March 31, 2019 Lunch – Posole and Tamales. Dinner – Zucchini and Eggplant Baked in Spaghetti Sauce

March 31, 2019 Lunch – Posole and Tamales. Dinner – Zucchini and Eggplant Baked in Spaghetti Sauce

Every day is a new experiment to see what aids my regaining my strength and mobility.

Today was a day of eating huge amounts of carbs.

It started with two bagel sliced toasted and smeared with cream cheese and then slices of red onion and Lax and garnished with capers at 9:00.

Willy came at 9:30 to help unload the 20 large bags of enriched soil we bought at Costco yesterday.  I was impressed with his strength as he heaved bags into the wheel barrow and carted them to the various gardens around the yard.

We then made him oatmeal with cinnamon and diced apple which he sweetened with honey.  He did not finish his oatmeal, so I ate my second helping of carbs around 10:30.

Willy left to play soccer at 11:00 and Suzette left to go shopping, so I lay down after watching Liverpool beat Tottenham.

I awakened when Suzette returned around 1:45.  Suzette was hungry so we decided to eat Posole and tamales for lunch.  Suzette also mixed sour cream together with an avocado to garnish the Posole. Suzette heated the Posole in a pot and the tamales in a plate in their husks in the microwave.  When the Posole came to a boil we ladled some over two tamales, one made with pork byLoyda and Jody and the other a chicken and Green Chile one from Costco.

We shared a Negra Modelo beer.  Although I made this Posole before Christmas because I became ill and had surgery on December 21,  2018, this is the first time I have eaten any.  I loved it with the tamales.

We then drove to UNM to the Center for Southwestern Biology and toured its extensive collections during its open house.  For example, it has the second largest collection of mammals in the world and is adding specimens at the rate of 1000 per month. Many are genomic specimens stored in small test tubes at minus 180 degrees in storage tanks filled with nitrogen.

We drove home at 5:30 and watched some of 60 Minutes while Suzette made dinner.

She sliced eggplant and zucchini and covered them with the spaghetti sauce I made last week and slices of  mozzarella and baked the dish in the oven.

I went to the basement and found the bottle of Italian 2012 Griggorte Primativo.  It was surprisingly delicious and went well with dinner.  It had quite a lot of tannins but also some softer fruit.

We both enjoyed dinner.

I then went to bed to read the new book club selection, Underground Railroad and at 9:30 blogged.

I feel fine but stuffed full of carbs.

Bon Appetit

March 30, 2019 Brunch – Sausages and Eggs Snack – Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner – Poached Salmon in a caper cream sauce with Sautéed Green Beans with almonds and Sushi Rice

March 30, 2019 Brunch – Sausages and Eggs   Snack – Pork and Sauerkraut   Dinner – Poached Salmon in a caper cream sauce with Sautéed Green Beans with almonds and Sushi Rice

Today I took another step toward living a normal life by spending 1/2 day  gardening.  We woke at 7:00 and dressed and at 9:00 Suzette made a lovely single skillet breakfast by sautéing five sausage patties and then sautéing diced orange bell pepper, a Yukon Gold potato, and red onion and finally poaching eggs covered to steam in a large skillet.  We ladled the resulting dish onto corn tortillas toasted on the open gas flame on the stove. Here are the pictures.

She also filled the former crock pot insert that she converted into a roaster with the pork boneless sirloin I bought at Smith’s two weeks ago and the one pound bag of seasoned sauerkraut I bought at Sprouts two weeks ago and ½ head of shredded cabbage and baked it covered in the oven at 300 degrees while we worked in the garden.

From about 10:00 until 2:30 with Suzette’s help I roto-tilled two raised beds, two triangles in the formal garden, and 2/3 of the bed along 15th Street.

When we finished around 2:30 we were hungry.  When Suzette checked the progress of the Pork and Sauerkraut, she found that it was fully cooked, so we ate small bowls of Pork and Sauerkraut.  It was really spicy, although neither of us could determine the source of the sauerkraut’s spiciness.

We then rested and Suzette showered and watched episodes of Love It or list it until 5:00, when we drove to Costco and bought 20 30 lb. bags of top soil, a bag of spinach, a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes, a bottle of honey, and a bundle of 8 one lb. bags of Italian spaghetti.

The staff helped us load the bags onto s cart and then after we paid for them into Suzette’s highlander.

We had contacted Willy about eating dinner with us and he came by a bit after 6:30 shortly after we returned home.  The only step we had taken toward fixing dinner was Suzette snapping and steaming 1/3 lb. of green beans and I chilled a bottle of Picton Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the freezer (Trader Joe’s $7.99).  We discussed dinner and agreed to start cooking at 8:00 so Willy could work out at the gym.  He is into a whole body exercise regime and his body is beginning to show the effects.

We cut the 1 ½ lb. of salmon into four pieces and I rinsed them and let them air dry and we watched a bit more Love it or List it until almost 8:00 when we began cooking.

Willy returned a bit after 8:00.

Poached Salmon with a Caper and Parsley Cream Sauce

I chopped six small cloves of garlic for the poaching medium.  Suzette poached the four salmon filets
in a covered skillet filled to about 1/3 inch with white wine, ½ diced shallot, some chopped parsley and chives, six cloves of diced garlic, water, and butter.  I then cooked for several minutes 3 T. of butter in an enameled sauce pan to which I added 2 T. of flour.  I the whisked the flour and butter mixture as Suzette added the poaching medium and then some half and half to make a cream sauce.  This is the easiest and most flavorful way to make a cream sauce for poached fish.

Sautéed green beans

Suzette then sautéed slivered almonds in a skillet until they turned golden brown and then added and
tossed the previously steamed green beans.

Finally she heated the PPI sushi rice from last Sunday’s Chirashi dinner in the microwave and I opened the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and poured glasses and  Suzette plated the plates with a pile of rice garnished with a salmon filet garnished with the cream sauce garnished with some more chopped parsley and chives and a spoonful of sautéed green beans beside it.

This was a very successful dinner; one we love to make and eat.  Salmon is Willy’s favorite fish, so I buy it often when we think he will be joining us for dinner.

I ate a few pieces of Brie and Humboldt Fog cheese after dinner with the last of the Chateau Roudier
red from Appellation Controlle Montagne-St. Emillon.

Everyone loved dinner.  Willy described and showed us pictures of his motorcycle ride to and camp out at San Lorenzo Canyon near Socorro last night.

Willy said goodnight at 9:30.  We watched a bit of Saturday Night Live and went to bed at 10:30.

Bon Appetit

March 28, 2019 Lunch – Caesar Salad. Dinner – Sandwiches and Book Club

March 28, 2019 Lunch – Caesar Salad. Dinner – Sandwiches and Book Club

I wanted to try to eat more lightly to day and exercise to see if I felt better.  I started with a delicious biodynamic breakfast of tropical fruit salad, granola, and lots of yogurt.  I call it biodynamic when there is enough fruit juice to wet the granola instead of adding milk.  It is more delicious and in my opinion healthier without milk.

At 10:00 I rode 4 miles on my bike around a Tingley Beach to Marquez and back home.  I showered and dressed and  then chose to eat a salad for lunch with the fresh red leaf lettuce I bought yesterday at El Super.  I made a pile of torn leaves of lettuce and added a diced Roma tomato, a diced Persian cucumber, 2 oz. of diced red onion, ¼ of a large avocado diced, ½ of an artichoke heart diced, and four smoked Spanish anchovy filets diced and dressed the salad with Cesar salad dressing.

I also refreshed the artichoke dipping sauce by adding juice of 1/4 lemon and two heaping T. of mayo and made a cheese sandwich with slices of Jarlsberg cheese on a slice of toasted whole wheat bread.

I love the healthy lunch and used several leftovers.

After lunch I went to the bank and had some pain, so I rested for about an hour from 4:00 until 5:00 to regain my strength and it worked. I walked without pain in the evening.

At 5:30 I ate a piece of whole wheat toast smeared with peanut butter and boysenberry jam with a cup of rum spiked hot chocolate and then ate a slice of rye bread smeared with sour cream garnished with slices of herring in wine sauce for dinner.

Suzette ate a slightly more elegant dinner of PPI chicken Stroganoff with a baked potato.

At 6:30 I picked up Charlie and we drove to the book club meeting at Bob’s house.  The book discussed this month was The Cuckoo Calling by J. K.Rowling using the pseudonym, Robert Gailbraith.  I ate a few Fritos and dip and a couple of slices of cheese with a glass of Pinot Noir.  After the discussion we eat a dessert.  Tonight’s was a lovely cheese cake from Albertsons bakery with a cup of decaf coffee.  We left early and I was home by 9:30.

Suzette had attended a house concert at Bev’s house by a French Argentinian band named Engine and was just washing her face when I arrived.

We were both in bed by 10:00.

Smaller portions of healthy food and moderate exercise seem to be helping me get my body back in shape, forgetting the hot chocolate and sandwiches to stoke the carbs and sugar.

I awakened a bit after 2:00 and blogged and drank water for a while.

Bon Appetit

March 26, 2019 Lunch – Corn Beef. Hash, Catalan Spinach, and Poached Eggs Dinner – Chicken and Asparagus Stroganoff on Pasta

March 26, 2019 Lunch – Corn Beef. Hash, Catalan Spinach, and Poached Eggs   Dinner – Chicken and Asparagus Stroganoff on Pasta

From Japan to Central Europe in one day.

I started the day with a generous portion of tropical fruit salad on granola and yogurt, a biodynamic breakfast.

For lunch I heated corned beef and cottage fries with Catalan Spinach that included diced apple and sautéed pinon nuts in a medium skillet.  In a separate pan I heated water and poached three eggs.  After I added the eggs to the skillet I could not transfer them to a pasta bowl so I enjoyed a hot skillet lunch.  The whites of the poached eggs stuck to the bottom of the pan but the yolks floated and were still relatively viscous.

Todd came at 6:30 and we meditated until 7:15.

Chicken Stroganoff

Suzette arrived at 7:17.  After we said goodbye to Todd we decided we would combine the PPI roasted chicken breast with mushrooms and onions to make a Stroganoff.  I diced the chicken and ½ of a large onion and sliced five portobello mushrooms.  Suzette then cooked those ingredients in the large skillet with about 2 T. of butter and 1 1/2 T. of olive oil.  I then suggested that we add the last of a bunch of asparagus that were beginning to wilt.  I snapped the ends off and cut them into 1 ½ inch sections and we added them to the skillet.

We wanted to try a new wine.  I soon found a bottle of 2017 Domaine de Touch from Cotes de Gascogne that I think I bought at Trader Joe’s.

Suzette poured about three T. of the wine into the skillet and then some half and half and cooked that a bit to thicken the sauce.  She then  added about 1 T. of capers to the dish and adjusted the salt.

Suzette heated the PPI spaghetti in the microwave and put a pile in each of two pasta bowls and then ladled some of the Stroganoff on top.

Willy arrived just as Suzette was plating thE food and I was pouring the wine.

The Stroganoff was slightly dry (most of the liquid had evaporated) and so was the wine, so they each made a perfect complement for the other. We liked the wine a lot and had another glass after dinner, but it had tasted better with the Stroganoff.

Willy did not eat or drink any wine because he is in a rigorous training regime with his friend Robin and was on his way to the gym.

After Willy left we turned on the TV and discovered that the movie Hidden Figures was starting at 9:00.  We watched it until 12:00 and loved every moment of it, as well as the opportunity to not be inundated with news.

We each ate a piece of banana nut bread for dessert. I ate mine with some Earl Grey tea and milk.

Bon Appetit

March 25, 2019 More Japanese Food Lunch – Miso Noodle Soup with Sorrel and Aji tuna. Dinner – Shrimp, Zucchini, Eggplant, and parsley Tempura

March 25, 2019 More Japanese Food Lunch – Miso Noodle Soup with Sorrel and Aji tuna. Dinner – Shrimp, Zucchini, Eggplant, and parsley Tempura

I ate granola, milk, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad for breakfast.

At noon I made Miso Noodle Soup with the PPI Kombu threads from last night’s meal, three kinds of noodles (bean Thread, 10 mm. wide rice sticks, and soba (Japanese Buckwheat) Noodle, about 5 oz. of medium tofu, a heaping T. of red miso, three mushrooms sliced thinly, 1 T. of Chinese cooking wine and about 2 oz. of diced Aji Tuna. A very simple but filling Japanese lunch.

At 3:30 I rode to the Nature Center and back; the farthest ride of the year.

Suzette has arrived home when I returned and after a quick tour of the garden she suggested we make Tempura for dinner.  I peeled the pound of shrimp I bought at Sprouts on Saturday while Suzette mixed a cup ofTempura mix with 1 cup of cold water and sliced eggplant and zucchini into 2 inch by ½ inch rectangles.  We heated canola oil in the wok and Suzette dipped the vegetable sticks and shrimp into the batter and then dropped them into the hot oil to fry.  Unfortunately, the tempura batter was ten years old and the baking powder of baking soda had gone flat, so the batter coated the vegetables and shrimp it did not puff up when it hit the hot oil. It tasted fine but was not puffy.

We made a dipping sauce by filling a small ramekins with the pickle salad marinade and then adding soy sauce to it.

We ate the PPI Carrot, Radish, and cucumber pickled salad with the dinner and drank beer to wash it down.

It was a delicious unsuccessful meal that was very satisfying.

We watched an episode of the British Baking Show after dinner and I felt acutely aware of the defects of our tempura, when several contestants.were told, “Your flavor is good but your bake is underproofed”. A nice way of saying it fell flat, like our tempura.

After dinner I sliced two more Persian cucumbers diagonally and added them to the bowl of pickles, covered the bowl, and placed it in the fridge for another day’s meal.

Suzette also baked several potatoes that we will eat with hamburgers tomorrow evening.

Bon Appetit

March 24, 2019 A Very Fishy Day Brunch – Lax, Onion, Asparagus, and Cream Cheese Omelet. Dinner – Chirashi Donburi (Sashimi and Sushi Rice) with Pickled Carrots, Radishes, and Daikon

March 24, 2019 A Very Fishy Day  Brunch – Lax, Onion, Asparagus, and Cream Cheese Omelet. Dinner – Chirashi Donburi (Sashimi and Sushi Rice) with Pickled Carrots, Radishes, and Daikon

I awakened at 6:48 and fetched the papaya, and pineapple from the garage fridge and peeled and cubed them plus two mangos, and three navel oranges to make a tropical fruit salad.

I then ate some granola, milk, yogurt, and fruit salad.  At 10:30 I diced about three oz. each of Lax, red, onion and asparagus stalks and whipped four large eggs and brought a package of Neufchâtel cream cheese in from the garage. Suzette came in hungry after spending the morning fixing the sprinklers and cleaning and putting new head rests into the hot tub.

After brunch I spoke to another prospective tenant and sent emails to her and Rebecca and then lay down for an hour’s nap while Suzette went shopping for furniture to furnished recently rented apartments at the Center for Ageless Living, which will become fully occupied by the end of the month.

I was awakened at 3:00 by a call from Willy after his soccer game.  I invited him for dinner of sashimi at 6:30.

I then researched recipes for Sushi Rice and Pickled Daikon and Carrot Salad in my Japanese cookbook.  The Sushi Rice recipe was too complex but I had the ingredients, Kombu seaweed, Aji Mirin, salt, and sugar.

Sushi Rice and Sweet pickled Carrots and Daikon

So I improvised.  I boiled about two T. of dried kombu seaweed threads in about three cups of water with 1 tsp. of dehydrated dashi.  In a separate small pan I heated 2 T. of rice vinegar, 2 T. of mirin, 2 T. of sugar, and 1 ½ tsp. of Korean sea salt to make the seasoning sauce for the sushi rice.

I then made the sauce for the pickles by combining and heating  ½ cup of dashi, ½ cup rice vinegar, 2 T. of Mirin and 2 T. of sugar until the sugar dissolved into solution in another pan.

I then removed the kombu threads and poured off the last bit of undissolved dehydrated dashi and cooked 1 ¼ cup of rice in the remaining 2 ½ cups of dashi/kombu broth.  Although the sushi rice recipe did not call for dashi, I figured the rice would taste even better with a slight dashi flavor.

Here are the recipes for the pickles and Sushi rice.

The sweet sauce is third from top on page closest to the caption

The Red and White Vinaigrette Salad

                                                           The sushi rice recipe

Suzette returned at 4:30 while the rice was cooking and I was slicing carrots and Daikon into 1 ½ inch by ½ inch wide strips and three red radishes and putting the sliced vegetables into the pickling sauce in a steel bowl that I put into the fridge to chill.

Suzette asked, “What can I do to help.”  She then set the table with chop sticks, and our Japanese rice bowls and dipping sauce bowls and chop stick rests and Chinese plates and small rice bowls for the pickled vegetables and small Chinese tea cups for sake. She also fetched the large Portuguese appetizer plate to lay the sashimi on.

I went to the basement and fetched a magnum bottle of Gekkeikan sake and Suzette heated the bottle in a pan of water.

I thawed five sea scallops from the freezer.

When the rice was fully cooked I stirred in the sushi seasoning sauce and covered the pan to keep it warm.

It was 5:30 when I started slicing the 1 lb. salmon filet and ¾ lb. Aji tuna filet, the five scallops, and a small avocado.

Willy arrived shortly after 6:00 when I finished slicing the items for the sashimi plate which Suzette garnished with the last of our sliced pickled ginger.


Suzette then squeezed wasabi sauce into the dipping bowls and poured soy sauce into them and filled the sake cups with hot sake, while I made green tea and filled the small bowls with pickled vegetables and the rice bowls with rice.

Here is a picture of the table set for dinner.

 

We had a wonderful sashimi dinner with sushi rice and Daikon and carrot pickles..

The salmon filet cost a bit less than $8.00, the tuna cost a bit more than $5.00 and the scallops cost about $5.00.  The organic Daikon cost $.72.

So this immense expanse of sashimi cost less than $20.00.  I finished the last of the salmon and scallops after everyone was so stuffed they could eat no more.

Willy left around 8:00 after the news of the Mueller report was made public and we had started watching a Hallmark movie called something like Love, Romance, and Chocolate about a young American woman who travels to Bruges, Belgium and falls in love with a chocolatier and combines her skill at making cupcakes with his skill at making chocolate to create award winning cherry cola petits fours that seals their union and recognition as royal chocolatiers.

Suzette celebrated with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

We went to bed around 9:00 or 9:30.

Bon Appetit

March 23, 2019 Brunch – Sausage, eggs, and cottage fries with banana bread. Snack – Lax and onion on Bagel A One Dish Dinner – Spinach, Spaghetti, and Sausage, Mushroom, and beef Spaghetti Sauce

March 23, 2019 Brunch – Sausage, eggs, and cottage fries with banana bread. Snack – Lax and onion on Bagel  A One Dish Dinner – Spinach, Spaghetti, and Sausage, Mushroom, and beef Spaghetti Sauce

At 8:30 we drove to Donut Mart and Sprouts.  There were no whole wheat bagels at Donut Mart, so we drove on to Sprouts.  We bought a 1 lb. fresh salmon filet, an aji tuna steak, a lb. of shrimp, a daikon, a lb. container of portobello mushrooms, milk, lots of asparagus, some powdered cardamon, an eggplant, green onions, and 2 lb. of sage sausage.

It was 10:00 and we were hungry so we drove home and made sausage and eggs and cottage fries.

I rested and Suzette worked on the hot tub. At 2:30 I toasted a 1/3 slice of onion bagel smeared with cream cheese and garnished with slices of red onion and Lax.

I then rode the 3 ½ mile loop around Tingley beach to Central on the north and Marquez just north of Bridge on the south.

While I showered and dressed  Suzette heated the spaghetti sauce and boiled some spaghetti.  When I got to the kitchen we decided to add spinach, so we rinsed and spun a handful of Spinach and I de-
stemmed the leaves and put half in each of two pasta bowls.  When the spaghetti was ready Suzette put a pile of spaghetti in each bowl and we ladled spaghetti sauce on top and added grated cheese for a wonderful one dish dinner.  Suzette poured out the rest of the Gaestano Aquino Chianti Reserva (Trader Joe’s $5.99) and we had a huge tasty dinner.

After dinner we drove to Popejoy Hall for the NMPhilharmonic performance of Verdi’s Requiem with the NM Symphonic Chorus and four soloists.  We don’t love choral performances, but were impressed with the artistry and technical skill of tonight’s over 1 ½ hour performance.

After the symphony we went home and got in bed with a drink and watched a Saturday Night Live from 2017 after the firing of James Comey.  It seems like SNL is re-running the episodes that show Trump at his worst.  Last week he reacted with a Twitter and this week should be no different.

Later we shared a bowl of chocolate ice cream with Kahlua, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.

Bon Appetit

March 22, 2019 Lunch – Church St. Café. Dinner – New Recipe. Grilled Sweet Italian Sausages Zuddles and Spaghetti seasoned with Sorrel Pesto

March 22, 2019 Lunch – Church St. Café. Dinner – New Recipe. Grilled Sweet Italian Sausages Zuddles and Spaghetti seasoned with Sorrel Pesto

I started with granola, yogurt, milk, blueberries and banana slices.

I met Marie at Church Street at 11:30 I ate a carne adovado plate with corn tortillas and two eggs over easy with papas.  I loved it.  I finally have returned to my favorite dish at Church Street.

After lunch I went home and watched the news of the delivery of the Mueller report.  At 5:00 I decided to make spaghetti sauce with Italian Sausages, onion, garlic, ground beef, mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes for tomorrow night’s dinner.  I chopped all those ingredients and sautéed the meat and then the onion and garlic and added six chopped fresh Roma tomatoes then at 6:00 went to Lowe’s and bought two 24 oz. cans of pasta sauce.

When I returned home Suzette decided to make sorrel pesto and sauté two sausages and make zuddles by cutting thin strips of zucchini with a cheese slicer and heating it with some PPI spaghetti and seasoning the noodles with the fresh pesto.

Suzette went to the garden and harvested a basket of sorrel leaves.  She them processed them in the Cuisinart with piñon nuts, raisins, olive oil, and grated Pecorino-Romano cheese.  The result was a lovely fresh slightly tangy pesto.  She cooked the zuddles with the spaghetti in the microwave and then tossed the noodles with pesto.  She put ½ of the noodles in each of two pasta bowls and lay a sautéed sausage on each pile of pasta.  The fresh zuddles and spaghetti mixed with the fresh pesto and chunks of sausage tasted fantastically fresh.

We shared the last of the peach ice cream Susan gave us and the blueberry clafoutis later as we watched a movie.

After dinner I added about seven or eight sliced mushrooms and a sliced zucchini to the spaghetti sauce plus an extra sausage diced and the two cans of pasta sauce and simmered the sauce for about an hour.

This was one of the best pasta dinners I have eaten in a very long time.

We finished the Spanish Tempranillo Crianza and then I opened a bottle of Aquino Chianti Reserva.
Both bottles were bought at Trader Joe’s.

We may mix zuddles and spaghetti again tomorrow evening or dinner.

Bon Appetit

March 19, 2019 Lunch – Azuma. Dinner – Artichokes and PPI Corned Beef and Cabbage

March 19, 2019 Lunch – Azuma. Dinner – Artichokes and PPI Corned Beef and Cabbage

I did not eat breakfast.  Suzette stayed in town today so we planned to meet for lunch.  When she called at 11:30 to tell me she had finished her appointment she mentioned sushi, so I suggested Azuma because she was in the Journal Center.

I arrived at noon ahead of her by about 15 minutes.  Since I eat slowly I ordered my favorite lunch, Chirashi Donburi, with salmon, Aji tuna, ultra white, yellowtail and octopus. Chirashi is slices of raw fish and cooked octopus served on a bed of sushi rice.  Here is a photo:

When Suzette arrived she ordered a Caterpillar roll with enoki inside the roll and slices of avocado on the outside of the roll and an enoki roll wrapped in a sheet of nori seaweed.  We drank green tea and had a leisurely high protein lunch.  It was good to be back at Azuma.

After lunch I worked until 4:00 when Suzette arrived I boiled two Artichokes for 1 hour and 15 minutes as  I took the servSafe test to renew my alcohol pourer’s license.  Then we went to the garden and I pruned the two rose bushes by the pond.

At 6:00 Suzette suggested we eat the PPI corned beef and cabbage.  She fetched the corn beef and a lemon.  I made a dipping sauce for the artichoke by combining the juice of ½ of the lemon, a small handful of chopped fresh dill from our garden, and ½ cup of prepared mayo.

Suzette heated the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots and its briny pickling sauce.  Suzette heated pieces of the soda bread Susan brought us on last Saturday evening, when we served the corn beef for dinner to her and Charlie.



Willy came at around 8:00 and ate a bowl of the corn beef and vegetables.  We talked until 9:15 when he said goodnight.

Bon Appetit

March 20, 2019 Lunch – Spaghetti with Lamb and eggplant stew and Tzatziki. Dinner – Roasted Chicken, Acorn Squash stuffed with figs and walnuts and steamed Asparagus

March 20, 2019 Lunch – Spaghetti with Lamb and eggplant stew and Tzatziki. Dinner – Roasted Chicken, Acorn Squash stuffed with figs and walnuts and steamed Asparagus

I started with a bowl of granola, milk, yogurt, blueberries, and banana slices at 8:00.

At 1:00 I heated a bowl of spaghetti garnished with a handful of spinach leaves and the PPI Lang and eggplant stew we made several days ago.  After it was reheated in the microwave I added the rest of the lovely Tzatziki Cynthia made for our party for Melissa about ten days ago.

After lunch I drove to El Super and bought toothpicks, a grapefruit, red and yellow onions, parsley, 3 small avocados, corn chips, green beans, limes, lemons, Zucchini, Persian cucumbers, and Roma tomatoes all for $15.00.

After I went to the Post Office and the bank and then drove home and checked the Market.  Amazingly the Dow was down ½% but my portfolio was up ½% thanks to Apple, Facebook, and Google.  A rare and delightful day.

I called Suzette and asked her to bring home a roasted chicken and she did, so Dinner was exceedingly easy.  We reheated the two PPI stuffed acorn squash and then the leg quarters of the chicken and steamed about twenty stalks of young tender asparagus I had bought at Sprouts the other day.

I poured glasses of Le Ferme Julien white from the Southern Rhone Valley made with Maryanne and Roussane grapes ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s).  A dry pleasant drink of wine, especially for the money.

We loved our quick, easy and delicious dinner made with almost no effort.

Bon Appetit

March 18, 2019 Lunch – Spaghetti. Dinner – New Recipe Steamer oven cooked Pork Steak Garnished with a Mustard Boysenberry Mayonnaise Sauce and served with a baked stuffed Acorn Squash and Catalan Spinach

March 18, 2019 Lunch – Spaghetti. Dinner – New Recipe Steamer oven cooked Pork Steak Garnished with a Mustard Boysenberry Mayonnaise Sauce and served with a baked stuffed Acorn Squash and Catalan Spinach

What a fun food day.  I ate granola, yogurt, milk, blueberries, and banana slices for breakfast.

At 1:00 I heated PPI spaghetti from last night garnished with the delicious PPI Spaghetti Sauce I made last week for a wonderful lunch, after which I thawed two pork sirloin steaks.

After a few chocolate chocolate chip cookies I rode my bike to Campbell Rd. at 3:00.

At 4:40 I drove to the bank and the Sprouts where I bought 6 Sweet Italian Sausages for $1.99/lb., 2.5 lb. of grass fed 85% fat free ground beef for $2.99/lb., medium tofu, a cucumber, Bananas, and Asparagus for $1.98/lb.

I returned home a bit before 6:00. Suzette was home and we discussed dinner.  We finally decided to sauté the pork steaks and bake the stuffed acorn squash Suzette made on Saturday and to make Catalan spinach with diced apples, onions, and piñon nuts.

I was called away to show the building a bit before 6:30. As I left I placed a bottle of Emma Reinhard French 100% Pinot Noir rose in the fridge. I did not return until almost 7:00, by which time Suzette was cooking the pork steaks on a rack in the steam cooking oven, and was baking the acorn squash, and ha chopped a pile of onion and apple and had the bag of onion nuts at the ready.  When I returned I Suzette washed a large handful of spinach and stir fried it in the wok with the apples, onions, and pine nuts in olive oil.
While Suzette stir fried I made a sauce for the pork steak with 1 T. Of Grey Poupon Mustard, 2 T. of prepared mayonnaise, and ½ T. of Boysenberry jam.

When Suzette plated the dishes the plates were particularly lovely, with a round of yellow acorn squash stuffed with dark brown chopped figs, Apple, and walnuts, a pile of green Catalan spinach, with its flecks of golden brown pinons, apples and onion, and the pork steak covered with a lovely light mauve colored sauce.

A beautiful plate of food

We loved our new recipe of steamer cooked pork with a mustard fruit mayonnaise sauce.

When everything was ready I opened the rose and poured glasses with ice cubes to chill it.

We watched a particularly good session of Rachel Maddow featuring newly discovered dirt on several new Trump associates, subpoena searches of Trump’s former attorney, and the delivery of 10s of thousands of documents to the House Committee on oversight.

Bon Appetit

March 16, 2019. Corned Beef and Cabbage. March 17, 2019 Lunch - Crab and Salad. Dinner – New Recipe Lamb and Eggplant Stew on Spaghetti with Steamed Broccoli

On Saturday Suzette made banana nut bread with chopped walnuts in the morning and stuffed acorn squash.  I ate a large Cesar Salad for lunch as I watched An amazing rugby match between England and Scotland in which England scored the first 31 points and Scotland then scored the next 38 points and finally England drew a draw at 38 to 38.  I then rode about 7 miles to Campbell Rd. and back.  We had invited a Susan and Charlie for dinner because we were making Corned Beef and Cabbage.  We first tried to cook it in the crock pot, but it would not heat properly, so we switched to a roasting pan in the oven.  We started the corned beef and cabbage at 10:00 and added carrots and quartered Yukon Gold potatoes at 2:00.

Charlie and Susan came for dinner at 6:30. I put out crackers and Boursin herbed cheese spread, several cubes of fresh cantaloupe, and several cubes of Swiss cheese for appetizers.

After a bit we served dinner, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots with horseradish with slices of a wonderful soda bread dotted with currants that Susan made in a cast iron skillet.

After dinner we ate a few chocolate chocolate chip cookies and said goodnight at 9:15.

Today was another active food day.  I ate a bagel garnished with slices of Manchego cheese and granola earlier.

At 11:30 we cleaned the 2 lb. Dungeness Crab Suzette bought at Costco yesterday and Suzette made a salad of blanched diced asparagus with the addition of diced cucumber, and tomato dressed with Cesar salad dressing.

I made my favorite sauce for seafood, a combination of cocktail sauce and mignonette sauce; ½ shallot finely minced mixed with juice of ½ lemon allowed to sit in the fridge far a bit to cook the shallot.  Then I added about ½ T. of horseradish, 1 T. of catsup, and a dash or two of Tabasco and about 2/3 cup of prepared mayonnaise.

I had chilled a bottle of Gruet Brut Rose champagne during the night that we carried to the table in the garden in an ice bucket filled with ice and water with the crab and salad plus plates and champagne glasses.

It was cool but sunny and comfortable as we sat with our backs in the sun light and enjoyed our first meal of the year in our garden.  The most exciting thing besides the delicious lunch was the fact that we have about 15 baby gold fish in out pond.  Finally we have a propagating population of fish after over ten years.

We nibbled on cookies and banana nut bread during the afternoon and Suzette finished the vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of Hershey’s syrup.

We had no specific plan for dinner.  We had five lamb chops and an old eggplant in the fridge that needed to be cooked but no gas in our propane tank.  We finally decided to remove the meat from the
bone and sauté the lamb meat with cubes of eggplant.  We decided to add diced onion, tomato and garlic to the mix plus fresh oregano and chives.  I suggested we cook spaghetti so we could serve the stew over spaghetti.

The resulting new dish was really wonderful.

I opened a bottle of the Origon Spanish Gran Reserva red ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s) that was made from 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache that went perfectly with the meal.

After dinner we watched Wall-E, which neither of us had seen in its entirety before and enjoyed it.

Bon Appetit

March 15 was much different. I ate two slices of toasted everything whole wheat bagel spread with cream cheese and garnished with onion and Lax. A hardy meal to start the day.

March 15, 2019 Lunch – Church Street Café. Dinner – Downtown Farmers’ Market

Yesterday was a food wasteland.  We ate popcorn for dinner and I had a couple of herring on rye spread with sour cream open faced sandwiches for dinner.

I ate PPI Vietnamese Miso Soup for Lunch between appointments.

A busy uneventful day of food.

March 15 was much different.  I ate two slices of toasted everything whole wheat bagel spread with cream cheese and garnished with onion and Lax. A hardy meal to start the day.

At noon I showed the building to several prospects. I met with Marie at 2:30 to discuss and critique her lease with the City for 522 Romero.  We spent four hours editing, during which time I ordered and ate a chile relleno and two beef enchiladas with spinach and beans.  Church Street Café is not my favorite Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque, but it is one of my two favorite Mexican restaurants in Old Town.  La Placita being the other one.

Church Street does not make its own Mexican style Green Chile sauce made with chicken stock for the chile Relleno.  Instead it lays a pile of chopped green chile and cheese on top, which. I find unappealing.  The beef enchiladas were just okay, a corn tortilla dipped in oil and filled with taco meat and garnished with red Chile and cheese again.  I prefer enchiladas that are baked in the oven that collapse into a soft pastry like combination of meat, dough, and cheese. I really liked the spinach and the beans were just okay.  I am going to find an item on the menu that is really good someday.

When I arrived home at 6:30 Suzette said, “I want to go out to eat.”

I said, “I am ready, if you are paying.”

Suzette had read about a downtown Farmers’ Market at the new restaurant at fourth and Lead across from the Social Security building.

I did not notice its name but the owner said it was featuring a new country specific menu every two weeks.  Tonight the featured country was Spain.  We ordered plate filled with some grilled Octopus, five slices of fried and grilled potato (papas Fritos) and a pile of chick peas mixed with spinach ($13.00), a dish with four or five slices of thin grilled eggplant drizzled with honey and served with a cup of cream of fava bean soup ($7.00), and an eggless tortilla espanol made with a chick pea flour crust and layers of potato slices served with chick peas and spinach.  Chick pea was obviously the Legume de jour.  The dinner was more like three appetizers or tapas.

We were still a little hungry when we returned home.  Suzette ate the last of the vanilla ice cream with some blueberry clafoutis.

I had a desire for a cookie, so I made chocolate chocolate chip and raisin cookie.  I used the standard Toll House cookie recipe of ½ lb. butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup white granulated sugar, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 ½ tsp. of vanilla, ½ tsp. salt. I used 1 ¼ cup of almond flour and 1 cup of regular wheat flour, plus I added 1 T. of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, about 2 T. of cocoa, 1 cup of chocolate chips and ½ cup of raisins.  I liked the result although I find the traditional recipe a bit greasy and I awakened at 2:30 with a bit of an upset stomach, not sure if it was due to the wave of chick peas at dinner or the two chocolate chip cookies.  I will eat two more chocolate chocolate chip cookies
tomorrow to see which caused the upset.

Market watch – another up day for the Market.  My portfolio was up another ½% and for the first time since early October 2018 surpassed its December 31, 2017 level.  It is wonderful to be ahead again and awful that after a year and almost three months I have no real gain, although 2017 was a stellar year.

Bon Appetit

March 13, 2019 Lunch – Vietnamese Pho Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – French Onion Soup and PPI Greek Salad

March 13, 2019 Lunch – Vietnamese Pho Miso Noodle Soup. Dinner – French Onion Soup and PPI Greek Salad

I ate a toasted slice of whole wheat everything bagel smeared with cream cheese and garnished with slices of onion and Lax and capers.

For lunch I made a pot of noodle soup with beef broth extract, a cube of pho seasoning, diced PPI steak, beef meatballs, miso, PPI broccoli, a large handful of spinach leaves, ½ of a shallot, and mung bean, soba, and rice stick noodles.  It resulted in a thick mass of noodles so after I ate a bowl in which I had to pour in most of the stock I added water to fill the pot so the next bowls will have a reasonable amount of liquid and put the pot into the fridge.

The switch to Daylight savings time has upset our sleep cycle. Suzette came home at 4:00 to rest.and I went to the bank and post office.

When I returned I lay down for an hour and read until 5:30 when I started dinner. I had saved a portion of the extra beef and because there was a big winter storm blowing through, I decided to make French Onion Soup.  I use Julia Child’s recipe from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” because it is so easy. Here is the recipe.

I sliced five cups of onions thinly and then sautéed them slowly in a large covered enamel Le Creuset casserole with 3 T. of butter and 1 or 2 T. of olive oil. Suzette uncovered the casserole and found that the onions were already soft and golden brown so we reduced the second step of cooking the onions for 30 to forty after adding 1tsp. of salt and ¼ tsp. of sugar to about 10 minutes.  Then I added 3 T. of flour and cooked the onions another 3 to 5 minutes to cook the flour, to avoid a doughy taste.  We had made a beef stock with the steak bones from out T-bone dinner that we had been heating while the onions sautéed.

I poured the beef stock through I sieve into the casserole. And then 1/2 cup of white vermouth.
I then heated a frozen piece of French baguette from the freezer until golden brown in a 350 degree oven set to convection.  I grated about 1cup of Swiss cheese and diced the PPI steak. I added the steak to the soup.  Suzette fetched two French onion soup bowls, sliced the bread, filled the bowls with hot soup, placed two slices of toasted bread rounds on top of the soup, garnished each bowl with grated cheese, and baked the bowls in the oven until the cheese melted and turned golden brown on top.  I forgot to add a dash of cognac, but will not forget when we reheat the soup..

I opened a bottle of Charles Shaw California’s organic Pinot Noir ($3.99 at Trader Joe’s) and poured glasses of wine.  I also toasted two slices of whole wheat bread and spread them with Boursin Fine herbs cheese spread and nibbled bread and cheese with the PPI Greek salad from last night’s meal after I ate two bowls of soup.

I was still tired, so after dinner I lay down and read The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Gailbraith (the LTBC selection for March) and then around 8:30 slipped into sleep.

I awakened at 12:30 to blog, drink the rest of my glass of wine from dinner, and read some more.

Damn Daylight Saving Time.

If the storm holds its grip for another day we shall make our first stew of the year.

Also the Market was kind to me today. My portfolio went up another 1/2%.

Bon Appetit