September 13, 2024 Lunch - O Pierao in Combarro, Dinner - Tomato, lettuce, and onion salad and Langoustines cooked in rice and fresh steamed mussels and clams.

September 13, 2024 Lunch - O Pierao in Combarro,  Dinner - Tomato, lettuce, and onion salad and Langoustines cooked in rice and fresh steamed mussels and clams. 

We got a late start around 11:00 when Suzette, Billy, and I drove west along the coast to Pontenova’s central market. In the meat section we bought two fresh fish (monkfish and bonito), 3 kilos of mussels, nine langustino, and 1 kilo of clams. Then we walked into the produce section and bought lettuce, an orange, a tomato, garlic, onions, carrots, a red bell pepper, and a lemon. We then crossed the street to a butcher shop where we bought three chorizo sausages and a packet of saffron.

We then walked across the plaza in the other direction to the large Froiz super market where we bought, chocolate, olives, tomato sauce, canned bonito, Butter, bread, milk, fish bouillon cubes, rice, and kleenex.

We then returned to the house and put everything away.

Then Luke walked to Combarro and we drove and he met us at the plaza around 1:30 and we walked to O Pierao restaurant. Suzette wanted to eat at O Pierao because it has an open wood fired grill near the water.

There were three items cooked on the grill: pork ribs, sardines, and an octopus tentacle. Suzette ordered the octopus and she and I agreed to order fried squid to share. Willy ordered salmon cooked a la plancha in the kitchen, Luke ordered chicken, which meant breasts pounded flat, and Billy ordered pork loin sliced into rounds and sautéed.

Suzette and I ordered beers. Billy ordered a bottle of water and Luke and Willy ordered Pellingrino.  We all enjoyed our food and were too full for dessert or we subliminally intended to go directly to our favorite bakery, which we did after lunch.

I bought to chocolate turnovers whose edges were dipped in chocolate, a big square of meringue, and a baguette of artisanal bread.

Willy and Luke followed us to the bakery and bought a slice of almond flavored pound cake.  

Willy drove us all home around 5:00 and we rested until 6:30 and Suzette and I walked up the hill to a lateral with a lot with a beautiful view of the bay.

When we returned Luke and Willy left for an evening in Portovedra and I worked on a filing in the Lower Rio Grande Adjudication with Suzette’s excellent assistance, while Billy started cooking his rice and Langustinos dish for dinner.

While I was working on the draft documents for filing Suzette made a lovely tomato and lettuce salad and when I finally submitted the document at 9:15 1:15 p.m. in Las Cruces, dinner was ready.  We opened a bottle of 2023 of Pazo Sarantellos albarino that we bought at the TopCash store and appears to have been produced by a large wine processing company with the grapes from the estate. That is why it was less expensive.

The salad had two types of lettuce and two types of tomato and was dressed with olive oil and salt, using the acidity of the tomato juice to create a dressing. I loved it.

After the salad and a glass of wine Billy served his rice, which was rather wet, and Langustinos.

Both dishes were delicious.

After dinner I ate a few squares of the Milka milk chocolate with hazelnuts and a glass of herbal liquor mixed with Torres 10 brandy as we listened to the BBC news on Ukraine. Apparently, the Brits and US are discussing allowing Ukraine to use medium range storm shadow middles to destroy the Russian bases from which Russia is launching its and Iran’s aerial missiles and glide bombs.

I went to bed at midnight.

Bon Appetit 

September 15, 2024 Lunch - Torna in Combarro. Dinner - Leftovers at home

 September 15, 2024 Lunch - Torna in Combarro. Dinner - Leftovers at home

I awakened at 8:30 and Willy and I figured out how the daily schedule on the west coast of Spain works. Sunrise is around 8:00. Shops open around 10:00.  High noon is at 2:30 and restaurants serve lunch from 1:30 to around 4:00, but most people eat lunch between 2:00 and 4:00. Then we take a siesta from 5:00 and get up again around 6:00 or 6:30. The shops close at 2:00 and open again at 5:00 or 6:00 and stay open until 9:00 or 10:00. The sun sets around 8:45 and most restaurants serve dinner from 8:30 until 11:00. We go to bed between 11:00 and 12:00.

So, like in the US. The daily schedule in Spain follows the sun and avoids the hottest part of the day from 2:30 to 4:00 or 5:00.

Today I ate a slice of tortilla Espanol (a thick round baked cake containing egg, potatoes, and onions) and two slices of toast spread with butter and marmalade for breakfast.

At 10:30 Luke drove us to the flea market in Vigo. Suzette bought a lovely pink shirt and a lovely print vest. We then drank a beer at a cafe by the flea market and drove back to the house.

Everyone drove to Poio for the Callas festival but the line for tickets was very long and we decided to drive to Combarro to eat lunch.

The first restaurant, Tintanegra was full, so we went to Torna on the side of the plaza that was rated 4.3 and provided linens and fine dining.

We were shown a large flounder that would feed four that was impressive and Rebecca and Billy ordered a fish stew for two and fried calamari.  I ordered a bottle of Granbazan Albariño.  We shared the calamari and then waited about 30 minutes until the fish was baked and stew was cooked in a paprika sauce with potatoes and onions. The stew was large steaks of two types of fish with potatoes.

After dinner Willy and Billy ordered cafe con Leche and Mickey ordered an espresso.

We then drove home and I took a siesta until 6:30. Billy and I then walked up the hill to the empty lot and Billy inspected the view with his binoculars.

The washing machine jammed so the senora and Fernando came to bring us better paper napkins and trash bags.

We talked for a long time, while Rebecca and Mickey started eating the calls of beans with chorizo Suzette made yesterday and the paella and rice with Langustinos Billy made annd opened a bottle of Albariño. After the senora and Fernando left, I went in and sliced slices of loom and cheese and bread for sandwiches.

I ate a sandwich, a bowl of beans, and the last of the rice and two Langustinos for dinner.  

I then made herbal liquor and brandy drinks for Mickey, Suzette, and me and we all watched an episode of Emily in Paris and went to bed at 11:00

Everything we did fit the solar schedule I mentioned above just like eating lunch in the US at noon fits a similar Solar schedule.

Bon Appetit

September 14, 2024 Lunch - Restaurant Acuna in Raxo. Dinner - Paella

September 14, 2024 Lunch - Restaurant Acuna in Raxo. Dinner - Paella

We slept in. I ate the chocolate turnover for breakfast with a cup of tea. Later Luke made eggs and I ate some scrambled eggs with buttered toast spread with marmalade.

Then around 11:00 all five of us piled into the car and drove west to Raxo.  We first stopped at a beach wear shop and bought sun glasses and beach towels. We then drove down to the beach and Luke, Willy, and Suzette went swimming I sat at Acuna Restaurant and drank a beer auntie 1:30, when I went into my knees. At 2:00 we took a table for 5 at Acuna and ordered lunch. It was a chaotic scene with several large multiple family groups with larger groups than us.

Billy and I ordered the Menu, which was 13 Euros for a plate of clams in a light tomato sauce and a second plate with two pork cutlets , salad, and French fries. I drank water and Billy drank beer.  Suzette ordered a hamburger with cheese and when asked if she wanted that complete she said, “Yes, except no bacon.” Suzette thought that meant tomato, lettuce, and onion, as in the U.S., but what it meant here in Spain was with a fried egg on the burger.  Willy ordered something similar and got two hamburger patties and two fried eggs with French Fries and Luke went a little crazy as usual ordering three dishes, Langustinos a la Plancha, which were fabulous, a small Tortilla Espanol which filled a plate and which he only ate about 1/5 of, and a Cesar salad that he only ate 1/2 of. Others helped him eat the Cesar, and we had the tortilla wrapped to go with a loaf of bread and one of Willy’s uneaten hamburger steaks.

We drove back to the house at 4:00. Suzette and I napped and Willy took Billy to an ATM to withdraw $ from his account and then when they returned, Luke drove the car to Pontevedra to shop and Billy napped.

I woke up at 5:30 and Willy came from his nap and took off for a hike to the top of the mountain again. This time he made it to some ancient gpetroglyphs at the top of the ridge behind or house.

I read until 8:00 when Billy began to cook dinner. Suzette and he had agreed how to cook the paella. He would sauté the chorizo, onion, garlic and leeks and then make stock by adding a fish broth cube and tomato sauce to water and then cook the rice in the broth. Finally, we would combine the rice and sautéed vegetables and chorizo and add the monkfish, the two fish fillets, the clams, and mussels and heat the entire conglomeration.

This worked perfectly except Billy did not read the instructions on the tomato sauce jar and put the entire jar of tomato sauce instead of half, for example, which pushed the flavor in a decidedly tomato direction and for me, obscured the flavor of the saffron we added.

To make an obvious point also, the result was not a baked rice dish, as is classical Spanish paella or arroz as they call it in Galicia. Instead, it was a wet rice dish, which is what we usually cook. So we found it acceptable.

While Billy cooked I watched the first half of the Bournemouth v. Chelsea match with Willy and drank a couple of white vermouths.

We opened the bottle of Mar de Frades Albariño and discovered it was the 80% variety that is not aged on the lies. What that meant in terms of flavor was a very bright clean acidic Albariño.

After dinner I cut 3 pieces of the cube of meringue and puff pastry I bought at our favorite bakery in Combarro. Suzette would not eat any and Billy ate the chocolate turnover I bought at the bakery.

We then watched an episode of Emily in Paris and went to sleep.

Bon Appetit

September 12, 2024 Lunch - Eirado. Dinner - Salad Nicoise and Linguine with Clam and Mussels

 September 12, 2024 Lunch - Eirado. Dinner -  Salad Nicoise and Linguine with Clam and Mussels

I ate two pain au chocolat and drank a cup of coffee with milk for breakfast.  Then Luke  drove us to Pontevedra. Luke went to a coffee bar in Combarro earlier. We walked to the main square in the old center of Pontevedra and Luke and Suzette wanted to shop so I found a bakery with outdoor seating and ordered a coffee con Leche and a pain au chocolat again and sat and read and ate and drank until they returned. The double coffees and triple chocolate made my stomach feel a little funny so I did not want to eat much for lunch. We looked around and found a five star restaurant Michelin recommended in old town named Eirado and I decided to try it. The waiter recommended the full menu but we did not want a big meal.  Suzette and I ordered tempura oysters and a grouper. Willy ordered cod.

The Oysters were really soft in an oyster flavored béchamel sauce garnished with salmon caviar. They were the best part of the meal. The cod was undercooked and the grouper was cooked to tender but an astounding 48 Euros. I ordered a glass of Albariño and the bill was 114 Euro for food we could barely eat. Probably the second worst meal of the trip.

Luke left before we ordered and later said he got a very negative vibe from the waiter, which I got also. I should have left but did not.

Suzette took the experience philosophically. Luke went to a small Restauranr and ordered black rice with squid and other seafood and probably had a better meal for a fraction of the cost of our mea.

After lunch we decided to go to the Pontevedra Art Museum.

After a bit of circuitous walking we found it. It had a strong collection of Galician painters, especially of the 20th century.  Suzette kept texting Willy and Luke to tell them where we were and by the time we finished viewing the art, Willy joined us and then went to meet Luke at the restaurant he was eating at and then they went to fetch the car and picked us up at a restaurant across the street from the museum and drove us back to the house at 5:00. It was a good day in the market, and that eased the pain of a failed lunch.

I napped until 7:00 and at 7:30 willy and I drove 35 minutes to Vigo airport to pick Billy up at 8:20.

When we returned to the house a few minutes after 9:00 Luke and Suzette had prepared A lovely Salad Nicoise and boiled more linguine and heated the clam and mussel sauce from last night. I made an olive oil and lemon dressing for the salad and we opened another bottle of Lopez de Haro white Rioja wine for dinner. We sliced bread that Luke and Willy bought at our new favorite bakery in Combarro and had a wonderful light dinner.

After dinner we ate Chocolates and drank brandy mixed with herbal liquor.

Then we watched season four episode 5 of a Emily in Paris and went to bed a bit before midnight.

We will now try to eat cheaper comidas del dia.

Everyone is encouraging me to walk more but in my own way of walking and resting I suspect I walked 4000 steps today, which is a plus day for me.

Bon Appetit