second weekend in July

The weekend that was, and really, it was a good weekend.  It's Sunday night now as I start this, I've had some decent, moderately-priced wine.  We've watched a little of Cougar Town, an older television show we're now getting into.  I have a ticket purchased for tennis in the desert this fall.  Why not start the weekend check-in?

And let's extend the weekend back to last Thursday.  A cheat, but Fridays during the summer are WFH, and although that's not a day off (there's always something or things to deal with), it is a little easier for not having the drive.  Anyway, Thursday evening was nice for having had friends invite us over. 

That's a rare thing.  People get intimidated or weird about cooking for me, and I swear, I SWEAR

EVEN. IF. YOU. MAKE. ME. A. BOX. OF. KD. I. WILL. BE. GRATEFUL. THAT. YOU. COOKED. FOR. ME.

I mean it.

Jennifer and Sanders, however, provided us with a dinner beyond Kraft Dinner, with halibut cooked on the grill

and some very juicy and sweet corn on the cob.  Lovely!  We sat outside and had a great chat, the five of us.  Very good food!

Friday came, and it was off to Maestro that evening.  Sooooo long since last we were there.  They had closed for some renovations, and before they reopened I was off to the Midwest, so it had been weeks.  Too long.  So it was so very good to be back.  YAY!  We sat outside, the three of us, and shared gaucamole, a roasted beet salad, the tetela, calamari, and the bone marrow esquites. 

Such a nice evening there.  We came back to the condo to have some little pastries from Bu Pastry Bar. 

A nice way to finish the evening as we watched some Stanley Tucci in Italy.

Saturday!  Saturday I was up early, but I lingered as I heard Conrad stirring upstairs.  We eventually went out on our walk, a nice casual one.  And then it was Amara.  So, yes, a proper and regular weekend for us.  Our usual breakfast after all this time,

and a second round of lattes to boot!

 

Then there was the SG Lewis concert, a good walk this morning, a great and bountiful breakfast at Van's, a new pair of shoes for walking, dinner with some television.  Nothing especially photo-worthy, or moments where taking photos wasn't at front of mind.

All in all, a good mix of busy and not busy this past weekend. We're almost halfway through the month, which doesn't feel real, to be honest.  Fall semester will be upon us in no time at all! 

a Thursday night dinner in June

The slew of posts on the Nashville/Kentucky trip has helped cover for the fact that it's been quiet times indeed.  Really not much to write about during the week.  Simple dinners, movies or television.  Morning walks.  Few people coming through the door at work.  A lull before the conference and in-laws travel at the end of this month.  In short, sorry.  Not much to blog about.

So here is what has become a rare-these-days cooking entry.  Van came over last night so that the three of us could hammer out our weekend plans (a friend's 60th birthday celebration in Newport Beach).  I took one of our dinner staples (pork tenderloin) and served it up a little differently than normal.  A corn and leek puree went into the bottom of the bowl.  Alongside the pork came a couple of roasted slices of sweet potato and a small mound of sauteed cabbage and onion. 

Summery flavours, perhaps?  Nothing too rich.  A nice little dinner.

I've been looking ahead for some time now to retirement down the road.  When I finally do, oh boy will I be getting into the kitchen a whole bunch.  Baking, cooking.  Just you watch out. 

Friday night at Maestro

In recent months I've taken to summarizing the weekend that was after the weekend that had been.  But we're all off to Palm Springs tomorrow, back on Tuesday, and I thought I'd squeeze in an entry or two before I go.  So, from dinner last night, I present a Maestro meal for your visual feasting.

Van joined us last night, which was nice.  He hasn't been over to Maestro in a while, and they do ask about him when he's not with us.  We sat outside - their outdoor seating is fully shaded by the building across the alley in the evenings - and had an early meal.  The two of them had cocktails (two for Conrad, one for Van), but I stuck to mocktails and enjoyed the one with cafe de olla syrup first

and then their house margarita but made with a non-alcoholic tequila. 

Still trying to stick to one drink each week (but not a week apart necessarily), and I had my drink on television date night with Van.  I will be enjoying a cocktail tomorrow when we have dinner in the desert, though!

As for food, we didn't have too big a dinner.  Plantain chips and guacamole as we sipped our cocktails, then we followed that with the kale and sesame salad,

the bone marrow esquites,

and then a plate of enmoladas. 

All of it good, filling us nicely.  There is a new (to us) musician playing outside on Friday evenings, and we enjoyed his strumming and singing.

After dinner we walked back to the condo.  A little chocolate, Van watered the plants, we chatted a bit, then he headed home to Olive and left us to our devices.  A mild evening followed, and that was perfectly alright by me! 

Memorial Day weekend

It's a holiday Monday, Memorial Day in the United States.  I worked remotely on Friday, and now this is the third proper day of the long weekend.  It's been a nice break.  Oh, I'll be back on campus tomorrow afternoon, for sure, but in the meantime, let's check in on what's been going on here this weekend....

Friday!  We wandered over to Maestro, arriving shortly after opening but right behind two other customers who took up seats at the bar.  Add in two more who came along to reserved seats, and it was a crowded (but not uncomfortable) time at the bar.  I tried a new cocktail, a guava paloma that I think was clarified in part or something. 

Tasty!  The three of us shared guacamole,

a beet salad,

the bone marrow esquites,

and a new item:  crispy carnitas tacos. 

I may just like them more than the birria tacos.  Hard to say.  Another nice night at Maestro.  We came home and put on the first episode of the latest season of Stanley Tucci's exploits in Italy, then Van headed home to Olive.

Saturday!  I had had a good walk on Friday, mostly without Conrad, totaling 6.91 miles.  Saturday I went longer, hitting 7.21 miles, including some running and mostly without Conrad again.  That excursion ended at Amara.  Lately I've not been especially hungry in the mornings, and so I kept to an empanada again,

leaving Conrad

to enjoy his regular breakfast.  Oat milk lattes for us both,

and that was a fine start to the day. 

We were over at Van's that night, hosting Mitch and Ted for dinner.  I made us all ribs, and it was a lovely evening if a photo-free one.

Sunday!  Another good walk to start the day, but a shorter one:  6.23 miles.  Some good music on,

a cheery attitude. 

Conrad did his own shorter walk with Olive, and then we relaxed before coming back to the condo late in the morning.  But it was back to Van's late yesterday afternoon for an evening that featured the first mai tais

and the first burgers on the grill of the season. 

It's not been super warm out, just mild, and that was welcome.  Olive got lots of love,

Van showed off his moves

(and a tshirt that I think is kind of a hoot), and we had a lovely, leisurely evening outside.

Today!  I've been waking up early these days, and so it was that on a holiday Monday I was awake and out the door before 6AM.  I put on some lively music

and mixed in even more running with the walking today, which was tiring but welcome,

and ended up at 8.26 miles.  Not terrible!  I finished that off right as Conrad and Olive were heading out the driveway for her morning walk, so I joined them

and did another mile with them.  And now, now I am pooped.  I may need a nap before online drinks later!  We shall see.

A short week ahead.  Let's see what it brings....

first Friday in August

Dialing into the waaaaay-back machine here.  I told you there was stuff to catch up on, and not in order.  And this isn't even a big one, to be honest.  I just like it because it was an evening to grill.  And that is a wonderful thing.

Van

bought us some, well, big-ass steaks. 

No two ways about that.  I brought over corn on the cob, and between us, we had the fixings for a big and satisfying dinner. 

Conrad

did his part, too:  setting the table, petting Olive.  The three of us outside.  A fine evening, some wine. 

What more could we ask for?

And as a bonus, Saturday morning walkies with the Little Girl!

We haven't had enough nights like this so far this summer, and we have a lot of stuff on our plate ahead.  A shame.  These are rare and delightful nights.  Here's hoping for another one soon.

Friday night, Saturday morning (I think you've seen this before)

So let's see:  Friday night at Maestro followed by an easy evening at home.  Check!

Saturday morning at Amara.  Check!

Our regular life in a nutshell.  Fear not, there will be travel by the end of the month!

Sunday night that felt like a Saturday

Long weekends can really mess with the mind.  What day is it?  Who knows?  I am still convinced that it's Monday right now, for example.  Readers, I am writing this on a Tuesday morning.  I'm in a post-holiday fog.

It didn't help that weekend activities felt so shifted.  A lazy morning yesterday and ice cream plus a walk over at Caltech?  Totally Sunday.  Grilling on the deck?  Saturday!

But no.  The grilled dinner of steak and veggies was Sunday evening.  And a fine evening it was for sitting outside, enjoying the food and a lovely Cab. 

The confusion was made worse, however, by moving our online happy hour to this past Sunday when typically it's a midweek thing.  A Chicago theme, so I made the three of us Southsides,

but when we ran out of mint, I made myself a variation on a Sunflower for a second cocktail, using Italicus in place of the elderflower.

A fine evening, all in all.  Olive stayed close at hand in case a piece of steak made it her way (yes, one or two did).  And maybe the best part was that Conrad and Van did the dishes. 

Hey, I basically cooked everything and made the cocktails.  It was the least they could do!