Shopping, eating, shopping, eating

The next few days are a blur of the title above. On Thursday,June 16th, we went to Old Mesilla, which is one of the most charming places in New Mexico IMHO. We circled [or maybe I should say squared] the entire plaza and beyond, marveling at the merchandise and doing some damage.if my girlfriend said it once, she said it 100 times, "that would look great in your house". But you don't have to be from the Southwest to find plenty of wonderful things to buy in Mesilla or anywhere else in NM. There are so many beautiful items, jewelry of course, home decor, wine lover gifts, pecan and pistachio treats, and the usual Southwestern arts, crafts, and touristy items. We had lunch at Peppers, a lovely restaurant that is adjacent to the Double Eagle. The Double Eagle is known for steaks and has a very old western but elegant decor with a bar that originally belonged to Al Capone. The bar is worth a visit even if you are not hungry. Peppers is more casual and the main room is full of tropical plants in a greenhouse setting surrounding a beautiful fountain. We split a green chile cheeseburger which was delicious. However, the lunch really slowed us down on our shopping since we became tired and it was so hot outside. After we rallied through a few more shops, we called it a day.
On Thursday evening we made dinner at the house. We had pan fried Barramundi, a fresh greens salad with blood orange vinaigrette, and ciabatta bread in olive oil with Italian dipping herbs. The whole meal was a result of our trip to the Farmers Market on Wednesday and the local Albertsons grocery store. We tried to get sea bass at the fresh fish counter but they didn'nt have any and the guy working there suggested Barramundi as a good substitute. So being the risk takers we are, we bought a couple of filets. It was one of the best fish dishes we have ever had. We made a lime butter sauce with shallots and white wine from a recipe I had saved out of Redbook magazine. That is definitely a keeper! We also washed it all done with plenty of wine while enjoying the beautiful Organ Mountains and an orange full moon. Awesome day and there are more to come.