Saturday May 10, 2014 Food shopping, Hamburgers, and Pizza at the Indian Cultural Center patio party

Saturday May 10, 2014 Food shopping, Hamburgers, and Pizza at the Indian Cultural Center patio party

What a wonderful activity filled day.  We made a large loop starting by driving to the farmer’s market in Los Ranchos.  It was in full swing when we arrived around 9:00.   We were looking for plants for our garden.  We bought Oriental Basil, cilantro, and lemon thyme plants. Then at the last booth, run by a lovely lady, we bought two tomato plants, two eggplants and a bunch of rhubarb, Suzette’s favorite vegetable. 

We next drove to Café Istanbul at 1415 Wyoming NE, near Constitution.  We arrived a few minutes before 10:00 and the lady attendant opened the door for us.  If you have not been to Café Istanbul you owe it to yourself to see it.  It is the largest Middle Eastern market in Albuquerque that I am aware of. We bought Lebanese green olives packed with thyme in a large bottle, a can of Middle Eastern pickle cucumbers, a bag of N0.1 Bulgur for Tabouli and a bag of No. 3 Bulgur for cooking, small can of dolmas, a bottle of mint yogurt drink, 8 frozen pita sand a can of garbanzos for a total of $20.20.  Neither of had change, so the lady said, “No problem”, and accepted the twenty dollar bill.

We then drove to Keller’s Meats at 2912 Eubank NE.  Keller’s Meats is the largest and most complete meat market in Albuquerque.  It has the widest selection of meats I have ever seen.  Suzette was seeking 3 pounds of Irish sausages for the Mother’s Day brunch at the Greenhouse Bistro.  After conversing with a salesman they went to the back and brought out three packages of Irish sausages.  We then looked around and Suzette said, “I am hungry for a hamburger.”  Since ground meat was discounted by 30 cents per pound, we bought a pound of lean ground beef and decided to go home and cook hamburgers for lunch.  I also could not resist the hearing in cream sauce, so Suzette was kind enough to buy me a small container of it.

We then decided to drive to Trader Joe’s for a pot of European basil.  We find that Trader Joe’s sells the best healthiest basil plants every year.  They sell a large about 6 inch wide pot with five plants for $2.99.  We bought three pots; one for our yard and two for Suzette’s garden at the Center for Ageless Living.

I had been hungry since we left home, but had sublimated my hunger with a bite of Bison stew and a cracker with a dollop of raspberry jam at the Los Ranchos Farmer’s Market.  When we arrived at Trader Joe’s after selecting our three basis plants, I ran to the food booth where they were serving something on Multigrain English Muffins.  I ate a bit of one and liked it and we decided it was the perfect size for our hamburgers and bought a 6 pack for $1.49.   We then swung by the liquor department and picked a bottle of 2011 Tuella red wine from the Douro Valley in Portugal for $6.99, a bottle of La Granja Cava from Spain for $6.99 and a bottle of cognac for $19.99.

Then we drove home and started lunch around 11:00.

Suzette shaped two hamburgers with about ½ pound of the hamburger meat while I sliced portabella mushrooms and ½ of a white onion to sauté.  We decided to cook everything together in a large skillet so after we sautéed the onions for a few minutes in about 1 Tbsp. of butter, we added the mushrooms and then the hamburgers, cut in half and toasted two of the of English muffins and fetched the lettuce and a ½ tomato from the fridge.  I opened the Middle Eastern pickled cucumbers and the bottle of olives and put some in a crudité.  In just a few minutes we had a wonderfully delicious hamburger garnished with sautéed mushrooms and onions.  We ate under the covered area of our patio in the “U” shaped portion of our house because the wind was so strong that it is not fun sitting in the garden.   

After lunch Suzette went to work and I worked on my taxes.  We communicated with Linda and T.R. in Santa Fe and decided to make Tabouli and grill steaks on Sunday evening. 

Then at 7:00 we drove to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12^th just north of I-40 for Ricardo’s birthday party.  The only persons there were Bob, the set builder and another couple who were just table hopping.  We saw several folks we knew and talked to Cynthia, Tye’s Mom for a few minutes.

 

 The Indian Pueblo Center has added on a patio area on the north side of the main building that is connected to the Pueblo Harvest Café and Bakery.  The patio contains the Center’s bar and lots of covered and open seating and a small stage.  There is a bar menu, so you can order a salad or other dish from the kitchen, but on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:00 until 9:00 the Indian Pueblo Center features a “Party on the Patio”.  You pay a $10.00 cover charge to enter and there is a gas fired horno on the patio where members of the kitchen staff continually make fresh pizzas in the horno and there is a band playing live music.

This Saturday evening the music was played by Wagogo.  I love everything about the Party on the Patio, the price, the venue, the music and the food.  The staff will prepare a pizza to your specifications with up to three ingredients of your choice.  Suzette had them make a pesto pizza with red bell peppers, onions and mushrooms that was delicious. Suzette ordered a Santa Fe Brewery Red Ale and I order a Stella Artois from the wide selection of beers on tap.  There is also a full bar.  What is there not to like about this event and space with its excellent view of the sunset on the Sandias! 

After having a hard time finding a drink in strictly Muslim Morocco, we were happy to be back among decadent, drinking, dancing Americans.  When we left a little after 9:00, Cynthia and Ricardo were still dancing and Wagogo was still playing, so I cannot honestly tell you how long the party went on.  We drove home thrilled that we had a new venue in the neighborhood with excellent music and food and a lot of happy dancing people.  Ricardo and Cynthia, thanks for the invite and happy BD Ricardo.

Bon Appétit