November 29, 2018 Lunch – Canyon Club Dinner – Turkey Soup with Ribbles and Turkey Salad

November 29, 2018 Lunch – Canyon Club   Dinner – Turkey Soup with Ribbles and Turkey Salad

I ate yogurt, granola, milk, grapes, and sliced banana for breakfast to sooth my stomach bacteria that got very upset and protective yesterday from the BBQ I stuffed down into it.

I worked until 10:55 when I walked to Charlie’s and he drove us to the book club meeting luncheon at the Canyon Club in Four Hills at 11:30.

There were 10 of us today for lunch.  The club set a corner table overlooking the golf course.  Here is a picture.



The Club has a varied menu.  Here are the menus.

 I ordered my usual Chef’s Salad, many others ordered breakfast such as Charlie and some ordered Mexican food, such as a stuffed Sopapilla.

After lunch we drove to Mike’s wife, Bonnie’s house, which has an open floor plan with large glass windows with exquisite views across the golf course to the Four Hills.  The house sits near a small lake on the golf course to and from which flocks  of migratory birds flew constantly while we discussed Sapiens by Harrari until about 3:00.

I arrived home at around 4:00 and Suzette arrived around 5:00 after stopping at Lowe’s to buy celery and bags of frozen corn for the Turkey Soup she was making for dinner.

Turkey Soup with Ribbles

Last Friday we made turkey stock from the Thanksgiving Turkey bones and filled freezer bags with PPI turkey meat. Today Suzette made one of my favorite soups, to which I look forward fondly every
Thanksgiving.  It has become my favorite use of PPI Turkey.

I finely diced 1 large onion, four or five stalks of celery, and ¾ lb. of mini carrots. Suzette sautéed the celery and onion to soften them and develop some flavor.  She put the turkey stock into a large pot with a couple lb. of turkey meat.  Then she added the mirepoix and 2 lb. of frozen corn kernels.

Suzette then made Ribbles, which are a combination of ingredients loosely assembled that resemble dumplings or Speatzle, in the Cuisinart.

Here is a recipe.

Ribbles 

1 cup Flour 

1/4 cup Butter or Shortening 

1/4 tsp Salt 

3 tbsp Water

She heated and seasoned the soup and added the Ribbles a few minutes before serving.

While the soup was cooking I finely diced two more stalks of celery, and Suzette made turkey salad with the remaining turkey meat by combining some mild chow chow, diced dill pickles, a bit of Dijon mustard, chopped hard boiled eggs, and mayonnaise with the celery and turkey.

Luke and Willy joined us for dinner.  Luke just received a job offer to perform his old job, to help manage Maha Rose spiritual healing center in NYC, so we celebrated and encouraged him to take the job and move back to NY.

I opened a bottle of 2016 Benton Lane Pinot Gris that I had chilled for Thanksgiving but did not serve because folks wanted to drink red wine.

The Pinot Gris tasted fabulous with the turkey soup.  Its slight acidity cut through the fat in the broth and turkey meat, without diminishing its fruity pleasant aftertaste and aroma.  It was a wonderful very drinkable wine.  Benton Lane Winery is located a few miles north of Eugene in the southern Willamette Valley.  We visited the winery several years ago and I have ordered wine from them for several years, especially when offered at a discount during holidays.  The southern Willamette Valley is my second favorite American wine region after Anderson Valley in Northern California’s Mendocino County. They both produce my favorite wines, elegant PInot Noir roses and reds and the Northern French, Alsace varieties. Pinot Gris is probably my favorite.

After dinner Willy and Luke left and we watched TV and sipped cognacs.  I ate two chocolate truffles (Trader Joe’s $2.99 for 8 oz.) and Suzette ate vanilla ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate syrup and a sprinkle of roasted and ground pumpkin seeds made from our Thanksgiving pumpkin.

I guess we process a lot of food.  It reminds me of the old comment that the Plains Indians used every part of the buffalo.  Why throw out the seeds from your pumpkin if you can salt and roast them and grind them into a powder to sprinkle on top of desserts. We did throw out the pumpkin skin/husk.

Bon Appetit

November 28, 2018 Lunch – BBQ Chicken with beans. Dinner – sautéed Salmon, Potato Medley, and Dressing with Cajun Shrimp Sauce

November 28, 2018 Lunch – BBQ Chicken with beans. Dinner – sautéed Salmon, Potato Medley, and Dressing with Cajun Shrimp Sauce

I ate two slices of toasted bagel smeared with cream cheese and slices Gravad Lax, red onion, and garnished with capers.

I went to Central Trailer Supply to have lunch with Susie and Dana and draft an agreement.  Susie served BBQ Chicken with cornbread, beans, and collard greens.  Parts of the two chicken thighs were a little over cooked, but mostly very tender.

After lunch I drove to Trader Joe’s and bought nine bottles of wine, a chocolate bar, and a tube of Tom’s toothpaste for Suzette.

I went home and worked until 6:45.  While I worked, Suzette Sautéed three salmon filets and laid two  on a bed of spinach and sauced then with the PPI Cajun shrimp and sauce.  She heated the last of the Potato Medley and a bowl of dressing and added Potatoes to the dish..  We opened a bottle of the 2015 Paton-Clemente Tempranillo Crianza from La Mancha, Spain.  The wine went well with the spicy Cajun shrimp.

After dinner we sat in front of the fireplace sipping wine and eating chocolate.  I bought a 3.5 oz. bar of 54% cacao from Columbia that was milk chocolate at Trader Joe’s for $.99.

We enjoyed sitting in front of the fire.  Unfortunately, there is no heat in the bedroom.

Today’s food was a little better than mostly PPIs of yesterday, although Suzette got rid of two more PPIs, the Cajun shrimp and Potato Medley.

Bon Appetit

November 27, 2018 Lunch – Texas Chili. Dinner – Ratatouille and Couscous, Humboldt Fog Cheese and Pickled Herring

November 27, 2018 Lunch – Texas Chili. Dinner – Ratatouille and Couscous, Humboldt Fog Cheese and Pickled Herring

I ate yogurt, granola, milk, and grapes for breakfast.

At 11:00 I became hungry and heated the Texas Chili and toasted a bagel and melted some Jarlsberg cheese on each slice of bagel.

Suzette came home a bit before 2:00 and we took a walk in the Bosque.

When we returned, Suzette went to Costco and I drove to Pastian’s Bakery where I bought a loaf of 9 Grains and a loaf of Commissariat bread and a chocolate cake.

I then drove to Sprouts where I bought eggs, milk, cornmeal, Couscous, dried apricots, lettuce for Suzette, and green beans.

When I got home a few minutes before 5:00 Suzette suggested she wanted to try the Humboldt Fog, a soft blue cheese, made in Northern California, now sold at Costco for $17.99/lb.

I toasted two slices of whole wheat bread.  I spread butter and cheese on one slice and sour cream, and slices of red onion and herring on the other. Suzette spread cheese on French crackers and I opened the second bottle of Pueblo Plaza Reserva, $7.99 at Trader Joe’s, a Spanish red of 60 Tempranillo and 40% Grenache.

I then went to meditate.

When I returned I ate a bowl of Ratatouille and Couscous.  Then Suzette gave me some of her turkey, potato medley, dressing, and cranberry sauce.  A bit later I ate a piece of chocolate cake.

We went to bed at 9:00 after a day of leftovers.

Bon Appetit

November 26, 2018 A PPI Day Lunch – PPI Sweet Potato, Brussels Sprouts, and Cabbage with Sautéed Salmon. Dinner Party – Texas Chili, Cornbread, Ratatouille and Couscous

November 26, 2018 A PPI Day  Lunch – PPI Sweet Potato, Brussels Sprouts, and Cabbage with Sautéed Salmon.  Dinner Party – Texas Chili, Cornbread, Ratatouille and Couscous

Today I worked on the water case until 12:30 and then heated a container of PPI Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, and Cabbage with a piece of Sautéed Salmon plus a few bites of chocolate pecan pie. Then I thawed out a 1 lb. piece of salmon.

I then drove to the Law School to research the law for an hour. I called Luke to see if artichokes, Salmon, and Ratatouille would be agreeable for dinner.

I was back home by 5:00 and Suzette arrived at the same time.  I filled the steamer with hot water and boiled the four artichokes I bought last Saturday.  Suzette went to the garden and picked a T. of fresh dill.  I put it into a bowl and added mayonnaise and sweet lime juice to make a dill dipping sauce for the artichokes.




I brought in the Texas Chili and heated it and slowly heated the Ratatouille.  Everything was hot by the time Luke, Autumn, and Debbie arrived.  Soon Willy arrived. Suzette ate Texas Chili and cornbread before they arrived and when they arrived we gathered around the table by the fireplace.  I served the warm artichokes and sauce and used 1½ cups of artichoke cooking liquid to make 1 cup of Couscous.

Suzette then plated bowls of Couscous and Ratatouille for Luke, Autumn, and Debbie.  Willy served himself a bowl of Texas Chili and we heated the cornbread and served it with butter and honey.

After a bit we served desserts buffet style, chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, and whipped cream and watched Adaptation, when Willy left.

After the movie at 9:00 we said goodbye to Autumn, Debbie, and Luke and went to bed.  The coldness in the house due to lack of heat throws a pall over entertaining and everything we do except lie in bed.

Bon Appetit

November 25, 2018 Brunch – Turkey Burrito. Dinner – Texas Chili with Sautéed Yellow Squash, Red Onion, and Poblano chile

November 25, 2018 Brunch – Turkey Burrito. Dinner – Texas Chili with Sautéed Yellow Squash, Red Onion, and Poblano chile

I tried to rest today.  I watched the news programs, while Suzette covered the trees with straw.

We then made Turkey Burritos.  Suzette sautéed turkey meat, red onion, and PPI pieces of sweet potato and russet potato until cooked and then added three whisked eggs and slices of aged Gruyere cheese.

We toasted whole wheat tortillas on the open flame of the stove top burner and wrapped some of the egg mixture in a tortilla and sprinkled the top with Cholula red sauce.  I drank Camomile tea with my burrito and Suzette drank a beer.

We watched the end of the Philadelphia game and then took a walk to Tingley Beach and back.  I walked without pain, which was wonderful.

When we returned I chopped a yellow squash and 1/3 of a red onion and sautéed them and heated the Texas Chili and we ate bowls of Texas Chili garnished with Sautéed squash and a piece of cornbread, as we watched Minnesota beat Green Bay.

I then made Ratatouille by chopping 1 onion, three zucchini, 1 ½ orange bell peppers, a large eggplant, and four vine ripened tomatoes.  I went to the garden and picked oregano and de-stemmed it and chopped it and added it to the large Le Creuset casserole and about 1 T. of  herbs de Provence and cooked the Ratatouille for several hours.

We were no hungry until later in the evening. I toasted two pieces of pumpkin bread and spread marmalade on them and made a cup of chai.

Suzette nibbled on one piece.  When the game ended we went to bed.

Bon Appetit

November 24, 2018 Lunch – Bobby Flay Chicken, Potato Medley, and Green Beans. Dinner – Texas Chili

November 24, 2018 Lunch – Bobby Flay Chicken, Potato Medley, and Green Beans. Dinner – Texas Chili

A major football watching day. Suzette set the menu in the morning with her comment, “I am thinking about Texas Chili.”  We checked our pantry and found the only thing we were missing was ground beef.

So after I ate Lax and bagels and went to Tricore to do a urine test to check my ketone levels, drove to Smith’s.  To my surprise Smith’s was offering a5lb. log of ground beef for $9.90. I was even more surprised to discover that Smith’s was blowing out Thanksgiving Vegetables for $1.00 per bag.  Most bags contained more than 1 lb. of produce, such as two artichokes that had a regular price of $1.99 each.  I bought parsnips, zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplants, besides the artichokes.  I realized I now had all the ingredients for Ratatouille except fresh tomatoes.  Smith’s was offering vine ripe tomato stems for $1.48, so I bought about six and six more sweet potatoes for $.50/lb.

When I got home we heated Bobby Flay Chicken, Potato Medley, and Green Beans for lunch and watched some soccer and football and made the Texas chili.

Texas Chili

3 lb. ground beef
2 large onions
I large can of crushed tomatoes
10 cloves of garlic
2 T. Chili blend of spices
2 T. NM Chimayo mild red chili
2 T. Ground Cumin
1 T. Ground Coriander
1 oz. of dried Mexican oregano
Salt and pepper
84 oz. of beans and garbanzos
The goal is to have about equal parts beans, meat, and tomatoes and about ½ of that quantity of onion
and then season the chili to taste with the spices.  We usually cook the chili three to four hours, although we tasted it often during the cooking process.

Around 4:00 after a quick bowl of chili we drove to Costco to buy beer since we had run out.

Suzette noticed that Costco was blowing out its Thanksgiving turkeys by giving an instant rebate of $15.00 per turkey.  She bought the last 8 17-19 lb. tom turkeys for less than $5.00 each.  We bought a mixed case of Modelo beer, some Swiss Gruyere cheese, and a few other items.

We returned home just before the 6:00 p.m. kickoff of the TCU v. OSC game.  Suzette put several beers in the freezer to chill and we re-heated the chili.

Suzette wanted to make cornbread, so I fetched the cornmeal and Suzette went to the basement to fetch the cornbread pans.  She followed the recipe on the box and soon was baking the cornbread in the oven. One cornbread pan was shaped as seashells and the other as ears of corn.  The cornbread baked in about fifteen minutes.

Willy came by at 7:00 just as we were serving ourselves and joined us for dinner.  We slathered the cornbread with butter and honey and enjoyed our dinner as we cheered TCU to victory.

We also added water to the turkey bones and simmered it to make turkey broth.

After the TCU game we watched the Texas A&M v. LSU game, which turned into a marathon game that was not decided until the 7th overtime, when A&M finally won.  Suzette went to bed before the end of the game and I followed soon after.
Texas Chili is a really healthy dish in my opinion and one we crave as the temperature falls in early winter.  It is especially good for long days of football watching, as each can fill a bowl whenever they wish and the chili slow cooks to perfection.

Bon Appetit

November 23, 2018 Lunch – Green Chili Cheeseburgers from Monroe’s Dinner – Turkey Dinner at Amy and Vahl’s

November 23, 2018 Lunch – Green Chili Cheeseburgers from Monroe’s
Dinner – Turkey Dinner at Amy and Vahl's


We woke up and I sliced two slices of bagel, smeared them with cream cheese, and laid slices of red onion and Gravad Lax on them.  I sliced two slices of Lax for Suzette that she cooked into a fried egg for her breakfast.

We talked with Amy about the menu for her mea.  We agreed to bring a sweet potato and potato casserole, the vegetarian dressing for Autumn, a jar of Quince and fruit compote, and a chocolate pecan pie.

When we finished washing the dishes, glasses, and silver from yesterday’s meal,  I sliced two carrots, a half bunch of parsley, two white mushrooms, a frozen cucumber, and ½ red onion and put them in a French casserole which Suzette filled with water and simmered on the stove t make a vegetable broth.   She then peeled and sliced sweet potatoes and russet potatoes and layered the sweet potatoes on the bottom and russet slices on top and in a buttered ceramic baking dish and filled the dish with vegetable stock and covered it with aluminum foil and roasted it in a 350 degree oven set on convection at around 10:30.

We drove to the parking lot by the Bosque north of Central and walked for about twenty-five minutes through the Bosque.

We decided to not cook lunch and instead to order burgers from Monroe’s, which makes Suzette’s favorite Green chili cheeseburger.  I ordered a plain cheeseburger with an order of fried onion rings.  Suzette ordered French fries  with her burger.

We drove home to check the potato dish.  I grated Pecorino-Romano cheese and Suzette uncovered the top and spread cheese on top of the potatoes and cooked them for about twenty more minutes, while she drove to Monroe’s to pick up the burgers and fries.  I filled a bowl with dill pickles and green cracked olives and fetched a beer for Suzette and cola for me and we enjoyed eating our burger and fries.

After lunch Suzette read her paper and I read my Homo Dues book and put together a gift of sacred Chimayo dirt in a vase and a birthday card for Debbie, until Willy came to get us at around 2:30.

Willy drove us to Amy’s.  When we arrived Luke, Debbie, and Autumn has already arrived, as had Dyane, Vahl’s sister. Dyane had brought a bottle of Elk Cove Pinot Gris and offered me a glass which I gladly accepted.  Elk Cove is my favorite and, I think, most highly rated Pinot Gris produced in America, so quite a treat.

Soon Amy had organized the meal.  Vahl roasted the turkey and Amy made the dressing, string beans, Waldorf salad, and gravy. So, we ate another delicious dinner, although the burger had somewhat quelled my hunger.

 After dinner, Suzette made us dessert plated with chocolate pecan pie!quince compote, and vanilla ice cream.I did manage to eat two helping of chocolate pecan pie.

I don’t know if it was the scorched pecan pie or the greasy fried onion rings, but later in the evening I got heartburn, which I seldom get know.

Dyane left and a bit later Luke and the girls left to go to Meow Wolf.

We talked a bit longer and then left around 7:00.  Willy got us home a bit after 8:00 and he and Suzette worked on the layout for his apartment at the Candy store, while I watched some football.

At 10:00 Willy left and we went to bed.

I poured a small sip of German pear brandy to try to settle my stomach and blogged a bit.

Today Suzette created a new recipe, a two potato vegetarian au gratin.  I was lighter than regular au gratin made with milk or cream and I liked the clean flavor. Vahl served two difference zinfandels with dinner.  The first was 7 Deadly Zins.

It was another lovely family turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Bon Appetit

November 22, 2018 Thanksgiving, the holiest food day of the year

November 22, 2018 Thanksgiving, the holiest food day of the year

We woke up at 6:30 and by 7:30 Suzette had made the dressing and stuffed it into the turkey and I then trussed the neck and tail closed.  Suzette started cooking the giblets in a pot of water to make a broth to which I added two peeled and diced carrots, ½ diced onion, and two stalks of diced celery.

I then ate granola, yogurt, milk, and grapes and banana.

We put the turkey in a turkey bag with a T. of flour to coat the inside of the bag in the big blue roasting pan and into a pre-heated 375 degree oven.  We initially thought it would take 6 hours for the 19 lb. turkey to cook but it was done at 11:15 on the top and bottom heat convection setting and even after turning the heat down to 350 degrees.

At 10:00 I made a spicy shrimp, mushroom, spinach, Swiss cheese, and green onion omelet.

After breakfast Suzette called her family in Pennsylvania to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and I  lay down and napped for about 45 minutes, until Suzette awoke me at 11:15 with the news that the turkey was done.  So I returned to the kitchen and sliced the meat off the turkey.  Suzette removed the dressing and we worked together to remove the turkey to a cutting board and capture as much of the drippings from the bag as possible.

Suzette started making the gravy in the roasting pan with all the drippings, while I sliced all the meat from the turkey and placed it in another roasting pan. Suzette added the dressing to the roasting pan and covered it with foil and put in the oven at low temperature to keep it warm.

Luke, Debbie, and Autumn arrived at around 12:00 just as we were finishing cutting up the turkey.

Here is a picture of Autumn texting in the kitchen after she finished her deviled egg plates.

We let them take over in the kitchen as soon as we cleared the cutting board.  Autumn, who was raised in South Carolina, made deviled eggs and Debbie, who was raised in Miami, made the most visually creative dish of the day, a relish plate in the shape of Mister Turkey.  Here is a picture.

Mike arrived at 1:15 with the two bottles of Reserve de Chastrelles Tavel and a bottle of Pinot Grigio bought at Trader Joe’s.  I pulled a bottle of Wellington 2010 Mohrhardt Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon because Debbie drinks only red wine.  It’s cork was dry and we had to dig it out and then push the last part into the bottle, so we decanted it and drank it before dinner.

Then right at 1:30 Aaron arrived with two large vegetable bowls, 1 filled with green beans cooked with bacon and seasoned with lots of black pepper and the other filled with sweet potato wedges baked with orange zest and Orange juice.

Willy called and said he was still waiting for the Brussels sprouts to brown and arrived closer to 2:00 which worked out well because it allowed Suzette to boil and whip the potatoes and adjust the gravy with stock made from the turkey bones and for Luke to roll the pie crust dough Suzette had made into a lovely pie crust, to fill it with the pumpkin filling and get it into the oven vacantly by removing all the other dishes.

Suzette used her Noritake dishes with their lovely pink flowers and pink table clothes, so the table looked lovely.  Here is a picture.

 When Willy arrived we filled Suzette’s large turkey platter with white meat on one side, dark meat on the other and dressing in the middle.  Suzette filled the large gravy boat with gravy and we put the vegetable dishes on the table.  We were eight, so the 6 by 9 foot dining table was adequate for all of us to sit and still have room for all the food.

Suzette and lengthened the width of a table cloth we had bought a few years ago and ironed it so it fit the table beautifully and arranged flowers she had bought at Costco yesterday.

A couple of minutes after 2:00 we all took our dishes to the table and sat down and Mike poured Tavel and I opened the bottle of Bila Haut 2014 Occultum Lapidem, Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France exported by Chapoutier for the red drinkers.

Debbie took this picture of us.

We passed the dishes left and everyone filled their plates and we ate and several of us ate seconds. I opened the second bottle of Tavel and we poured more of it also.  Suzette had made a lovely hibiscus iced tea served in the Bohemian glasses instead of water, so there was sufficient liquid to wash down the food. During the meal the a bell sounded that signaled that Luke’s pumpkin pie was baked and he went to the kitchen to remove it from the oven.  It was cooked perfectly.

Finely when we were finished the turkey dinner we all came to a pause and Suzette suggested we move into the TV room and eat dessert by the fireplace, since it was cool in the dining room without heat.  Our boiler is still not fixed.

Suzette made Lavender Earl Grey tea and coffee and she and Luke sliced pies of pie and served them on the lovely tea service platter with a place for a teacup and we all gathered around table and on the ottoman and the director chair by the fireplace in a cozy comfortable group and enjoyed the two lovely pies.

Luke had brought Tinzen, the beautiful Airedale he is house sitting, who was well behaved.  After dessert Luke, Autumn, and Debbie took Tinzen for a walk to the Bosque, while Mike and Suzette and I watched the Cowboys beat Washington.

Willy and Aaron left after we traded some of Aaron’s green beans for some turkey meat.

I spent the evening on the couch watching football with Mike and Suzette after she put all the food in bags and containers into the fridge.

We talked about the hot springs with Luke and Debbie and They recorded my instructions on how the
 get to them and then they left around 6:00.

Mike left around 8:00 to go work and run.

Suzette and I relaxed in the hot tub for about ten minutes and then went to bed a bit after 9:00.

Suzette’s last words as she lay down were, “It was a lovely day.”

Amen

Bon Appetit

November 20, 2018 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup and a shrimp, mushroom, onion, spinach, and cheese omelet. Dinner – French Potato and Leek Soup and a warm Butternut Squash, quinoa, and spinach salad

November 20, 2018 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup and a shrimp, mushroom, onion, spinach, and cheese omelet. Dinner – French Potato and Leek Soup and a warm Butternut Squash, quinoa, and spinach salad

I ate yogurt, milk, grapes, and granola for breakfast.

At 12:00 I heated the PPI Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup and then made a shrimp, mushroom and cheese omelet with four PPI BBQ’d shrimp from last Thursday evening some red onion, two mushrooms sliced, some spinach, and slices of Jarlsberg cheese.

I wanted to eat a hardy lunch so I would have enough energy to ride the six miles to Campbell Rd. and back, which I did at 2:30 after the plumbers made their measurements for the new boiler.

I got home around 3:30 and at 5:00 started making the pecan pies for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Here is
the recipe.

Let me tell you a little history about the Salado Stagecoach Inn.

After Statehood in 1845, the U.S. built a line of forts to guard the frontier from Comanche raiding parties.  My hometown, Fort Worth, was established as one of those forts in 1849.  The frontier ran more or less north/south from Fort Worth to San Antonio. After the line of forts was established towns, like Waco, on the banks of the Brazos River sprang up.  A stagecoach Route linked the towns to Austin, the capitol of the Republic of Texas and later the State capitol on the banks of the Colorado River.  In 1852 a two story stagecoach stop was built in Salado, between Waco and Austin.  When we

were young our family used to stop in the 50’s and eat on our 200 mile drives to Austin, because it was known for it wonderful food.  I still remember its great fried chicken, but it’s most famous for its Chocolate Pecan Fudge Pie.

I remember when I was young being given a tour of the basement of the Inn and being shown the underground passageway to a nearby river built to provide an escape route for the women and children during Indian attacks.  As I grew up they stopped giving tours of the basement because the passageway had collapsed, but we often stopped for an excellent meal topped of with a slice of Chocolate Pecan Fudge Pie.

When I made the recipe this evening I was distracted by helping Luke and his friends get settled in and I left the pies in the oven an extra 10 minutes and they got a little scorched on the top.

Luke helped cook dinner.  He de-seeded and baked a butternut squash drizzled with olive oil.  Suzette helped him when she arrived after a shopping trip to Costco for the Center around 6:45. Luke made quinoa and Suzette made a dressing for a warm butternut Squash and quinoa salad served on a bed of fresh spinach leaves by reducing balsamic vinegar and adding to it a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.

Suzette also helped finish the Leek and Potato portage I had cooked on Sunday, by pureeing the ingredients in a Waring Blend and adding the required 6 T. of heavy cream, while I went to the garden and picked about ten stalks of chives and sliced them thinly and put them into a bowl with a spoon and then chopped about ¾ cup of fresh parsley and put it into a different bowl with a spoon.

When the soup was puréed and reheated with the added cream, Suzette ladled it into bowls and
served them and I sprinkled parsley and chives on top of each bowl.

After the soup, pasta bowls filled with warm butternut squash, quinoa, and spinach salad were served.  Luke’s friends Autumn and Debbie brought Blackberry flavored apple cider that we drank with dinner and I chilled and opened a French apple cider from Normandy (Trader Joe’s $4.99).

After dinner Luke and the girls left and Suzette and I ate a small ramekin filled with chocolate fudge cake, with which I drank a Calvados and a tea and Suzette drank a cognac.

Bon Appetit

November 21, 2018 Lunch – Chicken Salad Dinner – Sautéed Salmon and Vegetable Medley of Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, and Cabbage

November 21, 2018 Lunch – Chicken Salad   Dinner – Sautéed Salmon and Vegetable Medley of Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, and Cabbage

I started the day with a toasted slice of bagel smeared with cream cheese and layered with slices of yellow onion and Gravad Lax, with a cup of sweet lime and hot water.

I worked until 1:00 and then made a salad with the PPI Roasted chicken breast, sliced tomatoes, a sliced radish, ½ of an avocado, 8 or 9 green cracked olives, three dill pickles, and a head of romaine lettuce dressed with my continuously replenished Cesar dressing.

Luke, Autumn, and Debbie arrived just as I was starting to eat and made themselves lunch of the PPI butternut squash and quinoa from last night.

After lunch at about 2:40 I lay down and napped until 4:00, when I drove to the new Sprouts on Coors to buy a turkey bag for Suzette in which to roast the turkey and Brussels sprouts for Willy’s Roasted Brussels sprouts and piñon nuts dish for Thanksgiving.

I also bought a 2 lb. filet of salmon, sour cream, eggs, asparagus, two 1 liter bottles of Spanish olive oil, and acorn, kabocha, and spaghetti squashes.

A bit after 5:00 I stoped at Donut Mart on the way home and picked up four bagels, two onion, one everything, and one garlic. I am ready to serve the kids lox and bagels on the weekend.

I unpacked and called Willy to invite him for salmon for dinner.  At 5:45 I went to meditate.  When I returned at 7:00, Suzette had already cut up in the Cuisinart and sautéed in a skillet cabbage and cauliflower with diced sweet potato.

I cut smaller fillets of the fresh salmon and froze the remaining 1 lb. of fish.

When Willy arrived Suzette quickly sautéed the salmon and plated dinner in a very appealing manner, first a pile of the vegetable medley in a pasta bowl topped with a sautéed salmon filet garnished with a generous spoonful of Suzette’s recently made cranberry and lingon sylt sauce.

I fetched a chilled bottle of 2015 Benton Lane rose’ and poured glasses for each of us..  Amazingly the wine survived the basement flood and heat treatment and still tasted good.

After dinner I sliced up the Brussels sprouts and put them in a ceramic casserole dish for Willy to take and roast with piñon nuts tomorrow. When Willy left we watched the news, especially interesting was Trump’s new feud with Chief Justice Roberts.  I don’t understand how trump thinks he can bend the independent judiciary to his will with tweets.

I toasted a slice of pumpkin bread and ate it with some cognac mixed with Grand  Marnier, a chocolate truffle, and a cup of chai.

We went to bed a bit before 10:00.

Bon Appetit