February 24, 2020 Lunch – Revitalized Pho Beef Miso Noodle Soup, Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice and Riata

February 24, 2020 Lunch – Revitalized Pho Beef Miso Noodle Soup,
Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice and Riata

I worked until 11:30 when I revitalized the PPI Noodle Soup I first made on Saturday by adding the last 3 oz. of ground beef, a large portobello mushrooms sliced, another heaping T. of red miso and 1 more tsp. of dehydrated beef broth plus six more small leaves of Napa cabbage sliced.

The soup was wonderful without bean sprouts or hoisin. I ate 2 bowls full.

An hour later I rode my bike north into a 15 mph headwind to Mountain Rd., where I turned around and sped home.  I don’t ride in high wind because it is not fun.  After riding a bike for over 60 years I still enjoy riding but I don’t ride when it is not enjoyable.

When I got home and was watching the last ten minutes of the Liverpool v. West Ham match, which Liverpool barely won 3 to 2 and had removed one shoe the doorbell rang. It was Penny coming to pick up her tray and silver from the appetizer.  We talked for a minute and she asked me if I would like to train with her trainer, Frank, and I said yes, especially when she said he taught a class at the Park Plaza, just one block from our home.  Physical therapy on steroids, I can hardly wait.

Another terrible day in the Market with over a $1000 drop in the Dow.

The Coronovirus is having a serious impact on the world economy and the spread to Italy is ominous for world health and the world economy.

Suzette arrived at 5:30 and I began preparing chicken curry.  We had all the ingredients.  I peeled and cubed three sweet potatoes, three onions, and three Granny Smith apples.  Suzette de-boned the meat from the seven chicken thighs I had boiled the night before and the she sautéed the cubed vegetables.  She then added the reserved chicken stock and I added Madras curry powder.  Later we added about 16 oz. oz. of coconut cream.  Suzette shelled a handful of peanuts and I browned them in a cast iron skillets do chopped them into pieces..

I then made rice. We had only about 1 cup of brown rice so I boiled about 3 cups of water with a stick of cinnamon and about six whole cloves and added the rice. After 45 minutes of simmering the water had not evaporated so I continued cooking the rice for a few more minutes and then tasted it.  It was soft and cooked so we were ready to eat.

I had  peeled ¾ of  the English hothouse cucumber I had bought at Smith’s for $.88 and diced it into small cubes and 1 cup of the fresh Kroger yogurt fro Smith’s plus a dash of ground mustard and a couple of dashes of ground cumin to make riata.

We served ourselves wet rice and added curry, riata, and peanuts.  As we ate Suzette said, “I think there is a missing ingredient.  It is raisins.”

 

The curry without the raisins

                                                                  The wet rice

 

A rather wet curry with riata and peanuts

She was right. I immediately fetched the black raisins and we added about ¾ cup to the curry and turned on the low heat to cook them in.  I put a few on my curry but they are better cooked into the curry because they yield a fragrance and sweeten the overall flavor.  That is what happens when you cook a recipe from memory.

I was thinking about boiling tamarind but did not have time to process the tamarind so forgot the raisins I suspect.  Also I usually add flour and cream at the end,  but tonight we added coconut cream.

We drank the rest of my new favorite white Italian wine, 2018 Falerio produced by Saladini Pilastri, a wine of great depth and character.  Here are the tasting notes and a brief history of the vineyard from its website:
This wine is producted from an ancient mixture of grapes from Trebbiano, Passerina and Pecorino. Its typical straw-yellow hue and delicate bouquet are due to the excellent position of the vineyards. Elegant and full-bodied, Falerio, it served at 10°C. makes an excellent accompaniment to Ascolani green olives, fish, soups, delicate sauces and white meats.

The history of Count Saladini Pilastri dates back to the year 1000; a noble family from Ascoli Piceno that boasts of a rich and fascinating past whose ancestors were priests and leaders.
The deep antique roots of the family are a heredity for the present; it is a heredity of long lives of tradition over the centuries of history.

The vineyard activity has always coincided with the value and culture of the land from which it belongs.


We watched Antiques Roadshow and then went to bed at 9:00.

Bon Appetit