Eating with Bob and Suzette: February 9, 2016 Lunch – Hacienda del Rio, Old Town, Dinner – Sautéed Smoked Pork Chops, steamed string beans and asparagus, and stewed apples and cherries

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

February 9, 2016 Lunch – Hacienda del Rio, Old Town, Dinner – Sautéed Smoked Pork Chops, steamed string beans and asparagus, and stewed apples and cherries

I ate a bowl of granola with brandied fruit, yogurt, and milk for breakfast because I had a 1:15 lunch appointment with Mrs. Page. We met at Hacienda del Rio in Old Town. It was a sunny warm day, so we decided to sit on the outdoor patio facing the Plaza and across the street from the Cathedral. I ordered the combination platter with a tamale, a taco, a chile relleno, and a cheese enchilada plus rice and beans. It was more than I could eat. I enjoyed each item and particularly liked the fluffy battered chile relleno. Mrs. Page ordered the taco salad, which was large she'll bowl made from a flour tortilla filled with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and cooked ground beef. Mrs. Page could not finish her salad and we packed up all the leftovers for her to take to Charlie.

I had not developed a menu for dinner, but started thawing out chicken thighs at 4:30. When Suzette arrived around 6:00 the chicken was still frozen solid. Suzette went to the fridge and in a minute or two put together dinner; a couple of smoked pork chops, about a cup of fresh string beans I forgot I had bought at Sprouts a few days ago and about a dozen asparagus. Plus Suzette decided to make stewed apples out of three apples that were beginning to rot.

I snapped the string beans and cut the tough end off the asparagus and peeled and diced the apples.

Suzette then went to work at the stove. She sautéed the two pork chops with 1 T. of olive oil, steamed the beans and asparagus and added sugar and the juice of a lemon and a bit of water to the apples. After a minute I asked if I could add some cherries to the apples and Suzette agreed. So we ended up with a low carb, flavorful, colorful dinner. The thing I liked the best about this dinner was the inclusion of a sweetened fruit element that satisfied my craving for a dessert.

Suzette drank water and I had the last glass of Nessa Albariño with my dinner. We watched the early returns and speeches of Sanders and Trump and then I read and Suzette watched the HGTV shows she loves that inspire her to take on the major remodeling projects she plunges into incessantly, much to my delight. Suzette did an amazing job of remodeling the kitchen and opening up and remodeling the TV room.

I drank a small glass of Calvados later in the evening while I read a Maynard Dixon Retrospective catalogue. It gave me a new appreciation for him, his work, and his place in Western art. An interesting fact; he was married to Dorothea Lange during the Depression when she made her iconic photos of Depression Era women and families.

Maynard Dixon, End House at Walpi 1923