March 29, 2020 Brunch – Teriyaki Salmon Omelet. Dinner – Pot Roast with Root Vegetables

March 29, 2020 Brunch – Teriyaki Salmon Omelet. Dinner – Pot Roast with Root Vegetables

I awakened at 8:00 and watched Fareed Zacharia and then some of the news programs.  There was a great match from several years ago MC v. Liverpool on.

At 10:00:;we decided to make breakfast.  Suzette asked if I wanted her to make an omelet with the PPI salmon in the fridge and I said yes.

I minced a shallot and then cut slices of Swiss Gruyere and diced a couple of slices of fresh mozzarella and a few sprigs of parsley and handed Suzette the spinach.  She made a lovely salmon omelet.  Here is a picture.

I worked at my desk for a few minutes and then called Billy and we decided to call our cousins, Audrey and Anne, who are both around 90 years old.  After that I went to the garden to help Suzette. I turned the soil in the two beds we plan to plant this year for about an hour and Suzette cultivated the soil and removed the weeds.

I then came back inside and read and napped until 4:00

At 4:00 I became hungry so I heated the container of PPI Penne and Sausage and mushrooms and we shared that.

We then prepped dinner. Suzette had thawed out a frozen pot roast, so I diced a carrot, a turnip, a rutabaga, a stalk of celery, and a parsnip, while Suzette Seared the pot roast at high heat. Then Suzette put all the ingredients into a casserole with beef broth and fresh rosemary and baked it covered in a 300 degree oven for several hours.

 At 5:00 we drove to the post office to mail letters and then visited  Cynthia and Ricardo at their house.

Then we came home and watched the last half of 60 Minutes and then took a short walk.

When we came home I heated the extra PPI penne but it dried out to the point of being inedible.  We ate small bowls of pot roast with the root vegetables, which were delicious.

I went to the basement and fetched a Primus red Blend that I had bought at Costco because it had a 90 rating.  The blend goes particularly well with pot roast because it is medium weight.

Here is the wine maker’s description:   Primus The Blend is produced in the privileged location of the Apalta valley, Chile. An expressive blend that brings together the diversity of each of our estates and the best adapted varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon is the basis and provides structure, while Merlot adds red fruit and vitality on the palate. Carmenere delivers density and smoothness combined with the soft and complex finish of the Petit Verdot. Cabernet Franc adds elegance and persistence.

After all the pasta I had eaten , I did not eat very much pot roast but enjoyed its tenderness and the lovely roasted vegetables very much.

We had eaten dessert before dinner.  I at four cubes of chocolate with almonds and Suzette made a drink by adding a chocolate covered cherry in a glass with the PPI maraschino cherry medium she had make last year and vodka.

March 28, 2020 Brunch – Bacon, egg, snd Spinach Burrito Dinner -Sautéed Aji Tuna Steak with fried rice and Chinese vegetables and Salad

March 28, 2020 Brunch – Bacon, egg, snd Spinach Burrito   Dinner -Sautéed Aji Tuna Steak with fried rice and Chinese vegetables and Salad

When you are in isolation small things make a difference.  Today it was a lovely fresh salad with dinner.

We worked until a bit after 10:00 when I sautéed three thick pieces of bacon after removing most of the fat.  Suzette took over and cracked two eggs and I fetched grated Monterey Jack cheese from the garage and Suzette added spinach, whipped eggs, and spinach to the bacon.  She also re-heated the Refried beans from last night and I fetched the PPI sliced avocado and cubed mozzarella cheese and Suzette added those items to the skillet.

Suzette served the ingredients open faced on a warm flour tortillas dressing  and I added some warmed refried beans.  I garnished the deconstructed burrito with salsa verde. Suzette rolled hers into a burrito.

After brunch we worked in the garden for about 1 hour to get things ready for spring planting and cleaning the old dead plants to open up for the new growth.

At 4:00 I cut a French hard roll into three slices and toasted two slices.  I buttered the toasted slices and spread butter and blackberry preserves on both slices and then lay slices of Manchego cheese on them and ate them with a small glass of Trader Joe’s 2018 Oakville Platinum Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

At 6:30 we started dinner.  We had thawed 1 ½ lb. of tuna steaks.  We combined the PPI rice with some PPI Chinese vegetables.  I made a salad with butter lettuce, a tomato, ½ cucumber sliced, a little pickled ginger, and two green onions.  We dressed the salad with the Pomegranate dressing Suzette made for Valentine’s Day.

I minced ginger and squeezed several cloves of garlic.  Suzette put peanut oil, ginger, garlic,and sesame oil in a skillet and sautéed the tuna steaks.

We heated the rice with vegetables.

I opened a bottle of 2018 Adalina Bogedas Verdejo. Its clean crisp acidity complemented the spicy ginger and garlic flavored tuna.

The tuna was not as pleasant as fresh tuna but it was cooked to perfection, pink in the middle, so it was tender.

After the meal I made a raspberry brandy with a splash of crème de Cassis and a chocolate covered cherry.

We went to bed at 10:00 after watching Death in Paradise on PBS.

Bon Appetit

March 27, 2020 Lunch – PPI Tabouli Salad with Pita. Dinner – PPI Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with Refried Beans

March 27, 2020 Lunch – PPI Tabouli Salad with Pita.  Dinner – PPI Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with Refried Beans

Today started with a bowl of Tropical fruit salad, yogurt, and granola.

At 11:30 I made a very quick tabouli salad with some Romaine lettuce and added the chopped mozzarella, basil threads, and tomatoes and balsamic dressing left from last night’s Caprese salad as a garnish plus a T. of olive oil.  I heated a pita bread and stuffed it with tabouli and ate a quick lunch.

Suzette worked at home today and resolved many financing issues regarding the Center. I worked on my brief.

At 5:00 we attempted to walk but were turned back by strong gusting winds.

Suzette said we had to eat enchiladas for dinner.  That sounded like a prison sentence but it turned out to be very pleasant.

I playfully said, “I will if we heat some black beans.

Suzette looked in the pantry and said, “What about Refried beans?

I said fine and dinner was set.  I sliced an avocado and some onion for garnish and Suzette chopped some onion and bell pepper and sautéed those ingredients in a large skillet and then added  the can of beans and enough water to emulsify the stiff can of beans.  Soon the beans began to smooth and then stiffen just a little bit.  I fetched the sour cream and put some chopped onion and sliced avocado on the table and we opened two bottles of Negra Modelo and ate a lovely dinner.

After dinner we watched the movie “Valentine’s Day” with its all star cast and enjoyed it because everyone finds love in the end.

Suzette has worked hard all day while I took a long nap, in the afternoon, so she went to bed after the movie at 10:30.

I had decided to make chocolate chip cookies.  The only ingredient I did not know where to find was
pecans, but as I fetched the sugars, flour and other ingredients, I had the thought to look in the kitchen cabinet that is where the coffee machine used to be located and there was a bag of pecans there.
I creamed ½ lb. of butter I had softened in the microwave in the Kitchen Aid.  Then I added bout 1 cup of light brown sugar and ½ cup of white granulated sugar and creamed those ingredients.  I then added three eggs and creamed all those ingredients.  I mixed two cups of flour with 1 tsp. of baking soda in a mixing bowl and added that to the Kitchen Aid bowl.  Finally I added1/2 cup of raisins, ¾ cup of chocolate chips, and ½ cup of pecans and mixed everything together.

I buttered two cookie sheets and dropped 36 mounds of cookie dough on the trays and baked the cookies for 11 or 12 minutes until they were golden brown on top.  Here is a picture of 35 of them.

Sometimes I get an urge to cook something and I go into a robotic focus on the functions needed to prepare the dish.  Tonight it was chocolate chip cookies.  Last week it was the fried rice with sliced mushrooms and diced asparagus.

So now we have some cookies to tide us over until our food order arrives on Wednesday, April 1, when the food is scheduled for delivery.

Yesterday I explored the food ordering business and found that there is a food delivery service called Instacart.  Today I asked Willy to send us his grocery list and this afternoon we went on the site and placed an order with Sprouts and El Super.  The service costs $3.99 plus a tip for the delivery driver.  Our order totaled $90.00 of which $82.00 was the cost of the groceries.  Each Store has a minimum order of about $35.00, but with three people ordering we met that threshold rather easily.  Unfortunately not all items were available but there were substitutes.  For, example I had to order a different slightly more expensive yogurt than the Sprouts brand I usually buy and some items are more expensive, such as the Sprouts brand of olive oil for $9.99 rather than the regular price of $7.99.  I bought six bottles on sale for $5.99 two weeks ago but this week I do not want to go to the store for fear of catching the virus.  On the plus side the stores include all the weekly special discounts they are featuring on items.  Instacart shops about ten different stores including all the ones I shop at, so if it works I will be thrilled and thankful that we shall not starve during the duration of the virus isolation.

Bon Appetit

March 26, 2020 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup with Shrimp. Dinner – Penne in Sausage Cream Sauce with Caprese Salad

March 26, 2020 Lunch – PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup with Shrimp.  Dinner – Penne in Sausage Cream Sauce with Caprese Salad

I ate granola, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad for breakfast.

I spent a rather busy morning working on my three domestic cases and writing my brief for the Court of Appeals.

At noon I heated the PPI Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup and added a T. of red miso, two shrimp, a handful of spinach, and a fish ball.

After lunch I saw that the market was on the move upward, so I replaced my position in Disney by buying 100 shares for $104.35 each.  I had sold the shares for $126. Disney added another $1.00 by the end of the session.  Let’s hope this upswing in the Market is the beginning of a recovery in the market and not a way station of another leg down.  If so my portfolio is back above its level on January 2018, which is a relief. The Dow has risen almost 4000 points in the last three days and we know it can not continue in that manner, especially since we are going into a recession.

Suzette came home about 4:00 and started working on an application for government aid, which is what we all shall be doing soon.

We talked about dinner and Suzette said, “We have Sausage.

I replied, “Perhaps we could cook it with pasta?

At 5:15 I walked a mile without pain. When I returned Suzette was in the kitchen cooking.  There was a pot boiling with a Penne pasta in it.  She had cut about a 1/3 pound piece of patty sausage off the 1 lb. roll and she was sautéing slices of three large mushrooms in a skillet to brown them.  After the mushrooms were brown she removed them and sautéed the sausage and added the container of PPI roasted vegetables to the skillet.  Then Suzette added the mushrooms back, some Spanish paprika, salt and pepper, and some heavy cream to the skillet and finally she added about 1 1/2 cups of drained cooked Penne to the skillet.

I fetched the log of fresh sliced mozzarella cheese and sliced a tomato. Suzette picked basil leaves from the basil plant she has been nursing through the winter and made a balsamic and olive oil dressing for the Caprese salad I constructed with alternating slices of cheese, a basil leaf, and a slice of tomato.  Suzette drizzled the Caprese Salad with the dressing and we were ready to eat.

I sliced the remains basil leaves into thin strips that Suzette used to garnish the dish and I grated Parmigiana cheese on the dishes.

I fetched a bottle of Aquino Reserva Chianti and opened it and Suzette poured glasses of it and we ate a lovely dinner.

It was a bad day for NM corona virus infections with 24  new confirmed cases and a total of 136; a big increase from 13 new cases yesterday.

It makes me want to shelter in place forever.

We watched a CNN interview with Bill Gates during dinner and after dinner watched Midsummer Mystery and then Endeavor Masterpiece Mystery.

I ate a toasted slice of banana nut bread smeared with marmalade with a cup of tea and two pieces of chocolate for dessert.

After Endeavor I blogged this entry.

A rather exciting day for not leaving the house except to walk.

Bon Appetit

March 25, 2020 Lunch – Teriyaki Salmon with Roasted Vegetables. Dinner – Sautéed Smoked Pork Chops with Figs, Apples, and Apricots and Braised Cabbage

I finally left the house today at around 10:30 after a breakfast of toasted bagel , cream cheese, onion slices, and whitefish.

I delivered Willy’s Frye boots for repair to UPS, then I drove to Total Wine and picked up my order I placed last night on line for a case of wine and a bottle each of scotch and rum.  The wine was 20% of off and the spirits were 10% off.  I saved approximately $30.00.  I wore a mask and rubber gloves so felt pretty safe.  After picking up my order I rolled to the beer section and picked up a case of Negra Modelo.  We are counting on alcohol to get us through these trying times.

I then drove to the bank and deposited a check before returning home. MIT took a while to store all the wine, spirits and beer.  After I finished I decided I needed a quick hot meal so I heated 3 oz. of the PPI teriyaki salmon and about 5 oz. of PPI Roasted Vegetables. I poured out the last of the Pinot Grigio Della Venezia ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s) and ate a great lunch.

I watched the news after lunch and was shocked when the DOW  dropped from a 1300 point gain to a 495 point gain in the last hour and the Nasdq went negative.  Not a good sign.

The Congress better pass the $2 Trillion recovery bill that became stalled in the Senate today.

Amy called and told me how important it is to clean and disinfect one’s shoes and the floor, so I mobbed the floor with the vinegar and water solution as she recommended.  I see the logic of not bringing any virus into the house.

Suzette arrived around 4:30 and we relaxed and watched the news and checked the dampening of the infection curve in New Mexico.

We discussed dinner and when Suzette asked, “What do you want?”

I said, “How about a Smoked Pork chop?”

Suzette then enthusiastically suggested braised cabbage with it and finally, “I would like a sautéed apple.”

I asked, “Shall we drink a rose’ with dinner?”

Receiving an affirmative response, Suzette took off to the kitchen and I went to the wine rack in the dining room where I found a bottle of Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw California Rose made with organic grapes.  I chilled it in the freezer but the thirty minute chill during dinner prep did not cool it sufficiently so we had to add ice cubes to the glasses when I poured it at dinner.  I swear the wine was watered down even before adding the ice cubes, so it was not a great bargain at $3.99.  I will not buy it again.

I shredded 1/3 head of cabbage and Suzette diced a bunch of asparagus.  Then  Suzette braised those vegetables in butter and olive oil with fennel seed in one skillet and the pork chops with the rehydrated figs, apricots and apple slices in the other skillet.  When the ingredients were cooked Suzette poured some Calvados into the skillet and flambeed the pork and fruits.

The finished dish was interesting and very flavorful without being heavy.

We have an interesting food relationship.  I prefer cooking French, Chinese and Japanese, while Suzette prefers cooking German Cuisine.

We also both enjoy improvising new dishes using PPIs together.

It works.  For example, tonight on the spur of the moment Suzette created an interesting German influenced meal that we had never eaten before, smoked pork chops sautéed with fruits (apple slices, diced apricots, and figs) accompanied by braised cabbage and asparagus with fennel.  I never would have thought of that menu and I found it refreshing and not too heavy.

Now I need to think of something creative and different.

Bon Appetit

March 24, 2020 Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup with Shrimp. Dinner – PPI Green Chili Enchiladas with Crema and Mango Salsa

March 24, 2020 Lunch – Vietnamese Miso Noodle Soup with Shrimp. Dinner – PPI Green Chili Enchiladas with Crema and Mango Salsa

We cook more on the weekends and Mondays and less during the week when we eat the PPIs left from those meals.

I ate granola, tropical fruit salad and yogurt for breakfast, but had a hankerin’ for a bowl of noodle soup for lunch.

 At 11:30 I filled a 2 quart sauce pan 2/3 full of water.  I added a cube of Pho seasoning and a tsp. of Dehydrated Dashi.  Then I added 1 large mushroom sliced, 1 Shallot minced, three types of noodles, wheat, bean thread, and 40 mm rice flakes.  I went to the compost pile and picked a handful of arugula diced it added it with two diced bok Choy leaves.  Then I added a large T. of red miso and, after fifteen minutes I added six shrimp and two fish balls sliced. I garnished the soup with thinly sliced green onion.

I added hoisin sauce and sriracha and had a delicious lunch. After the first bowl of soup I added water to the pot of soup because as the noodles expand the up a lot of the water.  I continued to cook the noodles after I ladled the first bowl of soup out of the pot.  I ate two bowls and had ½ of the soup left for tomorrow.

Suzette came home at 4:30 and I napped until 5:30 when we walked ½ mile in the neighborhood.

When we returned I fetched the PPI enchiladas and made mango salsa.  Suzette sliced an avocado that I diced and added two slices of red onion minced, one mango, juice of a lime and about 3 T. of pasilla chili.

While I made the salsa Suzette mixed crema with some heavy cream to make a crema.  We garnished the re-heated enchiladas with salsa and crema for a really delicious meal.  We drank a Negra Modelo with dinner.

After dinner I drank a sip of Calvados with a cup of tea and three Danish cookies.

Bon Appetit

March 23, 2020 Lunch – Tabouli Salad and Sandwich. Dinner – Cedar Board Grilled Teriyaki Salmon, Rice, and Stir-Fried Vegetables

March 23, 2020 Lunch – Tabouli Salad and Sandwich. Dinner – Cedar Board Grilled Teriyaki Salmon, Rice, and Stir-Fried Vegetables

I ate granola, tropical fruit salad, and yogurt for breakfast.

At 11:30 I made a salad with Romaine lettuce, baby spinach leaves, a tomato cubed, kalamata olives, cojita cheese, two green onions sliced thinly, a couple of scoops of tabouli, and four anchovy fillets.

I dressed the salad with Cesar dressing and heated a whole wheat pita over a gas burner on the stove.  I drank water with lunch and watched the market continue its collapse as the Senate argued over a stimulus bill.

I worked after lunch and then walked about 2/3 mile at 4:00 and was pleased that my body is limbering up a bit.

Suzette came home at 5:00 reporting that she was afraid to shop at Costco due to the crowd after picking up two prescriptions for me..  Suzette has been my lifeline to food and medicine.  I would not be able to stay at home without her.

The least I can do is to cook good meals for us, which gets us to tonight’s dinner.

Cedar Board Grilled Teriyaki Salmon.

Willy and Suzette’s favorite preparation for Salmon is Cedar Board Grilled Teriyaki Salmon.  Suzette cut a 1 x 6 inch cedar board bought at Home Depot to the length of the salmon filet and submerged it in water for about 30 minutes.  I had marinated the salmon filet for a day in teriyaki sauce in a gallon freezer bag.   The recipe for teriyaki sauce is to heat 1/3 cup each of sake, soy sauce, Aji Mirin, and 1 T. of sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Let it cool and pour it into the freezer bag with the raw salmon filet.  When it was time to cook Suzette heated the propane grill and cooked the salmon on the wet board to medium rare.

Stir Fried Vegetables

I had bought baby bok Choy at Talin last week.  Tonight I diced three heads separating the green leaves from the white portion of the stalk.  I minced 1 T. of ginger root, ½ T. of garlic, and about two T. of  shallot and sautéed those with the white stalk portions of bok Choy in 2 T. of peanut oil at medium high heat in my wok.

I also sautéed about ¼ cup of broken cashews to golden brown as a garnish.

After the hard vegetables softened I added the green bok Choy leaves and 3 oz. of brown beech mushrooms plus a dash or two of sesame oil and about ½ T. of Chinese rice wine.

I then made a seasoning sauce with the remaining 1/3 cup of teriyaki sauce marinade plus 1 T. of cornstarch and 2 T. of water and stirred it into the vegetables.  After an additional couple of minutes the sauce thickened a bit more than I wished (you do not want the sauce to turn into glue) to the consistency I liked and reduced the heat.

I then heated about 1 cup of PPI rice and heated a small pitcher of sake in a sauce pan half filled with water.

When Suzette finished grilling the salmon she sectioned it into 5-6 oz. sections and plated it on a pile of rice with a large scoop of vegetables beside it. I fetched small Chinese tea cups and we poured warmed sake and had a lovely dinner and I fetched the bowl of Japanese pickled vegetables that I had added a sliced yellow squash, shallot, and green beans to the bowl in the morning, so there were lots of fresh pickled vegetables.

This is a near perfect meal that  we have perfected over the years. It is one influenced by my love of Japanese and Chinese Cuisine.  I think I first ate teriyaki salmon at the then famous Yamato Restaurant in San Francisco in 1969 and loved it except the fish was sauced with a thick sweetened  teriyaki sauce after it was grilled, sort of like the typical sweet and sour saucing of fried Chinese dishes.  I prefer to use the less sweet Japanese recipe for teriyaki sauce that often is served as a dipping sauce for tempura in Japanese restaurants as a marinade.  I marinaded the salmon for two ½ days this time and enjoyed the deeper saturation of teriyaki flavor in the meat.

We were coordinating with Willy on the timing of dinner and Suzette filled a paper plate with all the four elements of the dinner when she served at 7:30.  When Willy arrived a few minutes later he was having an allergy attack, so he covered his face with a scarf and we spoke for a few minutes and gave him his packages that had arrived and he delivered his boots for shipment for repair. He is staying in his apartment and hopefully is well.

We watched Antiques Roadshow during and after dinner as a relief from the mixed messaging on the news between President Trump and the World Health Organization and the continued slump in the Market, another 582 points today.

I awakened at 4:00 to finish this blog and drink a cup of chai.  I love the quiet time in the middle of the night.

Bon Appetit

March 22, 2020 Brunch – Gravad Lax and Orange Salad with Basil Mayonnaise Dressing.  Dinner – Sautéed Filet Mignon with Sliced Mushrooms and Shallot and Steamed Asparagus and Roasted Vegetables

When I awakened I made tropical fruit salad with a papaya, a pineapple, three mangos, and four oranges sectioned plus the juice of two limes.

I then butchered the whole filet Mignon into about a dozen steaks steaks and cubed the rest for Boeuf Bourguignon.

Since we were on a foodie roll after Suzette finished wrapping and freezing the filet Mignon except for two we kept for dinner, she decided to make a special salad for brunch.

It is hard do put into words how wonderful the meals were today.

Brunch was a replication of the incredible salad we first discovered Spiaggia, in Chicago 20 years ago. We had taken Willy on a train ride to Chicago and were staying at the Drake.  We were looking for a decent restaurant near the hotel and somehow we picked Spiaggia across the street at 980 N. Michigan Ave.  We did not have reservations so had to sit at a table in the Café, a small bar and dining area attached to the restaurant.  We ordered a Smoked Salmon Salad that neither of us will ever forget.  It was a pile of greens garnished with slices of roasted fennel, smoked salmon, and fresh orange slices. There were dots of infused basil surrounding the salad and the salad was dressed with a light orange mayonnaise dressing. It elevated Smoked Salmon as an ingredient to an entirely higher level than we had ever imagined. It was nothing short of amazing.

Spiaggia is consistently rated among Chicago’s best restaurants.  For example it is the James Beard Chicago winner for 2020 for its wine Program.

Suzette wanted to make the salad for lunch.  We had all the ingredients except fennel, so Suzette made an excellent substitution of croutons made from French Hard Rolls I had bought at Pastian’s this week .  Also Suzette also found a bottle of basil infused mayonnaise in the garage fridge and that was strongly flavored with basil, she lightened the basil flavor by adding additional mayonnaise and orange juice to it for the dressing and eliminated the infused basil dots.

She cut hearts of Romaine lettuce into strips. I sliced Lax and cut the slices into bite sized pieces and peeled and sectioned an orange and then Suzette constructed the salad.

 Such a special dish deserved a special wine and I found it in our wine refrigerator, a Gruet 2010 Grand Blanc de Blanc.  The wine had an amazing richness and depth of flavor.  You could tell that it was at its maximum flavor just before it turned to sherry. Exceptional and a lucky find.

But that was just one-half of this amazing brunch.  Suzette went the garden and snipped a handful of chives and fetched the PPI Vichyssoise from the garage fridge and filled soup bowls with Vichyssoise and garnished them with fresh minced chives.

We savored every bite of the salad and soup and every sip of the bubbly champagne. I believe that Suzette equaled the Spiaggia standard.

After lunch we took a nap for an hour and then worked in the yard. Suzette watered the yard and beds and cleaned out several beds in the formal garden.  While she was working I took a shower and then pruned the rest of the Roses in the back and front yard and dug up some more weeds in the garden paths.

We then watched some news and the White House Press Conference and at 5:00 I decided to roast root vegetables for a dinner of filet Mignon, Roasted Root Vegetables and steamed asparagus.

I fetched four Brussels sprouts, a parsnip, and a turnip from the garage fridge and peeled them and diced the parsnip and turnip and quartered the Brussels Sprouts.  I peeled and diced a carrot and a medium onion and Suzette peeled and I cubed two Yukon Gold potatoes. Suzette pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and after I tossed the vegetables with salt and olive oil, I covered them with aluminum foil and placed them into the oven.

I then lay down to read and Suzette took over the vegetables, tossing them after 30 minutes and removing the foil so they would stop steaming and start roasting for the last 15 or 20 minutes.

Suzette called me back to the kitchen around 6:00.  We decided to pan sear the filets.  She asked if I wanted sautéed mushrooms and I said, “Yes.”

So suzette sliced four white mushrooms and I minced a T. of shallot and a clove of garlic.  Suzette sautéed the shallot and mushrooms and then removed them from the pan.  I went to the garden and picked six or seven sprigs of thyme, from which Suzette plucked about a tsp. of leaves.  She took my suggestion of sautéing the steak (New York style) in butter, thyme, and garlic.  Suzette also steamed about two dozen stalks of asparagus and I fetched the Béarnaise Sauce from the fridge and fetched a bottle of Trader Joe’s 2018 Platinum Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. I noticed a rather chalky flavor, like the grapes had been grown on the eastern hills of Napa Valley east of Silverado Trail.

I am noticing that isolation has intensified my senses of smell and taste, which is an unexpected pleasure. With nowhere to go and the lack of activity, savoring food and wine seems to have taken on a greater importance.

Suzette plated the plates with the mushrooms garnishing the steak.  I put a wedge of Béarnaise on the steak and rubbed some onto the asparagus and had the best meal I had had since brunch.

We watched 60 Minutes that had several interesting features about the coronavirus virus.  We spoke to Willy and then Luke and then I lay down at 8:30 and went to sleep.

I awakened at 11:30 and wrote this blog entry, cleaned some pots and pans, and then finished dinner with a cup of chai and an ounce of Calvados at 12:30.

Suzette is exploring Zoom and by the end of the week we may be able to see people we are speaking to on the phone.

Bon Appetit

March 21, 2020 Lunch – Mapo Dofu and Rice. Dinner – Pulled Pork Enchiladas

March 21, 2020 Lunch – Mapo Dofu and Rice. Dinner – Pulled Pork Enchiladas

We ate blueberries and yogurt for breakfast.  I added granola and milk to my bowl.  I then pruned rose bushes and Suzette worked on the hot tub.

At.1:00 we heated the last of the Mapo Dofu with rice.  Today I finished the dish by adding thinly sliced green onions and ground Nepalese peppercorns.  I was a balmy day, so we ate outside under the gazebo.  We drank Negra Modelos.

At 6:00 we began cooking dinner. I diced a head of garlic, a medium onion, ½ of a pasilla chili, three green chilis, 2 lb. of tomatillos, and a bunch of cilantro. Suzette cooked all these ingredients until they were soft and then puréed them in the Cuisinart into a sauce.  Suzette picked a basket of fresh arugula from our compost pile that I de-stemmed.

Then we constructed the Enchiladas.  Suzette softened six corn tortillas in a skillet filled with the chili sauce and layered the bottom of a large Pyrex baking dish with them.  We then added Monterrey jack cheese and pulled pork and sauce.  Then Suzette added another layer of tortillas softened in the chili sauce and we added arugula, we crumbled cojita cheese on top of the arugula and spread shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and more pork and sauce.  Finally after six more softened tortillas and another layer of cheese we  poured the remaining green chili sauce over the entire surface of the Enchiladas and put the bakIng dish into a 300 degree oven and baked the Enchiladas for 45 minutes. I fetched two ginger beers and we enjoyed on of the best enchilada casseroles we have ever made.

It was the combination of three dishes; the pork shoulder in black bean sauce shredded, the tomatillo green chili sauce, and finally the combination of those two dishes with cheese, fresh arugula, and tortillas into a final dish of exquisite complexity and flavor.

 

We watched Episode 4 of Salt, fat, acid, heat on Netflix as we ate, which took this gastronomic adventure to a higher level of enjoyment.

In these days of isolation, great food seems to be our only consolation.

I am trying to keep the good food flowing.  So far I am pleased, especially because cooking and eating great food and wine is a way for Suzette and Me to express our mutually shared talent and enjoyment of good food.

We went to Willy’s this morning to see Amy and Vahl, who came to Willy’s apartment to install a coyote fence to enclose his patio.  The told us about an older couple in Santa Fe who do not cook.  Amy said, “They lived at Harry’s Roadhouse and now they are driving all over Santa Fe to pick up rake out at the restaurants still open.

For some reason I found that funny and depressing. Or perhaps found our situation liberating.  Just look back over the last week or two at the fabulous meals we have been eating.  That can not be duplicated with take out, which I find treacherous and not very satisfying.

Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit

March 21, 2020 Lunch – Artichoke, tabouli, and whole wheat roll. Dinner – Steamed Salmon with tarragon and lemon slices, Sautéed Rice with asparagus and Portobello mushrooms and grilled Artichoke

I did not eat breakfast and did not eat lunch until 1:30 which threw my schedule off a bit.

At 11:00 I drove to the Court of Appeals to pick up a Record Proper for an appeal.  Then drove to Talin to replenish our pickled ginger supply.  I bought two 16 oz. bottles for $4.99 each and then went crazy.  I wanted to stock up on essential items and canned goods that will keep.  I bought a package of deep fried tofu, a large can of baby clams, two 1.5 liter bottles of sake, fresh cryovaced  udon noodles and egg noodles, dry bean thread noodles, dry rice noodles, a container of tofu, a lb. of fresh shallots, a bag of baby bok Choy, two cans of pickled shallots, a piece of ginger, and a container of beech mushrooms for a total of  $70.00.

I returned home after 1:00 and took a shower and changed clothing and then prepared an Artichoke dipping sauce by combining ½ cup of mayonnaise, a dash of salsa verde and olive oil, and lemon juice. I put a couple of scoops of tabouli on a plate and sliced and toasted a whole wheat dinner roll and ate a light lunch.

After lunch I checked the market and recorded another crushing day of declines in the market.

I was tired or depressed or both so I lay down for a nap and slept until Suzette arrived around 6:00.

I got up and we watched the news for an hour and decided to grill artichokes and steam salmon fillets and serve that with rice.

Chicken and corn Soup

Suzette also wanted to make chicken corn soup with rivlets.  I finely diced 1 cup each of celery and onion, which Suzette sautéed in a large pot.  Suzette cut the kernels from the ears of corn we had boiled several days ago.  After the vegetables softened she added the three quarts of chicken stock with the diced dark meat from that we had prepared last week.  After the soup cooked for a bit Suzette made rivlets with ¾ cup of flour, water and an egg. She then spooned the mixture into the soup, which cooked the rivlets instantly into tiny dumplings. They are similar to German spaetzle..

 

Steamed salmon fillets - After the Soup was cooking Willy called and came by.  We went to the garden and picked some tarragon sprigs and Willy minced the tarragon.  I sliced three fillets from the fillet Suzette bought yesterday at Sprouts for $7.00/lb. Suzette sliced a lemon and lay the fillets on the lemon slices on the steaming pan and laid pads of butter on the fillets and sprinkled the tarragon onto them. She then set the steaming oven controls to steam fish fillets and steamed the salmon fillets.

The Sautéed Mushrooms, Asparagus and rice.

I cut ten asparagus into 1 inch pieces and sliced four portobello mushrooms and sautéed them in a medium skillet with two T. of butter and 1 T. of olive oil.  After a few minutes I added 1 clove of garlic and a ½ oz.of onion slices.  I then added a heaping spoon full of PPI rice from last night.  I broke apart the clumps of rice and cooked the vegetables until they were cooked.  I then added 2T. of Amontillado sherry and a dash of salt and white pepper and turned down the heat to conserve the liquid.

The grilled Artichokes

The benefit of how Suzette and I cook is we have a carefully developed team effort to our cooking.  We each prepare our own dishes, but use our special skills to assist each other.  Suzette’s skill sets include, stove top cooking, oven cooking, and grilling, plus baking and mine are chopping, butchering, making sauces, and dealing with the wines. For example, tonight I diced the ingredients for the soup and my sautéed rice, asparagus and mushroom dish and sautéed it.  Suzette grilled the Artichokes and steamed the salmon.

We both worked together to make the chicken and corn soup.

The result is a two to three dish dinner usually,  not including a dessert.

I had previously boiled the Artichokes and for lunch made the simple dipping sauce, so that dish was already prepped and was ready as soon as Suzette grilled the Artichokes, except that I added a few extra drops of lemon juice to brighten the sauce’s acidity and bite.

I chilled a bottle of Pinot Grigio de Venezia bought at TraderJoe’s for $5.99 when we started cooking so by the time we ate it was chilled.

We had a lovely dinner.  Everything was interesting and beautifully prepared.

After dinner we each drank an extra glass of wine and talked until about 10:00 when Willy left and Suzette and I went to bed.  I blogged. She slept.

Bon Appetit

March 20, 2020 Brunch – Gravad Lax on Bagel with cream cheese and onion slices Late Lunch – Tabouli Pita Sandwich Dinner – Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder in Black bean sauce with Rice

March 20, 2020 Brunch  – Gravad Lax on Bagel with cream cheese and onion slices  Late Lunch – Tabouli Pita Sandwich   Dinner – Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder in Black bean sauce with Rice

This morning we prepped the pork shoulder Suzette had bought for dinner.  While Suzette braised the salted and peppered 3 lb. bone in Pork shoulder in olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, I diced an onion, ½ of a pasilla Chile, about ¼ cup of fresh baby oregano,  ½ of an orange bell pepper, and a small head of garlic.  Suzette soaked three dried guajilla chiles in hot water and I stripped the flesh out of them and into the crock pot to which she added 7 oz. tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, several leaves of thawed and chopped Hoja Santa, and a 24 oz. can of black beans.

I worked until 10:00 when I ate a bowl of granola, blueberries, milk, and yogurt.

I was still hungry so at 11:00 I ate two thinly sliced bagels smeared with cream cheese and garnished with thin slices of onion and Lax and capers.

Loyda and I turned the pork over at 1:00 p.m.

I went to the Court of Appeals at 2:00 and returned at 3:15.  I was hungry when I returned home, so I heated a pita on the stove and filled it with the tabouli I made yesterday evening.  I was delicious.



I was on a conference call from 3:30 until 5:00.  Suzette came home and saved the pork dish that was cooking in the oven from burning by adding water to it.

I meditated for twenty minutes and then made two cups of rice and we went for a ¾ mile walk.

When we returned we started cooking dinner.  When I went to the garage to fetch cilantro I discovered the door that connected the shed to the garage was open.  When I investigated I discovered that a burglar had forced a Shed window open and taken my bike again.  The burglar also had forced the lock on the door between the garage and shed but it appeared that they did not take anything from the garage. Suzette boarded up the broken window and we took pictures of the damage and returned to the house to finish dinner.  I chopped cilantro, green onion, and the last of fresh arugula Suzette picked yesterday.

Let me tell you about miracle of the arugula. The lower slope of our compost pile at the outer edge there is a profusion of arugula growing. It is not bitter and we have been using it as the foundation for dinner entrees, such as tonight or mixed with baby spinach in salads as we did last night with the chicken salad salad or as a green vegetable or in soups.  It has been our all purpose garden vegetable for the last two weeks.  Here is a picture.

Suzette organized a lovely plate of food; a pile of rice, then a layer of the pulled pork in black bean sauce and finally chopped fresh cilantro, green onion, and arugula.  I drank a root beer and Suzette drank a Negra Modelo with dinner.

We have lots of pork and rice left as PPIs.

After dinner I ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream with rum and chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

Then I drank a small glass of the raspberry brandy I made several years ago with a cup of tea and a chocolate covered cherry.

We went to bed around 9:30.  I blogged for a few minutes and then drifted off to sleep.

We awakened at 12:30 and drank a cup of camomile tea with honey and lime juice and finished this blog.

Bon Appetit



 

March 18, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad Sandwich Dinner - Vichyssoise and Chicken Salad Salad

March 18, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad Sandwich   Dinner - Vichyssoise and Chicken Salad Salad

Scott came by in the morning and we talked for several hours to discuss the case.  It was nice to see someone.  We ate bowls of Mapo Dofu and rice and pickled Japanese vegetables.  We drank green tea and I ate two cookies with tea after the meal.

Then at 1:00 I toasted a French hard roll and spread mayo on each slice  and laid slices of avocado and a little pile of chicken salad for a light lunch.

At 5:00 about the time Suzette came home I started making tabouli.  I soaked about 1 cup of No. 2 bulgar in a pot of hot water for about 45 minutes and then drained it and put the drained bulgar in a large bowl.  I then chopped three bunches of parsley, three bunches of green onions, about ¼ cup pickled cucumber and three diced tomatoes and added a tsp. of salt, 1/3 cup of olive oil, and juice of 2 lemons.

Suzette was tired so I brought in the pot of Vichyssoise and went to the garden and picked a small handful of chives and sliced them finely.  We added about ¾ cup of heavy cream to the soup and Suzette filled soup bowls with soup that we garnished with chives.

While I was prepping the tabouli I had poured out the last glass of Aquino Chianti Reserva and we both nibbled on Jarlsberg cheese and I toasted and buttered slices of whole wheat dinner roll to lay my cheese on.

Salad - Suzette went to the compost pile that is filled with arugula and  picked some and cleaned the leaves and lay them on a plate and added olive oil to the chicken salad to loosen it and create a dressing like consistency.  Suzette then added a scoop of chicken salad to the plate of arugula for a light salad course.

I drank Chianti and Suzette drank Gruner Vetliner.

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We went to bed early after watching some of the depressing news.

It looks like we are at or near a bottom of the market after a 35% precipitous drop in the last two weeks. The fourth circuit breaker was triggered today in the Market after another 7% drop, but the market began to recover later in the day.

What a ride!

Bon Appetit

March 17, 2020 Lunch – PPI Boeuf Bourguignon, red cabbage and beets, and mashed potatoes. Dinner – Mapo Dofu and rice and Japanese pickled vegetables.

March 17, 2020 Lunch – PPI Boeuf Bourguignon, red cabbage and beets, and mashed potatoes. Dinner – Mapo Dofu and rice and Japanese pickled vegetables.

I did not eat breakfast, so at 11:00 I gathered three PPIs from the fridge; Boeuf Bourguignon, red cabbage and beets, and mashed potatoes, and heated them in the microwave and ate them from the storage container that I had reheated for 3:33 minutes at a power of 8.

I poured a glass of 2012 Origon Gran Reserva.  The 60% Syrah and 40% Tempranillo blend went well with the dish, not unlike the Cotes du Rhône recommended by Julia Child in her recipe for the dish in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.



After lunch I weeded the yard for 30 minutes and then worked for a while.  At 5:00 I took a 1/3 mile walk in an unrelentingly strong breeze out of the Southwest.

This was a day of recovery for the market of 1049 points on the Dow, but not enough to erase the 3000 point drop of yesterday. My portfolio is at a new low and probably will not recover until there is a cure for the corona virus, which could be a year.

Suzette came home at around 6:00 and I started preparing Mapo Dofu for dinner.  The dish is a traditional Szechuan dish. I make it without the traditional piquantness.  I diced ½ each of a bell pepper and a poblano pepper, 1 medium onion, about 2 T. of ginger and 1 T. of garlic, 1 eggplant, and about 1 cup of broccoli.  I then diced a 1 lb. boneless pork sirloin, 1 tsp. of chili garlic sauce. and two cooked PPI bratwurst.

I heated about 2 T. of peanut oil in my wok and stir fried all those ingredients for about 20 minutes until they were tender.

I then added 8 oz. of firm cubed tofu, and about 1 T. of dried Black wood ear threads and 4 sliced dehydrated shiitake mushrooms that I had rehydrated in 2 cups of hot water for about fifteen minutes and added to the wok to nearly cover the ingredients.  I also added 1 T.of Chinese Cooking wine, 1 tsp. of sesame oil, and 2 T. of soy sauce.

I covered the wok and let the ingredients steam for another five to ten minutes and the added a seasoning sauce of 1 T. of Chinese Cooking Wine and 1 tsp. of sesame oil, ½ tsp. of dehydrated chicken stock and 1 T. of cornstarch plus 2 to 3 T. of hot water.  After a couple of minutes at medium high heat the liquid in the wok thickened slightly.

I fetched two Negra Modelos from the fridge and Suzette and I shared one with dinner.

I heated the PPI sushi rice from last Friday night’s Sashimi dinner for 2:22 minutes and we served ourselves Rice and Mapo Dofu and nibbled Japanese pickled vegetables

The mixture of meats and vegetables and tofu seems very healthy and satisfying to me.

After dinner I drank a cup of green  tea and finished reading Lost Horizon by James Hilton.  I loved the book about a valley of tranquility hidden in the Himalayas where people live exceedingly long and happy lives.  A perfect book for 1933 and the rise of Nazism that foreshadowed the horrors of 2nd World War.

I saw that Biden expanded his lead over Sanders in the primaries held today in Illinois, Arizona, and Florida.  The nomination appears to be Biden’s to lose at this point.  The question now is whether the democrats can unite to defeat Trump.

Bon Appetit

March 16, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad with a Tabouli filled Pita Sandwich. Dinner – Chicken Salad on Romaine lettuce leaves with an Ear of Corn

March 16, 2020 Lunch – Chicken Salad with a Tabouli filled Pita Sandwich. Dinner – Chicken Salad on Romaine lettuce leaves with an Ear of Corn

I got hungry at 10:00 and cut the thicker half of a bagel into two slices and toasted them, spread them with cream cheese, and garnished them with thin slices of onion and Gravad Lax and capers

I finished the probate today, so at 11:30 I took my fee check to the bank.  Then I drove to Pastian’s and bought four dozen dinner rolls so we would have lots of bread in the house.  The loaves of bread had been bought.  At $.50 per dozen one should not be choosy.

I then drove to Lowe’s and bought tonic water, mayonnaise, ice cream, pita bread, milk, and cream cheese.

When I arrived home at 1:15 I noticed that the market was sliding toward the historic 3,000 point drop and Google was under $1100, so I bought 40 shares at around at $1085.  I am holding on to some cash in case the market keeps going down. For example Apple went down $32.00 today to take it $14.00 below the price I bought it at on Friday.

If we go into a world wide recession due to all businesses shutting down, we are a long way from the bottom of the market. I will resist jumping into the market further.

I then made a salad with baby spinach leaves, a tomato diced, 1/4 of a cucumber peeled and sliced, about a dozen kalamata olives, the last 1/2 cup of tabouli and two slices of onion sliced thinly.

I heated a whole wheat pita on the stove until it was warm and tore it in half and stuffed it with the tabouli, tomato, and onion from the salad and ate the sandwich with the salad.

I rested in the afternoon and walked ½ mile at 5:30. Suzette came home at 6:30 and we started to cook dinner. We decided to process the PPI roasted chicken into two dishes. I deboned the chicken and tossed the bones into a stock pot with 1 onion, two carrots, and two stalks of celery chopped.  Suzette added water and simmered the ingredients into a broth.  I diced the dark meat and Suzette put that into the chicken broth to start a chicken noodle soup. I diced the white meat and put it into a bowl and diced and added 1 ½ apple diced, three green onions sliced thinly, three stalks of celery diced, four hard boiled eggs diced ,that Suzette had firmly boiled. I went to the garden and picked a small handful of tarragon sprigs and chopped them and added the tarragon to the dressing Suzette had made by mixing mayonnaise, Grey Poupon Dijon mustard, and a bit of olive oil.

I opened a bottle of of Gruner Veltliner that Trader Joe’s sells for $6 or $7.  It is a good wine, if not a great wine, and we like its light acidity and fruitiness.  A nice change of pace from the heavier French wines we often drink.

Suzette husked and boiled the five ears of corn I bought at Sprouts last week and I  rinsed and dried leaves of mini Romaine lettuce which Suzette lay on each plate as a base for the chicken salad.  When the corn was ready Suzette placed scoops of chicken salad on the lettuce leaves and an ear of corn on each plate and I poured glasses of Gruner Veltliner and we had a pleasant dinner.

After dinner we drained the chicken broth and added the diced dark meat into the stock pot and then transferred those ingredients into a steel bowl that I covered with Saran for storage in the garage.

As a result of our cooking effort this evening we have a goodly quantity of chicken salad and the base for chicken noodle soup or chicken and corn chowder.

Bon Appetit