March 31, 2025 Lunch - Tabouli Salad with tzatziki stuffed pitas. Dinner - Egg Noodles with Chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, and shallots in a sour cream And chicken broth sauce

March 31, 2025 Lunch - Tabouli Salad with tzatziki stuffed pitas. Dinner - Egg Noodles with Chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, and shallots in a sour cream And chicken broth sauce 

I worked at my desk most of the day to get all the work done.

I ate a chocolate croissant with tea for breakfast at 8:00.

Then at 11:00 I made a tabouli salad with the last of the tabouli dressed with a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing and heated 1 1/2 pitas and stuffed one of them with the last of the tzatziki and some tabouli.

When I finished work at 5:00 I watched TCU play Texas in the final 8 Women’s NCAA tournament, the farthest TCU women have ever advanced.  Of course, Texas won but not without a fight from TCU.

Then we made dinner. I chopped three shallots, three zucchini, four portobello mushrooms, five cloves of garlic, and a small handful of fresh oregano from our garden, while Suzette diced about 1 1/2 lb. of roasted chicken and boiled German egg noodles.

She sautéed the vegetables and added the chicken and then the pasta plus a little pasta water, plus about 1 cup of sour cream and some chicken broth to make a loose sauce.

I drank the last glass of Kirkland New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Suzette drank the last glass of Columna Albariño from Rias Biaxas, Spain.

This was our last supper before we leave for our trip to Argentina. Fir five weeks.

Please follow our adventures on this blog.

Bon Appetit and Bon Voyage

March 30, 2025 Snack - Chocolate Croissant and tea. Brunch - Sautéed Salmon filets with on Sautéed Roasted Vegetables with Tartare Sauce. Dinner - Costco Roasted Chicken with salad

March 30, 2025 Snack - Chocolate Croissant and tea. Brunch - Sautéed Salmon filets with on Sautéed Roasted Vegetables with Tartare Sauce. Dinner - Costco Roasted Chicken with salad

It was a lovely day of food.

I ate a chocolate croissant and drank a cup of tea at 8:00as I watched the Sunday news shows.

An early snack boosts my energy that makes the day go much more smoothly.

Then at 11:00 we made brunch. Suzette sautéed the roasted vegetables in one skillet and two salmon filets in another one. I made tartare sauce. We drank glasses of the open Albariño that we bought at Kokoman that was obviously fermented on the lies. I added three slices of toasted baguette to get a few carbs. It was a perfect lunch, even more so because we ate under the gazebo by the pond. 

For sone inexplicable reason I took no photos of the two excellent meals today.

At 12:30 we each went to our respective desks and worked for several hours.

At 2:45 I took a 1 hour nap and then went to Costco for my 4:45 appointment at the hearing aid department where I learned how to change the small orifice that transmits the sound into the ear.

After my appointment I bought two bottles of Cotes Du Rhone, two bottles of Rioja Reserva and one bottle of Pinot Grigio and a roasted chicken.

When I arrived home we decided to eat dinner.  Suzette made a salad with lettuce, carrot and radish slices and I added about a dozen cherry tomatoes cut in half and shaved a few thin slices of red onion. We threw out the resident dressing that was moldy on the cap and Suzette made a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing.

I opened a bottle of Oyster Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and tore the hind quarters off the chicken. I was amazed how juicy and tender the chicken was and its skin had been rubbed with a flavorful spice rub.

We enjoyed our simple dinner.

After dinner Suzette drank another glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I drank a sip of Calvados and a cup of tea, as we watched a Netflix movie about an Australian sheep station and winery titled A Perfect Pairing and then on Amazon Prime a Diane Keeton and Jeremy Irons Movie titled Love, Weddings, and other Disasters.

Suzette went to bed at 9:45 and I stayed up to watch Paris Murders until 11:00 with another cup of tea and a blueberry fig Newton.  At 11:00h I blogged and then went to bed.

I am amazed how we are able to make interesting elegant meals with our dwindling supply of ingredients. Tomorrow I will make a tabouli salad for lunch and we will make a pasta dish with chicken, zucchini, and mushrooms for dinner. Amazing.

Then off to Argentina Tuesday morning.

Bon Appetit

March 29, 2025 Brunch - Costco Hot Dog. Snack - Herring and Bologna Sandwiches. Dinner - Shu Mai

March 29, 2025 Brunch - Costco Hot Dog. Snack - Herring and Bologna Sandwiches. Dinner - Shu Mai 

We had a busy day. We started by working at our respective desks. I made a break through on dematerialization of my Indian Bank shares by finding the steps necessary to dematerialize them from the Indian government website by registration on MUFG.

I sent a letter with the government’s instructions and a request to the bank to help me. 

Then we drove to the Post Office and then to the recycling center on Menaul and to Costco to pick up floor toile for the remodel of a room at the Center where we ate a hot dog for brunch.

Then we drove to Home Depot and finally Dillard at Winrock Mall where Suzette bought a pair of walking shoes for the trip.

We then returned home and worked in the garden for over an hour, including feeding the rose bushes and driving fertilizer stakes into the ground around the fruit trees and liberating the fig bush from the screen that entangled it beside the hot tub.

I transcribed book club notes until 5:00 when we reviewed our itinerary and reservations for the trip to make sure we had everything organized.

At 5:30 I made a herring and sour cream sandwich, a two Lebanon Bologna sandwiches plus dill pickles and a glass of wine for a snack.

Then at 7:00 I fetched a dozen frozen Shu mai from the freezer and made a dipping sauce of soy, a dash of sesame oil, chili oil, and the four envelopes of sauce provided plus a thinly sliced green onion.

Suzette heated the Shu mai in the microwave and we ate them with glasses of Kirkland Cotes Du Rhone red that was stir surprisingly tasty.

At 6:00 we watched Bill Maher, st 7:00 Have I got news fir You, at 8:00 Father Brown and the spoke to Willy who is 13 hours Ahead of our time in Da Nang, Vietnam. He is doing well studying programming at least 3 hours a day and enjoying living in a hotel three blocks from the beach in Da Nang.

After we spoke to Willy,b Suzette went to bed and I watched the second half of Death in Paradise and then Have I got News for you again while drinking a glass of yogurt drink to try to aid in digestion of the Shu mai.

I looks like dinner tomorrow will be sautéed salmon filets with roasted vegetables, rice, and green beans.

Bon Appetit

March 28, 2025 Lunch - Mary and Tito’s Dinner - Lamb Meatballs with tabouli and tzatziki and rice

March 28, 2025 Lunch - Mary and Tito’s   Dinner - Lamb Meatballs with tabouli and tzatziki and rice

I awakened at 7:50 to a plunging market that got no better during the day.

I was weak from the lack of carbs so I toasted a bagel and spread it thickly with cream cheese and then garnished it with slices of red onion, Gravad lax, and a sprinkle of capers and made a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk for breakfast.

Then I edited my motion to Reconsider and tried to find a lawyer for my water clients until 12:30 when I called Henry to see if he wanted to go to lunch.

He rode his bike over and I drove us to Mary and Tito’s. Since I have eaten there twice this week, I could tell there are regulars who must eat there every day.  

Henry ordered the Friday special of Huevos Rancheros with rice and beans and red chili. I ordered a New Mexican Turnover for the first time which is essentially a large stuffed sopapilla. There are seven or eight choices of fillings. I ordered one filled with beef and beans and cheese smothered with red chili.  We each were served a nice homemade flour tortilla and both drank lemon water.

We both used pieces of our tortilla to scrape up the last of the red chili.

I like Henry because he is smart and thinks the way I do. He thinks Trump is an idiot who is ruining our country.  Henry hates stupid people.

After lunch I drove us home and filed my Motion and then went to the post office to pick up a certified letter but it had not yet been returned from the carrier, so I will need to go back tomorrow.

Then I drove to Walgreens on Central at Rio Grande and made the 25 minute mistake of traveling along Lomas from 1st.  Where Lomas meets Central and then Rio Grande was major congestion.

I picked up my drug at Walgreens and then drove home in less than 5 minutes at 5:00.

Dinner - Suzette was watching the news when I returned home and we watched until 6:30, when Suzette used the remaining ground lamb seasoned with Z Atar and oregano and bound with egg to make 13 meatballs that she sautéed in a skillet.

She also heated the PPI rice and plated my plate with the Meatball hot from the skillet on a bed of heated rice. We added tzatziki and tabouli leftover from last night’s dinner.

We drank the rest of the lovely Vouvray that was everyone’s favorite at the tasting at the Bistro on Tuesday.

After dinner we sipped one more glass of wine and then a glass of Limoncello and watched a Spanish film titled Love Divided that was charming.

When the film ended at 8:30 Suzette went to bed and I watched the last half of Firing Line with Margaret interviewing three Belarus women dissidents and I went to bed to blog at 9:00.

Bon Appetit

March 27, 2025 Lunch - Placitas Cafe. Dinner - Goat cheese stuffed Lamb burgers with tzatziki and tabouli

March 27, 2025 Lunch - Placitas Cafe. Dinner - Goat cheese stuffed Lamb burgers with tzatziki and tabouli

I woke up at 4:00 and went back to bed at 5:300 and napped until 7:00.

I made an video appointment with Dr. Bungo to fill a prescription for 8:30 and ate a bowl of granola, fruit salad, yogurt, and milk.

She called and we had video chat on my I Phone, a first for me.

I sent Willy his tax documents and then took a package to UPS for Suzette at 9:30. After that I drove to Costco to fill up with gas and then picked up Peter at 10:45 and drove to the Placitas Cafe in Placitas.

There were seven members at the meeting and lunch. I ordered the Placitas Salad which was similar to a Cobb.  Several people ordered green chili stew and Paul ordered a Reuben Sandwich with thick slices of brisket served on marbled rye.

After lunch we drove to Jeff’s house and held our meeting to discuss Baumgartner by Paul Auster. It was a lively and wide ranging discussion from 1:00 to 2:45. Jeff served a Laschateau Pouilly Fume and a Monterey Pinot Noir from Trader Joe’s.

After the meeting Jeff served Apple pie made by Cheryl, Jack’s wife and I served Czech Republic Slivovitz.

Jeff is building a new building as a guest house and music studio for his wife, who is a Boston Conservatory trained pianist.

Here is the view from the guest bedroom.

After the dessert and tour I drove Peter back to his house and returned home around 4:15.

I napped from 4:30 until 5:30 and then meditated until 6:00.

Dinner - At 6:00 I started helping Suzette cook dinner. I went to the garden nd picked and minced a small handful of fresh oregano.  Then I minced a shallot and 2 T. of parsley for the lamb burgers.  Suzette added 2 eggs and some Z Attar and stuffed a round of goat cheese unto the middle of the burger and sautéed the burgers while made an authentic Tzatziki with diced cucumber, red onion, 1 clove of pressed garlic, juice of 1/2 lemon, a cup of yogurt, and 1 T. of minced fresh dill weed.

Suzette plated a lamb burgers while made on a pile of tabouli and we served ourselves spoonfuls of tzatziki.

Suzette opened a bottle of Kirkland Cotes Du Rhone and we ate a very pleasant dinner.

We watched a bit of news while we finished sipping our glass of wine and went to bed at 8:00.  We got a good night’s sleep last night by going to bed early and decided to try to do the same tonight.

I blogged and Suzette slept.

We are running out of ingredients, so tomorrow Suzette will bring home roasted chicken from the restaurant that we will eat with roasted vegetables and green beans I suspect.

Bon Appetit