Tuesday, May 31, 2016

May 28, 2016 Farmers’ Market and the Philharmonic Memorial Day Weekend Zoo Concert

May 28, 2016 Farmers’ Market and the Philharmonic Memorial Day Weekend Zoo Concert

I talked to one of my water clients this morning so we did not start walking to the Farmers’ Market until 9:30.  It was crowded, but we made our way around it, stopping at Amayo Farms to buy an Orange Pimiento plant for $4.00.

Suzette left announcements for the June 18 Field to Food meal.  This tear it will feature Limitar  shrimp and Oyster mushrooms grown at the Center.

I bought a regular Croissant for Suzette and almond croissants for Willy and me.  When we arrive back home around 10:30 we heated  the croissants and made tea and coffee.  

Suzette wanted make BLT sandwiches for lunch and asked Willy and me if we wanted one and we said yes.  

After lunch Suzette wanted to go shopping for tomato plants for the Center, but I stayed at home to watch the EUFA Championship Finals played in Milan between cross town rivals Real Madrid and Madrid Atletico.  Willy went to watch the game with friends.   

I started cooking the clafoutis at around 3:00. I cut up apricots, Rainier Cherries I had bought at Sprouts yesterday for $4.98/lb., red cherries, and blueberries (Sprouts for $1.50 for 6 oz.).

Clafoutis is easy to make as those who are regular readers know.  You simply cut up four cups of cherries or a little over 1 lb..  I marinate fruit in cognac and Grand Marnier or Cointreau.  Then you scald three cups of milk or milk enriched with cream.  You the mix in a mixing bowl 10 T. each powdered sugar and flour and added ½ tsp. salt.  You make well in the center of the dry ingredients and add three eggs stirred and then the milk and then the marinated fruit. 

You butter a ceramic baking dish and pour the fruit batter into the baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. 

Suzette returned at around 4:00 and we took an hour nap.  

And then showered and dressed for the concert.  We put our clafoutis into a plastic pie container and drove to the zoo at 6:30.  When we arrived there was a long line but around 6:45 they started admitting folks.  We walked to the band shell and saw Nancy with baskets and blankets laid out so we laid our blanket next their blankets and added our clafoutis to the food.

John and Vivian Shumaker brought the most interesting dish, a Phyllo wrapped bunt cake shaped savory with Prosciutto and four kinds of cheeses, including Ricotta and Mozzarella.  The filling was crumbly,but delicious and the crust was baked to golden brown. A real stunner.  Nancy Blaugrund's entrée was chicken supremes cooked with olives and prunes. They were a little bit vinegary to my taste, but probably just fine to keep them from spoiling in the warm weather.  The other Nancy made a mixed salad with feta and Terry made a baked Bulgar wheat or rice dish.  All in all the food was excellent.  


After dinner we served the clafoutis with Costco cookies some one had brought.  I was not as proud of this one because it had too many types of fruit and was a bit loose and undercooked, due to either too much fruit or too much cognac and Couvoisier.

The musical program of standard Memorial Day favorites such as the Service themes and Sousa marches started at 8:00 and played until 10:30 with an intermission.  The highlight of the evening were the performances by the best young musicians in the string, piano and conducting categories.  The pianist was a 9th grader, who played a brilliant Schubert concert movement.  The violinist was a senior who will attend Oberlin, who played a Saint Saens violin concerto movement. The conductor winner was a senior who will be attending the San Francisco Conservatory who conducted the Prelude to Carmen,more commonly known as the Toreador’s Dance.

We enjoyed the slightly cool evening.  Suzette and I sat on the grass in modified warrior poses and felt better at the end of the evening after stretching our leg muscles.  

After the music ended we each took our PPI dishes and said goodnight.

We went home and fell asleep.

Bon Appetit

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