Wednesday, November 23, 2011
This morning’s gray skies have given way to patches of blue, but there is still a threat of rain in the forecast. Tomorrow we are supposed to begin a stretch of sunny days. That would be a welcome change.
As some of you already know, yesterday was the 49th anniversary of my first date with Susan. We went bowling and she beat me badly. In spite of that, I asked her out again. In the morning we went to the market and picked up the remaining items that we will need for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving celebration. There is a stall at the market that specializes in Latin American products and they had an abundance of sweet potatoes. We were also able to purchase fresh sage, thyme and chives and those three items will make tomorrow’s all the tastier. Potatoes, tomatoes and celery completed our vegetable purchases and we also picked up some apples, bananas and Clementines. Laden down with all sorts of packages we made our way back home and put everything a way.
A short while later I headed to the deli and picked up some pate for tomorrow, as well as a couple of bottles of white wine. I also picked up a loaf of their freshly baked bread and a bag of the best potato chips that I have ever enjoyed here in Spain. Having accomplished that mission, I spent some time on the computer revising some of the articles that will appear on the Magic Agora website.
Since we were invited to dinner at Brian’s, we thought that it would be best to have a light lunch at home and that is precisely what we did. Susan put together a spectacular salad and we opened a bottle of white wine, sliced up the bread, opened the bag of chips and went at it. As we finished our meal the rain began to fall again and it would last throughout the night. I decided a siesta was order and Susan decided to do a bit of ironing. A woman’s work is never done. As 7:00 approached we got ourselves ready to head out for Brian’s.
The rain was relentless and I got to try out my latest purchase, an umbrella. Fortunately we found a cab as soon aw we reached the Gran Vía. The trip to Brian’s was accomplished in less than ten minutes. We walked the half block from where the cab had dropped us. We rang the bell and after a quick trip to the 10th floor Brian greeted us at the door. We left our umbrellas in the vestibule, hung up our coats and made ourselves comfortable on the sofa.
Brian offered me a beer and made a gin and tonic for Susan and himself and he put out some olives, cheese and ham for us to munch on. We spent a good hour catching up as we talked about our respective family members. Ofelia is in Belgium at the moment so that she can celebrate her niece’s 18th birthday with her and the rest of her family. Brian excused himself to get our evening meal ready. We were called to the table some fifteen minutes later.
Brian set before us a virtual feast. The centerpiece was a lamb tagine made with dried apricots, chickpeas and tomatoes. There was a bowl of fluffy couscous studded with currants that would serve as a bed for the tagine. He had also prepared a green bean casserole and we had a choice of warm rolls or naan. He also opened a bottle of red wine to accompany the meal. Dessert consisted of slices of fresh mango from the Canary Islands and baklava that Brian had made himself. It was a perfect ending to a perfect meal.
We chatted a little while longer and at about 10:30 we bundled up and headed for the garage where Brian keeps his car. It was still raining so it was nice to not have to wait in the street in the hopes of finding a cab. Brian dropped us off at the front door and we said our goodbyes. He will be our guest tomorrow for our Thanksgiving celebration. We are all looking forward to tomorrow.
Susan's Super Salad Spectacular
Marty Kaplan's Blog 