July 30, 2023 Lunch - Quelaguetza Dinner - Grilled Hamburgers, Pasta Casserole, and salad

July 30, 2023 Lunch - Quelaguetza  Dinner - Grilled Hamburgers, Pasta Casserole, and salad

This morning Suzette and I cleaned the screen in the swamp cooler on the east side of the house and it began to work much better and then I chopped an onion and three carrots and 1/2 of a red bell pepper and an Anaheim chili and Suzette chopped several stalks of celery and placed the vegetables in the Romfptorf clay cooker with a lb. of, beef short ribs and a chopped pork roast that she would then cook for ten hours at 175 degrees in the oven, now that it was tolerable to tip urn on the oven.

It was wonderful to cook in a cool kitchen for a change.

I watched the news and soccer until 10:30 when Elaine arrived and drove to pick her up at the airport while Suzette stayed and made up the bed in the guest room.

I drove Elaine home and suggested we go to Quelaguetza, which means an exchange of gifts in Zapotec.

The restaurant is located at 816 Old South Coors in a humble building with the only decoration a multicolored hammock hung on the wall, the least appealing atmosphere of any restaurant I have seen anywhere.

But the food is fabulous and moderately priced.  Elaine ordered the mole enchiladas with brisket. Suzette was adventurous and ordered the MISTEC DISH 

Served with guacamole, fresh Cheese, three small quesadilla, ham chicharrón, three small mole enchiladas, marinate pork, slice beef- a mixed plate.

I ordered the mole plate with beef brisket and both black and Coloradita mole plus beans and rice served with corn tortillas.

Even though it was delicious we could not eat very much and ended up filling three boxes that will provide meals for several days.

Suzette drank a large glass of horchata and I drank a Mexican coke.

After lunch we drove to El Super and bought lemons, zucchini, white potatoes, tomatoes, leeks, onions, small tortillas, large shrimp, scallops, yogurt, milk, garlic, limes, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

We then went home and Elaine and I rested while Suzette paid bills.

I got up at 5:00 and soon Elaine emerged. We decided to grill hamburgers and Suzette would bake the unsuccessful Pasta with kale dish Suzette garnished with grated Parmesan cheese which successfully melted the ricotta granules and resulted in a creamy Mac and cheese texture.

We went to the garden and picked a basket of lettuce, several sprigs of basil, a sprig of tarragon, several sprigs of mint, and lots of small tomatoes.

When we returned to the kitchen we cleaned the salad greens and I made the salad.  I added the quartered tomatoes to the lettuce, and added cucumber and radish slices and crumbles of Double Danish feta cheese and made a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, the tarragon leaves, a dash of salt, honey to counteract the bitterness of some of the lettuce and some lemon juice to add more acidic bite to counteract the sweetness of the honey.

I found and opened the bottle of Valdepenas Anciano Gran Reserva Tempranillo Gran Reserva that was aged 10 years. It had a dark richness, yet smoothness, that I have not tasted in other Tempranillo of lesser quality.

We ate a wonderful dinner and then Suzette put the beef short ribs and the birthday cake in the garage and brought in the pastries from Le Chantilly.

The girls put the chocolate croissant and almond mound in the fridge and ate several bites of the Mocha Breslin and Parisianne pastries and went to bed.

I was left to finish the two halves with a cup of tea and a bit of Bernenroy XO Calvados and finish this blog.

Bon Appetit