon and feta salad by cutting a seedless watermelon in half and using a melon baller to cut balls from the red section. I prepped the pipirrana salad by dicing two red bell peppers, two cucumbers, about 1 red onion and I sliced the two containers of cherry tomatoes in halves.  Suzette prepared the paella after I diced four of the boneless dark meat chicken quarters and we peeled the shrimp. She boiled the shrimp and the shrimp shells and liquid from the cans of baby clams to make a stock and in the other casserole she braised the red bell, onion, garlic in the olive she had browned the sliced Spanish chorizo and Polish Kielbasa sausages and then added Sofrito in the form of Knorr’s dehydrated tomato chicken seasoning plus saffron, sweet Pimenton (sweet paprika) and 5 cups of water in the other large enameled casserole. Then she added about two cups of rice to each of two large baking pan and 1/2 of the diced chicken, each of the stocks, and the sausages.

She covered the baking pans with aluminum foil and baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for twenty minutes and then at 350 degrees for an hour.

Suzette then made the dressings for each of the salads. The dressing for the Pipirrana included Spanish sherry vinegar, olive oil, and sugar. The dressing for the watermelon and feta salad included balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, and sugar.

Aaron also shelled and chopped about 1 1/2 cups of pistachios and about 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves Suzette picked in our garden that was used to garnish the large platter of watermelon salad. The pipirrana was also put in a large platter on a table beside the dining table in the garden.

Willy came at 5:30 to help put up two umbrellas to block the late afternoon sun and assist Suzette.

People began coming at 6:00 Macon was the first to arrive, followed by, Doug and Crystal, the Palmers, the Bean Alversons, Nancy and Cliff, Jim, Diane, and Emily, and Janis and Tom and Monica.

I served the Pet-Nat first and folks talked on the patio. Then around 7:00 we served the paella and salads with Faustino Rivero Ucleo Albariño and more Pet-Nat. 

After dinner and lots of conversation and remembrances, we cleared the plates and Suzette served the lemon tiramisu with our homemade limoncello for dessert.

The combination of lemon syrup soaked lady fingers, whipped cream and marsacapone filling and lemon curd was amazing.

After dinner everyone left except for Diane, Jim, Emily, and Willy. Suzette and I joined them at the table under the gazebo in the cool evening air until around 10:00 when we said goodnight.

It was a lovely birthday party shared with our neighbors and there were lots of leftovers of Pipirrana and Paella and lemon tiramisu.

Bon Appetit

July 1, 2026 Breakfast - Pain au Chocolate Lunch - East Ocean Dinner - Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan and Spahetti

July 1, 2026 Breakfast - Pain au Chocolate  Lunch - East Ocean  Dinner - Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan and Spahetti

Today was interesting from both food and entrtainment.

I started the day at 8:00 helping Suzette in the back yard to get ready for the party on Thursday.

Then around 8:45 I ate a pain au Chocolate with a latte macchiato with collagen. I have been dissolving collagen in my breakfast beverage for about ten days and am beginning to notice that my skin seems to be thickening and is more resilient to cuts and bruises.

I worked at my desk until 10:00 when I watched England win its match.

Then Henry called and he and Rosie picked me up and drove us to East Ocean for lunch.  Rosie suggested we order the Family Dinner that includes soup, an appetizer plate with a fried shrimp, an egg roll, a fried won ton, and a plum paste filled sesame coated fried ball of dough.  Then we chose three entrees. I picked chicken with mixed vegetables, Henry chose Shrimp and vegetables, and Rosie chose Chicken with Lo Mein noodles. They were served with bowls of brown fried rice and white steamed rice. We ate the vegetable dishes first and had very little room for the Lo Mein Noodles. We were each also served a fried chicken wing. It was a massive amount of food and I tried to control myself and eat mostly vegetables, which were delicious in a light thickened chicken stock sauce.

They gave me all the leftover food and I thanked them and said, “Suzette will love it.”

Then they drove me by their family’s property on Rio Grande just north of I-40. They own an impressive .6 acre piece of dirt.

I returned home at 2:30 and checked the portfolio. The market was down and the tech sector with it.  After a 2.4% increase yesterday there was a predictable pull back today. Thankfully it was only .9%.

I lay down at 3:00 and napped until 4:30, when Suzette arrived. She ate some of the Lo Mein Noodles as a snack and the rest later for her dinner. So the leftover lunch was appreciated.

Suzette wanted to prepare the Lemon Tiramisu tonight, so after a cocktail and a bit of HGTV I cut slices of peel off a lemon and squeezed a cup of lemon juice from four or five lemons.  I then combined 2 1/4 cup of sugar in a pot with the peel and the lemon juice and Suzette heated it to make lemon syrup.

Willy came at 5:45 and helped set up the three umbrellas to shade the tables where guests will sit tomorrow evening. 

Then at 6:00 willy and I watched the U.S. v. Bosnia-Herzogovenia World Cup match while Suzette continued making the tiramisu. She whisked two lb. of marsacapone and then we folded in whipped cream.

Then she three layers of lady fingers,beach soaked with lemon syrup and brushed with lemon curd and coated with the marsacapone cream.

Suzette also brought home roses from the Center for the party.

She poured the rest of the syrup over the top of the top layer and covered the tiramisu with Saran and put it in the fridge.

After the U.S. won the match 2 to 0 with only 10 players for the last forty minutes.

Suzette prepared us bowls of the baked baby eggplants, with tomato and leek and burrata on spaghetti and I grated about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese with which we garnished the heated bowl. I drank the rest of the Palazzo Della Torre with my meal.

The Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan is a new dish that Suzette created to utilize the baby Italian eggplants we bought at Talin. It is a better rendition of the dish than the grilled or breaded and fried eggplant slices normally found in Eggplant Parmesan and has no bread crumbs., so it accentuates rather than hides the eggplant. 

Suzette ate the rest of the Lo Mein and drank Scott-Riley Oregon Pinot that Keith had brought to the party last Thursday.

We loved the eggplant dish, which was tastier tonight with the extra burrata.

Willy left at 9:00 and we watched Kimbrrley on PBS about the Wildlife in remote Northwest Australia and went to bed at 10:00.

Suzette to sleep and I to blog.

Bon Appetit

June 30, 2026 Breakfast - two Men on a raft, bacon, and sautéed onions Lunch - Salad. Dinner - Baked Deconstructed eggplant Parmesan and Spaghetti

June 30, 2026 Breakfast - two Men on a raft, bacon, and sautéed onions Lunch - Salad.   Dinner - Baked Deconstructed eggplant Parmesan and Spaghetti

I awakened at 7:20, in time to see the market open at 7:30. Soon it became apparent that this was a “risk on” day with a significant recovery in the tech sector.  Today my portfolio gained over 2.4%m which is a monster day for me.

Around 8:30 I fried two slices of bacon in a large skillet with some slices of onion and then added butter and toasted one side of two slices of whole wheat bread with a hole cut out of the middle. Then I turned the bread slices over and added butter to toast the other side and broke open two eggs w,ith the yolks falling into the holes.  After the bread was toasted I flipped the bread slices so the egg would fry and turned off the heat.  After a minute or two I lifted the men on a raft, the fried bacon, and onions onto a plate and ate them with a cup of chai. I love this combination of egg soaked buttered and toasted bread. The crisp bacon and sautéed onion were a nice addition.

Then I worked at my desk until 11:00 when the match Norway v. Ivory Coast World Cup match started. I was thrilled by the unity of the Norwegian fans and that Norway won 2 to 1 with a simple tap in by Haaland near the end of the match.

At 1:40 I prepared an elaborate salad with romaine lettuce, diced tomato, red onion, Gravad lax, egg, cucumber, and croutons. As I was preparing the salad Suzette arrived around 2:00 and handed me a hard boiled egg that I peeled and diced and added to the salad. I dressed the salad with the already prepared smoked oyster Cesar dressing.

I shared this massive salad with Suzette and it still took a while to eat.

At 3:00 I started watching the second World Cup match of rhe day between France and Sweden, and then at 3:30 meditated until 4:00 when I returned to watch France win easily 3 to 0.

At 4:45 my clients arrived and I closed their transaction by 5:30.

While I was in my office with my clients Suzette made lemon curd which we will use tomorrow to make lemon tiramisu.

At around 6:00 we discussed dinner. Suzette wanted to bake the small eggplants we had bought at Talin. Suzette decided to slice them whole and fan them and bake them with sliced lerk and tomato, but we  we bought at  only one tomato so I fetched a can of Kirkland diced tomatoes. We looked for mozzarella and only found the container of burrata.  Suzette went to the garden and gathered several sprigs of oregano that she placed on top of the fanned eggplants covered with tomato and leeks in a ceramic baking dish. She then baked the sliced eggplants for an hour and then added the burrata for the last few minutes to melt into the other ingredients and boiled a package of spaghetti. 

 

So the dish ended up being a deconstructed eggplant Parmesanthat was lovely combined with the spaghetti.

I opened a bottle of Italian 2020 Palazzo Della Torre red wine that we enjoyed with dinner.

Here are some notes on the wine.

Allegrini Palazzo della Torre is a renowned, full-bodied red wine from the Veneto region of Italy. Crafted by the esteemed Allegrini estate, it is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone, and a splash of Sangiovese. It is produced using an innovative ripasso (double-fermentation) method, offering a velvety texture, soft tannins, and rich notes of dark cherry, raisin, vanilla, and spice.

While the eggplants were baking we watched a re-run episode of Finding Your Roots the included Carol Burnett .

Then after dinner at 8:00 we watched the Mexico v. Ecuador World Cup match that was not very exciting because Ecuador could not compete at Mexico’s level of play, just like the earlier match when Sweden could not match France’s level of skill.

We went to bed at 9:30 after I drank another glass of wine and ate three squares of milk chocolate.

Bon Appetit