July 30, 2020 Lunch – Sashimi. Dinner – Cedar Plank Grilled Teriyaki Salmon, boiled corn on the cob, and steamed Broccoli

Today I ate Salmon three ways.

Suzette and I walked a mile at 7:30.  When. Came home I toasted one of the mini whole wheat bagels I bought at Lowe’s last and spread cream cheese n it and then lay slices of Gravad Lax  and the thinly sliced red onion on it.  I drank a glass of cool water with it.

After breakfast I made teriyaki sauce by heating 1/3 cup each of soy, Mirin and sake plus 1 T. of sugar.  I sliced off a ½ pound piece of salmon and put the remaining 1 ½ lb. fillet.  I placed the remaining fillet in a gallon freezer bag and carefully poured the cooled teriyaki sauce into the bag.  I sealed the bag and lay it flat in the fridge to marinate.

Then I watched John Lewis’ funeral that lasted until 12:30. During the last thirty minutes while President Obama was speaking I sliced ½ lb. each of Aji Tuna and salmon and a Scallop. I filled dipping bowls with soy and wasabi and heated rice and filled two rice bowls and a bowl with pickled ginger.

 I Fetched the bowl of Japanese pickled vegetables and Suzette placed the plate of sliced fish on a Chinese metal tray filled with ice to keep it cool in the 90 degree mid-day heat.

We ate a hardy lunch iPod raw fish in the garden.

Then I showered and dressed and at 2:00 I zoomed with the book club for 1 ½ hours.

After book club I checked the Market and what appeared to be a rather ordinary day before 2:00 was turning into an extraordinary day as the after market prices of Apple, google, Facebook, Qualcomm, and Amazon shot up after they announced their results.  My portfolio holdings in my large tech heavy account reports on a real time basis and since I missed the 2:00 closing prices because of the book club meeting I was confronted by huge gains on an otherwise down day when the Dow dropped 226 points.

I lay down to rest but fell asleep until 5:00.

When I went into the TV room a bit after 5:00, Suzette had had a hard day and was resting.  I confirmed that we would grill salmon, boil ears of corn, and steam broccoli and then started prepping dinner.

I cut a foot long Cedar Plank from a longer plank and Suzette soaked it in water.  Then I cut a head of broccoli into flowerets and placed them in the steamer with water on the stove.  Then I fetched the 5 ears of corn I bought yesterday at Sprouts and shucked the husks from them.  Suzette fetched a large pot and filled it with water and started it boiling on the stove and  placed the corn in the pot.

Suzette then fetched the Cedar Plank and placed the teriyaki marinated salmon fillet on it and grilled it in the propane grill. This was the third way of eating salmon.

I heated a pitcher of sake and we poured small glasses of sake for dinner.

When everything was cooked Suzette plated each plate with an ear of corn, a piece of grilled salmon, and a small pile of steamed broccoli.

Here is a picture.

We watched Midsommer Mystery and ate dinner.

Then we each ate a chocolate chip cookie wit a sip of our new Decourtet cognac.

We went to bed at 9:30 after the Mystery ended.

Bon Appetit

July 29, 2020 .lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21. Dinner – Sausage Stuffed Baked Zucchini with Mornay Sauce

July 29, 2020 .lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21. Dinner – Sausage Stuffed Baked Zucchini with Mornay Sauce

I did not eat breakfast.  The market took off slowly buy built support as the day continued and ended up 160 points on the Dow.  My portfolio went up to the fourth highest point ever.

I left home at 10:00 and drove to my podiatry appointment at 10:30.  Then I drove to Trader Joe’s and bought 17 bottles of wine and a baguette, chocolate, and Artichokes.

Here is the receipt.

I then drove to Istanbul Market but it was closed. I phoned 2000 Vietnam and ordered a No. 21 from the parking lot where Istanbul once was located. And then drove to Sprouts on San Mateo at Lomas where I bought Salmon, tuna, chocolate covered almonds, red bell peppers, fresh corn on the cob, asparagus, and a few other items.

I then picked up the number 21 at 2000 Vietnam and drove home.

I picked mint and basil in the garden and then added to it cilantro and Romaine lettuce and enjoyed a lovely lunch with a glass of sweetened iced coffee.

I then worked for a bit and then read an hour and then at 5:00 meditated on Zoom with the three stones group.

After meditating I talked to Luke for a while and at 6:30 joined Suzette in the kitchen.  She had started prepping her famous stuffed zucchini.  She brought four large zucchini’s home from the Center’s garden.

We used 1 ½ zucchinis.  Suzette removed the seeds to create a deep channel in the middle.  She then sautéed ½ onion, ½ lb. of Jimmy Dean Sausage, and 1 T. of fresh sage.  Then suzette made a mornay
Sauce with a roux of butter and flour and then added milk to make a cream sauce to which we added
½ cup of grated Dubliner Irish cheddar cheese.

Suzette then filled the deep channels with the sausage stuffing and then drizzled mornay sauce over the squashes and baked them for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

I decided to drink a 2016 Benton Lane 100% Pinot Noir.  I love the deep pink color and Pinot flavored wine.

Suzette lay a bed of kale and arugula in a pasta bowl and then  took glasses and the bowls of baked stuffed zucchini to the table in the garden.

The evening was clear, so we decided to drive west north on Paseo del Volcan to the volcanos to look for the comet.  When we arrived after about twenty minutes the parking lot was full of cars.  We saw a telescope and went to it and saw the four moons of Jupiter.  We then walked past the locked gate toward the volcanos to the east until we were near total darkness.

The moon was so bright it made it hard to to see lots of the night sky.

After we sipped some cognac and ate a cookie we walked backed to the car and group of sky viewers.  One of the ladies had access to a website that showed the track of the comet by time, which permitted me to locate it.  It was just a fuzzy ball, but clearly visible with binoculars.  Tonight was also a meteor shower and  I saw a shouting star.

So it was a good night.  After an hour we returned home and Suzette went to bed and I stayed up to complete this blog and I also drank a cup of tea with some of the slice of chocolate cake Suzette brought home from the Bistro.

Bon Appetit

July 28, 2020 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup. Dinner – Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocado half Salad

July 28, 2020  Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup. Dinner – Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocado half Salad

Today’s highlight was Bill Barr’s tussle with the Congressional Democrats and I started reading News of The World by Paulette Jiles.

I started at 7:00 by walking ½ mile and then watched the Market flounder as Barr’s testimony was delayed.

When I returned I sautéed two patty sausages and fried two eggs and toasted a slice of bagel for breakfast.

I  worked for a while mainly talking to a client about a case and later drafted a legal opinion in response to an auditor’s request.

At 12:30 I heated the remaining Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup I made yesterday.

 It did not sit well with me so this evening I poured out the last of the suspect tropical fruit salad when I took out the trash.

Suzette arrived  around 4:20 while I was driving to the bank.

When I returned we decided to make dinner.  I suggested chicken salad stuffed avocado salad.  When Suzette agreed I started finely dicing two stalks of celery, one apple, 3 oz.of red onion, and a chicken breast.  Suzette then took over and added mayo, lemon and a diced hard boiled egg. She then cleaned lettuce and arugula from the garden and sliced a large avocado in half and filled it with the chicken salad.  We drizzled olive oil on the salad and enjoyed a fresh chicken salad salad.



I was having rose withdrawals decided to open a Crayon rose from Provence.  Crayon is very light yet has a fair amount of acidity so I thought it would complement the chicken salad without overpowering it. I liked it with dinner and drank a glass after dinner (Trader Joe’s $5.99).

I read 65 pages of News of the World and was thrilled to be reading a novel set on home turf of Texas instead of Nabokov’s literary world of Europe.

Later I ate two chocolate chip cookies with several cups of chai as Suzette and I looked at art on the Internet.

At 10:00 I lay down and read some more News of the Day.

Bon Appetit

July 27, 2020 Lunch – Beef Pho Vietnam Noodle Soup. Dinner – Roasted Tarragon, Garlic and lemon stuffed chicken and Sautéed Patty Pan Squash

July 27, 2020 Lunch – Beef Pho Vietnam Noodle Soup. Dinner – Roasted Tarragon, Garlic and lemon stuffed chicken and Sautéed Patty Pan Squash

I woke up early and at 7:00 we walked a mile.  I then ate granola, tropical fruit salad and yogurt.  I watched the Market as Moderna took off and went up $7.00 and many other stocks followed, including Apple that ended up about $8.00 for the day.  I felt good about putting my Apple position back on on Friday.  Plus, I gained $3.00 on Friday from the time I bought it and the close.

I am back within $22,000 of my all time high. So I’m feeling a lot better than last Thursday when everything was going down and I sold Apple after a $15.00 loss to avoid an $18.00 loss.

I worked until noon and then made a Pho beef noodle soup with three kinds of noodles, the remaining Boeuf Bourguignon with all of its sautéed onions and mushrooms, a Pho seasoning cube, a heaping T. of red miso, and two beef meatballs.

It was delicious and ½ of it is left for another lunch.

When Suzette arrived home we quickly decided to roast the 7 lb. chicken she bought last week.  We went to the garden.  I picked six or seven chives and Suzette picked a handful of tarragon.  I then fetched the chicken and three lemons and cleaned the chicken and trussed it on a Spandex cooking frame.  Suzette went to the garage to fetch a bag of garlic we grew and I slide slices of lemon and garlic and sprigs of tarragon under the chicken’s skin in four or five places and placed the Spandex cooking rack with the chicken on it in about ½ inch of water in a ceramic baking dish. We roasted the chicken at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and then lowered the oven temperature to 375 degrees and roasted the chicken for an additional 1 ½ hours until it was golden brown on the outside but tender on the inside.  While the chicken roasted Suzette sliced three patty pan squashes horizontally into round slices and sautéed them in butter and added a sprinkle of brown sugar to dispel any bitterness.

I asked Suzette what wine she wanted to drink and she picked French Vouvray. The wine turned out to be a winner rich fruitiness with a slight sweetness.

Here are pictures of our plates.

We watched Antiques Roadshow until 9:00 and the some news, which continues to get more depressing every day.as Trump sends in riot police to disrupt protests , so he can activate the army, probably, to divert attention from his incompetent leadership in quelling the pandemic, the George Floyd protests and the slow economic recovery an

July 26, 2020 Brunch – BLT Sandwiches Snack – Artichoke. Dinner – Boeuf Bourguignon over Spaghetti Squash

July 26, 2020 Brunch – BLT Sandwiches  Snack – Artichoke. Dinner – Boeuf Bourguignon over Spaghetti Squash

 I awakened at 6:30 and watched the news and at 9:00 the final day of PL Soccer.  Today all twenty teams played and everything was sorted out. Man U. beat Leicester to take third place and Leister went down to fifth and the bottom three teams to be relegated out of the premier league were determined. Aston Villa tied it match with West ham to survive relegation.

Suzette was a whirlwind of activity today.  She made two bean bags for the new corn hole game at the Center before brunch and gardened to remove some of the weeds in one of the raised beds.  Now all the four raised beds have been weeded.

We then made brunch.  I had thawed out a lb. of thick cur bacon yesterday to use in the Boeuf Bourguignon today and we decided to make egg BLT sandwiches, except Suzette does not eat bread, so she ate a breadless BLT.

Suzette dis something interesting she made an omelet in a large skillet and lay slices of Dubliner cheddar slices on one side and then lay on side onto the other side.  I toasted two slices of bagel and actually made two open faced BLT sandwiches. The tomato we used was fromSuzette’s garden at the Center in Los Lunas.

After brunch at 11:45 we drove to Lowe’s to buy more beans so Suzette could make more bean bags.  We bought a large ten lb. bag of pinto beans, three large avocados, white onions, mushrooms, green onions, Camembert cheese, sour cream, yogurt, limes, BBQ sauce, and some whole wheat mini bagels.

When we returned home Suzette finished making her bean bags And then we started cooking the Boeuf Bourguignon.  Suzette used about 1 ½ lb. of cubed beef tenderloin. She cut three slices of bacon into lardons and sautéed them with the tenderloin and a peeled and diced carrot and onion.  She followed the Julia Child recipe.  She then floured the meat and vegetables and cooked them to cook the flour and then added thyme and garlic and about 1 ½ cups of red wine and baked the ingredients in a covered casserole in the oven for two hours to three hours

After I finished diced the carrot, onion, thyme and garlic I fetched a bottle of 2016 De Ponte Pinot Noir and put in the fridge to chill and the watched watched the PBS series on the National Parks until 2:00 when we zoomed with Billy and Elaine.

After we finished zooming Suzette removed the casserole from the oven and added some wine and water because the wine had almost completely evaporated.  At 3:30 I diced about ½ lb. of mushrooms, 1 shallot, three sprigs of thyme, and three cloves of garlic that I sautéed in 2 oz. of butter and 1 oz. of olive oil and added those to the casserole. Mi then made the recipe for Brown Braised onions but instead of baby onions I diced 2 ½ white onions, three cloves of garlic and ½ bay leaf.  I sautéed the onions in 1 ½ T. each of butter and olive oil for ten to fifteen minutes.  The onions never actually browned.  The I added about 2 tsp. of Knorr dehydrated beef broth dissolved in about ¾ cup of red wine to the onions and simmered them covered for about 25 minutes and then Suzette poured the onions into the casserole and heated it on the stove to bring it to temperature.

Suzette roasted a spaghetti squash in the oven for the hour it took me to prepare the mushrooms and onions.  When the casserole was reheated with all the ingredients, Suzette stripped the strands of
spaghetti squash from the outer skin and placed a pile on each plate and we each then spooned Boeuf Bourguignon onto the spaghetti squash.

I opened the Pinot and placed it in an ice bucket filled with ice and water to keep it chilled and carried it to the gazebo with my bowl of Boeuf Bourguignon and squash.  I poured glasses of De Ponte Pinot and we ate a pleasant dinner with a fantastic wine.

Willy arrived a bit later and took a plate of squash and Boeuf Bourguignon and I poured him a glass of Pinot.

He really enjoyed the meal and we talked for a while and he left around 6:30 after a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie.

I drank another glass of Pinot, but it was Murphy Goode, not De Ponte..

We then watched 60 Minutes, and the at 8:00 two episodes of Endeavor and went to bed at 10:00.

I liked the dinner but not as much as the one last night with its reconstituted mornay sauce.

Two meals in a row that triggered two deja vu French food experiences.  Pretty cool.

Bon Appetit

July 25, 2020 Brunch – Sautéed Smoked Pork chop with Cottage Fried Potatoes, Eggs, and Toast. Snack – Grilled Artichokes. Dinner – Poached Salmon with Mornay Sauce, Rice, and Salad

July 25, 2020 Brunch – Sautéed Smoked Pork chop with Cottage Fried Potatoes, Eggs, and Toast. Snack – Grilled Artichokes.  Dinner – Poached Salmon with Mornay Sauce, Rice, and Salad

We did a lot of bending today.  We started by working in the garden for several hours.

Then Suzette made us brunch.  She sautéed a smoked
Pork chop and chopped up a potato and cooked in the microwave with a bit of water abound then sautéed the potato cubes in the skillet with the pork chop.  When the potatoes and pork chop were cooked , Suzette Fried four eggs in the skillet over easy. And plated our plates.

I made a cup of manzanilla tea and we ate a lovely brunch.

We rested after brunch until about 2:00, when I made an artichoke dipping sauce with 2/3 cup of mayo, some olive oil, some sour cream, some finely minced fresh dill from our garden, and some lemon juice.

I then ate 1 ¼ grilled artichoke half.  After my snack Suzette wanted to do something fun and I suggested bocce.  So we made mojitos and took them to the court and played Bocce for about ½+hour.  It was the hottest part of the day and we called the match before we reached 11.

I then started peeling lemons for lemincello.

I peeled 7 lemons by 6:00 and decided to make dinner.  We had thawed two salmon fillets.  Suzette has picked arugula and kale in the garden in the morning for a salad. Suzette filled bowls with salad greens, arugula, and kale and I diced a tomato and some cucumber.  Suzette peeled and sliced a hard boiled egg and I freshened the dressing with lemon juice and olive oil and dressed the salads.

I minced ½ shallot and three small cloves of garlic and some Italian parsley and Suzette sautéed those ingredients in a deep skillet with butter and a handful of Chard I had picked in the garden in the morning. Then she added white wine and water to make a poaching medium and poached the salmon fillets.  When the salmon was cooked Suzette removed the fillets from the skillet and we whisked in the PPI mornay sauce into the poaching medium.  It created a smooth creamy sauce.  I heated the container of PPI rice and Suzette put several spoonfuls on my plate and then lay the salmon on the rice and then poured the marinated sauce over the salmon.  Suzette ate her salmon without rice.

Suzette poured glasses of Belles Vignes French Sauvignon Blanc and we ate a great dinner.

I love salmon with a garlic cheese sauce.  It reminds me of a meal we ate in the French Quarter in Paris many years ago.  They served a garlic cream sauce on salmon for the main course like we did tonight.

I loved the fresh salad also.  It was a perfect meal for me.

After dinner at 7:00 we made chocolate chip cookies with raisins and toasted pecans that finished baking by 7:50 just in time for us to see our favorite Saturday night shows on PBS, Father Brown and Death in Paradise.

Suzette ate three cookies, but I was so satisfied with dinner that I lacked any craving for a dessert.

We went to bed at 10:00.

Bon Appetit


After dinner

July 24, 2020 Breakfast – Pulled Pork Burrito Lunch – Vichyssoise Dinner – Grilled Steak, Sautéed Asparagus, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and onion and Sautéed Mushrooms.

July 24, 2020 Breakfast – Pulled Pork Burrito   Lunch – Vichyssoise   Dinner – Grilled Steak, Sautéed Asparagus, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and onion and Sautéed Mushrooms.

A day of mostlyleftovers.

I got up and watched the news and market open.  Then I showered and began working until I became hungry.  I heated the PPI Pulled Pork and toasted a flour tortilla and rolled the Pulled Pork inside the tortilla garnished with grated cheese and the top sprinkled with Cholula Hot sauce.  It was really delicious.  I made my favorite Mexican tea, manzanilla with lime juice and honey.

Lunch was a little less exciting, a bowl of PPI Vichyssoise garnished with thinly sliced chives.

I bought back 1100 shares of zapped stock at a price $3.00 below what I sold it for two days ago, which reduced my loss for the day by $3,000.  I hope there will be some good news by Monday’s Open.

I worked until 5:30.

We decided to grill the steak I had thawed and Suzette brought home lots of Zucchini and pity pan squash and green chili peppers.

So, we decided to sauté the asparagus with yellow squash, onion, garlic, and zucchini and to sauté sliced mushrooms with shallot

Suzette wanted to eat outside, so I fetched a bottle of 2011 Gran Reserva Origon from the Tera Alta Region, near Tarragona, a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Tempranillo ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s) and poured two glasses.

I sliced four mushrooms, three small cloves of garlic and minced ½ shallot and sautéed those ingredients in olive oil and butter and added about 2 T. of amontillado sherry to flavor the mushrooms.  I also added the juice of  ½ lemon to the sautéed vegetables.

I sliced the steak and Suzette plated the plates with steak and covered the steak with sautéed
mushrooms, spooned sautéed vegetables beside and for me, the last of the PPI Couscous and Black beans.



 The evening air was cooled by a recent rain that made it pleasant as we  sat outside.

Later we ate bowls of vanilla ice cream and went to bed at 8:30.

Bon Appetit

July 23, 2020 Lunch – Sandwiches. Paleo Dinner – Grilled Lamb Chops, Artichokes, and Asparagus and Couscous

July 23, 2020 Lunch – Sandwiches. Paleo Dinner – Grilled Lamb Chops, Artichokes, and Asparagus and Couscous

The food went from the ordinary to the sublime today.

I was working on a pleading with a client and we agreed to take a 30 minute break for lunch, so I sliced and toasted five slices of stale French baguette and spread butter and the last bit of foie gras on three of them and then garnished them with slices of brie cheese.  I spread cream cheese on the other two and garnished them with slices of Gravad Lax for a sort of French picnic.  I poured out the last glass of Murphy Goode Pinot Noir and sip a bit of it as I had a working lunch at my desk.

When I became tired at 3:00 after working all day and suffering a disastrous day in the Market in which 2% of my portfolio value evaporated, I lay down and napped until Suzette came home at 5:15.

Suzette has gone to Costco yesterday and bought asparagus and lamb chops, so we decided to grill those two items with three Artichokes I had boiled a few days ago.

I had defrosted the lamb chops and placed four of them in the fridge after they thawed, so they were not water logged by 6:30 when we began cooking.   After Suzette rested and showered I sliced the three Artichokes in half and Suzette salted and peppered the lamb chops and snapped the thick asparagus and tossed the stalks in olive oil, salt, and pepper..

While Suzette grilled the lamb, asparagus, and Artichokes, I went to the basement and found a bottle of 2015 Valreas Cotes Du Rhone Village ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s several years ago).  I love a Southern Rhone with lamb.  I believe the combination of the earthy flavor of Syrah and the dry tannic flavor of Grenache suits lamb particularly well.

This seemed to me a rather primordial, even paleo meal of fire roasted meat and vegetables. Suzette added a spoonful of Couscous and black beans to my  plate, but I ate that quickly and focused on the grilled ingredients, as it was my first meal in days of hunting. I really felt paleo.

It was such a delicious meal that I drank another glass of wine and then a small amount cognac and ate the last four or five chocolate truffles in a box (Trader Joe’s) while we watched a weird episode of Midsomer Mystery about mystery novel writers.

We went to bed after it ended at 10:00.

I have not had a more satisfying meal in a long time.  Perhaps because some primordial part of my brain responded to the fresh grilled meat and vegetables.  Or perhaps it was a perfect combination of ingredients grilled perfectly by Suzette.

I prefer to enjoy rather than analyze very much more than that.

Bon Appetit

July 21, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad Salad. Dinner – Shrimp and Scallops in Lobster Sauce and Rice

July 21, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad Salad. Dinner – Shrimp and Scallops in Lobster Sauce and Rice

Another day of not eating breakfast.

So at 11:30 I made a large bowl of salad with cubed Armenian cucumber, ½ of a tomato diced, about 2/3 of a head of Romaine and a small handful of thinly sliced red onion plus the last cup of the chicken salad we made last Saturday.  I reinvigorated the dressing with the juice of ½ lemon and some Spanish olive oil.

I also sliced and toasted two then slices of French baguette  and lay slices of Manchego cheese on them and heated them in the microwave for 15 seconds to melt the cheese.

I drank water with the salad, but after lunch made a Vietnamese iced coffee with about ½ cup of PPI coffee plus a heaping T. of Parrot Brand condensed milk.  I dissolved the condensed milk in a tall glass into the coffee and then added ice to fill the glass.

I watched parts of two PL soccer matches today.  The most exciting one featured Arsenal v. Aston Villa.  Aston Villa has t win to avoid being relegated or booted out of the Premier League and they did win by a score of 1 to 0.

I lay down for a while after the game and tried to read Speak Memory by Nabokov, which has been really hard going.

I decided to make scallops and Shrimp in Lobster sauce

I started by thawing six shrimp and five scallops.

I then fetched the chicken stock Suzette made from the bones left from the roasted chicken and heated 2 cups of broth and when it reaches the boiling point I added 1 cup of rice and reduced the heat to simmer it for ½ hour.

Shrimp in Lobster sauce. This is a complicated two part recipe.

I first thawed out six large shrimp and five scallops. I sliced the shrimp in half and sliced the scallops into three or four flat slices and  added1 T. of cornstarch and 1 T. of Chinese Cooking wine to marinate the seafood.

Then i sliced three green onions into ½ inch sections and added 1 T. each of Chinese Cooking Wine and soy.  In a separate bowl I mixed 1 T. of cornstarch with 1 ½ T. of cornstarch.  In another bowl I broke and stirred 3 eggs.

When the rice finished cooking I chopped a clove of garlic and ½ lb. of Jimmie Dean Sausage and heated 1 ½ T. of peanut oil in my wok and added the sausage and garlic to the wok.  I then added the green onion, soy, and Chinese Cooking wine and cooked those ingredients until the pork lost its pink color.  I then added the corn starch and then the seafood.

Finally I added the egg.  The recipe says to serve immediately but a let the egg cook until it coagulated somewhat because Suzette had fallen asleep and I was unable to awaken her.  I made a cup of green tea and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

After dinner Suzette awakened and heated some rice and seafood in Lobster sauce.

After dinner I ate a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and  
Kahlua.  This like a White Russian ice cream sundae.


Bon Appetit

July 20, 2020 Lunch – Mapo Dofu Noodles Dinner – Sautéed Rib Steak and Shishito peppers, Home Fried Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli with Cream Sauce

July 20, 2020 Lunch – Mapo Dofu Noodles   Dinner – Sautéed Rib Steak and Shishito peppers, Home Fried Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli with Cream Sauce

I woke up at 4:40 and watched the news until 6:00 when Suzette awakened and said, “I am ready tho see the beaver.”  We dressed and drove to Kit Carson Park.we walked to the pond that was filled to the highest level I have ever seen due to the recent rains.  There was a family sitting on the beaver’s lodge fishing when we arrived, so we immediately knew we were not going to see any beaver.  As we looked across the pond we began seeing Mexican ducks swimming in rapid circles stirring up the aquatic vegetation and feeding leisurely. We counted 10 ducks.  So it was a lovely morning of ducks feeding on the pond.  We came home and I ate breakfast of granola, tropical fruit salad and yogurt that had curdled and turned to cottage cheese.

I watched the TV until Suzette left for work at 8:15 and then took a shower and dressed.

I worked until 11:45 and then decided to stretch the Mapo Dofu with Noodles a little farther by adding another bundle of boiled egg white noodles.  I filled a sauce pan half full with water and boiled a bundle of noodles.  These noodles have become my favorites because they are fresh, like fresh pasta, and last indefinitely.  I stir fried about 2 oz. of yellow squash cubes, onion, four mushrooms, and several slices of ginger and a clove of garlic and then added the PPI Mapo Dofu and a bottle of seasoning sauce left from an earlier version of garlic eggplant.  After that had warmed, I drained and added the boiled noodles and heated the whole affair.  Here is a picture.

I ladled out a bowl full and the ate a second bowlful to finish the dish that reminded me of a ramen dish, except the seasoning sauce was a seasoning sauce rather than an edible broth.

I loved it.

I took a rib steak out of the freezer to thaw and I drank a glass of iced coffee made with PPI coffee and the Vietnamese Parrot brand condensed milk in a galas filled with ice while I watched the PL match between Wolverton and Crystal Palace .

At 2:00 at half time I checked my stocks and found that I had a slight .25% gain for the day in spite of Moderna dropping $13.00 to take my portfolio to a new all time high.  Bravo.

I lay down at 3:00 for a nap until 5:00 when Aaron and Andrea and Lexi came to sign Andrea’s affidavit.

After they left around 5:45 I joined Suzette to watch the news and plan dinner.  Suzette recommended cottage fried potatoes and I recommended steamed broccoli with cheese sauce.  Suzette reminded me the reason for choosing steak was to sauté Shishito peppers I had bought at Talin.

We used four burners.  Suzette sautéed the sliced previously baked potatoes with 2 oz. of diced onion in butter and olive oil on one.  I sliced the steak and she sautéed the steak slices on another skillet with about a dozen Shishito peppers. On another burner Suzette steamed the broccoli florets and on the fourth burner I heated the cheese sauce with extra butter and milk.

In about fifteen minutes we had prepared dinner.  I had chilled a bottle of 2017 Gruet Cuvée Gilbert  Pinot Noir.  Suzette plated the steak slices garnished with sautéed Shishito peppers, cottage fried potato slices, and broccoli garnished with cheese sauce.  Suzette opened the bottle of Gruet Pinot Noir and we had a wonderfully pleasant dinner.  The Gruet was slightly musty even with a few Uber’s of ice to help it keep its chill, but you could taste the New Mexico terroir in it.  Suzette said, “ You know it goes really well with the Shishito peppers.”

And it did.  We drank the whole bottle.  This was an exceedingly delicious meal for me and I had to finish it with a glass of cognac and chocolate truffles and a cup of chai.

Suzette, who is on a diet settled on a sip of the new and wonderful Courtet VS cognac (Total Wine $21.99 less 10%). Our new house cognac.

Bon Appetit

July 19, 2020 Brunch – Pulled Pork, Potato, Onion, and Egg Burritos. Dinner Eggplant with Garlic with Chicken, Sausage, and Baby Bok Choy and Turmeric Rice

July 19, 2020 Brunch – Pulled Pork, Potato, Onion, and Egg Burritos. Dinner Eggplant with Garlic with Chicken, Sausage, and Baby Bok Choy and Turmeric Rice

We ate Pulled Pork Burritos for breakfast. I diced two previously baked potatoes and 3/4 cup of onion.  Suzette diced the remaining 1 cup of pork in Tomatillo sauce and several broccoli florets, and stirred 4 eggs.  She then sautéed the onion and potatoes and then added the pork when the onion and potatoes were cooked.  After a few minutes Suzette added the egg and in a couple more minutes she toasted whole wheat tortillas on the open flame and then spooned filling onto two tortillas.

I called Willy at 9:30 while Suzette was cooking and told him we’re fixing burritos and invited him to
earth a burrito.  Willy had a 10:00 appointment, but came by for a burrito with grated Dubliner cheese.

I watched news programs and Tottenham beat my beloved Leicester City in Premier League play and then helped Suzette weed a raised bed and then planted the seeds Suzette saved from the three melons we bought at Sprouts a month or two ago.  We covered the seeds with potting soil and watered them in.

Then I rested until 2:00 when Suzette awakened me for our Sunday Simon Zoom meeting that lasted for an hour.

After the meeting I worked a bit and began gathering up my tax materials.

While I was working Amy called and spoke to Suzette and me until about 5:45 when Suzette went to the kitchen to start dinner and I excused myself to help her.

I peeled and sliced an eggplant and two baby Shanghai Bok Choy.  Suzette had mixed the seasoning sauce and as I sliced two inch long strips of eggplant she took them and fried them in peanut oil in the wok.

Then she added a chopped Italian sweet sausage and some chopped chicken breast and the white stalk portions of the Bok Choy.  After a few minutes she returned the fried eggplant to the wok with the green leafy portions of the Bok Choy and the seasoning sauce containing rice vinegar, Chinese cooking wine, oyster sauce, soy,  and cornstarch.

While Suzette was stirring the wok to thicken the sauce, I put the PPI rice into the microwave and heated it  for 1:23 minutes.

She then spooned rice into bowls and then piled spoonfuls of the Garlic Eggplant mixture that had developed a thick sauce.

I fetched and opened the bottle of saki Suzette had chilled n the garage.  Suzette fetched interesting ceramic glasses and I opened the bottle of  saki and filled the cups.

We watched Sixty Minutes on TV and then a documentary on Princess Margaret followed by Grantchester and Beecham House.

We actually watched Beecham House in bed after which Suzette went to bed and I stayed up to blog.

While watching Grantchester I made a cup of fresh Tea and chai, and sipped some Calvados and ate a couple of Trader Joe’s truffles.

Bon Appetit