el dorado

A few days ago Fernando brought us several beautiful pieces of Dorado, the Halibut of Mexico. It is a sweet, succulent white fish that performs beautifully no matter how you cook it. Last evening, it being Friday, and my being an observer of the meatless Friday tradition on which I was raised, I decided to make a fish stew/soup. I used to have a good recipe for such a dish but couldn't find it, so I just made it up as I went along. It got a bit picante along the way due to a liberal use of some yellow peppers and a chipotle shred about as tiny as I could cut that was, at that, probably too much. Nonetheless, with a bit of wine, broth, spices, chopped veggies and a potato to cut the salt, plus a liberal squeeze of lime, it was absolutely delicious. Even the Patient thought it was good and not too spicy for his sensitive throat. Fortunately there's enough for tonight so I don't have to cook again until Monday, tomorrow evening being tacitos. That's the kind of kitchen schedule I like.

Most of today has been spent listening to the opera, "Die Walküre", passionate, majestic and with some of the most glorious music in all opera but, I must admit, interminable. It began at 11:30 AM, our time. It's now after 4:30 PM and they've just dropped the curtain on the blazing stage as Wotan closes the eyes of his dead daughter, Brünnhilde. I'm exhausted.

Yesterday afternoon a branch on the big bougainvillea in the back yard broke off from the weight of it's blossoms. These beauties were rescued by The Patient for our indoor enjoyment, and yours.