February 22, 2026 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel Dinner - Chinese New Year at East Ocean with Chews and Blaugrunds

February 22, 2026 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel  Dinner - Chinese New Year at East Ocean with Chews and Blaugrunds

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and washed , dried, and packed the two Gravad lax fillets in Saran. Then I watched the Gold Medal match for Women’s Curling between Sweden and the Swiss. The Swedes were phenomenal, making as many as four rock combinations and winning the gold for the third time.

Then at 6:00 the last event of the Olympics, the gold medal match between 

Canada and the US in Men’s Ice Hockey. It was a nail biter all the way being tied 1 to 1 at the end of regulation. Then the US scored the winning golden goal in the first two minutes of overtime to take the gold. 

At around 8:30 I toasted four thin slices of bagel. Suzette took the thinnest two, spread cream cheese lightly on them and then garnished them with slices of tomato, Gravad lax, and capers. I garnished my bagels with Gravad lax, red onions, and capers.

I then watched soccer, Fareed Zacharia, and more soccer while dozing off and on.

At 12:00 we went to pick up Christmas Plates donated by a psychologist friend of Suzette’s. Then we walked in the Bosque to the lakes but most of the ducks had migrated north.

We then drove to El Super, where we bought mangos, a pineapple, a papaya, oranges, radishes, avocados, green onions, lemons, Persian cucumbers, tortillas, potatoes, plain and mango yogurt, a head of cabbage, a cucumber, carrots, and garlic.

We then drove home and unloaded our stuff and I rested and Suzette watched home remodeling shows until 4:00 when we got ready for dinner.

The Chews invited us and the Blaugrunds to join them for what had become our annual Chinese New Year dinner at East Ocean at 5:00.

When we arrived at 5:00 they were seated at a round table. We took our seats  and Wayne ordered dinner. There were five dishes served. First, fried dumplings, then Longevity broad noodles with beef, then Shanghai noodles with seafood, then Sweet and Sour Battered and fried Pork ribs, and finally a platter of Chinese Broccoli with beef.

We ate as much as we could and then filled boxes to take home the leftovers.

We returned home around 6:45 and Suzette went to bed and I watched a movie we had seen before on Netflix, My Oxford Year. It turned out to be a tear jerker, but very well acted.

I blogged and went to bed at10:30.

Bon Appetit

February 21, 2026 Breakfast - Taco Omelet. Lunch - Roasted Pork Sandwich. Dinner - Grilled Trout with green beans and pinon nuts and Seaweed Mushroom Rice

February 21, 2026 Breakfast - Taco Omelet. Lunch - Roasted Pork Sandwich. Dinner - Grilled Trout with green beans and pinon nuts and Seaweed Mushroom Rice

The Olympics have thrown my schedule off. I am getting up at 3:30 a.m. to watch events like cross Country skiing live.

Around 9:00 I decided to make scrambled eggs by adding onion and diced tomato to Willy’s taco meat in the fridge.

I called Willy and he came over for breakfast and to watch soccer.

I filled a toasted flour tortilla with the taco scrambled eggs and slices of avocado to make a burrito and Willy ate his without bread or a tortilla.

Then at 11:30 I drove to Costco and bought mushrooms, romaine lettuce, collagen for Suzette, lamb chops, trout, and  twelve bottles of wine: four Faustino de Umblea Spanish Albariño, a bottle of ten year old tawny port, a Scott Family New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Kirkland Sauvignon Blanc, a Kirkland Bordeaux Superior, two Kirkland Malbecs for Willy, a Kirkland Pinot Grigio, and one of the small bird Cotes Du Rhone. 

When I returned home around 2:00 Suzette sliced thin slices of roasted pork and we toasted slices of bread and spread them with Mayo and garnished them with slices of tomato, red onion, and pork. I added lettuce to mine and ate the sandwich with dill pickles.

At 4:00 I went to the garden and picked a handful of parsley and a few sprigs of thyme and minced them and then added two green onions minced and two T. of soft butter to make an herbed butter.

Suzette soaked two 1 x 6 inch cedar planks in water.

Then at 5:00 we went to Willy’s new rental house to see it. I could see his office across the Little Theater parking lot that looked to be four blocks away.

When we returned at 6:00 we started cooking while watching Bill Maher. I cut the heads and tails off the three trout and Suzette salted one side of each trout with the new sea salt we bought in Mexico and grilled them. She also snapped the cooked green beans from the other night and sautéed them with pinon nuts.

I cooked a cup of rice to which I added 1/2 tsp. of dehydrated dashi and some dried seaweed and Suzette added about a cup of PPI sautéed mushroom.

Willy arrived punctually at 7:00 as I deboned the trout and we plated with a trout fillet, rice and green beans with pinon and Suzette put a T. of herbed butter on each filler.

I had chilled the Scott Family Sauvignon Blanc and served it with dinner. It was like putting high octane gas in the engine. It had a much higher amount of tannins that were matched with a slightly greater fruit that lit up one’s flavor buds.

It was a really successful meal and we have trout and rice leftovers.

Suzette wants to prepare a trout Niçoise salad.

At 7:00 as we ate we watched Have I Got News for You.

Then we watched Father Brown and Death in Paradise.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 and I stayed up to watch Canada win the amen’s Curling Gold metal and went to bed at 11:30.

Bon Appetit

 

February 20, 2026 Breakfast - Granola with Blueberries. Lunch - BLT Sandwiches. Dinner - Jose Andreas Roasted Pork Sirloin Tapa with Green Beans and Roasted Root Vegetables

February 20, 2026 Breakfast - Granola with Blueberries. Lunch - BLT Sandwiches. Dinner - Jose Andreas Roasted Pork Sirloin Tapa with Green Beans and Roasted Root Vegetables

I slept until 7:45  I WATCHED THE U.S. women lose to Switzerland in curling and then at 9:00 I ate a bowl of granola, with milk, mango yogurt, and blueberries.

Then I worked at my desk and talked to Aaron until 1:20 when I turned on the TV and found that the US was playing Slovakia in the men’s hockey semi-final. I decided to eat lunch at home and watch.

I fried four slices of bacon and toasted two slices of bread and spread them with Mayo and garnished them with a slice of tomato, red onion, bacon, and lettuce. I drank a glass of water and ate three dill pickles.

Suzette came home at 4:00 while the hockey match was nearing its end with the US winning 6 to 2 and goes on the play Canada for the final on Sunday.

I checked my portfolio and it was up, but not near its high.

At 4:30: I made Gravad lax with 1/2 cup of sugar, 2/3 cup of salt, and 1 tsp. of crushed black pepper plus dill between each layer in a Pyrex dish.

Then I took a short walk and picked five sprigs of fresh oregano.

Dinner -

Then I cut two apples and one onion into slices. I then cooked the apple and onion slices. Suzette took over cooking and I removed the layer of fat from a Pork sirloin roll and cut four 1 1/4 inch steaks and cut each into three pieces.

When the apple and onion slices had cooked Suzette added the oregano and pork pieces and Suzette cooked it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Then she added 1/2 cup of chicken stock and 2 T. of brandy to make a sauce.  Suzette also added some of the green beans we cooked last night to the sauce and heated the leftover roasted potatoes, carrots and onion in the microwave.

I opened a bottle of 2015 Marques de Silva Rioja Gran Reserva that I bought on sale at Costco for $9.99. It was really delicious and we finished drinking the bottle after the meal.

Soon Suzette was plating the tapa, with green beans and a small pile of reheated roasted vegetables and we ate a lovely easy dinner.

We watched a Rob Reiner movie titled Flipped and then Suzette went to bed and I stayed up to catch on the Supreme Court decision finding Trump’s tariff regime unconstitutional And Trump’s meltdown on camera at the news conference following the decision and then blogged.

I went to bed at 11:30.

Bon Appetit  

February 19, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel, Lunch - Vinaigrette Dinner - Sautéed Salmon, green beans, and roasted vegetables

February 19, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel,  Lunch - Vinaigrette Dinner - Sautéed Salmon, green beans, and roasted vegetables

Today besides going to Smith’s to reprovision, I rested and watched the Olympics today. The big American win came in Women’s hockey when the US women beat Canada to win the gold metal.

I went to Smith’s at 10:30. We needed milk, but after I fetched that I wanted to buy salmon and dill for Gravad lax. I bought almost four pounds so there would be enough for dinner. I also bought a lb. of sea scallops for $12.00 on the way to the butcher shop. I also noticed that the pork sirloin chops looked great and when I got to the front of the store I discovered whole logs of pork sirloin were $2.99/lb. and a second one was free. I found two of similar size.

I noticed that my new favorite bagel, Wonderbread, was a digital special for $1.99 for six, so I bought a package. Medium avocados were on sale for $1.00 each, so I bought three. I also bought a baguette and several shallots, a large bag of green beans for $1.25, and a discounted package of hickory smoked bacon.

I had mentioned lunch to Willy in the morning , so after I shopped I called him and he recommended we eat at Vinaigrette, which is in the same complex on Central where he works.

Willy ordered a kale and avocado salad and I ordered a bowl of gumbo and we ordered a basket of Foccacia.

The kale salad is Willy’s favorite but it is huge and he could only eat half.

I loved the gumbo with lots of shrimp, andouille sausage, okra, and chicken, plus a warm soup was a perfect lunch on a cold snowy day such as today.

After lunch I went home and watched the Olympics and rested.

At 4:00 when Suzette came home we examined the salmon and cut two fillets for a 4 x 6 Pyrex dish, which left about a lb. of fillets for dinner.

I peeled and cubed the last seven potatoes, three carrot, an onion, and the two Brussels sprouts and Suzette tossed them with olive oil and roasted them in the oven.

We snapped the huge quantity of green beans and Suzette blanched them in water in the oven with the vegetables.

We then made a sauce with brown sugar, allegory chili, nd olive oil that we put in about 1/4 of the green beans and steamed them in the steamer oven.

Finally, Suzette sautéed the salmon fillets, while I made a tartare sauce with Mayo, lemon juice, horseradish, and pickle relish.

Will arrived at 7:00 as Suzette was cooking them in the salmon.

We poured the remaining 1/2 bottle of Vara Viura white wine and ate a great dinner.

The green beans tasted almost the same as those we ate last evening at Rustic Restaurant in Hobby Airport in Houston.

After dinner watched Olympics and a new episode of Midsomer Murders.

Bon Appetit

February 17, 2026 Breakfast - Lobster omelet on Toasted Bagel, Snack - Bao Sa in San Pancho. Late Lunch - Ham and cheese and Avocado Sandwich. Dinner - Fresh Spinach Fettuccine with ham and cheese garlic cream sauce

 February 17, 2026 Breakfast - Lobster omelet on Toasted Bagel, Snack - Bao Sa in San Pancho. Late Lunch - Ham and cheese and Avocado Sandwich. Dinner - Fresh Spinach Fettuccine with ham and cheese garlic cream sauce

I overate today, which often happens the day before we leave for a vacation.

I slept until 9:00 and then Suzette made  a wonderful breakfast of a Lobster omelet on Toasted Bagel with blueberries. A super wonderful egg sandwich.

We then drove to San Pancho, the next bay up the coast to their farmer’s market. We parked and walked a long way to get to the market, which helped me accumulate 5500 steps today.

When we arrived at the market we saw lots of interesting things, but since we were leaving tomorrow morning we only bought a lb. of fresh spinach fettuccine for dinner.

There was a juice purveyor from whom we bought a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice for 95 pesos or $5.40.

Then I saw the dumpling guys and bought a steamed bun filled with Pork BBQ for 100 pesos or $5.83.  I liked it as much as the one I ate Friday at the Sayulita Farmers’ Market. I ate while Suzette shopped.

We then walked back to the car. On the way we passed several shops offering women’s clothing. At one Suzette found a green dress identical to a white one she has and we bought it.

When we arrived at the car we drove back to Sayulita, but instead of going to Bali Ville we turned and drove to Los Muertos beach that is slightly more secluded and less crowded than the main beach at Sayulita. We paid for parking and paid to sit at a table on the beach and bought a Negra Modelo beer for Suzette and a Coke for me and sat and enjoyed the beach for an hour.

We then returned to Villa Bali at 3:30 and read and I ate the ham and cheese and avocado sandwich left from our trip to Cara Coral beach three days ago and we shared a Negra Modelo and the last few corn chips in a bag of chips.

Then I rested until 6:30. Linda had a bad reaction to the lobster we grilled last night and was not hungry and TR was not around so we cooked dinner on our own tonight.

I minced 1/3 onion, four cloves of garlic, three slices of provolone, and our last slice of cooked ham. I also grated 1/2 of the ball of smoked Gouda or Parmesan.  Suzette boiled most of the fettuccine and made a roux and a cream sauce and sautéed the onion and garlic and then made a garlic cream sauce to which she added the ham and most of the cheese to make a thick cheese sauce that she loosened with several T. of pasta water.

                                               The sauce and the fettuccine cooking

                       The fettuccine tossed in the sauce and garnished with grated cheese

                                                   Grated Smoked Gouda Cheese

She then drained the pasta and poured hot water over it to loosen it and then put it back in its pot and mixed in the garlic cream cheese sauce.

We each ate also a bowl of the delicious cheesy fettuccine until we were full, with lots left.

We washed dishes with water heated in the microwave because TR said propane gas deliveries were delayed and packed and then we listened to about six or seven people sing Pancho and Lefty by Townes Van Zandt and then Suzette went sleep and I blogged and read until 10:30.

We decided that now that Mexico is relatively more expensive with the dollar devalued 30% against the peso, that it is just too dirty and the food is not very good to merit living here.

We had two good meals on this trip, the first dinner at D’

Bon Appetit