Saturday, August 16, 2025

August 16, 2025 Lunch at Luke’s Dinner - Rice and Lentil Congee with Spinach and Cilantro

August 16, 2025 Lunch at Luke’s  Dinner - Rice and Lentil Congee with Spinach and Cilantro


I ate a toasted bagel with cream cheese as we drove to Zena Farm to buy produce for lunch. Luke bought chard, zucchini, an heirloom tomato, and bacon for a frittata and 6 fresh red plums for a plum tart.


We bought cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and an orange sweet pepper for a salad.


When we returned home Luke went into action and with Suzette’s assistance made the fritatta. He grated the zucchini, sautéed the bacon cut into lardons onions, and garlic on the bottom and then added chopped chard and 8 whisked eggs plus four egg whites and added four eggs on top and finally sliced yellow heirloom tomato wedges.


He cooked the frittata in a cast irion skillet on to of the dtove to set the bottom and then baked in the oven to brown the top.


Mickey, Rebecca, Billy, Elaine and Whitney arrived around 12:00.


Mickey brought a Spanish rose and a bottle of Sancerre.


We opened the rose and a dry Riesling from Hickock and Hill.


Luke cooked a pot of white Lima beans and I peeled and chopped the two cucumbers, the sweet pepper, a yellow and a red heirloom tomato and 1/2 of a red onion and Suzette made a dressing of apricot vinegar and sugar to make a German style sweet and sour salad dressing.


Then Luke made a cake mix for the tart and I cut the plums in half and removed the pits. Luke oiled the bottom of a Pyrex pie pan and poured the tart batter in and then he arranged the plum halves on the batter and I drizzled them with lemon juice and he put the tart into the oven to bake and took out the frittata and served wedges of it with the beans and the cucumber, onion, tomato, and pepper salad and a small baguette.


It was a delicious meal that he had planned and executed perfectly.


After lunch we walked to Quinn’s shed where he stored the Art of Hanna Eschal. Quinn explained his relationship with her and her Art. We then drove to the Cassis winery south of Rhinebeck and tasted theI cassis that was quite good.


We then said goodbye to Mickey and Rebecca, and Billy and Elaine for this trip and drove back to Luke’s.


Suzette and I napped while Luke went swimming.


Around 8:00 Luke made a rice and lentil congee with fresh spinach and cilantro.


We talked about the remodel of Luke’s bathroom and Kitchen until 9:45 and then Suzette went to bed and I blogged.


Bon Appetit


August 15, 2025 Brunch - Scrambled eggs with Aji Tuna, onions, and garlic. Snack - Lebanon Bologna and Dill Havarti and Peach. Dinner at Mickey and Rebecca’s Air BNB

August 15, 2025 Brunch - Scrambled eggs with Aji Tuna, onions, and garlic. Snack - Lebanon Bologna and Dill Havarti and Peach. Dinner at Mickey and Rebecca’s Air BNB


At 10:00 I made brunch. I diced the leftover grilled Aji tuna from Wednesday’s dinner at Kindred Spirits in Geneva, 1/3 of an onion and two cloves of garlic and sautéed those ingredients in olive oil and sesame oil and then stirred in five whisked eggs and flipped them to scramble them. I drank longevity tea with sugar with my eggs .




When Luke returned from his run, he ate the rest of the eggs and then we helped him clean his flower beds while he weed whacked some areas.


We then drove to Hannaford grocery store where we bought parsley, a red onion, smoked Salmon, bagels, cream cheese, La Croix lemon-lime soda, milk, water, and laundry soap.


Then we rested and at 2:30 Suzette and I diced some of the Lebanon Bologna we bought at Green Dragon Market in Ephrata and the rest of the dill havarti cheese and I peeled and sectioned a donut peach.

Suzette mixed mustard and Mayo together to make a sauce I  spread on squares of bread I sliced from a slice of Bread Alone bread.



We drank MacGregor Rose of Cab Franc with the snack. It was light and delicious. Then we opened the Domaine LeSeurre winery Rose that was much heavier and much darker..


After the snack Luke ate the last of the snack and then made chimichurri sauce in the blender with parsley, olive oil, cilantro, onion, garlic, and lime.


I napped on Luke’s sofa until 4:00 when we left for Phoenicia.  We wandered around Phoenicia and then drove to Mickey and Rebecca’s Air BNB beautifully sited on a creek on the road to Menla Buddhist resort, with one stop at Fruition Chocolate, where we selected an assortment of nine truffles for dessert.


It was a lovely small cabin in a small meadow by a gurgling stream.


We took the three steaks we bought at Masonic Village and the three bags of Silver Queen corn Jean cut off the ears and gave us, a bottle of MacGregor Saperavi Reserve. Red, and Luke’s Chimichurri Sauce and the chocolates.


We arrived at the same time that Mickey and Rebecca arrived from their massages at Menla.


When we sat down at the outdoor dining table Billy and Elaine poured the New York Apple cider colored with grape skins they bought in Ithaca. It was dry but refreshing.  Then we opened the MacGregor Saperavi Reserve and the bottle of 2023 LANGHE NEBBIOLO “CAMILU” that Mickey brought. Here are some notes on Mickey’s niebbolo


Wine Type:

Red

Vintage:

2023

Bottle Size:

750mL

Blend:

Nebbiolo

Appellation:

Langhe

Country:

Italy

Region:

Piedmont

Producer:

Guido Porro

Winemaker:

Guido Porro

Vineyard:

10-20 years, .35 ha

Soil:

Clay, Limestone

Aging:

Six or seven months in 500-L tonneaux

Farming:

Sustainable

Alcohol:

15%

For the times when an Italian red wine beckons, Porro’s Camilu will eagerly heed the call. Vibrancy and vigor are on full display in this bottling, which is made from Nebbiolo grown within the Barolo appellation but declassified to offer an early-drinking option for any weeknight. Fabio and his father, Guido, take their younger, high-yielding vines from the Lazzarito and esteemed Vigna Rionda crus to bottle promptly, capturing the bold and bright beauty of a youthful piemontese red from top sites.

—Jane Augustine

Here are the notes for the Saperavi

Rich and iconic. Elderberry, black currant, plum, strawberry jam, cigar box. Lush, youthful, primed with life.

Harvest: October 12. 10.87 ton, 22.5 brix, 10.3 g/l TA, 3.21 pH

Treatment: Destemmed, crushed, 8 day fermentation at 61-78 degrees. 100% malolactic fermentation. Transferred to American oak on March 26, 2021.
Current stats: 7.6 g/l TA, 3.53 pH, 0.4% residual sugar, 12.7% alcohol. 488 cases produced.

92 Points, Gold Medal, 2024 New York Wine Classic, Best Other Red Vinifera Varietal

Body

4 out of 5

Acidity

4 out of 5

Tannin

3 out of 5

Fruitiness

3 out of 5

  

Billy, Elaine bought red and yellow bell peppers and tomatoes and made a pepper and tomato salad and an all tomato salad.


Mickey and Rebecca bought a porterhouse steak and four seafood sausages.


The kitchen was small so I did not participate in the prep until Mickey grilled slices of yellow squash and zucchini and then the steaks and then the sausages to perfection with multi flips and a meat thermometer.


When Mickey finished cooking the steaks I butchered off the fat and sliced then into strips and cut each sausage into thirds and Mickey plated the steak and grilled squash for each person by preference for doneness and we passed the bowls of salad and corn and the chimichurri sauce for a fabulous meal.







The neibbolo was lighter and more food friendly. 


After dinner Mickey and Billy started a fire in the fire pit in the lower meadow and Elaine and Rebecca cut a watermelon into seedless  cubes and Luke fetched the box of truffles and we poured glasses of Saperavi.



After a lively discussion of how to equally distribute the truffles, we each selected one and the last two were cut into quarters and distributed. I was given the last quarter, a nougat, perhaps due to my seniority.


We watched the fire and sipped Saperavi until 9:30 when Luke, Suzette, and I said goodnight and Luke drove us home.


We enjoyed the day with everyone contributing effort to make it wonderful.


Tomorrow we will meet for lunch at Luke’s house near Woodstock, where we are staying and we plan to attend an Indian music concert at the Historic Maverick theater.


Bob Appetit


Friday, August 15, 2025

August 14, 2025 Lunch - Picnic at Cornell Botanical Garden Dinner - Nirvana, Woodstock

August 14, 2025 Lunch - Picnic at Cornell Botanical Garden Dinner - Nirvana, Woodstock


I ate 1 1/2 muffins with a cup of tea at the Lodge at 9:00. Suzette ate the last slice of BBQ brisket for breakfast. 


Then we drove to Ithaca to the Cornell Botanical Gardens. We walked around the sculpture garden and then drove to the Welcome Center and walked around the herb garden that was extensive.




We decided to eat lunch at a table in a shaded corner outside the Welcome Center. We made tacos with leftover pork rib and a BBQ chicken thigh and leg plus cole slaw and baked beans.


We drank a MacGregor rose’ of Cabernet Franc with lunch.


Then we drove 4 hours to Luke’s house stopping on the way to go to the restroom and share a small chocolate soft ice cream.


When we arrived at Luke’s we talked and then at 6:00 drove to Nirvana Indian Restaurant in Woodstock where we met Mickey, Rebecca, Billy, and Elaine for dinner.


Rebecca was noticeably pregnant and feeling well. I ordered a mango lassi and Luke ordered a chai. I loved my lassi, but Luke did not like or drink his chai.


Appetizers - I ordered deep fried kale coated with chickpea flour served with a mint chutney that was delicious. Luke and Mickey split a fossa that is a thin pancake filled with potatoes and served with a spicy coconut chutney and a vegetable soup.


Entrees - I ordered tandoori duck breast that was cut into four sections and served with charred fingerling potatoes and a fruit sauce that was blisteringly spicy. Let me say here that the direction of seasoning at Nirvana seems to be unidirectional, hotter and hotter. It does not seem to develop any of the subtleties that I would expect in a fine Indian restaurant.


Mickey ordered chicken Madras curry that als seemed overly hot.

The only dishes that did not seem hot were Rebecca’s butter chicken, Suzette’s lamb brochettes, and Elaine’s Biryani rice cooked in croute in a bowl covered with a puff pastry, and the culcha seasoned with onions and truffles.


After dinner Luke led us on a 7 minute walk that lasted about 20 minutes because Billy’s hip was hurting him and I walked at my usual slow pace. We ended at an ice cream shop where all except Suzette and I ordered ice cream.


Mickey discussed the immersing financial instruments with me and I was amazed. Among the more interesting things he said was that many large financial players are creating their own form of stable coin tied to the US dollar.


After ice cream we walked back to the car and said goodnight. 


When we returned to Luke’s house the casita was cool and we went right to sleep a bit after 10:00. It was the first time on this trip we needed to use a blanket.  The fresh air was welcome after being cooped up in air conditioned rooms. I had walked 5100 steps today and I now among serious walkers.


We had a good night’s sleep.


Bon Appetit