Wednesday dinner

In honor of a friend who is usually across an ocean from me.

• bean-vegetable soup, using a mix of beans (grown locally), red onions, mushrooms, frozen roasted tomatoes, and a frozen jalapeno, plus some black pepper, and partially pureed
  
• pink salmon topped with apricot chutney
  
• roasted beets
  
• mashed rutabagas and potatoes (actually dairy, made with butter and milk)
  
• orange and olive salad, with navel oranges (orange and red) and a mix of green and black olive bits
  
• pastries from Tabrizi's (baklava and two kinds of nut macaroons)
  
• fresh pineapple
  
• roasted chestnuts
  
• fruit liqueurs, tea

Also, Monday night's dinner for a local friend: spicy almond noodles with scallions and chicken legs baked over red onions, beets, and rutabagas, topped with paprika and tandoori seasoning. Plus some fruit liqueurs after.