September 13, 2020 Lunch – Baked Tomatoes with Eggs Dinner – PPI Duck Breast with Steamed Asparagus and Tomato Couscous

 September 13, 2020 Lunch – Baked Tomatoes with Eggs   Dinner – PPI Duck Breast with Steamed Asparagus and Tomato Couscous

I awakened at 5:30 again.  Today was a symphony of wonderful TV programming; the Tour de France, the English Premier League, and CNN.  Then at 9:00 the news programming increased with Mert the Press and Stephanoulolus.  The two Slovenians finished this mountain top finish 1 and 2 for the second time and are 1 and 2 in the standings, although below them there was a large shake up in the GC standings as the two favorite Colombian riders. Quintana and Bernal, lost time.

At 9:00 I toasted two slices for bagel and spread then with goat cheese and slices of Gravad Lax and Whitefish and red onion.

At 11:00 I watched Fareed Zakaria and Suzette baked tomatoes filled with egg.  They were flavored with tarragon and cream, and cheese, but somewhat lacking in flavor.  I ate them because intended to ride my bike.

At 11:50 I ride five miles south.  When I returned at 1:00 I showered and read my DiMaggio book and rested until 1:45 when we set up the Zoom meeting  and zoomed until 3:00 and lay down again.

I awakened at 6:00 just in time to see the Bob Woodward interview on 60 Minutes.

I prepped the asparagus for steaming by breaking off the stalks where they broke naturally and placed them in the steamer with water and steamed them for 8 minutes.

I then made couscous.  I minced 3 oz. of red onion, a chili from our garden, and two cloves of garlic and sautéed those ingredients in 2 ½ T. of butter.  After they softened I added 1 cup of Couscous and sautéed it to coat it with butter.  Then I added about ½ cup of tomato pulp that Suzette had not used for her egg dish for brunch and 1 ¾ cup of boiling water.  The normal ratio is 1 ½ cup of water to 1 cup of Couscous but I use more water because I like my Couscous wetter and so it will not stick or scorch. I cook the Couscous for a couple of minutes and as it absorbs liquid I turn down the heat to low for several minutes.  Then I fluffed the Couscous with a fork and turned up the heat for a minute to develop steam and then turned the heat to let the Couscous steam. The  resulting Couscous was moist and really delicious.

Suzette then re-heated the Duck Breasts for 2:22 minutes in the microwave at a power of .8.  

I went to the basement looking for a Pinot and to my surprise found a bottle of 2009 California Pinot Noir that I had bought at Costco for $7.45 10 years ago.  It was spectacular, full bodied with a slight licorice, port after taste.  Suzette loved it. I found it a little off but immensely drinkable.

We took our glasses filled with Pinot and our plates filled with Couscous, asparagus and a sliced duck breast out to the garden to eat.

The air was perfect, around 75 degrees with a slight breeze.  We enjoyed a simple, healthy, and elegant meal al fresco.

Bon Appetit