May 2, 2026 Breakfast - Egg and BLT Sandwiches with avocado Lunch - Sandwiches - for me. Vichyssoises and Bundt cake for Suzette. Dinner - Mapo Dofu with Rice

May 2, 2026 Breakfast - Egg and BLT Sandwiches with avocado Lunch - Sandwiches - for me. Vichyssoises and Bundt cake for Suzette. Dinner - Mapo Dofu with Rice

Breakfast was rather special.

I fried four slices of bacon with a slice of Vidalia onion and toasted four slices of baguette and sliced a tomato and an avocado and Suzette torn leaves of romaine. I spread Mayo on the toast and Suzette scrambled two eggs and made an egg pancake and we each made out own egg BLT sandwiches. Suzette with two pieces of toast on either side of the ingredients and mine were open faced.

They were delicious.

Then we drove to the Farmers’ Market and walked the perimeter. I bought a loaf of Country bread from my friend at Le Quiche. Suzette bought sugar snap peas, four tomato plants, and two shishito chili plants.

We then drove to Willy’s and helped him plant the two cherry tomato plants.

I stayed and watched Arsenal beat Fulham and ate a biscuit with honey and butter while Suzette took a load of bottles to recycling.

When she returned we drove home and I watched the rest of the match.

Then I rested and blogged yesterday’s entry and at 1:00 I made three sandwiches with slices of the fresh baked bread, one with Mayo and slices of tomato, one with peanut butter and honey, and one with butter and slices of Leyden cheese.

Then at 2:30 we drove to an open house on 13th Street to view a small house built in 1916 for sale that Willy was looking at buying.

When we returned home at 3:30 I started cooking Mapo Dofu for dinner.

I cubed an eggplant, an onion, an Anaheim green chili, and two garlics I picked in the garden plus a small piece of ginger root.  I sti fried these ingredients and added 2 tsp. of garlic chili paste and two T. of Afghanistan ginger garlic paste. I then added about 1/2 lb. each of ground pork and Jimmie Dean Sausage and then cubed a 14 oz. block of organic firm tofu and two or three cups of water to cover the ingredients and a few dashes of sesame oil and then left the ingredients to stew together.  I stewed these mixture for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until Willy came for dinner.

While the stew stewed I picked and stripped the leaves from several stalks of  rosemary and sage and added about 1 cup of thinly sliced garlic chives to a bowl to dry overnight. Our plan is to grind the dried leaves tomorrow to season the other 1/2 lb. of ground pork to make our own sodium free sausage patties for breakfast.

When Willy arrived around 6:30 Suzette fetched and microwaved the rice from East Ocean and we served ourselves bowls of Mapo Dofu and rice for dinner.

I did not add any salt, cornstarch, or soy, that were called for to a seasoning sauce in the recipe. I prefer to cook for a longer period of time to let the ingredients make their own sauce to avoid the added cornstarch flavor. I left off the salt and soy to avoid the extra sodium. The ginger and garlic marinade had no salt and the chili garlic sauce had very little. Mixing fresh ground pork with Jimmie Dean sausage reduced the effect of the salt from the sausage.

After dinner we walked through the garden and Suzette showed us where the mulch she covered one of the raised beds had sprouted wheat plants.  

As a result of all the ramblings today I accumulated over 4000 steps, 2000 at the Farmers’ Market and 2000 rambling around the house and garden.

After Willy left we watched Father Brown and Death in Paradise and I ate a chocolate hip cookie with a cup of tea.

It was a very good day.

Bon Appetit

May 1, 2026 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel Lunch - Vichyssoise and Pai au Chocolate. Snack - at Flea Market reception. Dinner - East Ocean

May 1, 2026 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel Lunch - Vichyssoise and Pai au Chocolate. Snack - at Flea Market reception. Dinner - East Ocean

I went to Tricore for a draw at 7:00.

When I came home I toasted a bagel and spread the two halves with cream cheese and garnished them with slices of vidalia onion and Gravad lax.

Then I worked at my desk until 11:00 when we ate bowl of Vichyssoise and I ate a pain au chocolate as we walked out the door to drive to Santa Fe at 12:00 and connected my mobile phone to the Earn board meeting for an hour.

When we arrived in Santa Fe at 1:15 we drove to the Santa Fe Auction and picked up the three pieces I bought at the last auction.  Here they are.

We also previewed the next auction scheduled for May 4 and 5 that includes several interesting pieces.

Ar 2:30 we drove to the Rodeo grounds where the Folk Art Museum’s Fiea Market was set to open at 3:30. We previewed the textiles and rugs and said hello to TR and Linda, who just returned from Mexico. TR was really upset because he said most of the country is in the control of cartels and there are roadblocks everywhere and he will not drive to Sayulita again. Then we looked at the rugs and TR declared them all “Junk”. I ate a tortilla wrap and some cookies and took a sugar pill to build my energy for shopping.

I was the fourth person through the door for the Collector’s Corner and Suzette went to the barn with craft items, but we bought nothing for ourselves because most items were junk.

I reserved several dresses for Suzette but they were all pricey and Suzette rejected them.

Finally we went past the four long tables of textiles, clothing, and related accessories and Suzette filled two bags full of belts, hand bags, a woven sleeping mat or. wall hanging, a  9 mola wall hanging, two large paper umbrellas, and about two dozen other items to use or sell at the Center in Los Lunas, which seemed appropriate since Suzette’s $1000 donation on behalf of the Center as a Sponsor of the Flea Market gained us access to the Sponsor Preview. 

By a bit after 4:00 we were loaded up and drove back to Albuquerque. We had had a full day and did not want to cook. We decided to stop at East Ocean for an early dinner.

When we arrived at EastvOcean at 5:30 we were practically the only persons. We were hungry and Suzette ordered an order of fried Calamari and hot soon as we sat down. Then we ordered 1/2 Roasted Duck and an order of Chinese Broccoli. 

The small platter came soon with a small ramekin of plum sauce and a bottle of hot mustard. The rings of breaded calimari were fried to perfection. They were very warm, just out of the fryer. The breading was crisp and the rings inside the breading tender and they were not at all greasy. We loved them as dipped them in the plum sauce and ate them.

Then a few minutes later a large platter filled with roasted duck was served in its black tea sauce and then the broccoli in a Mandarin thickened chicken broth and garlic sauce and then a couple of minutes later a large bowl of steamed rice.

We ate some but packed up most of the food.

We drove home, unloaded the Art, and by 9:00 we were in bed.

Bon Appetit

April 30, 2026 Breakfast - Granola Lunch - Trail Rider Restaurant Dinner - Leftover Salmon, Rice, and Broccoli with Scallop in Lobster sauce

April 30, 2026 Breakfast - Granola  Lunch - Trail Rider Restaurant Dinner - Leftover Salmon, Rice, and Broccoli with Scallop in Lobster sauce

I slept badly but awakened finally at 7:45 and saw Cat was up $80.00. I immediately sold 5 shares of Caterpillar at $878.24 and then took a shower.

After I dressed I saw that CAT was up to $891.65, so sold 6 more shares.

I then ate a bowl of granola in our garden that is full of blooming plants.

I then worked at my desk until 10:45 when I walked down Charlie and Susan’s house. Martha was visiting so I talked to her for a minute.

We left for book club at 11:00 and picked up Peter and Charlie drove us to Trail Rider Restaurant in Cedar Crest that has taken over the large Greenside space.

We were joined by Karl, Pradip, Paul, and Jeff for lunch and then book club at Karl’s house. The menu was extensive with lots of sandwiches and pasta dishes. I settled on Spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. The spaghetti sauce had a noticeable black pepper flavor but was otherwise mild. The meatballs were firm ground beef and the star of the dish was the pile of fresh linguine. The melted mozzarella covering the dish was inedible, so I pushed it to the side.  Everyone enjoyed their meal.

The book was Fer de Lance by Rex Stout. After the meeting we all enjoyed the Margarita Bundt ca ke and Chocolate Fudge Bundt cake and chocolate chip cookies Joanna made using recipes from Susan’s The Best of Bundt Cookbook.

Charlie returned me home at 4:00 and I rested until 5:45 when I went the garden and picked chives and thinly sliced them but we decided to heat the leftover salmon, rice, and broccoli instead and sauce the dish with the leftover Scallops and Lobster sauce left from lunch yesterday at East Ocean. The lobster sauce was a perfect sauce for the salmon.

I drank the last glass of New Zealand Scott Family Sauvignon Blanc

We watched Midsomer Murders during which we drank limoncellos and I ate the last of the last bit of quince, fig, and apple cobbler.

After Midsomer Murders Suzette went to bed and I watched George Gently and then blogged this entry.

Bon Appetit

April 29, 2026 Breakfast - Gravad Lax, Red Onion, and Goat cheese omelet with toast. Lunch - East April 29, 2026 Breakfast - Gravad Lax, Red Onion, and Goat cheese omelet with toast. Lunch - East Ocean. Dinner - Grilled Lamb riblets with sautéed Zucchini and Vichyssoises

April 29, 2026 Breakfast - Gravad Lax, Red Onion, and Goat cheese omelet with toast. Lunch - East April 29, 2026 Breakfast - Gravad Lax, Red Onion, and Goat cheese omelet with toast. Lunch - East Ocean. Dinner - Grilled Lamb riblets with sautéed Zucchini and Vichyssoises 

I finally slept 8 hours last night and began editing my Reply at 6:30.

At 7:30 I made a Gravad lax, red onion, and goat cheese omelet and toasted three slices of baguette and brewed a fresh cup of Earl Grey.

I then continued editing until 11:30 when I drove to East Ocean to meet Mike for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to order Scallops in Lobster Sauce without salt. It tasted funny at first but I quickly got used to the absence of salt and enjoyed the dish.i swallowed down my wind pipe that caused my to gag and throw up some of the dish until my esophagus cleared, so I took about 1/2 home.

Mike ordered his usual Kung Pao Chicken and ate most of it.

I stopped at Lowe’s grocery on the way home and bought two small avocados and a small eggplant for the Mapo Dofu stew we will make tomorrow evening for dinner.

When I returned a bit after 2:00 I checked the Market close and my portfolio was down about .82%, but still it’s all time high.

I then continued editing my reply and finished all 18 pages by 4:30.

Suzette came home around 5:00.

Dinner - We decided to grill the rack of 8 lamb riblets and sauté the two zucchini we had with 1/3 Vidalia onion and three cloves of garlic. I went to the garden and picked six or 7 stalks of chives a handful of parsley and about ten stalks of oregano. I then chopped the chives and parsley and Suzette chopped the oregano.

I sliced the zucchini and onion, and garlic and Suzette sautéed the vegetables in a large cast iron skillet with butter and olive oil.  When the zucchini and onion had cooked for a while I squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon onto the sautéed vegetables and stirred in the minced parsley and oregano.

At 6:00 willy arrived to join us for dinner.

Suzette simultaneously grilled the riblets with Willy”s assistance and stirred cream into bowls of Vichyssoises.

I opened a 2018 Rivavallana Gran Reserva Rioja that was really delicious and poured glasses of it and added several cubes of ice to Suzette and my glasses.

We all loved dinner with the lightly charred riblets, sautéed lemon zucchini and Vichyssoises and a good Rioja.

We talked until 7:45 when Willy left and I lay down to blog. Suzette cleaned up and came to bed at 8:30.

We all agreed that this was another California Cuisine meal mainly due to the absence of salt that allowed the individual flavors of ingredients and herbs to emerge more prominently than when salt and other spices are used to enhance flavor.

Bon Appetit

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