March 23, 2016 Lunch – Vietnam 2000, Dinner – Crab Imperial and Chick Pea Stew

March 23, 2016 Lunch – Vietnam 2000, Dinner – Crab Imperial and Chick Pea Stew

At 9:00 Suzette and I went to Ranch Market for the weekly specials.  We found lots of great specials ,including, Roma tomatoes for $.33/lb., cilantro for $.25/bunch, radishes for $.25/bunch, Crema for $1.29/lb., large heads on shrimp for $5.99/lb., eggs, a bag of roasted green chile for $2.49/lb., corn chips, eggplants for $.89 each, limes for $.99/lb. and avocados 7 for $1.00.

At noon Willy and I went to Vietnam 2000 for No. 21’s, which are bowls of rice vermicelli topped with grilled pork and fried egg rolls on a bed of lettuce cucumber strips, chopped cilantro, basil, and green onions served with a sweetened fish sauce dressing.

After lunch we drove to Sprouts, where I bought a standing rib roast of beef on sale for $7.99/lb., a standing rib roast of pork for $4.99/lb., mushrooms, chai mix, a zucchini, a can of garbanzos, dried apricots for $4.99/lb., and chocolate covered almonds for $4.99/lb.

I had been cooking a pot of dried garbanzos for a day with onion, cumin and a bit of salt.  They were finally getting soft by 2:30, when we arrived home, so I chopped a golden beet, five turnips from the garden, a tomato, and celery and parsley from the garden.  Willy added 3 peeled and chopped green chiles and we cooked the mixture until 5:00, when I added the leaves from the golden beets chopped, the zucchini chopped, ½ T. of sumac and ½ tsp. of fenugreek and 1 tsp. more salt. 

Willy made hummus with lemon juice, garlic, garbanzos, a little olive oil and salt, and tahini, which we ate with corn chips.

I went to meditate at 6:45 and when I returned at 8:10 Suzette was putting the Crab Imperial into the steaming oven to bake. I heated the Chick Pea Stew that had finally thickened and chilled a bottle of Neesa Albariño.

At around 8:45 we ate a simple dinner of Chick Pea Stew and Crab Imperial.

 Both were delicious.  The crab imperial was creamy without the addition of cheese, sort of a simplified soufflé.  The chick pea stew was very interesting, a combination of flavors and textures.

We watched a bit of news and then I read more Flashman until I fell asleep. 

Bon Appetit