January 6, 2018 My reacquaintance with real food continues. Lunch – Chopped Liver on Rye bread Sandwich and shrimp mold on pita crackers. Dinner – Pakistani Feast at Tahir and Alma’s house
I ate yogurt, granola, milk, blueberries, and sliced banana for breakfast to give the bacteria in my gut a feast.
At 10:00 I slice and toasted the PPI piece of baguette left from last night and buttered it and spread orange marmalade on it and topped that with slices of the black truffle studded Gouda cheese I bought at Whole Foods before Christmas during their twelve days of cheese promotion.
I loved the cheese, which had a strong flavor and aroma of black truffles.
When I lived in Sweden in 1970 bread spread with jam and topped with cheese slices was standard fare, just like peanut butter and preserves for students and kids in the U.S. The group of students I lived with met every afternoon and brewed the strongest cup of Earl Grey tea I have ever seen. They would steep the tea for about 15 minutes. When poured into mugs there was a layer of tannin that resembled an oil slick on the surface of the tea. They ate cookies, but mostly they ate buttered toast smeared with jam and topped with slices of cheese. Nutritious, tasty, filling, and cheap.
At 12:30 Suzette made her favorite tapa, sautéed chopped smoked pork cutlet, pimientos, green peas, artichoke hearts, saffron, and Paprika . She discovered after she made the dish. That’s. The party is next weekend. She then left to shop and I finished editing the water case draft.
At around 2:00 I got a bit hungry. I decided I was ready to try solid food. I went to the garage and fetched the loaf of German sourdough rye bread. I toasted a slice and spread it with Carole’s chopped chicken liver. It was fabulous. I then spread shrimp mold on pita chips and ate them.
Suzette returned at around 2:30 and turned on the TV. I went to our bedroom and got into bed and finished reading Homo Dues by Harari.
We left for the Gauba‘s house at 5:30.
We arrived at 6:20 and I met Tahir’s wife, Alma, his brother, and father. Also, I met Brian Colon, who just got elected as State Auditor, and Paul Brasher, who is engineer for one of the 6 regions of the state for the Highway Department. Soon Abbas Akhil arrived and a little latter Melinda Standbridge? Arrived. When Brian Colon told me that he was Donut Mart’s attorney, I realized this was a celebration for the election of legislators who had a connection with the Gauba family and business.
We talked for some time and then we were called to the table filled with Pakistani food. I took rice, butter chicken, brown garbanzo bean stew, ground beef stew with potatoes, naan, and a kabob (a round thick potato pancake stuffed with chicken and home made tamarind sauce.
Tahir was the perfect host fussing over us, such as bringing me a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
My impression is that Pakistani food is very similar to Indian food, except Pakistani cuisine seems to employ more sauces and sautés.
After the meal we were brought desserts, such as baklava, and the aa whipped cream filled custard and slice of chocolate cake. I was full by the time desserts were served, so I enjoyed two cups of chai, which was boiled tea reboiled with milk. This produced a very strongly caffeinated tea that may have kept me up during the night.
Finally, after more conversation with Tahir’s dad and singing happy birthday for Tahir’s young nephew, Suzette and I left along with others around 9:00.
I was very pleased that I had been able to help him get out the prior tenants who were not paying rent, which allowed him and his family to live in this lovely house. I sued the former tenants for forcible and detainer and negotiated a settlement that included key money to move out.
When we returned home around 9:30 Luke had already returned from Santa Fe and was packing. Suzette helped him complete packing and I drove him to the airport at 10:00 to return to his prior job of managing the Maha Rose Spiritual healing center in Greenpoint.
Bon Appetit
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