November 30, 2019  Lunch – Jemez Pueblo Red Rock Canyon, Chili and Beans with Fry Bread. Dinner – Second Alarm Brewhouse  - Hamburger Redondo, Jemez Springs

We had a quiet first half of the day.  I watched Newcastle tire Man City in PL play. I then made two toasted bagels spread with cream cheese and garnished with whitefish.

We then walked a mile to the country club, then to Kit Carson Park and back home.

At 12:30 we left for Jemez.  Suzette had reserved us tickets for the Luminaria walk at Jemez State Park at 5:30.

We arrived at Red Rock Canyon at 1:30 and ordered red chili with pork and beans and a fry bread and an enchilada with onion.   The wind was piercing and it was cold but it was relatively warm on the downwind side of the stand where the tarp blocked the wind and the fire warmed the area a bit.  I sat and Suzette stood and we ate the bowl of chili and most of the fry bread.  We decided to take the enchilada with us since it was cold by the time we finished the chili.

We drove up the valley to Jemez Springs.  Next to the Police Station and Bathhouse was the Second Alarm Brewhouse in what used to be the fire station.  It has a large seating area and a large bar.  We sat near the south end with a view of the bath house.  Although it was only about 1/2 hour since we had finished the chili at Red Rock Canyon, we were still hungry and definitely wanted to was down the chili.  Suzette ordered a Redondo Burger, which was a hamburger on a bun on a bed of French fries with salad and grated cheese on top instead of another bun.  Suzette ordered red and green chili on the side.  Suzette was upset because there was no slice of cheese, only grated cheese.  The waitress tried to mollify Suzette by bringing an additional ramekin of grated cheese but that did not mollify or satisfy Suzette.  I actually enjoyed the hamburger and cut my half into pieces and dipped the bun on bottom into the red chili. Suzette really enjoyed the Scotch ale and I enjoyed the blood orange Tractor Brewing  cider that had a slight tartness.

View of the Bath House from Second Alarm Brewery

Second Alarm Brewery

After we ate it was about 3:30.  We drove the short distance to the Jemez Historical Site.  The first tour started at 5:00 and we had tickets for 5:30, so we parked and walked to the retreat center, which was open.  An attendant was filling the coffee urns and at 4:30 set out trays of cookies.  There another Indian kitchen set up in the parking lot and Indian craftsmen set up a craft show in a large room.  We rested and dozed until after 5:00. When the event started,  we ate cookies and I drank tea and the we looked at all the crafts, mostly ceramics and jewelry and the walked across the street.  It was cold, about 28 degrees and the wind was gusting, so it was not a pleasant evening weather wise.  We walked up the luminaria lit path to the Jemez Mission Church built around 1620 that now is a ruin and the Indian village that predates it for about fifteen minutes.  We took several photos and then walked to an open area where there with two braziers set with blazing fires next to the open area.  We watched four Jemez Indians dancing a buffalo dance for about fifteen minutes and when they finished, we left because we were chilled.

We drove home and arrived at 8:30 and then drove to the Candy store to set the alarm.

We then went home and rested and drank cognacs to wash down all the carbs we had eaten today.

I stayed up to blog and watch SNL, but Suzette went to sleep around 9:00.

We enjoyed getting out of town for a few hours and the small festival in Jemez Springs that all citizens seemed to participate in and enjoy.

Bon Appetit

November 29, 2019 Lunch – Turkey and Dressing with gravy. Dinner – Oyster Stew

November 29, 2019 Lunch – Turkey and Dressing with gravy. Dinner – Oyster Stew

I realized I overate yesterday so for breakfast I ate granola, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad.

At lunch I ate PPI turkey, dressing, and gravy.

I went to the bank after lunch and when I came home I drank a hot chocolate.

I had loose bowels during the afternoon. At 5:00 I ate the last slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Suzette napped until 6:00

We had about a dozen fresh oysters left from last night’s meal, so we decided to make oyster stew.

Suzette found a recipe that called for shallot and celery.  I diced 3 T. of shallot, one cup of celery, and 1 tsp. of fresh thyme.

Suzette sautéed the celery, thyme and shallot in 4 oz., one stick of butter, until tender.  She then added 2 cups of half and half and 2 cups of milk. When the milk came to a simmer she added the oysters.

When the oysters’ edges curled she served bowls of soup with crackers.

She PPI champagne and I drank the PPI Benton Lane Pinot Gris.

Bon Appetit

November 28, 2019 Brunch – Lax sandwiches. Thanksgiving Dinner

November 28, 2019 Brunch – Lax sandwiches. Thanksgiving Dinner

We woke up and walked a couple of blocks toward the country club around 8:00.  When we returned Suzette made a small snow man from the shoveled snow from the side walk.  It was a winter wonderland with approximately 4 inches of snow.

I drank a cup of hot chocolate with rum when I came in.

We prepared the dressing and prepped the turkey and stuffed the turkey and put in the oven at 10:00.  It was a ten pound turkey. The instructions said to roast the turkey for 20 minutes per pound. 20 minutes was three hours and 20 minutes, so 1:20.

I then toasted two slices of whole wheat bread and made open faced sandwiches by smearing cream cheese on the toast, then laying thin slices of onion on the toast and finally slices of Gravad Lax.  Suzette made an even more interesting sandwich.  I sliced four slices of Gravad Lax and she chopped it and mixed it with cream cheese to make a Lax schmear that she spread into the cavity of a piece of
celery.

I then made sauces for the oysters.  I made a cocktail sauce with lemon, catsup, and horseradish.  The other sauce was more complicated.  I first finely minced a medium shallot and covered it with lemon juice.  After letting the shallots sit for a while in the lemon juice I added about ½ cup of prepared mayonnaise, a couple of teaspoons of horseradish, a few drops of Tabasco and Worcheshire Sauce , ½ tsp. of salt, and a tsp.of capers chopped.

At 1:00 I shucked the 35 oysters.  We had chilled two bottles of Gruet Brut and a bottle of 2008
Argyle vintage Brut.

At 1:30 Willy and Robin arrived with a bottle of New Zealand Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which I chilled.  Suzette opened a bottle of Gruet Brut and we started eating oysters.  Robin is visiting Willy from Vancouver, knew him when they were students at UBC, and was raised in New Zealand by Canadian parents. The most fun part of the meal for me was the oysters and champagne because we could relax and talk to Willy and Robin.

Then at 2:30 Mike and his new friend Karen arrived with a bottle of Italian Prosecco and a bottle of Amarone.  I had chilled a bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Gris from Oregon. We opened the bottle of 2008 Argyle and it was so delicious that all other wines paled in comparison.

We did not eat all the oysters so we put the remaining  dozen or so into a bottle for oyster stew tomorrow night.

When Mike and Karen arrived we poured the bottle of Amarone and Pinot Gris and started the dinner service. Things got so busy that I forgot to take pictures.

Dinner

I removed the stuffing from the turkey and put it in a bowl. I then carved the turkey and made two separate piles, one of white and the other of dark meat on the platter. The turkey was a 10 lb.er Suzette had bought at Smith’s for $.47/lb. it was moist and tender, one of the best turkeys I can remember eating at a Thanksgiving.  All we did was stuff it with dressing made with white and whole wheat bread mixed with apples, celery, onion, tarragon and eggs.

It is 4:09 a.m. on the 29th and the snow is melting and I am thankful that I got the roof repaired I think.  I will check for leaks in the morning.

Back to dinner.  We trussed the turkey with 4 inch bamboo skewers and twine and put it into a roasting bag with a T. of flour as the instructions directed and put it on a rack in a roasting pan and baked it the requisite 2 hours.  When the small thermocouple popped up Suzette reduced the temperature to 200 degrees to keep it warm for about ½ hour until we removed the turkey to a cutting board and Willy and I removed the cooking juices to a sauce pan from the bag with the stock we had made by simmering the neck and giblets and flour. Suzette made the juices and drained stock into a gravy by adding a roux of butter and flour.

As soon as the oven was empty Suzette roasted the three squash casserole containing, butternut, acorn, and Kabocha squashes plus toasted piñon nuts that she heated until the tops of some of the peaks of squash began to brown. Then she put the bowl of dressing taken from the turkey in the table and put the rest of the dressing in a large Soufflé dish into the oven to bake while we ate dinner.  She also heated the whipped sweet potatoes in a sauce pan on the stove and Robin poured the PinotGris for Suzette, me, and her and Willy poured Amarone for Mike, Karen, and himself.  The Amarone was a nice choice for a red wine because it has both body and a fruity flavor that went along well with the fruitiness of the cranberry sauce and added a heavier grape flavor to the meal.  I loved the Benton Lane Pinot Gris because it also had a distinctively apricot flavor and clean tannins that I found complimentary to the meal also.  Mike and Karen had filled and served glasses of water to each place that we drank with the meal.

The meal was wonderful.  There were no bad or dried out dish. I even liked the cranberry sauce Suzette made with lemon juice, instead of Mother’s usual orange juice, because she balanced the lemon juice nicely with sugar or quince syrup.  We have an abundance of quince syrup this year because we processed the forty pounds of quince produced by the tree at the Center by peeling and quartering the quinces and Suzette cooking them in sugar water to preserve them as fruit ready for baking.  She has been using the resulting quince syrup in many ways, including in the cranberry sauce and in the apple glaze she made for the duck last Friday evening..

After dinner we rested and I showed Karen and Mike the art.Karen seemed quite knowledgeable about the art and seemed to enjoy viewing it because she is a native New Mexican, so familiar with the landscapes captured in the pictures.

We then gathered around the table in the TV room and Mike and Karen and Suzette served us slices of pumpkin pie Mike bought at Double Rainbow Bakery, which left an entire extra pie, because he had brought two pies several days ago.  Robin showed us photos of her hiking and camping trips she plans for her friends and parents.

At 8:00 Mike and Karen left to see the new movie “Ford versus Ferrari, and Willy and Karen left to go pack I hope.  Willy must move out of his duplex by Saturday.

The new apartment is not quite finished and water and electricity are not hooked up yet, so Willy will need to move his furniture to the downstairs store space at 524 Romero that is empty and stay at our house with a few days’ changes of clothing until the CO for the building is issued.

We went to bed before 9:00 after taking the pot of turkey broth and extra pumpkin pie to the garage and putting up the rest of the food in the inside fridge.

It is 4:45 a.m. and I have cleared my throat of crud by drinking water, so will go back to sleep.

Bon Appetit










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November 27, 2019 Lunch – PPI Brat with Couscous. Dinner – Bobby Flay Chicken with Couscous with string beans and Chard

November 27, 2019 Lunch – PPI Brat with Couscous. Dinner – Bobby Flay Chicken with Couscous with string beans and Chard

I toasted one 1/3 slice of bagel and spread cream cheese on it and lay thin slices of onion on that and finally pieces of smoked whitefish and ate it with a cup of green tea.

 At 12:30 I heated the PPI brat with onions and apple cider glaze with some PPI Couscous and drank the last glass of French apple cider with it in an effort to clear out some of the things in the fridge.

After lunch I went to Costco and picked up several prescriptions.  When I returned home I called Willy and discovered his friend was arriving early and we were delaying the moving of his art until tomorrow.

The roofers finished the repair of the roof around 3:30 and I paid Chapado and thanked him.

Also,  I finished reading Lawrence of Marrakech and downloaded Bad Blood by Gerreyrou, the book club selection for this month, and started reading it.  Suzette came home around 5:00 with a bag of 36 live oysters.  I put them in a baking dish and covered them with a wet dish towel and put them in the fridge. Suzette then brought in a large bowl with baked squash.  I transferred the tropical fruit salad to a small bowl and put the squash into the larger bowl that had been vacated and then ate the last bit of pickled herring to eliminate another bottle from the fridge.  After I consolidated a number of items, we decided to cook the chicken leg quarters I had bought yesterday at Smith’s and heat the remaining Couscous with Chard with some green beans I had bought last week at Lowe’s to reduce the load in the fridge further.

We had a bottle of Gruet Chenin Blanc chilled, so we decided to drink that with the meal.

The Bobby Flay method of cooking is to rub the chicken with a combination of paprika, fennel, cinnamon, and cumin and then to braise it in a skillet weighted down with another skillet filled with water for about fifteen minutes and then to bake it for 20 minutes in the oven.  This crisps the skin and cooks the chicken much faster.

Suzette snapped the green beans and sautéed then in a skillet with the PPI Couscous with Chard and heated the last of the creamed parsnips.

We enjoyed a pleasant meal as we watched the news.

After dinner we set the dining room table and Suzette fetched three bottles of Gruet champagne from the basement and put them in the garage fridge to chill. During dinner it started to snow and by the time we went to bed there was a blanket of snow on everything including our newly roofed roof.  We toasted my decision to get the roof repaired five hours before the first snow of the year.

A lay down to read my new book at 7:30 and Suzette followed at 9:30.

When I awakened at midnight there was a glow from the snow and street lights.

The front yard 

                                                                The back yard

Bon Appetit

November 26, 2019 Lunch – PPI Pasta with Italian Sausage, black olives, onions, and mushrooms with a Salad. Dinner – New Recipe. Chard and onion Couscous with Sautéed Duck

November 26, 2019 Lunch – PPI Pasta with Italian Sausage, black olives, onions, and mushrooms with a Salad.  Dinner – New Recipe.  Chard and onion Couscous with Sautéed Duck

I can not believe it.  This was another day that I created a new and interesting dish from PPIs.

It was a cold windy day, although not too cold or too windy to stop Chapado and his crew from installing a new flat roof.

At 10:00 I ate granola, fruit salad, and yogurt .

Peter Eller and I had agreed to eat lunch together.  He called around 10:30 and said he was afraid I could not fit his walker into my mini and thought he would drive over and pick me up instead of me picking him up for lunch.  I suggested that we eat lunch at my house, if he wanted to eat PPI Pasta with Italian Sausage, black olives, onions, and mushrooms and I would make a salad.

He said, “I would definitely consider that if it included a glass of wine.”  I replied, I can offer you a glass of Nouveau Beaujolais.”

By the time Peter arrived around noon, I had composed two salads with diced tomato, cucumber slices, sliced radish, and cauliflower flowerets on a bed of red leaf lettuce and had heated the large bowl full of pasta.

When Peter got seated I served the salads and placed the heated bowl of pasta on the table between us and poured glasses of Nouveau Beaujolais.  Peter was in heaven. He said that his friend Dottie was on a no carb diet and he was starved for pasta.  It was the perfect lunch.  We ate almost the whole bowl and I packed the small amount of remaining pasta for him to take home.

I also explained to him how special the wine was.  Specifically, that the major producers in Franagree to release on the same day in every country in the world.  The world release date was November 21 this year.  I bought my bottle of George Dubouf Nouveau Beaujolais yesterday on November 25th at Trader Joe’s.  I thought the wine was a clean tasting well made wine.  Peter thought it had a lot of tannin in it.  I suspect most new wines do have high tannins.  We both liked this year’s offering.

After Peter left I drove to Pastian’s and bought three packages of Kaiser rolls to use to make stuffing.  I then gassed up at Costco and drove to the bank to deposit a check and then home.

When I checked the Market when I returned home the Dow was up 54 points and the other two indices were up a little bit.  My portfolio was down less than $1000, which is negligible.

I remembered that we had agreed to serve asparagus and I needed to go to Smith’s where they were on sale for $1.47/lb.  I also bought a four lb. NY Strip roast for $4.77/lb. and asked the butcher to cut it into steaks, I bought 4 chicken leg quarters for $.99/lb., blueberries for $1.50 for 6 oz., 18 large eggs for $1,49, five lb.s of fresh asparagus, and a red bell pepper for $1.25 plus two 1 lb. loaves of whole wheat bread for stuffing.

I arrived home a bit before 5:00 as the roofing crew was leaving.  Suzette was still at the building trying to help workmen install the appliances.  I checked the news and saw that the predicted low temperature was 23 degrees, so I decided to pick the Chard and make Couscous to eat with either the PPI Roasted Duck or the chicken.

I went to the garden and picked a bag of Chard and de-stemmed it and cut it into bite-sized pieces and rinsed it.

Suzette arrived around 5:30 and approved of my idea to combine the PPI Duck with the chard couscous.  There were two wings, a leg quarter and two small pieces of breast plus the skin from the neck.  I chopped all of the meat and skin into small pieces and handed it to Suzette who sautéed the skin first and then added the meat and heated and crisped the duck and duck skin in a skillet with
butter while I sautéed ¼ of an onion in 3 T. of butter in a sauce pan. We heated water and Suzette
added 1 cup of Couscous to the sauce pan and stirred it to coat the Couscous.  She then poured 1 ½ cups of boiling water onto the Couscous and then added the Chard to the pan and covered it. I took over the Couscous while Suzette watched the duck.  I turned up the heat to develop steam, then I turned down the heat to a point that there was plenty of steam being generated in the pan.  After about four minutes I tossed the Couscous and Chard.  Then we were ready to serve.  Suzette placed a pile of Couscous in the middle of a bowl and piled the sizzling duck on top to create a Moroccan style dish.  I poured glasses of Charles Shaw Pinot noir ($4.99j.

Clients arrived just was I finished dinner and I worked until 8:45.  I then made a cup of tea, which I
drank with the last slice of Suzette’s lovely apple and Quince tart and a sip of Calvados.

I stayed up until 11:00 to watch the Rachel Maddow Show and then blogged.

Bon Appetit  

November 25, 2019 Lunch – PPI Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables. Dinner – Cassarecce Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce with Sautéed Italian Sausage, Onion, Mushrooms, zucchini, and fresh Tomatoes

November 25, 2019 Lunch – PPI Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables. Dinner –  Cassarecce Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce with Sautéed Italian Sausage, Onion, Mushrooms, zucchini, and fresh Tomatoes

Today I created a dish for dinner out of available ingredients.  Usually it is Suzette who creates the dishes for dinner out of available ingredients, so I was proud of myself.

I ate my usual breakfast of granola, tropical fruit, and yogurt.

I was hungry early so at 11:00 I threw a handful of cauliflower and broccoli flowerets into the PPI fried tofu and mixed vegetables left from last Friday’s lunch at East Ocean.

It was delicious.  I ate a brownie after lunch.

I made an agreement with Chapado to have my leaking roof fixed today and they started work in the afternoon but ran into an unexplained problem.  Tomorrow I will find out when Chapado returns. I could not understand the Spanish of the workman.

I went to a doctor’s appointment and then to Trader Joe’s, where I bought Belgium milk chocolate with almonds, a French baguette, a ½ lb. round of Camembert and another small round of a French cheese.  I also bought thirteen bottles of wine and two bottles of cognac, including 6 bottles of 2011 Origon Spanish Gran Reserva from Terra Alta, several Aquino Chianti reserva, a La Gitana Verdejo/virus blend, a 2019 Deboeuf Nouveau Beaujolais, an Emma Reichart Riesling and Rose, and a Chateau Roudier.

I then went home.  Willy appeared around 4:00 and I offered him some wine and cheese.  Suzette soon followed. I opened a bottle of Charles Shaw organic California Pinot Noir and served Iberico, brie, and Cambozola with toasted and buttered pieces of French baguette.

At 5:00 I told Suzette that I had an idea for dinner, to combine the Italian sausages with the PPI spaghetti sauce, onion, a zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes to make a new improved spaghetti sauce and eat it with pasta.

Suzette approved so I diced ½ onion, three cloves of garlic, three mushrooms, and a zucchini and sautéed them in olive oil in a sauce pan.  I removed the skin from three Italian sweet sausages and we sautéed them in olive oil also.  I then added the two cups of PPI spaghetti sauce and 7 oz. of tomato sauce to the vegetables and diced three vine ripened ripe tomatoes and added them to the pot along with the sautéed sausages and a handful of Moroccan dried black olives.  Suzette brought a large pot of water to a boil and added about 2/3 lb. of cassarecce pasta to the boiling water.  After about fifteen minutes the pasta was ready.  Suzette drained the pasta and added the spaghetti sauce to the drained pasta and stirred it to mix the pasta and sauce together, while I shaved slices of Pecorino-Romano cheese.  Suzette poured the mountain of pasta and spaghetti sauce into a large serving bowl and added the shaved cheese.

 I opened and poured the 2019 Nouveau Beaujolais.  It was incredibly fruity, like fresh grape juice.  We both found it interesting and a clean tasting wine.  The nouveau Beaujolais is released on the same day all over the world.  The release date wasNovember 21 this year.  It is usually the first 2019 wine released and tasting it is a worldwide event.

After dinner I drank a Calvados and ate two Belgium chocolates.

If Thanksgiving was not a designated menu we would have enough pasta and sausage sauce to serve the six people we are expecting.

Bon Appetit


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November 24, 2019 Brunch – Bacon Egg, and Potato Burritos. Dinner – Sautéed Bratwursts with a Quince Glaze and onions on Creamed Parsnips with Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli

November 24, 2019 Brunch – Bacon Egg, and Potato Burritos. Dinner – Sautéed Bratwursts with a Quince Glaze and onions on Creamed Parsnips with Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli

This was a lazy day with an all Pork menu.  I watched the news programs and then we started watching a great match between Sheffield United and Manchester United.

Suzette and I started cooking at 9:45.  I fried six slices of thick bacon and chopped 3 or 4 oz. of red onion, a baked potato, and two green chilis.  Suzette sautéed the onion and then i added the green chili and a bit later we sautéed the potato slices in a separate skillet until they were golden brown.  We made guacamole. Suzette removed the three avocados’ meat to a bowl and I added two T. of red onion, two cloves of garlic pressed, and the juice of ½ lime.  Suzette stirred and added salt to complete the prep.

I chopped the bacon and added it to the skillet and then Suzette added three or four whisked eggs to the skillet.  I shredded Monterrey jack cheese and Suzette added some to the skillet.  Suzette heated flour tortillas and we made our own burritos.  As I made my burrito Willy arrived just in time to join us for brunch.

Suzette made a Bloody Mary and I drank a glass of Clamato juice with the juice of ½ lime..  Willy made himself a mug of Earl Grey tea.

After brunch we watched the end of the match which became very exciting when Sheffield scored to bring the score to 3-3 in overtime.

Willy and Suzette left to visit the building and I rested. I was supposed to have an appointment with a client but they rescheduled to Tuesday, so at 1:30 I rode to Rio Bravo.

I am building up my strength still.  It seems that when I stop exercising for a week as I did when we visited PA last week it takes a few days to build up my strength and dispel the pain in my joints.  For example, I walked ten blocks on Friday night.  I rode 4 miles on Saturday and today I rode 10 miles and the pain seems to be gone.

                                             Looking north on the bike path  from Rio Bravo

When I returned home Suzette had returned from shopping at Costco.  I ate a slice of the apple and Quince tart Suzette made on Friday morning covered with whipped cream with scup of tea.

I then  rested and watched the Cowboys lose to the Patriots in a snow storm in Boston.  We then watched 60 Minutes and then made dinner.

Suzette made a lovely new preparation for the brats.  Schedule boiled them in quince syrup and when that evaporated she added 3 T. of butter and ½ cup of sliced onion and sautéed them until they were browned.  I removed the flowerets from a stalk of broccoli and ½ of a head of cauliflower and Suzette steamed them.

I poured glasses of 4% fermented effervescent French Apple cider and fetched the Grey Poupon mustard, Long’s horseradish, and mayo.

Suzette plated the glazed brats with onions layer on a pile of creamed parsnips and steamed vegetables.  We each mixed our dipping sauce made of mayo, mustard, and horseradish..

The brat with onions and glaze in the skillet

We had a great meal as we watched a PBS documentary on Britain’s MI6.

After dinner I ate a square of brownie with a cup of earl grey tea.

We got in bed to watch a Masterpiece Theatre mini movie called Chaparone set in 1922 New York starring Elizabeth McGowern.

I left before it was finished to blog.

Bon Appetit

November 23, 2019 Lunch – Azuma

November 23, 2019 Lunch – Azuma

I ate a bagel with goat cheese, sweet onion, and Lax on a toasted bagel.

Dan came at 11:00 and photographed the Karl Benjamin painting. We then talked for a while drinking cups of hot water with sweet lime and sugar.  He told me about his life growing up on Lake Minnetonka, Minn., sailing in summer and ice sailing in winter.

Dan left a bit after noon when Suzette came home.  We decided to go to lunch.  I wanted sushi and Suzette agreed to split a Chirashi Donburi at Azuma, so we drove there.  I ordered Chirashi, which is raw fish (Sashimi) on a bed of sushi rice.  I always order the same assortment of 12 pieces, salmon, Aji Tuna, octopus (cooked), yellowtail (Amber Jack), and ultra white.

Here is picture.

The complementary bowl of miso soup served as an appetizer course before the Chirashi was particularly delicious today.

Suzette ordered a caterpillar roll stuffed with unagi (BBQ sea eel) with avocado and the special sauce.

I drank green tea and Suzette drank water.  I cut the large slices into six or seven small pieces and relish each bite as I dip the fish into a small bowl of wasabi mixed with soy sauce and eat each with a piece of pickled ginger.

I took me over an hour to each my ½ of the Chirashi and the three pieces of caterpillar roll.

We stopped at Lowe’s on our way home to buy some Thanksgiving specials.  We bought string beans for Willy, cream cheese for me, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, bananas, and celery, all sale items. They were out of sausage, so we will need to return.

When we returned home Suzette rested and I ate a piece of brownie and then rode the short 4 mile loop, which made me feel much better.  Moderate exercise is beginning to make me feel better, rather than making me sore.  How wonderful.  I will try to exercise again tomorrow.

After the big late high protein lunch at Azuma, neither of us were hungry for dinner.

We showered and dressed and shared a bag of popcorn and then went to the Kris Kristofferson concert at Kiva Auditorium.  He has almost completely lost his voice, but it was fun to hear him sing some of his and Merle Haggard’s songs.  He is touring with Merle’s band.

I kept thinking about Steve Bruton, who I knew in Fort Worth and was a year or two younger than me who played in Kristofferson’s band for many years, until his untimely death from cancer.

We returned home and watched a bit of SNL and then went to bed in our newly refurbished bed with a new 3 inch thick egg shell foam mat.
It does not bunch out of shape like feather bed we used to sleep on or prick us with feather quills.

We went to bed a bit earlier than usual.

Bon Appetit

November 22, 2019 Lunch – PPI Pasta Primavera Dinner roast duck, creamed Parsnips and a fresh salad with an apple and Quince glaze and a quince and apple tart

November 22, 2019 Lunch – PPI Pasta Primavera   Dinner roast duck, creamed Parsnips and a fresh salad with an apple and Quince glaze and a quince and apple tart

I did not eat breakfast.  I had a meeting at the building at 10:30.

After I came home and heated the small container of pasta Primavera.

I worked on my new divorce case, made the apple cider reduction for the glaze, and prepped the 2 lb. of parsnips and the duck until 4:00.

When Suzette came home I salted and peppered the duck and put it on a spandex frame.  Suzette pre-heated the oven and we put water in the bottom of a ceramic baking dish and put the duck into a 400 degree  oven for fifteen minutes and then turned down the heat to 350 degrees and baked the duck fir 1 ½ hours until its internal temperature was around 180 degrees.

Suzette basted the duck three times while it was roasting with the apple/quince glaze she made by adding quince syrup and sugar to the apple cider reduction I made during the day from 4 cups of apple cider and 1 tsp. of grated fresh ginger..

 

I sliced three large Parsnips having a total weight of around 2 lb. and five cloves of garlic and put it in the fridge.  When Suzette came home she simmered the sliced Parsnips with milk and half and half and 2 tsp of salt and then creamed them in a Kitchen Aid mixer.

We had finished our part of the meal except for the wine.  I found the bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape that Doug and Crystal gave us for my 70th birthday and opened it at 6:00 to let it breath.  Doug and Crystal arrived at 7:00 carrying a lovely salad tray with a beautiful salad, of cucumber strips, several different types of tomatoes, toasted pumpkin seeds, lettuce and micro-greens.  She garnished the salad with a queso fresco and dressed it with a basil infused olive oil.

I put out Boursin and a wedge of Iberico with two types of crackers as an appetizer.

When they arrived we poured the Chateauneuf Du Pape.

It lasted most of the way through the meal.  When it ran out, we opened the bottle of Erath Pinot Noir  that Crystal and Doug brought.

We all enjoyed our simple meal.  Crystal said she had never had duck but she seemed to enjoy it.

After dinner we drank Pinot for a while and the Suzette served slices of her lovely and tasty quince and apple tart with whipped cream garnished with one of her homemade  maraschino  cherries and I poured Gruet 2012 Blanc de Blanc champagne (my favorite) for a fabulous finish to the meal.

Tonight’s meal was special because we served the wine in Baccarat glasses. When our family took its grand tour of Europe, my mother went shopping in a big way.  She bought Wedgwood Florentine in England, Baccarat crystal in France and a lace banquet clothes in Belgium.  My brother has the Wedgwood and I have the Baccarat Crystal and Belgium banquet cloth. Here is a picture of the dirty glasses.

We just kept talking until 11:00.

Bon Appetit

November 21, 2019 Lunch – Vietnam 2000. Dinner – Peruvian Chicken Chimichanga with fried Yucca sticks

November 21, 2019 Lunch – Vietnam 2000. Dinner – Peruvian Chicken Chimichanga with fried Yucca sticks

I ate yogurt, tropical fruit salad, and granola for breakfast and watched some of the impeachment hearing.

Daniel came by at 11:30 and we went to lunch at Vietnam 2000.  He has not been there in a long time, so I recommended Bun Cha Gio, No. 21, a large bowl with cool lettuce, herbs, and mung bean sprouts on the bottom, warm freshly steamed rice vermicelli noodles in the middle and grill pork and fried pork egg rolls on top, served with a small bowl of sweet fish sauce.

He loved the dish and said he would come back.

I went home and watched more impeachment hearings and then drafted and filed papers in my new divorce case.

The papers were rejected so I corrected them and re-filed.

Then I drove to meditation at 5:00.

I returned home at 6:00, brushed my teeth and walked down to Charlie’s and he drove us to book club at Tom’s house in Four Hills.

The book for this month was Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.

It is set in Peru of the 1700’s, so  Tom had ordered chimichangas and fried yucca from a Peruvian restaurant in Nob Hill for a light dinner for each of us.  I had never had a Peruvian Chimichanga.  It was similar to other chicken chimichangas I have had.  There were two dipping sauces, one a light cool thin sauce and the other a bit more picante.

These were the best yucca I have ever had.   After the discussion dessert was served; a square of flan with caramel sauce and a scoop of Peruvian ice cream flavored with Lucuma fruit.  Lucuma is a subtropical fruit native to Peru and known as well as "the last gold of the Incas". Images of it have been found on ceramics of ancient Peruvian cultures. The round or ovoid fruits are green with a yellow to orange, fibrous flesh. Lucuma has a unique flavor of maple and sweet potato. Peruvians love their Lucuma, but it's rarely eaten raw. Instead Lucuma is a popular ingredient for ice cream in Peru and used also in cakes, puddings and desserts.

I enjoyed the lovely Peruvian dinner.

Bon Appetit

November 20, 2019 Lunch – East Ocean. Dinner – PPI BBQ Pork Ribs with Baked Potato and Steamed Broccoli

November 20, 2019 Lunch – East Ocean.  Dinner – PPI BBQ Pork Ribs with Baked Potato and Steamed Broccoli

I watched Gordon Sonland’s testimony for a while and worked on my new corporate client’s case.  Then I worked until 12:30 and drove to East Ocean for lunch with Mike .  He ordered his favorite, Kung Pao Chicken. I ordered my favorite, Fried Tofu with Mixed Vegetables.  We each ordered the dinner portion and boxed about half to take home for another meal.

I went to my doctor’s appointment and like President Trump, I was in perfect health.

I then went home and soaked the fruit cake I had recently bought at Costco with rum and then researched the law for my new divorce case on spousal support and separate property.

When Suzette arrived around 5:15 she wanted to eat the thawed ribs.  I baked four potatoes and separated broccoli flowerets from the stalk and put them into the steamer with some water.  I also chilled a bottle of Marvel French Rose.

When the potatoes were ready, Suzette Steamed the broccoli and heated the ribs and I opened the Rose and poured two glasses of it.

Suzette also heated some BBQ sauce.

We had a great dinner while we watched the impeachment hearings and the democratic debates.

We also ate some of the fruit cake.

We went to bed at 9:30.

Bon Appetit

November 19, 2019 Lunch – PPI chicken and Dumpling Soup Dinner – Pasta Primavera

November 19, 2019 Lunch – PPI chicken and Dumpling Soup  Dinner – Pasta Primavera

This was an interesting day.  I watched the impeachment testimony in the morning and met Roland at the building to obtain a proposal for alarming the upstairs apartment because it has been broken into several times.

I talked to Billy and he said he was “Following the hearings”.  Billy is the student of history in our family, so his statement reinforced the historical significance of the impeachment proceedings to me.

At noon I heated the PPI chicken and dumpling soup for lunch. After lunch I ate a couple of small Iberico cheese tapas.

I saw the opening statements for the afternoon hearings and checked my portfolio.  Today three stocks in my portfolio had negative announcements.  The worst was Home Depot that dropped $13.00/share.  I have 300 shares for a loss of $3,900. My portfolio dropped about .4%, but from its all time high.

I was trying to explain to a client today that often the most courageous investment strategy is to do nothing, especially when all the doomsayers are spouting doom and gloom. If you do nothing the odds are pretty good that the market will churn at a 8 to 10% per year growth rate over years.  Some years less, some years more. At 8% your principal will double in 10 years.  At 10% your principle will double in 8 years.  The time value of money is the strongest and easiest investment strategy I know. And you do not need to take my word for it.  Benjamin Franklin proved it.  He deposited $5.00 into an interest bearing account in the 1790’s with instructions that in 200 years the resulting balance should be used to celebrate the 200th anniversary of America.  I was visiting Philadelphia on July 4th in 1997 with mother and Luke.  We were staying at a historic Inn near the palisades overlooking the Delaware River.  At the designated time we saw the best fireworks display I have ever seen set off from platforms in the River celebrating the 200th year of America funded by the accumulation  Franklin’s $5.00.

I met Roland at the building at 3:00. Roland was able to install the security system today, so hopefully there will be no more break-ins upstairs.

When I returned home around 5:30 Suzette was there.  We decided to make Pasta Primavera with lots of PPIs and the fresh vegetables I bought yesterday.  I diced two green onions, four cloves of garlic, about ¼ of a sweet onion, 1 zucchini, all the 4 types of mushrooms we brought back from Pa., ¼ cup of fresh basil leaves, and two tomatoes.

After Suzette sautéed these ingredients she added the PPI spaghetti to the large skillet in which she was cooking the sauce while I shaved about about ¼ cup of Peccorino-Romano cheese.

I poured glasses of Origon Gran Reserva Spanish red from Denominacion de Origen Terra Alta (Trader Joe’s $5.99).

We watched the impeachment hearing with Morrison and Volker until it ended around 7:30 and then commentary afterward until we became satiated with news.

At 7:00 I decided to make brownies.  I combined 1/3 cup each of oil and water and 1 egg and then added a bag of Ghirardelli brownie mix as the recipe directed.  It took about three minutes to make the brownies.  I greased a Pyrex baking pan and poured the completed mix into it.
The brownies baked into a lovely glistening sheet of gooey textured brownies in 37 minutes when I stopped the bake 7 minutes short of the prescribed 45 minutes because the oven was set to the convection setting.

We ate a few bites and went to bed around 8:30.

We did not sleep well, perhaps due to the chocolate brownies according to Suzette.

But I have a different theory; that our democracy is riding on Ambassador Sonland’s testimony today and I am anxious about his testimony, since he has been less than truthful in his previous testimony.  I am hoping for a thunderbolt of evidence or testimony, such as the judge’s ruling by Monday regarding President Trump’s assertion of Executive Privilege in the Don McGahan case in the DC Court of Appeals or Sondland telling all he knows about the President and Rudy Guiliani’s plan to withhold aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation of the Bidens to help Trump’s re-election.

I prefer the latter reason, but know both could be correct.

Oh Democracy!  Oh chocolate!

Bon Appetit


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