The French Provençal food festival continued today.
I ate the usual breakfast: yogurt, milk, granola and fruit. Today the fruit was fresh figs from our bush that Suzette picked yesterday.
I went to my doctor’s appointment at 9:30 and then went to the Apple store to have my IPad and I Phone checked and then to Trader Joe’s to replenish our wine. I bought 16 or 17 bottles, 2 each of the Aquino Riserva Chianti ($5.99) that we like when we want a light red, Belles Vignes (a light French Sauvignon Blanc), and one each of a Chablis for $13.99, a Graham’s 2013 Late Bottled Vintage Port for $21.95, a Trader Joe’s Platinum Cabernet Sauvignon for $14.95, two or three new roses, a Chateau Roudier Montaigne-St. Emillon for $12.95, a Barbera de Asti for $6.99, 2 Charles Shaw organic Pinot Noirs, an Origon Gran Reserva Spanish red for $5.99 and several others. I also bought a four pack of Artichokes, a wedge of Iberico Spanish cheese, and a freshly baked baguette.
I then drove to Pastians Bakery and bought one loaf each of Jewish Rye and German whole wheat.
I then went to the library to drop off a book and I picked up another Geraldine Brooks novel.
I arrived home after 1:00 very hungry. I re-discovered the Vichyssoise in the garage fridge and brought it into the house. I went to the garden and picked five or six chives and sliced them into thin slices to garnish the vichyssoise. I ate two bowls and began to feel better soon thereafter.
After logging the biggest drop of the Market this year, a drop of 800 points, I rested for a couple hours until after 4:00. My portfolio lost 2 ½ % of its value.
At 5:00 I became hungry again. I cut a whole wheat dinner roll into slices and toasted them and spread mayonnaise on them and then garnished the bread with slices of Liverwurst, tomato, onion and mustard and drank a small glass of Sagnol rose and s glass of water with them.
Suzette arrived about 5:30 and James came by at 6:00 to go over Suzette’s taxes, nut I have known James for many years, so we caught up on his storied love life.
Finally around 7:30 when James left I started cooking the
Ratatouille.
My favorite Provençal dish is Ratatouille because it is vegetarian and because the combination of ingredients produces a new dish, a vegetable stew with its own unique flavor profile.
The other thing is that it is very flexible, more or less of one ingredient does nor seem to make mush difference in the ultimate flavor or texture characteristics.
Tonight the ingredients were two zucchini, two medium yellow onions, three large cloves of garlic, one large eggplant, ½ red bell pepper, four tomatoes, and one cup of chopped oregano leaves. I cooked the firm ingredients for about twenty minutes in a lot of olive oil because I did not want to scorch the vegetables. Then I added the oregano and tomatoes and simmered everything another thirty minutes. Here is what it looked like when it finished cooking.
We did not eat any tonight. I like Ratatouille with beef, so perhaps we will eat it with a small filet in a day or two.
Suzette ate the other ½ of my chile Relleno and.beans for dinner and I drank ½ of a beer to wash down the two liverwurst sandwiches.
It seems that more and more we are eating less and less.
Although we decided to finish the blueberry and peach cobbler to make room in the fridge for the Ratatouille. Suzette divided the remaining cobbler into two small bowls and heated them in the microwave. She topped hers with heavy cream and I topped mine with Reddi-whip and I drank a couple of cups of Earl Grey tea with mine.
We went to bed happy.
Bon Appetit
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