March 7, 2019 Lunch – Sautéed Filet Mignonette, Potato and onion Slices, Poblano Chile, and Asparagus. Dinner – Composed Duck Breast Salad

March 7, 2019 Lunch – Sautéed Filet Mignonette, Potato and onion Slices, Poblano Chile, and Asparagus. Dinner – Composed Duck Breast Salad

Another day working to get the hotel transaction completed.  I woke up early and showered and was at my desk by 8:00.  I finished the wave of paperwork by 11:15 and decided that the thawed filet mignonette in the fridge should be sautéed.  I sliced a 1/3 inch thick slice of onion, chopped about an oz. of Chile poblano, and sliced a small baked potato into three slices.  I sautéed the onion, Chile, potato slices and three asparagus spears.  After they softened I added them filet in three stages based upon thickness.  The filet was the end of the filet that narrowed down to nothing, so there were three thicknesses.  I looked the sautéed Lunch from the crisp potatoes to the silky soft Chili.  I combined ingredients to make different types of bites.  I drank a glass of Pessimist red blend.  After lunch I had a slice of Brie cheese with slices of ripe Bosc pear.





At 4:30 I drove to Smith’s that had lots of specials.  I bought two large salmon filets for $5.99/lb., a pork sirloin for $.99/lb., a package of corned beef for $2.99/lb., 2 lb. of bacon for $3.99/lb., two dozen eggs for $.99/dozen, two T-bone steaks for $4.77/lb., and three 6 oz. plastic containers of blueberries for $.99 each.  The meat larder is replenished and I can use some of the extra half and half and cream to make a blueberry Clafoutis and make a new batch of Gravad Lax.  The last batch which is still good was made two weeks before Christmas, so gravading preserves salmon for an extra three months; a very handy way to preserve meats. Perfect for a long Ocean voyage, say to England to pillage some monasteries 1200 years ago.  For longer voyages there was salt and smoked fish that could be boiled to rehydrate.

There will also be the wave of corn beef and cabbage and then Rueben sandwiches and breakfasts of corned beef hash, so lots of meals get planned at the grocery store.

After I drove home , unloaded, and had a cup of hot sweet lime juice I drove to meditation.

When I returned home at 8:00 Suzette had composed a composed duck breast salad, with salad greens from our garden, diced tomatoes, steamed zucchini, asparagus, and radishes, sautéed potato slices like I made for lunch and a sliced grilled duck breast.  Suzette made a delicious dressing by combining fresh goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  I poured out the rest of the Pessimist red blend and then opened the bottle of 2014 Chateau Roudier.  The Chateau is located in Montagne
in Appellation Montagne-St. Emilion, just north of St. Emilion.  This wine is one of my favorites at Trader Joe’s. It lighter and more elegant than many of the cheaper wines and well worth its  $12.95 price.  I try to keep a bottle in the house but it is difficult because it is so pleasant to drink and goes well with many foods also.  It is a classic blend of 65% merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc and rates from 86 to 90 points and a 3.7 by Vinvino.  Others sell this bottle for up to
$22.00.  Trader Joe’s has the least expensive price for this wine.



After dinner I made a small dessert of warm blueberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream.

We watched some news.  Paul Manafort got sentenced to 47 months in prison today and faces another sentencing next week, a rather precipitous fall for an international political consultant and Chairman of Trump’s election campaign.  It could be interesting if Manafort ever told prosecutors what was going on in the Trump campaign, but he seems to be hoping for a pardon or afraid of the Russians rather than telling the truth.

Bon Appetit

March 6, 2019 Lunch – Capo’s. Dinner – BBQ Pork and Sauerkraut on a baked potato with steamed String Beans

March 6, 2019 Lunch – Capo’s. Dinner – BBQ Pork and Sauerkraut on a baked potato with steamed String Beans

This was an interesting food day.

I ate ½ bagel with cream cheese and slices of aged Swiss Emmenthaler cheese at 10:00.

Peter arrived a bit after 11:00 with a desire to eat pasta.  I had a doctor’s appointment at 1:30, so I drove us to Capo’s at the corner of 8th and Central.  I had not been to Capo’s in years, even though it is only 7 blocks from the house.

Peter ordered Fettucine Carbonera and I ordered the Thursday special for lunch, Eggplant Parmigiana with spaghetti.  We ordered an order of garlic bread for $2.00 extra.  There is a daily special for every day of the week for $6.99.  I loved the eggplant parmigiana.  It was an egg  battered thin slice of eggplant sautéed to golden served with a small pile of spaghetti with marinara sauce.  I loved it and could not finish it.  The portion was more than adequate for lunch.

I will return on a Monday for the daily special, my favorite, lasagna.

I worked from 9:00 until 11:00:  3:00 until 6:00 and from 8:00 until 10:00 on a real estate transaction.

Suzette has said she would bring home a chicken but did not.  Instead she added some BBQ sauce to the PPI Pork and Sauerkraut and heated it.  We steamed the last of the green beans and heated two baked potatoes and Suzette smothered the baked potatoes with BBQ Pork and we garnished the dish with slices of aged cheddar and served the dish with steamed green beans for a really creative and tasty dinner.  And we still have have a casserole of PPI BBQ Pork.

We drank bottles of Dos Equis beer with dinner

I ate several chocolate donuts and ice cream after dinner with cups of Earl Grey tea  and then went back to work.

An exciting food day with the re-discovery of Capo’s and their excellent food quality for a reasonable price for lunch.  Peter’s dinner portion of Carbonara was $12.95 I think.

Bon Appetit

March 5, 2019 Lunch – Four Sandwiches. Dinner – Rockfish In Foil

March 5, 2019 Lunch – Four Sandwiches.  Dinner – Rockfish In Foil

At 8:45 I made a steak, asparagus, mushroom, shallot and cheese Omelet with the PPI sautéed mushrooms and last ½ shallot from last night’s dinner plus some PPI steak and an asparagus chopped and halved.  After those ingredients softened  I whipped two eggs and added them to fill a large skillet with egg and lay slices of Jarlsberg cheese on ½ of the surface.  When the egg firmed I flipped one side onto the other to cook the inside and melt the cheese.  I toasted a slice of whole wheat bread and spread butter and boysenberry jam on it and made a cup of tea and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast.

It was a lucky strategy to have a big breakfast because I worked non-stop until almost 4:00 on three different cases.

At 4:00 I made four open face sandwiches, two with Herring in wine sauce on sour cream on slices of toasted rye bread, one on toasted rye bread spread with mayonnaise and tomato slices with a beer.  After the first three I decided I would ride my bike, so I had a peanut butter and jam on a slice of toasted whole wheat bread with a cup of tea.

I worked a bit more and then at 5:15 I rode my bike three or four miles north on Park to the Country Club, then north on Tingley to Central, where I turned onto bike path and rode south to Marquez.  I then turned around and rode back home.

Shortly after I arrived at home Suzette called to tell me she was on her way to Costco to grocery shop for the Center.


I made guacamole while I waited for her with the meat of three small avocados, four small minced cloves of garlic, about a T. of finely minced poblano chile, 1/8 tsp. of salt, chopped cilantro, three T. of finely diced yellow onion, and the juice of three small Mexican limes.

She arrived around 7:00. After she unloaded the perishable groceries into the fridge she came.  I had partially thawed the rockfish I bought Last Wednesday.  We decided to make Rockfish in Foil, a delicious dish that is easy to prepare.  The secret is to use two lengths of aluminum foil.  You lay two pieces of foil long enough to hold a fish filet.  Then Suzette halved a stalk of asparagus lengthwise and lay the two long strips of asparagus in the foil pocket she had made by crimping the ends of the aluminum foil a bit to create a depression.  She then lay a fish filet on top of the asparagus and added tomato slices, radish slices, a slice of sweet lime, strips of poblano pepper,  strips of fresh carrot, and finally slices of butter and a dash of white wine.  The edges of foil are then folded together and crimped to create a sealed pouch and baked for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Here is a picture of a foil pocket suzette made before they it baked.

 The ingredients can vary based upon availability and your taste.  We sometimes add cooked rice.  Tonight Suzette heated a PPI baked potato that she cut into pieces and added to her pouch after the foil pouch was cooked.  Suzette heated corn tortillas for me, and I made fish tacos with my fish.

Willy joined us a little bi t after 8:00, just as we removed the pouches from the oven.

Here are two pictures of the resulting dish after the foil is opened.

Willy ate his dinner with chips and guacamole.

We drank drinks. Mine was a light gin and tonic, Suzette had a scotch and Willy drank water.

Willy told us about his trip to Mexico City, which was a reunion of friends from UBC in Vancouver.

At 8:30 Willy said goodnight.

We went to bed at 9:00, I to blog and a Suzette to sleep after her 12 hour work day.

Bon Appetit

March 4, 2019 Lunch - Taj Mahal  Dinner – Grilled Hamburger with melted Manchego cheese and Asparagus, with Baked Potato and Sautéed Mushrooms

A day in which food consumption swelled in a cescendo.

It started out simply;  tropical fruit salad, granola, yogurt, and milk.

Then for lunch with Robert things built as I ate a plate of moderate amounts of roasted onions, tandoori chicken, chicken curry, saag, and riata with an onion culcha and a bowl of mango custard for dessert.

But dinner was a feast of gargantuan portions; a large hamburger grilled and topped with melted slices of Manchego cheese with grilled asparagus that had been coated with olive oil, salt, and pepper, a baked potato garnished with butter, sour cream, and the first fresh finely diced chives from our garden of the year, and sliced mushrooms sautéed in butter and olive oil and seasoned with salt, dried marjoram and Amontillado sherry.

I opened a bottle of Pessimist red blend from Paso Robales that was given to us as a Christmas gift last Christmas.  It was a deep purple color that looked and tasted like a mostly merlot blend.  It went well with the beef dinner, somewhat like a St. Emillon from Bordeaux.

Later I watched my two alma maters, TCU and Texas, go down in defeat to the two powerhouse Big 12 basketball teams, Kansas State and Texas Tech, respectively.

After the games at 9:00 I ate a small bowl of blueberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

After that immense dinner my guess is that I made little progress in my recent healthy weight loss program.

But dinner reminded me of the great dinners of my youth with my family.  We would eat hamburger steak with a baked potato and a vegetable about three times a week.  My folks would buy a side of beef and have it butchered and the result would be a few steaks and roasts and a hundred and fifty pounds of hamburger.

Bon Appetit

March 3, 2019 Lunch – Clam and Dumpling Soup. Dinner – Grilled Duck Breast with Sautéed Green Beans and Broccoli CousCous

March 3, 2019 Lunch – Clam and Dumpling Soup. Dinner – Grilled Duck Breast with Sautéed Green Beans and Broccoli CousCous

A Wonderful Day it started with English Premier League and the Sunday Morning news programs and ½ of a wholewheat bagel with cream cheese and slices of red onion and Lax.  Then I weeded ½ of one of the raised beds.

Before Suzette left to go shopping we discussed dinner and settled on duck breasts with the PPI Broccoli Couscous with green beans, so Suzette fetched a package of four duck breasts from the freezer in the garage and I fetched the sour cherry sauce Billy made for our Friday night meal on February 1 in Taos.

At 1:00 I made a simple soup with the PPI cooked clams and clam broth from last weekend.  I added five chicken dumplings, two fish balls, a T. of chopped red onion, the rest of the bok choy, and a bit of lime juice and sweet chili sauce.  Soon after I finished the soup around 2:00 Suzette returned from shopping.  She ate the PPI Bobby Flay Chicken thigh with mashed potatoes while I lay down to read the new book club selection, The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Gailbraith, but I soon fell asleep and napped until 4:30.

It was a bit windy, so instead of riding I pruned several rose bushes in the back yard.

At 6:00 It was beginning to get too dark to prune and I stopped when Suzette said she was starting the grill.

When I went to the kitchen I found that Suzette was already sautéing  the Broccoli Couscous and had snapped and added about 1/3 lb. of green beans to the skillet.  The only left for me to do was to reduce the heat and stir the skillet and fetch a wine.  Suzette said she wanted a Pinot Noir.  The only every day one we had upstairs was a Charles Shaw 2017 Organic Pinot Noir, which I opened.  It tasted great, light flavorful Pinot.  I shall buy more, especially since I think Trader Joe’s still has them priced at $3.99.

In about twenty minutes Suzette brought the grilled breasts in.  I took my seat at the table and poured glasses of Pinot.  It was a lovely simple dinner.  I think duck is my favorite meat, especially with a lovely light vegetable and Billy’s wonderful sour cherry sauce and a decent Pinot.

After dinner I cut pieces of French Brie and Humboldt Fog that we nibbled as we sipped the last of the Pinot.

Willy called from the airport and I picked him up and took him home and returned in time to watch Tom climb El Capitan free solo.

I was started by the selection of movies on TV.  While I pruned Suzette watched Pineapple Express.  During dinner we tuned into the National Geographic Channel and watch the last half of a program on a Year in Yosemite with amazing footage of its animal inhabitants.  Then even more amazingly was the premier of Free Solo, the academy Award winning documentary about the first person the climb the 3200 foot high face of El Capitan in Yosemite without any rope, free hand.  I loved the film and the guy was amazing.  I highly recommend Free Solo.

Then at 9:00 Suzette went to bed and I had the opportunity to watch Children of Men again.  It is a brilliant movie, if a bit apocalyptic.  I love it and went to bed to blog at 11:00.

Bon Appetit

March 2, 2019 Brunch – Bacon, Cottage Fries, and Fried eggs. Dinner – Reconstituted Meatball and Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce and PPI Spaghetti

March 2, 2019 Brunch – Bacon, Cottage Fries, and Fried eggs. Dinner – Reconstituted Meatball and Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce and PPI Spaghetti

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday I could not eat anything but toast.  Today I am back thinking about food and eating it as well.

I follow Suzette’s lead when it comes to treating ailments, especially since she had a rougher bout of food poisoning than I did.

She apparently was awakened at 5:00 by a call from her business, an assisted living facility.  I slept through all and awakened at 7:30 refreshed and somewhat reinvigorated.

I asked if she wanted to fix breakfast and her response was, “I already have had a bowl of fruit and yogurt.”

I responded, “I guess I better have the same although I was thinking about bacon and eggs.”

So I had my bowl of fruit salad, yogurt, milk, and granola.

Later Suzette said she was hungry and wanted to eat bacon and eggs.

I then realized the power of suggestion as well as the apparent fact that Suzette was feeling better.

I was working to organize my stamp collection in bed while watching English Premier League soccer, so I said “call me if you need help.”

I got a phone call that lasted about ½ hour and luckily ended as Suzette called from the kitchen, “I am starting the eggs.”

So I got up and dressed and went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea as a Suzette plated brunch, Bacon, Cottage Fries, and Fried eggs.

I made my tea, ran to get the I Pad to take a photo and finally joined her at the table.  Here is a photo of the lovely brunch she made.

After brunch we went to the garage to see if there were enough cabinets to fill the apartment being remodeled at the candy store.  Luckily, there may be enough with only a bit of cabinetry work needed, which may save several thousand dollars.

As Suzette cleaned out the dirt exposed after moving all the cabinets I penned our phone number on a For Rent sign I had bought a month ago.

Suzette wanted to take the four or five empty cases of bottles to the recycling center.  I wanted to put up the For Rent sign at the candy store and go to El Super to replenish our fruits and vegetables.

So we drove to the recycling center beside the convention center to dump the bottles, then put up the sign, then stopped at Church Street a Café and talked to Marie for about ½ hour and finally drove to El Super.

We bought a pineapple, a papaya, onions, 30 still warm tortillas, tortilla chips, three small avocados for $.99, small Mexican limes for $.50/lb., sweet limes, four Bosc pears for poaching, a box of ramen noodle bowls for one of Suzette’s clients who will only eat ramen, four 7 oz. bags of tomato sauce for .$99, sweet potatoes, two mangos, and three soft Roma tomatoes to add to the spaghetti sauce.  We used our new plastic bags we bought in Sayulita, instead of any plastic bags and felt really good about reducing our carbon footprint.

When we arrived home around 4:30 we were hungry, so I started reconstituting the spaghetti sauce.  I diced about ¼ cup of red onions and started sautéing them in a 2 quart sauce pan in olive oil.  I then diced and added three mushrooms sliced.  Suzette suggested adding fresh sorrel, so she went to the
garden and picked a couple of handfuls of sorrel leaves and washed them along with several handfuls

of lettuce leaves.

I then de-stemmed them and chopped the leaves into bite sized pieces and added them to the pan.  I the diced three soft Roma tomatoes and added them.    I then added two 7 oz. bags of tomato sauce and then three small diced cloves of garlic, about 1 T. of oregano, five anchovy filets diced, and the PPI meat and mushroom spaghetti sauce.  The sauce was really thick, so I added about ½ cup of Clamato juice and about ¼ cup of red wine to thin it.  It turned into a creamy sauce, which is what I wanted.

We cooked the sauce for about ½ hour to cook the tomatoes, garlic, and mushrooms, during which time Suzette reconstituted the PPI Ceaser salad left from last Wednesday’s dinner by adding some fresh lettuce from our garden.

Suzette poured two glasses of Cherry Blossom California Pinot Noir and reheated the PPI spaghetti from Wednesday’s dinner and we were ready to eat.She mounded a pile of spaghetti in the middle of a pasta bowl and covered it with spoonfuls of sauce and filled two salad bowls with Caesar Salad.

                                                    Suzette grating cheese onto my pasta

We ate a lovely dinner and have enough sauce left for another meal.

After dinner I went back to my stamp collection and Suzette made blueberry cobbler, which she garnished with the apricot thyme sauce she made last year that we thawed when we cleaned out the garage refrigerator freezer last Sunday. She had asked me to buy containers of blueberries, which I did last Wednesday at Sprouts plus a ½ gallon of vanilla ice cream, so at 7:45 We took the cobbler out of the oven and added scoops of vanilla ice cream and I made a cup of hot tea and we ate a lovely warm dessert as we watched episodes of Chopped and Love it or List it.

I went back to bed to finish organizing my stamp collection at 8:15 after seeing my Business School Honors Program classmate, Lloyd Doggett, who has been the U.S. Representative for Austin for many years on Lawrence O’Donnell’s Last Word program on MSNBC.  Suzette followed soon thereafter.

I then blogged and read and went to bed after a lovely day of food shopping and cooking.

Bon Appetit

March 1, 2019 Lunch – Sandwiches. Dinner – Melted Cheese Sandwich and Herring Sandwich

March 1, 2019 Lunch – Sandwiches. Dinner – Melted Cheese Sandwich and Herring Sandwich

Today was another day of not feeling well, which Suzette shared with me.

I ate fruit salad, yogurt, and granola for breakfast.

I ate a cheese sandwich and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

At 3:00 I drove to the bank, the Post Office, and to Comcast to get a new TV controller.  The Walmart Neighborhood market was across the parking lot from Comcast, so I went there and bought Vita Herring in wine sauce, bananas, and some Little Debbie chocolate frosted donuts.

I had a couple of donuts with tea when I returned home

For dinner we made melted three cheese sandwiches with Humbolt Fog, Brie, and Jarlsberg cheese on rye bread.  I also made a Herring sandwich on rye with sour cream and onions.

I opened a bottle of Cherry Blossom California Pinot Noir ($4.99 at Trader Joe’s).

Suzette wanted bread and butter pickles with her grilled cheese sandwich. She soon found one of the jars of pickles she canned several years ago.  She put several pickles on each of our plates.  They were delicious, especially with the creamy cheese sandwich.

We are hoping for better health tomorrow  so we can start eating more interesting food again.

Bon Appetit