November 2, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21. Dinner – PPI Cassoulet

 November 2, 2020 Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21. Dinner – PPI Cassoulet

I finished reading White Guilt this morning and then ate granola, milk, yogurt, blueberries, and ½ banana sliced.

I then dressed and returned the book to the library and drove to my dental cleaning appointment at 10:30.  After the dental appointment I drove to Sprouts where I bought 1 ½ lb. of smoked bacon, 2 lb. of 16-20 count shrimp for $13.98, a red bell pepper, green beans, yellow squash, green onions, and sour cream.

When I finished shopping at Sprouts I called 2000 Vietnam and ordered a No. 21 to take out.

I wanted some items from Talin, so I drove there next and bought Aji Mirin, Seville orange marmalade, shallots, beef meatballs, pork meatballs, fresh rice vermicelli, White beech Mushrooms, a bag of tanka Choy, red miso, and medium firm tofu.

I then drove to 2000 Vietnam and picked up my lunch.

It was 1:45 when I returned home. At 2:00 when the Market closed I checked my portfolio’s performance and it registered a small gain.  

After I put up the groceries I took the boxed lunch with a glass of water and the bag of fresh cilantro to the garden table. As I walked to the garden there was a tussle of feathers and I saw the Coopers Hawk that was sitting on the bird bath fly up into a tree and then take off. The Cooper’s hawk has been visiting the bird bath for over a month.  It is very exciting to have a wild hawk visiting our garden so often.

I ate the entire box of Bun Cha Gio with grilled marinated pork with boiled rice vermicelli and chopped salad, cucumbers, and mung bean sprouts.   It was pleasant sitting in our garden in the warm afternoon.

After lunch I worked in my office until the mail was delivered around 3:30.  

I had received a check so I drove to the bank and deposited it.

When I returned it was after 4:00, so I started to make Posole.  I washed about 1 lb. of Posole to leach out any residual lime and then started cooking it in water to which I added 2 lb. of diced sautéed pork and 1 cup of sautéed onion.  Later I added 2/3 cup of chopped oregano leaves and two heads of chopped garlic from our garden. 

I also added three dried red chiles that looked like they were New Mexico Big Jim’s but could have been anything.  They seemed very hot as they cooked and rehydrated. I simmered the Posole until 8:30 and then took it to the fridge in the garage.

Suzette arrived with a bowl of Cassoulet left from the larger quantity  she had made for the residents at the Center last week.  The thing that made the dish unique was the inclusion of small meatballs with the carrots and two types of beans and chicken into a thick stew. She put the stew into a large casserole and

 heated it at about 6:00 and ate a pasta bowl of it because she had not eaten any lunch.  Suzette is very busy these days keeping everyone safe and getting them tested at her facility. 

Here is a picture of the Cassoulet.

Suzette wanted to drink a glass of Spanish Tempranillo with her Cassoulet, so I directed her to the bottle of 2015 Faustino Rivero Reserva from Rioja. I took a glass also and found it to be a very clean, drinkable red wine, a bargain at $7.99 at Costco.

 

At around 7:30 I became hungry and added 1 cup of water to the Cassoulet and heated it and ate a bowl of it over a bed of spinach leaves Suzette had de-stemmed and laid in the pasta bowl earlier.  The bean and meat stew was not as heavy as I thought it would be, but it was very filling.  

Suzette ate a bowl of vanilla ice cream doused with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with her homemade maraschino cherries as I was eating my bowl of Cassoulet so later I also ate a bowl of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and her maraschino cherries.

We went to bed at around 9:30.

I enjoyed my day of food and food shopping, including Suzette’s wonderful Cassoulet.

I recall the first time Suzette cooked for me.  It was on Valentine’s Day 23 years ago and she cooked Cassoulet. So, tonight’s meal brought back happy memories and confirmed that Suzette cooks an amazing Cassoulet.

Bon Appetit