February 29, 2020. Brunch – A Costco Hot dog. Snacks – Cream of Asparagus and mushroom soup and tabouli. Dinner – PPI Chicken Curry with rice and Riata

February 29, 2020. Brunch – A Costco Hot dog. Snacks – Cream of Asparagus and mushroom soup and tabouli. Dinner – PPI Chicken Curry with rice and Riata

Today we mainly shopped and cooked and went the symphony.

I awakened at 7:00 and blogged until almost 10:00 when we dressed and drove to Costco.  We were hungry so we first ate a hot dog and then shopped.

Suzette had the replenish cleaning supplies for the Center which means we filled two shopping carts.  Besides the cleaning supplies we bought olive oil, half and half and heavy cream with the intension of making a Cream of asparagus and mushroom soup.

Suzette also stopped at Southwest Distributors for a few food item for the Center.  When we returned home at 1:15 I watched the last few minutes of the startling defeat of Liverpool by Bournemouth.  Suzette decided to re-work the PPI Mashed Potatoes and celeriac from last Sunday’s meal into a soup base by adding chicken stock and milk.  I diced a pound bunch of asparagus and about seven or eight portobello mushrooms.  Suzette added a lb. of sliced white mushrooms to the diced asparagus and mushrooms I sliced and cooked those ingredients in the soup base she had made from the PPI mashed potatoes and celeriac and then creamed it with the emulsion mixer.  We added salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thyme to season the soup.

After we ate small bowls of the delicious soup I started making tabouli.

Suzette had brought home a bag of No. 1 Bulgar wheat.  I soaked about 1 ½ cups of it in water for about an hour.  I swelled up to four or five times its original volume and softened.

I drained the Bulgar and added two bunches of finely minced parsley and three bunches of green onion thinly sliced, 1 cup of olive oil, two tomatoes diced, and about 2/3 cup of diced cucumber, and the juice of four lemons, plus salt and pepper.  It made a large bowl of tabouli.  I ate some to try it as I seasoned it.

The Bulgar after soaking

L

At 4:15 we showered and dressed for the symphony.  We drove to Popejoy at UNM at 5:30 for the 6:00 curtain of the ballet of Alice in Wonderland accompanied by the symphony playing Prokiev and Shoshtakovich.  The audience was completely different from the usually older crowd. There was probably a majority of young people and families.  Not only was the audience enthusiastic and energized, so were the performers.  The sets were projected onto the big screen and the back of the stage and the approximately 60 dancers danced in front. I have not seen a ballet for approximately twenty years, but I was impressed by the skill and dexterity of the dancers.  It was great fun with lots
of applause after almost every one of the ten scenes in the two act ballet.

I dozed during the first Act, so at intermission I bought an oatmeal cookie and a sea salt and caramel chocolate blondie bar that I shared with Suzette, which woke me up for the second act.

We arrived home at 8:00.  Suzette wanted to finish the chicken curry.  She heated the curry and fetched the last of the riata and we made a cup of white rice. I fetched the Major Grey’s mango chutney and we ate our final bowl of the curry.  I drank chai and Suzette drank a gin and tonic with dinner.

We were both tired.  Suzette went to bed immediately after dinner and I stayed up to blog until 11:00.

Bon Appetit

February 28, 2020 Lunch – Salad and Pizza with Titan. Dinner – Greenhouse Bistro’s Last Supper, German Mama’s in the Kitchen Special Dinner

February 28, 2020 Lunch – Salad and Pizza with Titan. Dinner – Greenhouse Bistro’s Last Supper, German Mama’s in the Kitchen Special Dinner

Another morning of no breakfast.  I sold the Zoom shares I bought Tuesday at a slight loss because the stock slumped after a good gain on Wednesday and Thursday.  As long as the US government has its head in the sand and the coronavirus is spreading worldwide, I am more inclined to sell shares and hold cash to protect my now 10% gain in the last two years that was a 20% gain a week ago. I fear the world economy and the US economy have not seen the worst of this epidemic yet,  although secretly I hope I am wrong.

At 11:30  I drove to Central Trailer Supply for the Titian board meeting.  Susie made a fresh organic salad with carrots, tomatoes, and organic lettuces and spinach blend and picked up an everything pizza at Costco at my suggestion.  I have been the secretary and corporate counsel for Titan for over 20 years.

After lunch I drove home and checked the market and lay down for a nap.  I must have been tired because I slept until almost 5:00.

When I awakened I rolled out of bed and took a short 1/3 mile walk and then made the 40 minute drive to Suzette’s Center for Ageless Living where the Greenhouse Bistro is located.  When I arrived just a few minutes before 6:00 most of the seats at the two long tables were filled.   For this meal Suzette wanted the seating to be family style.

I sat by Lynn, the director of marketing, two ladies and across from a couple who had come to the recent Puerto Rican, Mom’s in the Kitchen meal.  These special meals have garnered a following.  Although the Bistro will close for dinner after this meal, it will stay open for lunch for members of the Garden Gate Day Spa, located across the parking lot.  The wife of the couple sitting across is a Spa member, so she will be able to have lunches and an alcoholic beverage in the Bistro in the future. My hope is that a chef wanting to open a restaurant will appear in the near future.

The German meal was fantastic, just like the recent Puerto Rican meal.  What made the meal incredible was the price, $20.00 for a fully genuine German three course dinner.  The first course was, a large platter of German salamis, cheeses, liverwurst, and Bavarian sweet mustard served with

slices of toasted German white and dark rye and pretzels.

Suzette had bought many of the items at Eurozone Food Distributor, the Eurocentric food store
located at 3700 Osuna NE,   New Mexico's only source for European food that has food from Russia,
Romania, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Germany, and some Italian.  Here is its website: https://www.google.com/search?q=eurozone+abq+nm&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#

I grazed the two types of salami, the butter cheese and Munster cheese chunks, and liverwurst, making sandwiches of buttered rye bread, salami and sweet mustard.  Everyone ordered beverages.  I took a glass of lemonade from the containers on a table at the end of the Bistro offering water, lemonade, or iced tea.  Then I ordered a Negra Modelo beer and finally settled on a glass of Joseph
Handler Riesling white wine (Trader Joe’s $4.99) for the meal.

After the appetizer platter and plates were cleared, plates of the entrée were served with a bowl of cucumber salad that was delicious, thinly sliced cucumbers and red onion dressed in a sour cream and dill weed dressing, sort of a German style Riata.

The entrée combined three dishes, sauerbraten, a potato dumpling sauced with a thick sauce made principally with meat drippings and ginger snap cookies, and red cabbage.  I had a déjà vu experience of sitting at a table in the Berghoff Restaurant on Adams St. In downtown Chicago, where I first encountered sauerbraten. When I mentioned my first sauerbraten experience, Lynn and one of the two ladies sitting beside me told me they were from Chicago.

What makes sauerbraten unique is that it is a beef roast that is marinated in red wine, red wine
vinegar, and pickling herbs and vegetables for three to five days before it is slowly cooked.  The
sauce is equally unique, the cooking pan liquids thickened with cornstarch or flour and flavored with crushed ginger snaps.   Here is the recipe:

The potato dumplings were equally unique.  I loved their sticky texture.  Here is the dumpling recipe:

Perhaps my favorite part of the entrée course was the creamy cucumber salad. We will definitely make this salad this summer with fresh dill from our garden. Here is the salad recipe:

Although excellent, the red cabbage was not as unique, because Suzette makes German cabbage quite often.  Here is Mama’s recipe:

In the lull after we finished our entrée I went to the kitchen to take a picture of the Black Forest with Cherries Cake and Bea Jellison, the German mama, who was our chef for the meal told me her career had been in baking, so I was thrilled at the prospect of tasting her cake.  I was not disappointed.  I don’t recall eating a real German black forest cake as delicious as this before.  The cake was heavenly light, the cherries in syrup were neither too hard or too mushy.  I don’t think I have ever tasted a lighter and more flavorful German cake.

This was a great meal; a justly memorable ending for the Greenhouse Bistro.

Bon Appetit

February 27, 2020 Lunch – Placitas Café. Dinner – Charcuterie Casarecce Pasta Primavera.

February 27, 2020 Lunch – Placitas Café. Dinner – Charcuterie Casarecce Pasta Primavera.

I woke up early and worked on the water case.  I should have sold the rest of my tech stocks but did not.

I ate toasted and buttered French baguette spread with Elderberry and orange marmalade and covered with slices of Jarlsberg cheese.

The market took another big tumble today, over 1160 points, brutal.

The only consolation. I only lost half of what I would have lost.  I actually bought Moderna that is working on a coronavirus vaccine and Zoom that has an app for remote conferencing. Moderna went down and Zoom went up, so no net gain because I chased Moderna up too high and it hit a volatility breaker stop and then crashed back down.

I picked Charlie up at 11:00 and drove us to the Placitas Café.  There were ten members in attendance.  We ordered breakfasts, lunches, and soups.  Charlie and several others ordered a hamburger and fried onion rings.  Keith and I ordered ordered a sort of Cobb salad with organic greens, chunks of ham, Turkey, crumbled feta cheese, slices of avocado, and bacon.  I dressed mine with blue cheese dressing.

We then went to Jack’s house off a Tunnel Spring Road in Placitas with its impeccable view of Cabezon and the Jemez River Valley for our book club meeting.  We were served chocolate mousse and coffee cake, German Ansbach brandy, and coffee for dessert after the meeting.

At 4:40:I drove to the bank to deposit the rent check from Ultra Health and then went to meditate until 6:00.

When I returned home Suzette said she wanted to make a pasta dish with the Uneaten charcuterie from Sunday’s dinner party.

I diced ½ of a red bell pepper, ½ of a white onion, four cloves of garlic, a yellow squash, parsley, and tomatoes.

Suzette the sautéed the vegetables in one large skillet, the charcuterie, some black olives, and slices of Spanish chorizo in another large skillet and boiled Casarecce pasta in a large pot of boiling water.

I grated a cup of Beaufort cheese and Suzette made a pesto sauce with milk, sour cream, and pesto and then combined all the ingredients in a large bowl.  The result was delicious.  We each ate two bowls.

 Had chilled a bottle of Tavel rose wine that went well with the meaty dish.

I ate chocolate and sipped cognac later as we watched Midsommer Murders on PBS.

A lovely day and food if one could put the market out of one’s mind.

Bon Appetit

February 26, 2020 Lunch – Costco Hotdog. Dinner – PPI Chicken Curry with Brown Rice and Riata

February 26, 2020 Lunch – Costco Hot Dog  Dinner – PPI Chicken Curry with Brown Rice and Riata

I stayed much of the night worrying about the stock market.  I got up at 5:30 and sold most of the stock positions in my larger IRA in the pre-market for mostly less than the close today.  But the market proved me right.  It rallied up 400 points in the morning.  Then as the news of the spread of the coronavirus to three more countries came in in the afternoon the market reversed and ended up down about 125 points.  I felt vindicated.  Now I need to decide whether to sell some of my other positions.  I probably will sell more.  I see no bottom to this market so long as the virus spreads and more of the world is closed down in quarantine.

At 10:40 I drove to Trader Joe’s and bought six bottles of 2015 Chateau Roudier for $12.99 each for us and three bottles each of a German Riesling and a German sweet red wine for Suzette’s German dinner Friday night.   I am interested to discover if the 2015 Chateau Roudier is as good as the 2012 was.

I then drove two blocks to the Foot and ankle clinic for my regular podiatry appointment and then to Costco to fill up the car with gas and eat a beef hotdog for lunch.  I love Costco’s hotdog because it is the best cheap fun meal I know of.  For $1.50 you get a hot dog and a drink. There is a kiosk where you can order and pay electronically that I love also.  After you order the machine spits out a receipt with your order number that you take to the counter and pick up your order, which avoids standing in line and manually ordering and paying.  The electronic orders are usually given priority over the people in line, so there is that also.

After lunch I drove home and participated in a corporate zoom meeting on line.  It was fun to see and communicate with six live persons at once on line.  I will probably buy stock in Zoom.  It is a fantastic service and timely for communicating remotely during this virus pandemic.

I napped for an hour and then drove to El Super for its Wednesday produce specials.  I bought $12.90 of stuff and it seemed like a lot of stuff; a papaya for $.59/lb., a pineapple for $.50/lb., three mangos for $.99, Granny Smith apples for $.50/lb., 2 bunches of parsley, three bunches of green onions, four lb. of onions for $.99, a bunch of radishes, 2 bunches of cilantro, four small avocados, and bags  of limes and lemons.  I plan to make tropical fruit salad and tabouli and hummus perhaps with a roasted chicken and potatoes..

When I returned home at 5:00 I brought in the chicken curry and the jar of Major Grey’s Mango Chutney from the garage fridge.  I then walked and did the old man jog where your feet hit flatly on the ground for about ½ mile.  This was the first time I have jogged and it felt good.

Suzette was home.  She peeled and sautéed some more peanuts and heated the PPI curry and rice and fetched the PPI riata and we ate another bowl of curry with a Mexican light Tecate beer.

Willy called and came over for dinner and we watched some of Rachel Maddow and the South Carolina Town Halls and US Congressman Clyburn’s moving endorsement of Joe Biden.

I made a cup of chai and lay down at 8:30 to blog and read, having exceeded my expectations for exercise today.

Suzette watched the HGTV remodeling shows.  Is there a remodeling project in our future?

Bon Appetit

February 25, 2020 Lunch – PPI Pho Donburi Miso Noodle Soup with ground beef. Dinner – PPI Boeuf Bourguignon and Mashed Potatoes and Celeriac

February 25, 2020 Lunch – PPI Pho Donburi Miso Noodle Soup with ground beef.  Dinner – PPI Boeuf Bourguignon and Mashed Potatoes and Celeriac

I have gotten into the habit of skipping breakfast and eating an early lunch lately.

Today at 11;30 I heated the PPI Pho Miso Noodle Soup.  I added a bit of water and about six de-stemmed, halved snow peas and two sticks of yellow squash, two sticks of carrot and I stick of beet.

I made a Donburi mixture by whisking two eggs, 1/2 T. of soy and 2 T. of Chinese cooking wine.  When I added the mixture slowly in a broad arc around the top of the boiling soup. It immediately cooked into a cloud of omelet that rose to the surface.  I love the Donburi technique.  I enjoyed the soup, especially after adding fresh impugn bean sprouts.

Today I re-started my efforts in the Lower Rio Grande water Adjudication case.p

At 1:30 I walked to the duck pond and back, a new distance record, especially in the strong wind.

The market fell another 880 points today.  I decided to sell most of my positions rather than see my profits for the year evaporate.

I began reading Born a Crime by Trevor Noah today and am enjoying it.

When Suzette came home at 5:30 we decided to re-heat the PPI Boeuf Bourguignon and Mashed Potatoes and Celeriac and steam asparagus because Suzette was hungry.

When Suzette had prepared dinner, she called to me and I opened a bottle of 2012 Chateau Roudier Montaigne-St. Emillon (Trader Joe’s $12.99). This wine is rated among the top 7% of all wines in the world.  As one sommelier said of the 2001 vintage, “A real stunner”. I asked her if she liked it with the dish and she said, “Yes”. It is one of the three types of wine Julia Child recommended for the dish.   I then asked Suzette if she liked it as much as the De Ponte Pinot Noir we drank with the dish Sunday night and Suzette replied, “That was very special.”

I guess I will order another case of the De Ponte 2016 Pinot Noir.  I have had trouble finding a really good Dundee Hills Willamette Valley or Anderson Valley Pinot for under $50.00 since Londer closed.  De Ponte is the only vineyard with the quality for less than $50.00.  As a member I can buy its Pinot Noir

Since we had a bit of wine left we split the last piece of chocolate torte made by the Greenhouse Bistro for dessert.

I then ate the last bit of brie on three pieces of baguette.

This dinner was better than Sunday night’s dinner.  The flavors of the Beef stew had blended and we could taste the fragrance and flavor of the celeriac in the potatoes.

We contemplated what our lives would be like if the coronavirus spread to NM.

We went to bed a bit after 8:00, but I awakened at 11:00 and blogged until after 1:00.

Bon Appetit

February 24, 2020 Lunch – Revitalized Pho Beef Miso Noodle Soup, Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice and Riata

February 24, 2020 Lunch – Revitalized Pho Beef Miso Noodle Soup,
Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice and Riata

I worked until 11:30 when I revitalized the PPI Noodle Soup I first made on Saturday by adding the last 3 oz. of ground beef, a large portobello mushrooms sliced, another heaping T. of red miso and 1 more tsp. of dehydrated beef broth plus six more small leaves of Napa cabbage sliced.

The soup was wonderful without bean sprouts or hoisin. I ate 2 bowls full.

An hour later I rode my bike north into a 15 mph headwind to Mountain Rd., where I turned around and sped home.  I don’t ride in high wind because it is not fun.  After riding a bike for over 60 years I still enjoy riding but I don’t ride when it is not enjoyable.

When I got home and was watching the last ten minutes of the Liverpool v. West Ham match, which Liverpool barely won 3 to 2 and had removed one shoe the doorbell rang. It was Penny coming to pick up her tray and silver from the appetizer.  We talked for a minute and she asked me if I would like to train with her trainer, Frank, and I said yes, especially when she said he taught a class at the Park Plaza, just one block from our home.  Physical therapy on steroids, I can hardly wait.

Another terrible day in the Market with over a $1000 drop in the Dow.

The Coronovirus is having a serious impact on the world economy and the spread to Italy is ominous for world health and the world economy.

Suzette arrived at 5:30 and I began preparing chicken curry.  We had all the ingredients.  I peeled and cubed three sweet potatoes, three onions, and three Granny Smith apples.  Suzette de-boned the meat from the seven chicken thighs I had boiled the night before and the she sautéed the cubed vegetables.  She then added the reserved chicken stock and I added Madras curry powder.  Later we added about 16 oz. oz. of coconut cream.  Suzette shelled a handful of peanuts and I browned them in a cast iron skillets do chopped them into pieces..

I then made rice. We had only about 1 cup of brown rice so I boiled about 3 cups of water with a stick of cinnamon and about six whole cloves and added the rice. After 45 minutes of simmering the water had not evaporated so I continued cooking the rice for a few more minutes and then tasted it.  It was soft and cooked so we were ready to eat.

I had  peeled ¾ of  the English hothouse cucumber I had bought at Smith’s for $.88 and diced it into small cubes and 1 cup of the fresh Kroger yogurt fro Smith’s plus a dash of ground mustard and a couple of dashes of ground cumin to make riata.

We served ourselves wet rice and added curry, riata, and peanuts.  As we ate Suzette said, “I think there is a missing ingredient.  It is raisins.”

 

The curry without the raisins

                                                                  The wet rice

 

A rather wet curry with riata and peanuts

She was right. I immediately fetched the black raisins and we added about ¾ cup to the curry and turned on the low heat to cook them in.  I put a few on my curry but they are better cooked into the curry because they yield a fragrance and sweeten the overall flavor.  That is what happens when you cook a recipe from memory.

I was thinking about boiling tamarind but did not have time to process the tamarind so forgot the raisins I suspect.  Also I usually add flour and cream at the end,  but tonight we added coconut cream.

We drank the rest of my new favorite white Italian wine, 2018 Falerio produced by Saladini Pilastri, a wine of great depth and character.  Here are the tasting notes and a brief history of the vineyard from its website:
This wine is producted from an ancient mixture of grapes from Trebbiano, Passerina and Pecorino. Its typical straw-yellow hue and delicate bouquet are due to the excellent position of the vineyards. Elegant and full-bodied, Falerio, it served at 10°C. makes an excellent accompaniment to Ascolani green olives, fish, soups, delicate sauces and white meats.

The history of Count Saladini Pilastri dates back to the year 1000; a noble family from Ascoli Piceno that boasts of a rich and fascinating past whose ancestors were priests and leaders.
The deep antique roots of the family are a heredity for the present; it is a heredity of long lives of tradition over the centuries of history.

The vineyard activity has always coincided with the value and culture of the land from which it belongs.


We watched Antiques Roadshow and then went to bed at 9:00.

Bon Appetit

February 23, 2020 Brunch – Chorizo and bacon burritos with Guacamole. Dinner Party – Los Poblanos Appetizers, qSandy’s fresh green salad, our Boeuf Bourguignon and Mashed Potatoes and Celeriac, and Susan’s Lemon Mousse with chocolate wafers

I slept until 7:45 and watched Fareed Zacharia and then the Arsenal v. Everton match, which was very competitive.
Willy arrived at the start of the second half bearing a container of guacamole he had made.  After the match Suzette started brunch by frying the last three pieces of bacon and two Spanish chorizo sausages.  I chopped an onion and several cloves of garlic and ½ onion.  Suzette sautéed the sausage with the onion and garlic and then added four eggs and scrambled them.  She heated whole wheat tortillas on the comal and stuffed them with the bacon and the sautéed sausage, onion, and eggs.  We added guacamole, hot sauce and crema and enjoyed a great brunch.

During the morning I butchered the 4.3 lb. of chuck roast I had bought at Smith’s on sale for $3.49/lb.  it took a while to remove the fat, tendon and silver skin running through the meat. We followed the Julia Child recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Here is the recipe.

Since we were doubling the recipe.  I cut 6 slices of 5hick cut bacon into ¼ by 1 ½ inch lardons and then boiled them in water as the recipe directed.  I peeled and finely diced 2 carrots, four cloves for garlic, and 2 onions that Suzette sautéed in the bacon grease after she had sautéed the lardons and removed them from the large Le Crueset  casserole.  She then sautéed the beef, then added three cups each of beef stock and red burgundy and thyme and a crushed Bay leaf and salt and pepper.  We baked the beef for four hours and then at 3:30:we destemmed and quartered 1 2/3 lb. of portobello mushrooms and I sautéed them in two batches with four cloves of garlic, about 1 tsp of fresh thyme, and 4 oz. of shallots in butter. When the mushrooms began to brown we added them to the stew at about 5:00 p.m.  Suzette Braised two bags of pearl onions in beef stock until the stock thickened and added them to the stew which by now had expanded to our two Le Creuset enameled casseroles we cooked the stews on low heat until they were served.

I then cubed about a dozen Yukon Gold potatoes I had bought for $.99 for bags filled with about 2 ½ lb. each and then peeled the celery root and cubed it also.  Suzette cooked both until they softened and then added butter and milk and whipped then in the Kitchen Aid mixer until smooth and put them in a large bowl and placed them in the oven with the stew to keep warm and meld their flavors and textures.

Suzette also sliced and wrapped sections of baguettes and put them into the oven to heat.

At 6:00 everyone showed up.  Charlie and Susan first with the dessert, a large soufflé dish filled with lemon mousse, chocolate wafers and blueberries that we put on the back patio to keep cool.

Then Penny and Armin with a large platter of appetizer, Pate’, prosciutto, a fish terrine, an assortment of salamis, an assortment of olives, a wedge of cheese, some red pickled and deviled eggs Penny  made, and strips of fresh vegetables plus crackers and toasted and slices of baguette dabbed with herb seasoned butter thanks to the chefs at Los Poblanos.

Soon, Tim and Sandy arrived bringing a large bowl of lovely salad of greens from Whole Foods with a Whole Foods lemon dijonnaise dressing that they put on the dining room table.

We gathered in the living room around the platter of appetizers and I poured glasses of either an Austrian Gruner Vetliner or 2016 Dundee Hills De Ponte Pinot Noir.

After a bit when it appeared that all had eaten as many appetizers as they wished we moved to the dining room table for dinner and we passed the salad and warm bread around the table. I loved the salad of fresh greens and micro asparagus.

We then cleared salad plates and Suzette served plates filled with a scoop of potatoes and celery root and a scoop of BoeufBourguignon and a spoonful of her cranberry sauce.  I poured more wine and we enjoyed a lovely meal with great conversation.

After we finished the entrée and several more glasses of wine, Susan served her dessert in parfait glasses.  Suzette served cordial glasses filled with crushed ice and her homemade limoncello with dessert to those who wanted to taste it.

Suzette set the table with her wrought iron silverware and Francoma ceramic plates and glasses for an all Texas table setting.

Sandy and Tim left after dessert at 8:30 to relieve their baby sitter and everyone else left around 9:30.

We cleaned up and went to bed by 10:30, although I spent much of the night reading The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and feeling stuffed from a very lovely dinner party.

Every course was first rate because I requested that each person prepare a course that I knew was their speciality.

Bon Appetit

February 22, 2020 Lunch – Pho miso Noodles with Ground Beef, Napa cabbage and Mexican Squash. Dinner – Poached Pink Grouper Veracruz

Today was another fabulous day of food shopping.  I am out of red Miso, so at 9:45 I drove to Talin.  I immediately got diverted by all the amazing foods.  I walked back to the fish department and was immediately drawn to a whole fresh pink grouper. Pink grouper is our favorite fish to eat in Sayulita.  At $9.98/lb. it was not cheap, but it is Suzette’s favorite fish because it has large white loose flakes of meat that flake at the touch of a fork.  Actually compared to the Antarctic Toothfish we had eaten in Maui for $61.00 it was a bargain.

I also bought a magnum bottle of sake and then went to the Freezer and bought a package each of fish, Pork, and beef balls.  Then to the Chinese section where I bought cans of sliced chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and baby corn on the cob.  Next I went to the Vietnamese section where I found my favorite noodle 50 mm. wide rice noodle slices and a brown rice vermicelli.  There was a new shipment of boxes of soup flavoring cubes, so I bought 2 pho  and 2 duck stew.  I then went to the produce section and bought a lb. of bean sprouts, a lb. of fresh shallots, and a package of fresh snow peas.  My idea was to make fried tofu and mixed vegetables like I eat at a East Ocean.

When I loaded everything into the car I realized I forgot to buy the red miso, so I went back and bought a bag of it and a package of Swedish hard bread and a package of slices of German rye bread.

I am ready for lots of different types of snacks and dishes.

I drove home and found Willy watching the Leister City  v. Manchester City PL match.  This was number two versus number three playing each other, so a very important match.  Unfortunately Man City won.

After the match Wily left to arrange Comcast service for his new apartment and I decided to make a pot of pho Miso noodle soup.  I filled a 2 quart pot ¾ full of water and added Kombu seaweed strips, 1 heaping tsp. of dehydrated beef bouillon, a diced Mexican squash and a finely minced shallot, a heaping T. of red Miso, 5 oz. of ground beef, a dash of sesame oil, a T. of Chinese cooking wine, about ten snow peas,  five Napa cabbage leaves sliced into bite sized pieces, and three types of noodles ( bean thread, the large chunks of rice noodle, and an egg noodle). After about twenty minutes the soup was ready, just as Suzette walked in from shopping.  She had bought the missing ingredient for tomorrow night’s boeuf bourguignon, the pearl onions.

After lunch Suzette lay down for a nap and I walked 1 1/3 mile without difficulty.

When I returned Suzette was talking to my Cousin Marty Meltzer, so talked to him for a while.  He and his new wife may come visit us.  How exciting.  This morning I also talked to Billy, who is going as a medical volunteer to Ciudad Chihuahua.  He was not sure whether to exchange money here or there.  I sent him 900 pesos, which is approximately $50.00, so he would have pesos when he arrives.

When Suzette awakened st 6:00 we discussed dinner and decided to poach the grouper with a medley of vegetables; a yellow crookneck squash, ½ of a red bell pepper, ¼ of a pasilla chili pepper, ½ onion, 3 cloves of garlic finely minced, and diced 1 whole tomato.

After I chopped the vegetables and de-boned and removed the skin from the grouper, Suzette sautéed the onion, garlic, and peppers in butter and olive oil in a skillet. She then added the squash, some snow peas, and tomato and after the vegetables were cooked and soft, she added some white wine and water and added the fish, covered the skillet, and poached the fish.
After the fish was cooked Suzette increased the heat slightly to reduce the poaching medium into a medium sauce and we were ready to eat. I poured out the ½ bottle of 2018 Tuatea New Zealand White Sauvignon Blanc and Suzette lay the fish on top of the sautéed vegetables that she piled in the middle of a pasta bowl. We both enjoyed the meal.

I did eat some chocolate ice cream and chocolate torte Suzette brought home from the Bistro with a splash of cognac.

I boiled the nine chicken thighs I had bought on Friday at Smith’s and put it in the garage for the chicken curry we will make Monday evening.

Bon Appetit

February 21, 2020 Lunch – Vietnam 2000 Dinner – Hamburger Steak with red bell peppers, onion, and blue cheese on Cauliflower and Broccoli Couscous

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I though it a good food day.  Suzette has become aware of the need to eat a more healthy diet and is creating simple nutritious meals with less cholesterol and carbs.

I went to have an unltrasound this morning at 8:00 and then went to Smith’s to shop at 9:00.  I needed to buy the groceries for our dinner on Sunday of Boeuf Bourguignon, Mashed Potatoes, and a Vegetable.  Everything I needed for the meal except the bacon and small onions was on sale at Smith’s.  It was like God had sent all the ingredients like manna from heaven to Moses and the wandering Israelites.

There is a meat specials cooler impact the front of the store where you walk in that had a sale on chuck roast for $3.49/lb. so I bought 4.3 lb. as I walked back to the produce section I first saw bell peppers were on sale at $.88 each, then I saw fresh asparagus for $1.99/.lib., so I bought 3 lb. as the vegetable.  I called Suzette and asked her what we needed and she said, “Please buy golden potatoes.”

 I wandered back to the discounted produce rack and found bags of Yukon Gold potatoes for $.99 for approximately 2 1/2  lb., far less than the $.99/lb. normal price.  I bought four bags.  I noticed bags of two and three bell peppers also for $.99 and bought three bags of bell peppers plus the occasional zucchini and return the three bell peppers I had previously taken. I also bought a bag of yellow squash for $.99.

Blueberries were on sale, so I bought 18 oz. for $2.99 and a hothouse English cucumber for $88.   Then I went to the mushroom section because mushrooms and onions are two of the main ingredients and amazingly, mushrooms were on sale. Mi bought three 1 lb. boxes of portobellos for $2.29/ box and 11 lb. box of sliced white mushrooms for $1.99.  I could not believe my luck.  I also a beautiful bunch of leeks for $1.99 and planned to make potato soup on Monday.  I went to the meat counter, but none of the bacon was attractively priced, but fresh chicken thighs were on sale for $.99/lb. so I bought a package of seven.  I also bought a 32 oz. container of Kroger yogurt for $1.99.

By the time I checked out at around 10:00 I was ravenously hungry , so I drove home and ate a bowl of granola and tropical fruit salad, with two scoops of fresh yogurt.

I called Willy to see if he wanted to go to lunch.  He said yes and came by to pick me up at noon and drove us to Vietnam 2000, our favorite Vietnamese restaurant because we love their pork fried egg rolls.  Willy ordered his usual, No. 21, which is a large bowl filled with chopped lettuce, bean sprouts, and basil and cilantro on the bottom, then a layer of boiled vermicelli rice noodles, and finally the top is covered with grilled marinated pork and fried pork egg rolls and served with sweetened fish sauce.

I ordered number 48, which is a plate with sautéed cucumber and bean sprouts and basil and cilantro on the bottom, then that is covered with a layer of broad 40 mm. wide sheets of rice noodles and finally on top are two fried egg rolls and a pile of warmed pieces of shrimp paste served with the same sweetened fish sauce.  I love this dish because it has warm vegetables, large rice sheets that I find unusual, and my favorite, fried egg rolls.  The potion noodles is smaller and the portion of vegetables is larger than No. 21, so I can finish it without over eating.

The salt in the fish sauce collapses the noodles, so they are not very firm if taken home and eaten later.

After lunch Willy drove me home.  I worked for a few minutes and checked the market and had my worse losing day of the year, 1 ½%.

At 2:30 I walked 1 mile and felt good all the way.  I did eat a chocolate at the beginning of the walk and at the midpoint instead of a sugar pill and did not lose stamina.  I guess the exercise we took in Hawaii had a positive effect.

When I returned home at 3:00 I lay down and napped from 3:30 to 5:00.

Suzette came home shortly after I awakened and was brewing a cup of tea.  She poured a scotch and we talked until 5:30 about our day.  Suzette’s big news was that she has closed the restaurant except for special events and spa members at lunch as of today.  We agreed it was for the best.

I described the groceries and Suzette decided to make hamburger steaks for dinner, which was a welcome change from all the fish we had eaten on the trip.  I sliced ½ red bell pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and ½ onion and she sautéed those with the hamburgers.  She also sautéed the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower Couscous she prepped last night and lay slices of blue cheese on the hamburgers after she flipped them.

When everything was cooked Suzette made a stack with Couscous on the bottom, then the hamburger and finally the sautéed strips of onion and bell pepper.  It was a simple, filling, healthy dinner by my standard.

I opened a bottle of 2016 Chateau Rodier from Montaigne-St. Emillon ($12.99 at Trader Joe’s), my favorite medium priced wine for steak.

It is smooth with an elegant finish.

We watched Rachel go on a tirade about how Trump is tearing our democracy and the proper functioning of government to pieces.

The answer several commentators had was to expose and shame the President for his horrible actions against the proper functioning of government.

I hope that works.

Let’s hope he is not re-elected.

Suzette was tired after a hard day at work, so we went to bed at 8:30.

I blogged this blog and then read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek a while, with a few sips of Calvados to settle my stomach.

Bon Appetit

February 20, 2020 lunch – Dumpling Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Salmon with diced tomatoes, capers, and parsley an Cauliflower Couscous

February 20, 2020  lunch – Dumpling Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Salmon with diced tomatoes, capers, and parsley an Cauliflower Couscous

Today’s meals were a tribute to making something from nothing.

Both meals were totally improvised with the few meager ingredients left after our week long absence.

At lunch I diced a Mexican squash and a shallot and boiled them in about 1 ½ quarts of water plus a tsp. of dehydrated chicken broth and ½ T. of vegetable better than broth.  I then added six or seven leaves of Napa cabbage sliced into bite sized pieces and 8 chicken mini-dumplings and 4 oz. of medium tofu cubed.  I also added two eggs whisked with a T. each of Mirin, soy sauce,  and a tsp of sesame oil. When added the egg created a Donburi effect, sort of a cooked omelet in the soup.

The soup made three medium bowls of soup because I had not eaten anything for breakfast or since our four hour lay over in Oakland last night as part of our 11 hour return trip from Maui.

We ate ham and cheese sandwiches and tuna and octopus poke and seaweed salad on the five hour plane trip from Maui and in Oakland during the four hour wait for our connecting flight.p to Albuquerque.

I napped from 2:00 to 4:00 today and then went to the bank and post office and then meditated from 5:00 to 6:00.

When I returned home Suzette had thawed out a 6 to 8 oz. salmon fillet bought at Costco.  She was trying to replicate the dish we ate at the Kula Bistro, a calamari steak lightly seared in olive oil and garnished with diced tomatoes, capers, and parsley.

She created a perfect match using the salmon instead of the calamari and canned diced tomatoes instead of the fresh plus capers and fresh chopped parsley.  The dish only took five minutes to make after the salmon was thawed and was ready even before I was able to fetch and pour glasses of Tuatua New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Before I arrived Suzette had chopped broccoli and cauliflower flowerets into Couscous sized pieces in the Cuisinart and sautéed them in a skillet with butter and olive oil to make Cauliflower Couscous that she placed on the plate to create a bed of vegetables on which she lay the salmon and garnish.  Here is a photo of this lovely tasty low cal and low cholesterol dish.  It is a real winner.  Suzette says she will add this dish to the menu at the Center.

We were so proud of Suzette’s culinary achievement that we celebrated with two scoops of chocolate ice cream with a dash of Kahlua, sautéed piñon nuts, and whipped cream for dessert.

This was a terrific day of unscripted successes in culinary creativity.

Bon Appetit

February 18, 2020 Lunch – Mama’s Fish House, Dinner – ham and Havarti Sandwiches in our room

February 18, 2020 Lunch – Mama’s Fish House, Dinner – ham and Havarti Sandwiches in our room

Today we finally had the best meal of the trip.  It was at Mama’s Fish House.  Cliff and Nancy has recommended it, so we tried to get a reservation and were told the restaurant was fully booked.

We packed up Sparky, our rental car, and left the KOI Resort and drove to an espresso shop in Lahaina so Suzette could get a cup of coffee.  Then we drove to the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge on the way to Wialuku.  We walked about ½ mile along paths surrounding constructed ponds.  There were many shore bits and wading birds standing along the edges of the ponds.  There have been heavy rains so some of the walkways were submerged and we were unable to walk around the ponds.  But that did not interfere with seeing lots of birds .  When we arrived we shared a container of Greek yogurt and honey that we mixed and spread on banana nut bread.  We then walked and watched birds for about twenty minutes.  We saw lots of Black covered herons, Hawaiian stilts, Hawaiian coots, wandering Tatlers, plovers, a killdeer, and a mallard.

It was noon when we left Kealia Pond and drove north to Mama’s Fish House, east of Paia.  When we arrived we were shown to a table in the restaurant within just a few minutes, far faster than the wait last night at Aloha.. Mama’s is a huge restaurant with a 225 person capacity.

A view of part of the restaurant from our table

                                         Suzette and the flower arrangement in the waiting area

 

The view of the ocean from our table

Our waitress was wonderful, explaining all the dishes and specials.  The special that caught our attention was steamed Antarctic Toothfish in a soy flavored broth with a medley of vegetables, including, kale, carrots, radishes, edamame, and several others, we went for i5 hook, line, and sinker.

We started with a coconut milk and fresh mint cocktail that was delicious although a bit sweet.

 We each ordered an appetizer.  I ordered three fish Sashimi which turned out to be the best Sashimi I
have ever tasted with the most unusual and creative preparation I have ever tasted.  Here is the menu
description:  Three Fish Sashimi*
Ahi
ponzu, shiso, Kukui nut
Salmon
calamansi, chili, papaya, Alaea pink salt
Kanpachi
fig-chutney and Molokai black salt

Kanpachi is a member of the amber jack family (an exquisitely tender white fish related to yellowtail).  There were four slices each of the three fish.  The salmon was so tender it literally melted in your mouth. Almost as tender was the Kanpachi.

The calamansi were small citrus crystals from the native fingerling lime.  They were combined with finely cubed papaya.

I particularly liked the addition of black and pink salts and ground Kukui nut.

Suzette’s grilled octopus was also delicious but a bit greasy to my taste even though served with chunks of avocado on a bed of daikon and lots of micro greens.  Suzette thought the octopus was overcooked a bit.  I told her, “As between soft and chewy and firm, I would choose firm.”  I think that is the inevitable trade off with cooking octopus.

One of the most interesting aspects of the menu was the creative use of micro greens.  Almost every dish utilized them. For example, my Sashimi used two or three different micro greens.

About fifteen minutes after our appetizer plates were cleared the Antarctic Toothfish entrée arrived.
It was heavenly.  Finally a properly cooked piece of fish.  The fish had been steamed in a light soy sauce broth with lots of vegetables as stated above.  It was the most tender cooked fish we tasted on
the trip. Foodie heaven, a new fish cooked to perfection.

The fish was served with a bowl of coconut cooked rice that was also delicious. 

We had little difficulty deciding upon a wine.  The bartender suggested Chablis, but when we were served a taste, we thought it tasted too much of Chardonnay.  I said I had seen a Sancerre and when offered a taste of it, we loved its crisp, slightly citrus flavor, so we ordered a bottle of the Sancerre for $74.00.

This was not a cheap meal. The Toothfish dish was $61.00.  The appetizers were $32.00 for the grilled octopus and $28.00 for the three fish Sashimi.

When the dessert menu was offered we took it and decided to end the meal with a cool mouth cleansing passion fruit, cactus fruit, and champagne sorbet.

We loved the meal.

After the meal we drove to the humble Maui Seaside Motel near the airport.  Although it is located next to the ocean and had an Olympic sized swimming pool, it rooms were spartan.

We did not care about amenities because we had to pack and shop for food for the flight back to Albuquerque.

We unloaded all the stuff we had bought from the car and packed it.

Then we drove to Costco to buy a razor, since I had left my old one at the resort and then to the local Foodland near the motel.  It was not as nice as the one in Lahaina. For example, it did not have a separate poke section.  The poke choices were limited and located within the fish department among all the different fish including plastic tubs of freshly caught fish like in a fish market at the wharf. I bought ½ lb. of tuna in soy poke, ¾ lb. of seaweed salad, and a pickled octopus salad.

We also bought potato chips, sliced sandwich meats, an Ichiban beer, mayonnaise, and sliced havarti cheese.  We had been given two loaves of freshly baked whole wheat bread at Mama’s when we asked to take a loaf home.

When we returned to the room we made ham, turkey, and cheese sandwiches for the flight and to eat for dinner as we watched Rachel Maddow.

After a bit of TV we went to bed at 9:30.

We woke up several times during the night during which I finished this blog entry.

Bon Appetit

February 17, 2020 Lunch – Down the Hatch Fish and Chips. Dinner – Aloha Mixed Plate

February 17, 2020 Lunch – Down the Hatch Fish and Chips. Dinner – Aloha Mixed Plate

We had another great day.

We went to the pool area around 9:00.  We sat in the hot tub and then I swam and Suzette walked the beach.  We showered and then dressed and drove to town.  We were in a hurry to arrive at the Atlantis submarine for our 12:00 departure so we walked across the street and ordered fish and chips to go at Down the Hatch and carried the box of food the one block past the largest banyan tree in America to the tables near the boat slips. The fish was large round fillets of fresh mani mahi battered and deep fried plus thin fried potatoes.

                                                Down the hatch restaurant take out order desk

We shared the fish and chips and the large can of XX we bought yesterday and then at 11:45 walked the few feet to slip 16 for the Atlantis submarine ride.  At 12:00 we were ferried to the dive site were the sub surfaced and after unloading the prior group, we entered the sub.  Atlantis is a commercial 65 foot long submarine with rows of portholes on either side.  During the hour tour the sub submerged and dove to a depth of around 100 feet and toured several beds of coral.  Then it dropped to a depth of 133 feet to the ocean floor.  We saw lots of fishes and a sunken whaling boat that created an artificial reef and fish habitat at a depth of about 75 feet and then returned to the surface next to the tug boat that acted as the surface support boat for the sub.

The Atlantis IV

                                               Three trays swimming past the sub

 

 

A parrot fish 

                                             On the bottom at a depth of  133 feet

 

                                          The  view of Maui from the transport boat

We really enjoyed the submarine ride and would count it as one of our favorite adventures of the trip.

After the sub tour we explored the history museum in the old courthouse and enjoyed walking under the 2/3 acre banyan tree that dominates the block in front of the courthouse that was planted in 1873 to commemorate the fiftieth year since the arrival of Missionaries.  

 

The story of the largest banyan tree in the US.

Suzette under the Banyan tree 

We then drove to a pawn and antique store that offered lots of items including 8 Tiger coweries, all
$80 or less, but they were beach shells that the owner had found over the course of 28 years of ocean swimming every morning.

I passed, since I had already bought a perfect hand picked specimen shell from its original habitat on the reef.

The other thing he had that I found interesting was a set of Hawaiian coins dated 1883, a nickel, dime, 50 cent and dollar.

I waited while Suzette visited another store and then we drove back to the hotel room.  We lay down and rested until 6:00 when we took the bottle of Chenin Blanc champagne we bought at Maui Wine to the pool and opened it and drank glasses while we watched the sun set over Lanai.

 

We discussed where to go for dinner and tentatively selected Fu  Linn but when we approached it Suzette said she would prefer to eat at Aloha Mixed Plate about two blocks further down Front St. because Fu Lin’s menu was a Chinese menu and Aloha had more local Hawaiian dishes.  We parked and walked to Aloha Mixed Plate.  We ordered an appetizer of Aka miso sauced, peeled, and sautéed ichiban eggplant rounds. The eggplant was cooked to order and Delicious.

For our entrees Suzette ordered the Mahi Mahi fish of the day and I ordered the Chow Funn, boiled flat noodles tossed in teriyaki sauce green onions, bean sprouts, with ground pork.  Both our dishes were dry and the sprouts in my dish had collapsed.  Suzette’s dish was served with lots of undercooked, steamed zucchini, green beans, carrots, which I enjoyed as a warm raw vegetable salad.  We ordered more sauce and were brought ramekins of teriyaki sauce, which helped add flavor and moisture to both dishes.

 

As Suzette said, “They cooked all the flavor out of the fish.”  So, unfortunately the fish did not
improve as much as the noodles.  In retrospect, the succulent round fillet of Mahi Mahi in the fish and chips at Down the Hatch at lunch was the best fish of the day.

We ordered the special dessert of the day, pineapple upside down cake, to go, paid the bill, put the ice cream on ice in our ice chest, and drove home.

When we arrived home in about ten minutes we watched the last bit of Antiques Roadshow and ate the pineapple upside down cake, which was delicious, especially accompanied with the last 1/3 bottle of chilled sparkling Chenin Blanc.  The wine and pineapple dessert complemented each other so well that that dish turned out to be the best food experience of the day.

We decided that pineapples in Hawaii are usually delicious.

So Aloha Mixed Plate’s special appetizer and special dessert were good and its regular entrees were overcooked or undercooked and not good.

Tomorrow we pack up and drive back to the area near the airport for our last night in Maui and hopefully a good fish meal at Mama’s Fish House.

Bon Appetit