January 30, 2018 Breakfast – Eggs and Bacon. Lunch – Polish Dog Dinner – PPI Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and fresh spinach

January 30, 2018 Breakfast – Eggs and Bacon. Lunch – Polish Dog  Dinner – PPI Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and fresh spinach

I wanted some extra protein for breakfast so I fried two slices of bacon trimmed of excess fat and then cooked two over easy eggs and cooked them with thinly sliced green onions.  I drank green tea.

I went to my podiatry appointment and then to Trader Joe’s where I bought a 1/2 lb. wedge of Iberico cheese, three bottles of Cherry Blossom California Pinot Noir for $4.99 each, two bottles of Belle Vignes French Sauvignon Blanc for $4.99 each, and a bottle of Valreas Cote Du Rhone red for $5.99.

I then drove to Costco where I ate a Polish Dog for lunch with lemonade and then shopped.  I bought a bottle of Mohua New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for $11.49, a bottle of 2014 French Château l'Argenteyre 2014 Médoc rated 90 points by Wine Spectator for $9.89 and a bottle of 2010 Spanish Bodega Montecillo Reserva from near Navarette in the Rioja for $11.59 plus some eggs.

As you can see Trader Joe’s excels at the $5.00 to $8.00 price range, while Costco excels at the $10.00 to $12.00 price range. Some days I am satisfied to drink an 86 point $5.99 bottle, while other days I feel like drinking a 90 point $10.00 to $12.00 bottle depending on the food and our mood.  Tonight I felt that Suzette’s difficult evening with the truck justified a slightly better bottle of wine.

I then went home around 12:30.

At 3:00 I rode to Montana and tired a bit on the way home due to a stronger than expected head wind out of the South.

I changed clothes and met with Aaron on VinDacia business and tasted a delightful 2017 Bogdan Sauvignon Blanc that won a silver medal in a Paris wine competition.  I worked until 5:20.

Suzette was late getting home because she had to stop due to the truck overheating.  She called Jody, who came to fetch the truck with a container of anti-freeze, thank goodness.

I peeled, diced and boiled five or six russet potatoes, so when Suzette arrived she was able to quickly mash the potatoes and heat the PPI pot roast which she lay on a bed of fresh spinach for an all in one bowl dinner.  I chopped some parsley to garnish the top of the dish.



I opened the bottle of French Château l'Argenteyre 2014 Médoc.  The wine was a thick, almost syrupy blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of fruitiness.

Here is a review that may have been paid for.
Château l'Argenteyre 2014 Médoc
90 POINTS
   
Philippe and Gilles Reich have produced this rich well structured wine from their family vineyard. It has generous black fruits that are supported by wood-aging flavors and finely balanced tannins. The majority Cabernet Sauvignon blend gives juicy black-currant fruit. Drink this wine from 2018.

PRICE $40,  Buy Now
VARIETY Bordeaux-style Red Blend
APPELLATION Médoc, Bordeaux, France
WINERY Château l'Argenteyre
ALCOHOL 13%
BOTTLE SIZE 750 ml
CATEGORY Red
IMPORTER Vinum Wine Importing and Distributing LLC
DATE PUBLISHED 4/1/2017
USER AVG RATING Not rated yet [Add Your Review]

I ate a few pieces of French Brie with additional sips of wine after dinner.

Bon Appetit

January 29, 2018 Lunch – PPI Roast Pork and Catalan Spinach Tapas, Dinner – PPI Stir fried Roast Duck in Five Spice Sauce with Mixed Vegetables and deep fried tofu

January 29, 2018 Lunch – PPI Roast Pork and Catalan Spinach Tapas,  Dinner – PPI Stir fried Roast Duck in Five Spice Sauce with Mixed Vegetables and deep fried tofu

The usual yogurt, blueberries, milk, and granola for breakfast.

Then an annual meeting for Vindacia at 10:00 with Ioana and Aaron.  Aaron was not feeling well, so he left after the meeting and Ioana stayed for a cup of Earl Grey tea and a small slice of Blueberry Clafoutis.

Then a bit of work and at 11:45 I reheated the PPI dinner from about 1 week ago, namely the Roast Pork and Catalan Spinach Tapas.  I ate the large bowl of food with gusto and probably ate an apple, since both dishes have apple as an ingredient, plus onion, piñon nuts, raisins, spinach, and one small piece of roasted pork.

I then napped for about two hours and then after a couple of calls, rode to Rio Bravo in the balmy sunny 55 degree weather.

When I returned home around 4:30 Suzette had arrived home and had brought in the Mu Shu Pork, roast duck, and Deep Fried Tofu and Mixed vegetable PPIs from our Chinese dinner last Saturday evening and was munching on the last of the Mu Su Pork.

I diced the 1/3 of an eggplant, ½ of a small onion, and ten stalks of PPI steamed asparagus from the fridge plus about 1 T. of fresh ginger root and 2 tsp. of garlic, while Suzette detemmed the last 1/4 lb.  of snow peas and chopped about 1/2 cup of roasted and salted cashews from a jar of Kirtland Mixed Nuts. Then Suzette started stir frying those ingredients, while I removed the approximately ½ cup of roasted duck meat from their bones that Suzette had heated in the microwave, after which Suzette added with the tofu and mixed vegetables to the wok and heated the entire agglomeration.

When thoroughly heated Suzette filled two pasta bowls with 1/3 of the mixture and we had a lovely dinner.  I drank a cup of green tea and Suzette drank a beer.

When we finished our plates we called Willy to see if he wanted to come by to eat the final third and he declined because he had started his salmon filet dinner, so we shared the final 1/3 of the dish.

We watched the news and then two episodes of Antiques Roadshow.  At 8:30 I toasted three slices of baguette and spread them with peanut butter and honey and ate them with a cup of green tea.  Suzette ate a bit of Clafoutis.



We retired to the bed at 9:00; Suzette to sleep and I to read the new book club thriller, Deadly Cure by Lawrence Goldstone.

We have adjusted our diet to a reduced amount of carbohydrates, by eliminating most, white bread, rice, pasta.  Suzette has done better than I have.  I still will eat an occasional slice of bread with peanut butter and honey as I did this evening.

Generally, we are feeling better and Suzette has lost over ten pounds.

Bon Appetit

January 28, 2018 Brunch – Mexican Shrimp Scrambled Eggs, Dinner Party at Janis and Tom’s

January 28, 2018 Brunch – Mexican Shrimp Scrambled Eggs,  Dinner Party at Janis and Tom’s

We made a wonderful brunch at 9:30 of Mexican Scrambled Eggs with shrimp, onion, tomato, avocado, asparagus, Serrano chili, and Iberico cheese.  I squeezed fresh orange juice which we mixed with Gruet Brut Champagne.  We enjoyed a pleasant brunch in front of the blazing fireplace.

I ate No lunch.

At 6:00 we took our blueberry Clafoutis, a bottle of Bartlett’s dry blueberry wine and a bottle of Romanian Domaine Bogdan Fetnesca Negra red to Janis and Tom’s house for dinner.

We were greeted with Old Fashion cocktails made with fresh orange juice and 90 proof Bullet Bourbon.  A little later Crystal and Doug arrived with a large salad bowl.filled with a spinach, pecan, fennel, and pear salad.

We sat in the living room in front of the blazing fireplace for a while and sipped Old Fashions and nibbled on biscuits made from baked Stilton rolled in crushed cashews.  A dark bluish gray.

After a bit of conversation we moved to the dining room.  I poured the bottle of 2016 Domaine Bogdan Fetnesca Negra Romanian red and Janis served the entrée, Coq au Vin, chicken thighs that had been marinated in red wine for a day, then sautéed to brown in bacon fat rendered from lardons that were then added back to the dish with the marinade plus mushrooms, pearl onions, carrots and then cooked until the sauce nearly evaporates.  This recipe was from the February 9, 2017 NYT edition containing the 10 essential French Cuisine recipes.

We all enjoyed the Coq au Vin and the Bogdan Fetnesca Negra and we took a white wine glass and poured the chilled bottle of 2012 Vieux Telegraphe white that Doug and a Crystal brought, which was really lovely also and wonderful with the Coq au Vin.

After we finished the Bogdan red, Tom poured a bottle of Australian 19 Crimes red blend that was full bodied and very pleasant to drink also.

After dinner and lots more conversation, it was time for dessert.  Janis sprinkled powdered sugar over the top of the Clafoutis while I opened the Bartlett’s dry blueberry wine and poured it. I then served scoops of Clafoutis on dessert plates Janis provided.  The Clafoutis was delicious.  One of the best and far easier to make than any before, because I did not need to pit or marinate cherries.

Finally at 10:00 we said goodnight, declined a ride with Doug and Crystal, and walked home carrying the last bit of blueberry wine and Clafoutis.

A very pleasant day of rest, a good news cycle, good food and conversation with friends.

Bon Appetit

January 26, 2017 Lunch – La Salita. Dinner – PPI Chicken Calabacitas Stew

January 26, 2017 Lunch – La Salita. Dinner – PPI Chicken Calabacitas Stew


I was hungry today, so I ate two breakfasts.  First, a bagel with cream cheese, sliced red onion, capers, Lax sauce, and lax.  Then a bowl of granola, sliced banana, blackberries, yogurt, and milk.

Mike called at 11:25 and suggested we go to lunch.  I picked him up at noon and drove us to La Salita’s new location at Brentwood and Juan Tabo.  I am trying new menu items.  Today I ordered three enchiladas, two filled with sour cream and one with ground beef with whole beans and refried beans with red chili.  Mike ordered his usual sopapilla stuffed with turkey hash.

After lunch we went to Costco.  Mike wanted to buy laundry soap without scent.  The asparagus were beautiful, so we each bought a 2.25 lb. bag for 6.99.  I also bought pistachios and a bottle each of Gruet rose’ and Brut.

I finally arrived home at 3:00.  Suzette came home early.  We decided to heat the pot of Chicken and Calabacitas.  Suzette peeled and mashed an avocado into some crema to make avocado crema, which we dabbed on top of the heated chicken and calabacitas.  We drank a glass of Bogdan Sauvignon Blanc that was not good.  Suzette thought gum had been added to the wine.  It did not taste like Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

After dinner we made Clafoutis.  Suzette buttered a ceramic baking dish
and coated the butter with sugar, while I scalded 1 cup of half and half and 2 cups of whole milk.  I then measured 7 T. of flour and 10 T. of confectioner’s sugar and ½ tsp. of salt into a mixing bowl and stirred the dry ingredients to mix them thoroughly.  I then whisked three large eggs and added them to the dry ingredients and stirred the mixture.  Then Suzette pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees on a convection bake setting and then poured the scalded milk through a seize into the batter while I stirred it.  I then poured the batter into the buttered and sugared ceramic baking dish and added about 1 1/3 lb. of fresh blueberries to the batter.  We baked the Clafoutis for 40 minutes until the top had slightly browned and the custard had solidified.  I turned off the heat and allowed the custard to sit in the oven for another ten minutes to make sure it solidified.

We then soaked in the hot tub and watched Washington Week, which is now a one hour show while I ate a Swedish pastry with a shot of juniper berry infused vodka and a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Then we went to bed a little after 9:00.

Bon Appetit

January 25, 2018 Lunch – Amerasia. Dinner – Pot Roast with steamed Asparagus

January 25, 2018 Lunch – Amerasia. Dinner – Pot Roast with steamed Asparagus

I drank a cup of hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast and watched the business news.  The market did the same thing today; up at the open and then down for most of the day and then a small pullback at the close in Appl.  It appears to be a pattern.  Stock funds and private investors appear to buy on the open, which sends the price up.  Then the smart money guys sell, which sends the price down and at the end of the day the smart money guys buy back in at a lower price and do it again the next day.  It works until Appl announces earnings.  Appl has dropped $6.00 in the last two days, so the smart guys appear to have made $7 to $8.00 per share.  If you are trading in 100,000 share blocks that is $700,000 to $800,000.

I met Aaron for lunch at Amerasia.  We selected a steamed dumpling stuffed with beef and water chestnut, a steamed dumpling with pork and ginger, a fried dumpling filled with a pork meatball and broth that we shared.  Aaron took a bowl of rice with spicy pork and I took my usual bag su steamed bread filled with BBQ pork and red bean paste and a bowl of deep fried tofu in a wood ear and shitake mushroom broth.

Later Aaron brought over a bottle of Bogdan 2016 Demi-sec Sauvignon Blanc that we tasted that won a silver medal at a Paris wine competition.  We did not care for it because it had a strong terroir flavor and was a little too sweet for our taste.  We went to the cellar and found a 2010 Revendry Sancerre and opened it to compare a good French Sauvignon Blanc to the Bogdan.  The 2010 Sancerre had lost most of its youthful fruitiness but still had the character, dryness, and elegant finish of a good Sancerre.  We both preferred the Sancerre and decided we needed to try the Bogdan sec Sauvignon Blanc.

At 8:00 in the morning Suzette salted and peppered and braised the 3 lb. of chuck steak I bought at Smith’s for $2.99/lb. on Wednesday while I peeled and diced four or five onions, carrots and potatoes.  We put the chuck roast into the crock pot with the three PPI ribs from our rib roast two weekends ago and ½ bottle of red wine and 8 cups of water to fill the crock to just below the level of the ingredients.  We cooked the crock pot at a high temperature until it started boiling and then turned the heat setting down to low.  At 4:00 I added two bay leaves, 1 T. Of dried marjoram leaves and ½ cup of finely minced fresh parsley.
I had invited Charlie and Susan for dinner at 5:45 and called Willy, who said he would come at 7:00.  I steamed about twenty stalks of asparagus at 5:40.  When the Palmers arrived I removed the three rib bones and the meat and cartilage fell off them, which was a good sign.

I opened a new bottle of 2015 Next Station Douro red wine from Trader Joe’s which was smoother than the previous Douro at Trader Joe’s and still the same price of $6.99. As you can see from the back label there are three grape varieties in this blend.  A very successful blend.

                                                       The pot roast chilled

We all enjoyed the dinner.  Suzette arrived from work at 6:00 and joined us.  Charlie and I took a bit more of the broth which was practically clear and had a delicious clean taste of meat and herbs.
We then left for our book club meeting at 6:30.

The book this month was “A Man Called Ove”, which everyone liked because it described an old Swedish Curmudgeon like our club members.  At 71 I am the youngest member of the club.

I have rarely made pot roast before, so Suzette’s assistance was invaluable. I learned a new recipe and even think I improved it by adding herbs and red wine, which pushed it ever so slightly in the direction of Boeuf Bourguignon; a recipe I know well.

Bon Appetit

January 24, 2018 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – Stir Fried Chicken and Mixed Vegetables

January 24, 2018 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – Stir Fried Chicken and Mixed Vegetables

I was back on a normal schedule today.  I ate granola, blueberries, sliced banana, yogurt, and milk for breakfast.

Then at 11:30 I heated the PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup and added a large handful of fresh spinach.  When hot I added fresh mung bean sprouts, fresh cilantro, and a squirt of Hoisin Sauce.  A very delicious lunch.

I went to the library to pick up next month’s book club selection, Deadly Cure and then to Smith’s to buy 32 oz. of blueberries for Clafoutis for Sunday night’s dinner.  I saw chuck roast on sale for $2.98/lb. so I bought a 3 lb. package of it.

When I returned home I worked until 3:15, when I rode to Montano and back.

A little before 5:00 I spoke to Suzette who agreed with my idea fo use the remaining chicken breast to make a stir fried chicken and mixed vegetable dish.  I sliced a small onion, two Mexican squash, a carrot, several leaves of bok Choy, and several stalks of celery.

Suzette arrived soon after I started chopping and made the chicken stock, soy, oyster sauce, and cornstarch seasoning sauce and diced several cloves of garlic. I fetched a small can of each of sliced water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, which Suzette opened and added to the mix.  I the sliced the chicken breast, about 3 oz. of white beech mushrooms, about ½ T. of ginger, a dash of hot chili oil, and about a dozen snow peas, which I cut in halves and Suzette added to the wok.  Then she added the seasoning sauce.  The result was a delicious, fairly filling dish, not unlike what I get at East Ocean with deep fried tofu.

We drank Fat Tire beers with dinner and enjoyed it very much.

I later ate a piece of toasted 9 grains bread smeared with peanut butter and honey with a cup of tea.

We both slept badly last night so we went to bed early tonight.

Bon Appetit

January 23, 2018. A Day of Simple Food. Lunch – Tune Up, Santa Fe.

January 23, 2018. A Day of Simple Food. Lunch – Tune Up, Santa Fe.

In retrospect this was a wonderful day of food, perfect for the duties at hand.

I ate a larger than usual bowl of granola, ½ banana sliced, blueberries, milk, and yogurt because I was unsure of my next meal.

As it turned out I was correct.  I drove to Santa Fe at 11:30 and met Josefo at his house Las Lagunitas at 12:30.  He recommended eating lunch at Tune Up Café, at 1115 Hickox.
When we arrived I instantly realized it was run by Salvadorians because pupusas were on the menu.  The menu was extensive and included both breakfast and lunch items.  I was immediately intrigued by the item identified as Tune Up’s home made Corned beef hash and the sign that said “local organic eggs upon request”.  So when it was my turn to order at the cash register in front of the kitchen, I ordered that. Josefo ordered a green chili hamburger with fried potatoes.

I was not disappointed.  Corn beef hash, when most successful as a dish, for me tastes ubiquitous, just pleasant soul satisfying comfort food and Tune Up’s version met that criteria.  Soon I was served a  small soup bowl filled with diced cubes of corned beef along with cottage fries and sautéed onions garnished with two fresh poached eggs the consistency and flavor of fresh oysters.  In other words they had an absence of flavor, which raw oysters at their best have; just a hint of the briny habitat in which they were raised.

Josefo’s hamburger patty was huge, probably ½ lb.



So my impression of Tune Up is a good menu featuring well prepared food at reasonable prices for Santa Fe.  Not glitzy, but rather very comfortable with satisfying food.  It seemed to have a steady stream of regular customers.

After lunch we went to court and were in trial until after 7:30 so I ate a subway sandwich at  Josefo and Davida’s house and drove home.

This spartan diet seemed to satisfy my body’s needs for the rigors of trial, so I will consider being more rigorous in the future.

Bon Appetit

January 22, 2018 Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Chicken Noodle Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Trout with Cottage Fries and Asparagus

January 22, 2018 Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Chicken Noodle Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Trout with Cottage Fries and Asparagus

½ bagel with red onion slices, and lav smeared with cream cheese for breakfast

A meeting out of the office and then returned home around 11:30 after stopping at Talin to buy wood ear threads, a can each of sliced water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, fresh white beech mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, and snow peas, pork filled steamed buns, and a fresh 1.2 lb. Trout.

I made a soup with the diced meat from a leg of the roasted chicken Suzette brought from the Greenhouse Bistro in Los Lunas plus chicken stock, three white mushrooms sliced, 1 shallot sliced, two stalks of bok Choy diced, seven or eight snow peas, 1 cube of Vietnamese ragout soup seasoning, 1 heaping T. of red miso, and, 4 oz. of cubed medium tofu plus bean thread, rice square, Japanese udon, and wheat noodles.

I added fresh mung beans, hoisin sauce, fresh cilantro leaves and thinly sliced green onion to each of the two bowls of soup I ate for lunch.

It was the most delicious use of a leg of chicken I have ever experienced.  I drank cool water with the soup to keep my mouth from burning.  A great lunch.

I went to another appointment after lunch and returned a little after 3:30.

At 6:00 Suzette arrived and after we discussed our busy productive days, when I told her that I had bought a Trout she said, “Let’s fry it and make cottage fries and eat it with steamed asparagus and Béarnaise sauce.  And we need to make tartare sauce.”

And that is what we did.  After I cleaned the Trout, Suzette coated  the Trout in a freezer bag filled with a couple of oz. of flour and fried it in a cast iron skillet with canola oil.  She also washed and scrubbed clean of dirt four russet potatoes and processed them into slices in the Cuisinart, while I snapped the ends of ten stalks of fresh asparagus from Costco that Suzette put into the steamer and steamed on the stove and thinly sliced about 1 oz. of red onion that I added to the pan of potato slices Suzette was sautéing over medium heat in the new California olive oil from Sprouts and butter.

While everything was cooking I made tartare sauce with ½ cup of prepared mayonnaise, the juice of ½ lemon, 2 T. of Heinz relish, and about 1 tsp. of finely sliced and diced red onion.  I also warmed the pitcher of PPI Béarnaise sauce by placing it on the stove beside one of the skillet to loosen but not cause the sauce to heat to the point of separation.

Suzette opened the 2015 Armani Soave I bought at Total Wine for $11.99 less 20%.  The wine was delicious, light and fruity.  Perfect for the incredibly delicate Trout, which Suzette sautéed to perfection.

We loved dinner.  Suzette mentioned cooking fresh Trout she caught with her dad on fishing trips in Pennsylvania when she was growing up. I mentioned eating fresh Trout caught on trips to Dolores, Colorado with my family when young.  Are those days still possible?

We were exceedingly satisfied with dinner and did not crave anything else this evening, except one or two of the cottage fries left in the skillet.

A wonderful deja vu experience from our youth that we shared.  How odd and fun.

We both read after dinner and went to bed.

Bon Appetit

January 21, 2018 Breakfast – Steak, Asparagus, Potato, Cheese, and Mushroom omelet. Lunch with Barbel and Karel, Dinner –PPI Roasted Pork and Calabacitas

January 21, 2018 Breakfast – Steak, Asparagus, Potato, Cheese, and Mushroom omelet. Lunch with Barbel and Karel,  Dinner –PPI Roasted Pork and Calabacitas

A surprisingly interesting food day, with very little planning.
At 10:00 we made breakfast with the PPI roast beef and potatoes from the dinner a week ago.  We added onions and mushrooms and finally slices of Brie cheese.  Suzette successfully flipped one side onto the other side to make a wonderful gooey omelet.

Suzette drank a Bloody Mary and I drank a glass of Clamato with the juice of ½ lime.

We showered and got dressed and went to Donut Mart for a dozen donuts and the Smith’s at 4th and Chamisal for cream cheese and then to Barbel’s apartment at 1:00.

We brought two bottles of Cruse Blanc de Blanc champagne and orange juice, so we started with mimosas and a tour of her apartment.  All the walls are filled with her artwork, mostly assemblages of found objects in small wooden frames.

Barbel made a lovely lunch for us.  We started with a bowl of cream of  carrot ginger soup flavored with lemon pepper and cayenne.  Then two platters of Gravad Lax with sliced egg, radish, and capers, a large bowl of salad with arugula, red bell pepper, avocado, Bibb lettuce, and grape tomatoes with a vinaigrette dressing and salmon sauce for the Lax plus a platter of slices of toasted French baguette.  A feast.



We enjoyed it and the discussion that jumped from Europe and back to the U.S. and from art to politics.

After lunch Barbel served us coffee and Kroger blackberry and chocolate chip ice cream with a Danish butter cookie.

We left at 4:00.

we returned home we watched TV, mostly the NFC league championship game between the Vikings and Eagles.

I decided to make calabacitas.  I chopped two onions, four Mexican squash, two Pasilla chilis, the kernels removed from four ears of corn, and four Roma tomatoes plus 1 tsp. of cumin and 1 T. of oregano and 1 tsp. of salt in 4 T. of butter and 2 T. of olive oil.

After simmering the Calabacitas for about an hour I placed two pieces of roast pork into the calabacitas to heat them.

Because we had eaten such a large lunch, we ate a small portion of calabacitas and pork.

We ate a few peanuts after dinner and went to bed at 9:30.

Bon Appetit

January 20, 2018 Lunch – Posole crepe. Dinner – Roasted Chicken, steamed asparagus and baked potato

January 20, 2018 Lunch – Posole crepe.  Dinner – Roasted Chicken, steamed asparagus and baked potato

Suzette and I worked today.  I worked until lunch time.  Because I had errands I wanted to do, I wanted a quick lunch.  When 8 opened the fridge I saw the container of Duck Posole from Christmas and decided to eat it. Mi recalled that Suzette had saved the four egg whites from last week’s Béarnaise sauce.  So I decided to make a Posole egg dish.  I chopped about 1 oz. of red onion and sautéed it in canola oil and then added the Posole and then the four egg whites and cooked the dish until the egg firmed on the bottom.  Then I flipped the large egg pancake in pieces and cooked the other side.  When everything solidified I spatulaed it onto a plate and garnished it with fresh cilantro leaves.  It was amazingly delicious and reminded me of a Vietnamese crepe, except all the egg whites gave it a lighter quiche like texture.  An interesting meal that got rid of two PPIs.

I then drove to Smith’s on Carlisle at Constitution to deposit checks and buy milk and orange juice.

I then drove to Costco to get gas and finally drove to Total Wine to buy some champagne.  I had received a 20% off coupon and a $10.00 gift certificate, so I splurged and bought a bottle of Mary Edwards 2015 Sauvignon Blanc rated 93 points for $45.00, plus a bottle of Le Pont Bandol rose, and a new chablis, plus two bottles of Cruse Blanc de Blanc champagne.

When I arrived home Suzette and Willy were there.  It was after 4:00 so a little late for a ride, so we watched Bill Maher and then I fixed dinner.

Suzette had brought a roasted chicken from the Greenhouse Bistro.  I steamed 13 stalks of asparagus and heated plates with the dark meat quarters and a buttered baked potato and then added the steamed asparagus to the plate.  I poured out the last two glasses of Sadet Vouvray for a quick easy dinner.  Willy left to go to dinner with friends before we ate.

We watched three shows of Curb Your Enthusiasm and then a little of the Australian Mystery on PBS.

I ate the PPI artichokes later.

Bon Appetit

January 19, 2018 Lunch – La Salita, Dinner – New Recipe, Potage garnished with Vegetable Couscous and Provençal Scallops

January 19, 2018 Lunch – La Salita,  Dinner – New Recipe,  Potage garnished with Vegetable Couscous and Provençal Scallops

I ate yogurt, granola, milk, and blueberries and banana slices.

Shortly before lunch Max arrived and Mike Called and we all agreed to meet at La Salita for lunch.

When we arrived at La Salita it was full even though it’s new location is about twice as large as its old location and we had to wait a few minutes for a table.

Mike ordered his usual turkey stuffed sopapilla, Max ordered blue corn enchiladas, and I ordered a build you own plate with a Swiss cheese filled Chile Relleno and a sour cream stuffed enchilada.  I used to get sour cream stuffed enchiladas at M & J Tortilla Factory, but have not had one in a long time and it was wonderful to be reacquainted with one at La Salita.  It went a long way toward making La Salita my favorite New Mexican restaurant.

After lunch I helped Max with his case and he inspected the house for necessary repairs.  It looks like we will be doing some bartering of contracting for legal services.

After Max left at 3:30 I rode 8 miles south toward Rio Bravo.  The temperature was a very pleasant 59 degrees.

Suzette was home when I return around 4:20.  After a long discussion of all the PPIs we came up with a rather unique plan for dinner.  We decided to heat the potage that I made last week and garnish it with the vegetable Couscous and Provençal scallops, from earlier in the week.  Suzette chopped up the 1/3 of red bell pepper and I diced the last 1 oz. of red onion and Suzette sautéed those ingredients in a large skillet until tender and then added the scallops and vegetable Couscous to the skillet and added about 1/3 cup of water to loosen up the thickened flour sauce on the scallops.  I did a similar loosening of the potage to get it back into a creamy consistency by adding about ½ cup each of milk and half and half.  I then adjusted the postage’s seasoning by grating about ¼ tsp. of nutmeg and adding a dash of white pepper and Chimayo medium red Chile.

Combining the two different PPIs created a uniquely new and wonderfully different dish, especially on a cold winter night.

I chilled a bottle of Sadet Vouvray for about ½ hour but it did not completely chilled, so we drank it with ice cubes to chill it.  The lemony, fruity Chenin blanc went really well with the creamy soup and scallops.

We watched news all evening including the government shutdown.

I popped popcorn and shared it with Suzette. It was out of date and gave me a slight upset stomach, but I watched with fascination the machinations of the Senate.

I also ate two squares of dark chocolate with almonds and a sip of Grande Mariner mixed with cognac.

I went to bed with the thought that we will soon see if Trump is a dealmaker who avoids a protracted government shutdown or will be divisive and play to his base by calling the democrats losers and blaming them for the shutdown.

Bon Appetit

January 17, 2018. If it is Wednesday, it is a food shopping day. Lunch – Salad, Dinner – Pork, Apple, and Onion Tapa and Catalan Spinach

January 17, 2018. If it is Wednesday, it is a food shopping day.  Lunch – Salad, Dinner – Pork, Apple, and Onion Tapa and Catalan Spinach

Monday was a holiday, so trash day and food shopping day came perceptively early in the work week today.

It started with the usual, yogurt, granola, milk, and blueberries.

Then a trip to review and copy a file at the Courthouse.  Then a salad of radishes, roast chicken, avocado, a sliced pickled egg, an artichoke heart, and diced Manchego cheese  dressed with PPI artichoke sauce diluted with Spanish olive oil into a dressing.  I also toasted a slice of rye bread and melted slices of Manchego cheese onto it. After lunch I thawed two boneless pork steaks.

The most exciting thing that happened today was a meeting with an old friend and client, Josef, at 2:00, who has a case he needs representation on.  He is a master electrician and after our meeting, he installed the new LED fixture I bought at IKEA in my office that replaces the old broken halogen fixture.  I am thrilled to be able to light most of the art in my office again and like the softer cooler LED lights.

When Josefo left at 4:30 I went to the post office and then to El Super for the Wednesday produce specials.  I bought four ears of white gourmet corn, 2 or 3 lb. of yellow onions, a bunch each of parsley, cilantro, and green onions, a bunch of bananas, a pineapple, 4 Pasilla chilies, 5 or 6 Mexican squash, a container of yogurt, and a lb. of Ocean pollock for $16.00.

I returned home at 5:30 and after unloading went to meditate from 6:00 until 7:00.

When I returned Suzette and I made one of our favorite Spanish tapa dinners, Roast Pork with Apples and Catalan Spinach.

Here are the recipes from Jose Andres’ Tapas Cookbook:

I sliced 1 ½ Gala apples and one large yellow onion, which Suzette sautéed in Spanish olive oil in a copper sauté pan until tender.  I then cut each of the 2 pork steaks into four pieces and went to the garden and picked a handful of fresh oregano (oregano, sage, sometime thyme, and Rosemary are the herbs that survive in our winters).

Suzette then added five or six stalks of oregano to the pan and roasted the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes until the pork was cooked.

Then she removed the pieces of pork and she deglazed the pan with ½ cup of chicken stock and 2 T. of cognac and returned the pork to the pan and turned them to coat them with the light sauce.

While the pork dish was cooking I fetched the new bag of spinach from the garage and de-stemmed and washed and spun 10 oz., while Suzette fetched the black raisins and piñon nuts and diced a Fuji apple.

She then sautéed the apple, raisins, and piñon in a large sauté pan and when the nuts started to turn golden added the spinach and covered the pan to steam and cook the spinach.

Before going to meditate I put a bottle of  2015 La Granja Spanish Rose into the fridge to chill
(Trader Joe’s $4.99, good bottle of rose’ for a great price)

When dinner was ready I poured glasses of rose’ and we each filled our plates from the warm pans on the stove.  Here are pictures of the food in the pans.

The Catalan Spinach

Not to let the day’s food remain entirely healthy, I opened and ate several squares of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate with almonds with a cup of Earl Grey tea and then a Swedish pistachio flavored marzipan and chocolate dessert I bought at IKEA when I bought the light fixture with another cup of tea to celebrate my new Swedish lighting fixture.

Bon Appetit

January 16, 2018 Lunch – PPI Beef Pho Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – New Recipe, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and red bell pepper Couscous with Provençal Scallops

January 16, 2018 Lunch – PPI Beef Pho Miso Noodle Soup.  Dinner – New Recipe, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and red bell pepper Couscous with Provençal Scallops

The ate the usual boring but delicious yogurt, granola, blackberries, banana slices, and milk for breakfast as I watched the market hit 26,000 and then receded to a fairly large loss, at least for me.

I re-heated the Beef Pho Miso Noodle Soup and drank a cup of green tea with it for lunch.  Today was a big food day because after my bowl of soup I ate another cup of green tea with peanut butter and honey on a piece of toasted rye bread.

I napped from 2:30 to 3:30 and then worked until 4:30, when I stopped to watch Mad Money and the business news until 5:30.

Then I started dinner removing the four artichokes I cooked on Saturday from the refrigerator to allow them to come to room temperature and making the dipping sauce.

Artichoke dipping sauce.

I marinated two small shallots in juice of 1/2 lemon for about 10 minutes before adding ½ cup of mayonnaise and ¼ cup of yogurt plus 2 tsp. of chopped fresh dill.  I put the sauce into a small serving bowl and chilled it in the refrigerator.

Provençal Scallops.  Suzette came home a bit after 6:00 as I was chopping the onion, garlic, and shallots for the recipe.  I then sliced 1.2 lb. of sea scallops and floured them.  Suzette took over and sautéed the onion mixture and then the scallops and then added the onions back to the scallops plus water, white wine, the herbs, and half and half to make the sauce with the scallops.  I grated Jarlsberg cheese to garnish the scallop dish.


Here is the recipe:

Suzette and I discussed a vegetable and she suggested vegetable couscous.

Vegetable Couscous

We settled on rehabilitating ½ of an old and somewhat distressed head of cauliflower to process in the Cuisinart with ½ red bell pepper and ½ lb. of baby Brussels sprouts to make a lovely red, green, and white vegetable Couscous that Suzette then sautéed in butter and olive oil until tender.

Suzette used in the scallop dish and we drank with dinner a 2016 Picton Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Dinner was miraculous. The new recipe for Vegetable Couscous converted what was an ordinary dinner into an exciting dish in which the scallop sauce merged with the Couscous to make a wonderfully tasty combination of vegetables that had the faux starch character of couscous and the added benefit of absorbing some of the scallop sauce to merge the two dishes’ flavors besides being a healthy vegetable dish.

We both loved it.  Suzette says, “Do not be squeamish about salvaging ½ of a vegetable such as the cauliflower this evening and combining it with other vegetables, because the result can be better than just using one vegetable”.

Bon Appetit

January 15, 2018 Lunch – beef pho Miso Noodle Soup Dinner – Potage, Eggplant Provençal and PPI Roast beef

January 15, 2018 Lunch – beef pho Miso Noodle Soup  Dinner – Potage, Eggplant Provençal and PPI Roast beef

I ate yogurt, blackberries, banana slices , granola, milk for breakfast.

At noon I made a real beef pho noodle miso soup with some PPI roast beef from last night’s dinner, a couple stalks of bok Choy diced, about 1 oz. of sliced red onion, fresh rice noodles, the last 2 oz. of white beech mushrooms, a pho seasoning cube, 1 heaping T. of red miso, and about 1 T. of dried seaweed.

I added Hoisin sauce and 1 T. of Chinese rice cooking wine to the soup.

I rode to Rio Bravo at 3:00 in a strong crosswind, but made it in good shape.

I rested until 6:00 and then finished the potage I had started last week by adding a cup of cream and pureeing the cooked leeks and potatoes  with the hand held emulsion mixer Willy gave me several years ago.

The potage was so delicious and Suzette and I were so tired I decided to not make the Scallops Provençal.  Instead I made eggplant Provençal

I sliced six ½ inch thick slices of eggplant.  I then brushed olive oil on both sides of each slice of eggplant. Then I covered each slice with slices of Jarlsberg cheese, a slice of Roma tomato and Progresso  seasoned bread crumbs.  I then laid PPI roast beef on the tray with the eggplant Provençals and baked them in a 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes until the eggplant was cooked.

I poured glasses of Cherry Blossom Pinot Noir (Trader Joe’s $4.99, a good Pinot for the money).

A rather unexciting but wonderfully filling dinner.

We ate PPI chocolate ice cream for dessert and went to bed before 9:00 to try to catch up on our lack of sleep last night.  Suzette had to get up for a doctor’s appointment at 6:00.

Bon Appetit

 

January 14, 2018 Lunch – Polish Dog at Costco. Dinner Party – Rib Roast, baked potatoes, asparagus, salad, and chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries

January 14, 2018 Lunch – Polish Dog at Costco. Dinner Party – Rib Roast, baked potatoes, asparagus, salad, and chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries

I started with a toasted onion bagel, smeared with cream cheese and garnished with slices of red onion and Lax and capers and a sliced pickled egg.

I drank sweet lime water with breakfast.

Then at 11:00 we drove to Costco, where we bought asparagus and a quart of heavy cream and ate a Polish Dog..  We then stopped at Home Depot and Goodwill before returning home around 1:15.

We watched the last quarter of the Pittsburgh v. Jacksonville NFL game which Jacksonville won convincingly.

Then at 3:00 I rode to Montano.  When I returned at 4:15 I helipad prepare the roast by 

covering it with sea salt crystals and ground pepper while Suzette heated the oven to 500 degrees.  Then I took a shower and then helped Suzette set up the dining room table and place the linens on it. The way Suzette decided to cook the approximately 8 lb. piece of meat was to place it in an oven pre-heated to 500 degrees and then immediately to reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and to cook the roast until it reached an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees. This turned out to be the perfect formula because it resulted in medium rare meat that was tender and juicy.

By 5:00 we were back in the kitchen. I brushed 11 potatoes clean of dirt and Suzette counted 48 stalks of asparagus to roast in the oven. The entrée was to be roasted meat, potatoes and asparagus.  I then started making Sauce Béarnaise.

Here is the recipe.

I chopped 1 heaping T. of shallot and placed it in a sauce pan with ¼ cup each of white wine and white wine vinegar And added about 1 T. of fresh tarragon.  I then brought that mixture to a boil and reduced it by 50% while Suzette placed 4 egg yolks in another sauce pan and whipped them until they emulsified and turned light yellow.  I seized and added the vinegar liquid to the egg yolks after letting the vinegar mixture cook for a couple of minutes.  The key to making Béarnaise is to avoid the sauce breaking into butter and curdled eggs.  After adding the vinegar to the egg I started adding 11 oz. of cool butter in 1 oz. pieces 4 or five at a time with Suzette constantly stirring the mixture with a whisk until all the butter went into solution and thickened.  I did not have a lot of time to make the sauce as we had invited Karen and Barbell to view the art collection at 5:45.  The sauce went beautifully and we left it in the pan when they arrived with chocolate ice cream and 6 oz. of fresh raspberries.

As I was showing them art, Mike arrived with two bottles of wine, both produced in Cotes de Rousillon by Bila-Haut in Southwestern France; a 2014 Occultum Lapidem from Cotes de Rousillon Latour France controlle, a New Appellation for me.

I had decided to pour the 2011 Aloxes-Corton Premier Cru Mike had brought last time we got together and the bottle of 2012 Gruet Reserve Pinot Noir.

By 6:45 Cynthia had prepped the salad and everything was ready.  I sliced the rib roast.  It was much better this time,  pink in the middle from end to end.  Searing made a difference.  We heated the
Béarnaise sauce and put it into a pitcher.  Suzette loaded the baked potatoes and asparagus onto a platter and I loaded the slices of roast onto another platter and served everyone.  Suzette fetched chives and mixed them into crema and served it in a ramekin with  butter for the potatoes.  We poured wine and ate and talked for three hours.  After we all finished the entrée course Suzette and Barbell served dessert; parfait glasses of chocolate ice cream and fresh raspberries and blueberries drizzled with Suzette’s  blueberry Quince syrup .

I then served after dinner drinks and Suzette made coffee and Willy made Earl Grey tea.

We said goodnight at 10:30 after a wonderful dinner that was memorable because everything was just right.  That does not happen very often in my world of entertaining.  Everyone liked the Béarnaise sauce.

Bon Appetit

January 13, 2018. Breakfast – Lax and Camembert omelet. Lunch – La Salita. Dinner – Poisson Bercy with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans

January 13, 2018.  Breakfast – Lax and Camembert omelet. Lunch – La Salita.  Dinner – Poisson Bercy with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans

Suzette decided to make a Lax omelet for breakfast.  I chopped 2 oz. of red onion, and diced an avocado, and diced about 1/3 cup of Lax, and peeled and sliced about ¼ lb. of Camembert cheese.  Suzette made a beautiful omelet combining those ingredients.  I made a cup of hot chocolate coffee.

Today I did a lot of food and wine shopping.  I started at 10:30 driving to Talin, where I bought oyster sauce, pho seasoning, and fresh dill.

I then drove to Trader Joe’s where I bought artichokes, and twelve bottles of wine, including a 2012 Graham’s Late bottled vintage port for $21.99, a new 2015 Next Station Douro red Wine, two Trader Joe’s Grower ‘s Reserve Petit Sirahs for $7.99 each, two new 2017 Picton Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for $6.99 each, a 2014 Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Pinot Noir for $7.99, a2015 Valreas cuvée Prestige 2015 Cotes Du Rhone Villages red for $5.99, and two 2016 Belles Vignes Sauvignon Blanc for $6.99 each and a bottle of Chatelier VS Cognac for $19.99.

I then drove to Total Wine to check out the 20% off offerings on French wines and bought a 2016 Nages Rose from Costieres de Nimes for $7.50, a Pure Loire Brut Sparkling Chenin Blanc NV from the south side of the Loire rather than within the Appellation for $16.00, a 20015Chenevieres Chablis for $16.00, a new bottle of 2016 Noble Rivers by Cave de Tain Marsanne for $10.00 and a bottle of Calvados Berneroy XO for $27.00.

I then met Mike at La Salita at its new location on Juan Tabo at Brentwood Stairs for lunch.  I had my usual Lite Bite Chile Relleno with refried beans, which is now $9.99.  Mike had his usual turkey meat stuffed  Sopapilla. I like the new place which is larger and at 1:00 on a Saturday filled with folks, including two large tables filled with birthday party celebrants.  La Salita batters their Chile Relleno in a cornmeal batter that is gluten free.  We ordered our sopapillas for delivery after the entrees were eaten to make sure they were steaming hot.  I love sopapillas, those pockets  of pastry thin deep fried dough, with honey that are served as dessert with the meal.


After lunch I drove to Sprouts and bought 1 lb. of fresh Dover sole for $7.99/lb., two fresh Atlantic

Salmon filets for Gravad Lax for $8.99/lb., 6 oz. of blackberries for $.98, 6 oz. of blueberries for $2.00, and three eggplants for $1.00; all specials.

I then drove home and napped from 3:00 to 4:00, when Suzette called me to tell me Willy’s plane was running late.

So I got dressed and rode 7.5 miles south to the bend in the trail and saw flocks of sandhill cranes and Canada geese gleaning the fields next to the bike path.

When I returned at 5:00 I had decided on a menu for dinner, poached sole in a Bercy sauce, which is a cream sauce and the addition of sautéed mushrooms broiled in the oven for five to seven minutes, with mashed potatoes and steamed string beans. I put a bottle of Belles Vignes Sauvignon Blanc into the freezer to chill.

I started by boiling the four small artichokes I had bought at Trader Joe’s for $2.49 in the large Le Creuset casserole for 50 minutes. The I peeled and diced six small russet potatoes (10 pounds for $1.99 at El Super). After I started the potatoes boiling at 5:55 Suzette arrived and Willy called to say he had arrived at the airport, so I drove to pick him up and Suzette took over the mashed potatoes.

When we returned Willy removed the hard tips from about ½ lb. of string beans while I sliced about 1/3 lb. of white mushrooms and 3 cloves of garlic and Suzette sautéed them in a large skillet.
sliced them.

Suzette and I decided to use about 1 cup of the liquid in which the artichokes were cooked plus ½ to 1 cup of wine as the poaching medium for the six sole filets.  We poached them in the large casserole while we sautéed the mushrooms and I made a beurre Marie by blending 3 T. of softened butter with 2 T. of flour.  When the fish were poached Suzette removed them from the casserole and we added the beurre Marie and whisked the liquid and beurre Marie into a thick sauce to which we added ½ cup of heavy cream to make a quick rich cream sauce.

We started the string beans and Suzette whipped the cooked potatoes in the Kitchen Aid into mashed potatoes withheld addition of butter and cream and I grated 1 cup of Jarlsberg cheese.

We then assembled the dish in the large skillet with fish on the bottom, then the mushrooms, then the cream sauce and finally I sprinkled grated cheese on the top.  Suzette set the oven to convection broil and she broiled the dish in the skillet for five minutes, while I poured the white wine.

It was a relatively quick dish to prepare although you must poach the fish before you can prepare the final dish, so there are several relatively easy steps.  The most interesting thing for me was the making of the beurre Marie.  I had softened the butter for about ½ hour so it began to integrate into
the flour but I put the mixing bowl onto the top of the casserole in which the fish were poaching pbecause steam was billowing out the edges of the lid and that heat was sufficient to allow me to cream the butter and flour into a fluffy paste.

The wine was delicious,a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Colombard grapes from the Cotes de Gascogne region just west of Toulouse and north east of Pau and a good value at $6.99.

Here is some info on the wine region from Vinvino:
“Cotes de Gascogne is the IGP title for wines that are produced in an area centered on the Gers administrative department of South-West France. The IGP complements the region’s AOC appellations, which include Armagnac, Madiran and St-Mont, providing growers with a geographical indication for their wines with less-rigid winemaking requirements.

IGP Cotes de Gascogne
The catchment area for the Cotes de Gascogne IGP covers all of Gers, as well as smaller parts of Landes and Lot-et-Garonne. The countryside here is verdant, and the low rolling terrain is interspersed with small, picturesque villages. This landscape has been nearly constantly home to
viticulture since Roman times.

The terroir across the Cotes de Gascogne area is transitional, with the maritime effects of the Atlantic ocean giving way to a more continental climate in the east of Gers. Nearer the coast, loose, sandy soils with good drainage and high rainfall characterize the vineyards. In the east, summers are warmer and drier, and the clay limestone soils retain water more effectively. All in all, this is well suited to viticulture, as the soils and climate work together across the area to create an optimal environment for vineyards.

Cotes de Gascogne IGP wines are predominantly white and are made from local grape varieties like Courbu, Gros Manseng, Colombard and Arrufiac. Better-known grape varieties like Sauvignon Blanc (borrowed from Bordeaux to the north) and Chardonnay are also planted here, as well as red wine grapes such as Tannat, Cot (Malbec) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Red wines make up only a small percentage of Cotes de Gascogne IGP wines, but this is increasing.”

Here are the two recipes for the fish dish from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

After dinner I drove Willy to his apartment.

When I returned I watched NE easily beat Tennessee and then watched some of Saturday Night Live with Suzette.

To avoid an upset stomach from the cream sauce, I ate a bowl of yogurt with fresh blueberries and some of the blueberry Quince sauce Suzette made.  Then I ate a bit of chocolate with a sip of Calvados for a classic finish to the meal.

We went to bed at 10:30.

Bon Appetit

January 12, 2018. Lunch – East Ocean. Dinner – calabacitas and. Prosciutto wrapped pear slices at Glen and Bev’s House concert

January 12, 2018. Lunch – East Ocean. Dinner – calabacitas and. Prosciutto wrapped pear slices at Glen and Bev’s House concert

I met Mike at East Ocean for lunch I ordered Tofu with Mixed Vegetables for $7.95.  Mike ordered Kung Pao Chicken from the lunch menu.  The Tofu and Mixed Vegetables is a large dinner sized portion so after I and Mike ate as much of it as we wished there was still almost ½ left to take home for a snack before groping to Bev and Glen’s house party.  This evening there was a wonderful jazz trio from a Santa Fe that won best NM jazz record of the year.

We took the PPI calabacitas and a package of tostadas, so folks could make tostadas.  Everyone said they liked the dish, perhaps because the ingredients’ flavors melded as the calabacitas simmered on the stove for over an hour while the trio played its first set.

Bev made pear slices wrapped in prosciutto, which I liked very much.

Bon Appetit

January 11, 2018. Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – Roasted Greenhouse Bistro Chicken and Calabacitas

January 11, 2018. Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – Roasted Greenhouse Bistro Chicken and Calabacitas

I ate a bagel with cream cheese and Lax for breakfast.

I worked until around 11:15 and then fixed a pot of Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup with seaweed, dashi, red miso, sliced onion, bok Choy, beef meatballs, four large shrimp, three kinds of noodles, and two sliced mushrooms.

Lunch was interrupted by two meetings.  By 2:00 I was so impressed with the rise in the stock market I could no longer work and also because I was tired from lack of sleep last night, so I took a nap.

At 5:00 I called Suzette who was at that moment checking on availability of a roasted chicken at the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery.

I asked if she wanted Calabacitas and she said yes.

So I fetched four ears of corn and four Mexican squash from the fridge in the garage and a large Enameled casserole.  I cleaned the kernels from each ear of corn and diced the squash and began to fill the casserole.

Then I diced 1 ½ pasilla chilis, two Roma tomatoes, 1 large yellow onion, 8 cloves of diced garlic and added those ingredients to the casserole.

I was loosely following the recipe in Harry’s Roadhouse Cookbook.

I added about 1 T. of oregano and 1 tsp. of ground cumin and ¼ cup of grape seed oil and about 25 oz. of broth and simmered the casserole on top of the stove at medium heat for about 45 minutes until the ingredients softened.

I fetched a bottle of Vouvray from the garage and we ate a simple delicious dinner of roasted chicken and Calabacitas.

There was enough Calabacitas to take to the concert tomorrow evening.

Bon Appetit