9, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel and Lax. Lunch - Mary and Tito’s Tacos. Dinner - Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

July 9, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel and Lax. Lunch - Mary and Tito’s Tacos. Dinner - Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

A regular day except we created spaghetti and clam sauce from the leftover clam chowder by thickening it with a Bechamel sauce and adding 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese.

Lunch was interesting, also. After, Podiatry at 12:00 I went to Mary and Tito’s and asked the waitress what the special was. She said tacos. I then remembered it was Thursday, which is the taco special day. I enjoyed the two hand made tacos and even the rice served with the refried beans. And the price of $7.95 is unbeatable.

Which makes me wonder why I treasure these wonderful food values of a few dollars when my portfolio is doing so well. For example, today my portfolio increased by .85%, just 2.2% from its all time high.

Breakfast was the always satisfying Gravad lax on cream cheese smeared toasted bagel slices with slices of red onion as I watched Tadej Porcaga make biking history with one of the most impressive rides in Tour de France history, riding from 5 km. below the summit of Tourmale for 46 km. evaporating a defective of 7 1/2 minutes behind the yellow Jersey and ending up 2:42 minutes in the yellow Jersey and leading the Tour.

And dinner was a classic example of a PPI conversion. Suzette cooked spaghetti and made a Bechamel sauce with flour and butter and milk and then added the PPI clam chowder to thicken the clam chowder into a sauce. I grated 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese that she added to the sauce to give it flavor and a little salty tangy flavor.

We drank the last of the Hermes French Sauvignon Blanc. Its bland flavor complimented the bland flavor of the pasta dish.

Sometimes PPIs simply achieve a result of getting rid of food in a different format.

After dinner we sipped limoncellos and ate lemon tiramisu as we watched Midsomer Mysteries. 

Suzette went to bed at 9:30 and I stayed up until 11:00 to watch George Gently Detective.

Bon Appetit

July 8, 2026 Breakfast - Watermelon, Blueberries, granola, milk, and mango yogurt Lunch - chicken sandwiches Dinner - Scrambled Egg Paella

July 8, 2026 Breakfast - Watermelon, Blueberries, granola, milk, and mango yogurt  Lunch - chicken sandwiches  Dinner - Scrambled Egg  Paella

I loved the food today because it was lots of my favorites.

I worked on a pleading and then watched the finish of Stage 5 of the Tour with breakfast. I added the last of the watermelon from my birthday party to my morning granola.

Then I worked on Rahim’s transaction until 12:30 when I went with Suzette until 2:00.

When we returned home we decided to make chicken sandwiches on the Country whole wheat bread from Le Quiche. We did not have a tomato so after we toasted two slices of bread for each and spread Mayo we garnished with slices of cucumber, instead of tomato, plus fresh lettuce I picked in the garden, and slices of chicken breast.

Suzette went to the garden and found two small yellow cherry tomatoes and we added some of the Japanese pickled cucumber, red cabbage, and leeks to our plates.

We finished by 3:10 when Damian arrived and Rahim soon after. We worked until 4:30.

Then Suzette and I put the new pump into the west side swamp cooler and moved the new rug under the awning over the back patio.

It was wonderful to have cool air again on the west side of the house and even nicer that we could fix the problem by ourselves.

We rested and Willy came by and we talked until 6:30. Then we decided to make Scrambled egg Paella with the rest of the paella. Suzette had gone through the fridge and found the bottle of fancy Sofrito and I suggested we mix some Sofrito with Clamato juice to moisten the dried out paella. We also agreed to add some zucchini and Vidalia onion and use three eggs.

So I diced 1/2 of a medium zucchini, a handful of frozen green peas,  and 1/4 of an onion and we sautéed those in Spanish olive oil until they took on color and softened. We then added the PPI paella and the sofrito and cooked the mixture. Unfortunately it stuck to the pan because the burner heat was too high and probably there was too little olive oil, so we had to scrape the mixture off the bottom of the skillet.  We then added the eggs Suzette had whisked and let the mixture cook until nearly firm.

When Suzette searched the fridge she found a bottle of Kirkland Cotes de Provence rose and we decided to drink that with dinner, since it is the normal pairing with paella by the French.

We enjoyed a quick, easy, and tasty meal and there was enough left for my breakfast tomorrow,

We then watched a Nature program on the Niagara Falls water shed and ate the last of Nancy’s apricot and blueberry tart. We tried to make it through a Nova program on blackberry holes but I went to sleep, so we went to bed at 9;00 after a pleasant day of some of the food we love.

Bon Appetit

July 7, 2026 Breakfast - granola with watermelon and blueberries, yogurt, and milk. Snack - Peanut butter and honey toast Lunch - Lime Restaurant. Dinner - Roasted Chicken with Spaghetti and green beans

July 7, 2026 Breakfast - granola with watermelon and blueberries, yogurt, and milk. Snack - Peanut butter and honey toast Lunch - Lime Restaurant. Dinner - Roasted Chicken with Spaghetti and green beans

Another day of relatively good food without a lot of calories.

I ate granola while I watched stage 4 of the Tour, which proved very interesting. A Norwegian went into yellow as a break away of 28 riders went 10 minutes ahead of the Peleton. An American, Sean Quinn, also in the break jumped to second, and the American champion, Quinn Simmons came in second on the stage.

Pogajar rested today after winning Stage Three yesterday.

I worked until 12:30 and then drove to Lime Restaurant to meet Aaron at 1:15.

Aaron ordered Shrimp Curry with a egg noodles. I ordered my favorite, No.16, Wontons and Roasted Pork in Chicken soup with egg noodles.

I ordered extra basil and cilantro and we shared an order of egg rolls.

We talked about Earn and its development.

Then at 2;30 I drove to Costco to pick up a prescription and gas the car. I bought a Roasted chicken and two bottled of Hermes Sauvignon 

Blanc from Pay d’ Oc (the West Bank of the Rhone River).

When I returned home I chilled the wine and chicken and watched the last half of the Switzerland v. Colombia match that Switzerland won on penalty kicks.

Then I rested and worked on Rahim’s hotel transaction until 6:00 when I opened the bottle of Hermes Sauvignon Blanc and drank a glass and we watched the last 30 minutes of Argentina’s come from behind victory over Egypt.

Suzette then sautéed green beets Leftover spaghetti, and roasted chicken for dinner and dusted it with grated Parmesan cheese.

We ate while we watched Finding Your Roots that was incredibly interesting tonight.

We then watched a debate on PBS and went to bed at 9:00 except Suzette booked our flight to Marseilles and back to New York and I blogged.

Bon Appetit

July 6, 2026 Breakfast - granola with blueberries, yogurt, and watermelon Lunch - Paella Scrambled eggs and Pipiranna Salad. Dinner - Clam Chowder

July 6, 2026 Breakfast - granola with blueberries, yogurt, and watermelon Lunch - Paella Scrambled eggs and Pipiranna Salad. Dinner - Clam Chowder

Today was a lazy day. I watched Stage 3 of the Tour de France and slept until 8:00. The market was surging as I worked at my desk in the morning mainly checking my mail. It sold off considerably later in the day but my portfolio still increased by 1.34%

Cliff called and confirmed lunch, so when he arrived we went to the garden and picked about ten peas. I shucked the peas from all but two of the peas and then sautéed the peas with about 2 oz. of red onion and smoked pork chop in Spanish olive oil.

I then added PPI paella to fill the skillet and when that was heated I added and stirred in two eggs and scrambled the mixture until all the egg congealed.

I filled each of our plates with the scrambled paella and a pile of Pipiranna Salad, finely diced red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, and cherry tomatoes dressed with Spanish sherry vinegar and olive oil.

I poured out the last of the bottle of Rivallena Gran Reserva Rioja and we ate a pleasant lunch.

When Cliff left around 1:45 I watched Spain beat Portugal 1 to 0 in a hotly contested World Cup match.

Then I filed an annual report and obtained a certificate of good standing for one of Suzette’s corporations.

I then lay down and read Being Ram Dass and talked to Luke until 5:30 when I went to the kitchen to help Suzette prepare Clam Chowder for dinner. 

I finely diced four Yukon gold potatoes, two stalks of celery, half a leek and half a Vidalia onion. Suzette went to the garden and picked thyme, savory, and the baby green seed tops of the blooming celery that she called celery dust and added the minced herbs, milk, about 1 cup of baby clams, and the diced potatoes to the soup and cooked it until it simmered for several minutes to cook all the ingredients. She then added some heavy cream and served the soup in pasta bowls with saltine crackers that we crushed into the soup.

I opened a bottle of Kirkland Pinot Grigio and poured glasses and we watched the U.S. v. Belgium soccer match.

After dinner when it became apparent that the US would lose we switched to PBS and watched the Antique Roadshow and shared a slice of the wonderful apricot and blueberry tart that Nancy made with the apricots we gave guests of my birthday party last Thursday that Cliff brought.

We went to bed at 9:00.

Bon Appetit

July 5, 2026 Breakfast - Lax on Bagel. Lunch - Chicken Salad at Amy and Vahl’s. Dinner - Paella

July 5, 2026 Breakfast - Lax on Bagel. Lunch - Chicken Salad at Amy and Vahl’s. Dinner - Paella

I slept until 8:00 after being up two hours from 3:30 a.m. to finish yesterday’s blog.

I knew it would be a long day in Santa Fe, so I ate two thin slices of toasted bagel spread with cream cheese and garnished with slices of red onion and Gravad lax.

I then showered and dressed and we left around 9:15.

We drove to the estate sale and loaded the large rug we bought at 10::45 or 11:00.

We then drove to Amy’s for lunch. She served us cinnamon ice tea and then when Vahl arrived. Amy served lunch of an elegant chicken salad with lettuce special tomatoes and a light lemon and olive oil dressing rather than Mayo.

We brought the almond croissant and three regular croissants and a bottle of Red Tail Ridge Pinot Noir Pet-Nat. The creamy, yeasty flavor of the slightly sparkling wine complimented the chicken and was very refreshing.

After dinner Amy served us a Yasso frozen yogurt bar covered with milk chocolate and bits of praline and several Yasso dark chocolate truffles.

We enjoyed the lightness of the lunch, as we are all trying toLose weight.

At 1:00 we drove home and I was able to see Norway beat Brazil and then at 7:00 after I ate a plate of paella, we watched England beat Mexico in what will surely be one of the best matches of this World Cup.

We also watched Miss Fisher and after Suzette went to bed at 9:00, I wrote several Thank you notes and then at 10:00 watched an episode of Astrid.

Then at 11:00 I blogged this entry and went to bed

Bon Appetit