July 30, 2021 Brunch - Jimmie’s Diner Dinner - Grilled Rack of Lamb, sautéed purple beans with slivered almonds, Roasted Potatoes with garlic and shallots and Tzatziki

 July 30, 2021 Brunch - Jimmie’s Diner   Dinner - Grilled Rack of Lamb, sautéed purple beans with slivered almonds, Roasted Potatoes with garlic and shallots and Tzatziki 

I woke up at 4:00 and watched the news until 5:00 when the match between the U.S. and Holland in Women’s soccer began.  It went on and on tied 2 to 2 at the end of full time and through the thirty minutes of  overtime.  Finally, the U.S. won in the shoot out.  

I did some work and electronically clipped 8 or 10 coupons at Smith’s and then printed them.

At around 10:30 I drove to the Lexus dealership to pick up Dee who had taken his new Lexus in for servicing. When I picked him up he wanted to go get some breakfast.  When I consulted Google I found a 4 1/2 star rated diner near the Lexus dealer named, Jimmie’, so we drove there.  It was packed and had an extensive menu.  Dee ordered Jimmie’s breakfast with eggs, hash browns, and three kinds of meat, sausages, bacon, and ham.

I ordered Corn Beef Hash with fruit and two eggs over easy.  Although I did not order it I received hash brown potatoes also, which were delicious.

Dee could not finish his breakfast and gave me a sausage and two slices of bacon.  Jimmie’s is actually rated 4.6, so one-of the Most highly rs at Ed restaurants in Albuquerque.

After brunch We drove to Smith’s to shop for groceries. I ought all the sale items I had clipped, a slab of ribs, a lb. of ground lamb, two 1 lb. bags of green peas, shallots, two 16 oz. bottles of kraft’s BBQ sauce, plus a mush melon, bananas, and fresh peaches. What I learned was that the self-checkout machine automatically gave me the discounts for the coupons I had clipped as I scanned each item for which there was a coupon.

The total bill was $35.00 with a savings of $22,56.  I have not had such a wonderful shopping experience in a long time.  Count this a one of the three wonderful events of the day.

Another wonderful event of the day was finding out that the stock of the bank I own stock in in India was going public and there is a window to sell shares at a price 15 times what I paid for the shares 16 years ago. 

I will sell some shares and hold some to see how the public market develops.

When we returned home I lay down for a nap from 2:30 until 3:30.

At 5:00 I drove Dee to Lexus to pick up his car and then drove to Costco and bought 10 lb. of Yukon Gold potatoes.

When I returned home I diced three russet potatoes, three shallots, and about ten cloves of garlic and put them into a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish, ready for Suzette to salt and pepper and toss with olive oil.

Soon after I arrived home Suzette and Dee arrived.  I reviewed a couple of deeds and then joined Dee and Suzette in the garden where they were enjoying their evening cocktail in the late afternoon sun.

I then went back in and made Tzatziki while Suzette snapped the ends off the purple pole beans she brought from her garden at the Center and sautéed them in butter and olive oil with slivered almonds. She also salted and peppered the rack of lamb and doused it with mint jelly and charcoal grilled it to a lovely dark color. 

I finished the Tzatziki as Suzette was bringing in the rack from the grill. I sliced the rack into double rib sections and pater then melted with the roasted potatoes and sautéed beans Suzette had placed on the plates.

I opened a 2017 Rioax Cotes Du Rhone that was very smooth and drinkable. 

We took our wine and plates and the Tzatziki to the garden and enjoyed a pleasant meal.

At 8:00 Suzette said it was time to walk in the Bosque, so we took our dishes and glasses back to the kitchen and drove to the Kit Carson Park and Suzette and I walked to the blind on the south pond.  It was turning dark with just the after glow of the sunset illuminating the trees on the west side of the pond, casting the reflection of the trees across the water. The pond was serenely calm and beautifully carpeted with the trees’ shadows.  We spent several minutes enjoying the calm and communing with nature. Communing with nature was the third wonderful thing that happened today.

When we returned to our car we drove to the Old Town Tap Room at 9:00. We said hello to Brian who was working on his marketing plan.

Suzette drank a Rosemary gin sour and I drank my usual blood orange apple cider.

We arrived home at 10:00.  Suzette and Dee went to bed and I stayed up to blog until 11:00.

Bon Appetit

July 27, 2021 Lunch - Chicken Salad Salad. Dinner - Sautéed Pork Chop with Fresh Sautéed Black Eyed Peas and Romano Beans with onions and garlic

July 27, 2021 Lunch - Chicken Salad Salad. Dinner - Sautéed Pork Chop with Fresh Sautéed Black Eyed Peas and Romano Beans with onions and garlic

I ate two slices of toasted bagel smeared with cream cheese and garnished with thin red onion slices, Gravad lax, and capers for breakfast.

For lunch I made another Chicken Salad Salad with the last of the iceberg lettuce, a red tomato cubed, a sliced radish, and 1/4 cucumber peeled, seeded, and sliced.  I dressed the salad with Cesar dressing and toasted three slices of French baguette and melted slices of Jarlsberg cheese onto them. 

Suzette worked late so at 5:00 I started prepping potato soup by slicing three leeks and five potatoes into thin slices.  I followed the Julia recipe, adding dehydrated chicken stock to 2 quarts of hot water to make a chicken broth and adding a T. of salt and cooking the vegetables for an hour.

When Suzette came home I started making onion soup by dicing the PPI rib steak and simmering it in a pot of water with two stalks of celery and two carrots sliced and 1 tsp of salt.  I sliced onions but found we did not have butter, so could not cook the onions.

Suzette decided to cook the fresh black eyed peas and Romano beans we bought at the Farmers’ Market last Saturday.

I sliced 1/3 each of a white and a red onion.  Suzette minced 6 cloves of garlic and sautéed the onions and then the beans and peas in olive oil.

In another large skillet Suzette sautéed two smoked pork chops and she re-heated a chicken thigh and potatoes for Willy.

When the beans and peas were cooked to just beyond all dente Suzette plated each of our plates with a pile of cooked peas and beans and then either a sautéed pork chop or chicken thigh.

We drank a bottle of chilled Gruner Vetliner that I bought at Trader Joe’s for $7.99 as I recall.

We have been drinking a lot of white wines this Summer, even with dishes that arguably could be combined with a rose or red wine.  I guess it is the coolness and lightness of the white that appeals to us.

Dee arrived at 8:40 and after we got his gear in we opened the Kelt cognac he brought me and Suzette and I drank sniffers of it while Dee drank Teacher’s Scotch. Willy left around 10:30.

Suzette went to bed shortly after 10:30, but I stayed up until 12:30 talking to Dee.

The fresh peas and beans were a lovely dish that I will not soon forget.

Bon Appetit

July 28, 2021 Lunch - Mary and Tito’s. Dinner - Vichyssoises and Charcuterie and cheese

 July 28, 2021 Lunch - Mary and Tito’s. Dinner - Vichyssoises and Charcuterie and cheese

I awakened at 7:00 and began working at my desk. At 8:00 I checked the market; the NASDAQ was up and the Dow down and my portfolio was up a bit. I watched the Olympics and ate a bowl of granola with milk, yogurt, and a fresh apple from our garden diced.  The apple was delicious.

I then worked on filing a report for a client but was stopped by a non-functioning’s jz state website. By the time I was able to report the problem to the Secretary of State and they fixed it, it was 2:00 and Dee had awakened and was showered and getting dressed.

We were hungry and decided to eat New Mexican food, so we drove to Mary and Tito’s on 4th St. Dee ordered the large combination plate with a taco, a relleno, and an enchilada. I ordered my usual, a a three tortilla stack of tortillas with beef and red sauce with onions and double Refried beans.

         Dee’s large combination plate, a Relleno, a taco and an enchilada

It took a while to plow through that much food and by the time we finished it was 3:30 so we decided to go directly to the museum to see the Transcendental Painting Group Show.  Dee liked it and found it very unusual.  I found it inspiring and uplifting.

Dee was not feeling well so we drove to Walgreen’s and then home after the museum a bit before 5:00.

Suzette had arrived ahead of us so we discussed dinner and I told her we had just eaten a large amount of Mexican food.  She had just eaten the last of the chicken salad, so none of us were hungry.  I had a short shopping list for Smith’s but Suzette suggested we relax since it was still over 90 degrees and eat a lighter meal of Vichyssoises and charcuterie and cheeses.

We all agreed, so she fetched the pot of Vichyssoises we made last night from the garage and went to the garden to snip a handful of chives which she cut into small slices.  Then she chopped cubes of Dubliner cheese and Jarlsberg cheese and put them on the Texas cheese board with a container of mixed pitted green and small kalamata olives and slices of salami, prosciutto, and cured ham.  I sliced and toasted about 15 slices of French baguette, which Suzette wrapped in a Mexican tea towel.

We decided to drink a bottle of Vouvray and to eat dinner al fresco.  So Suzette filled the wine bucket with ice and we opened the Famille Bougerier Vouvray Douce and put it into the ice and carried it and the Texas board to the garden table.

Suzette returned to the kitchen and filled bowls with Vichyssoises and garnished them with the sliced chives and brought those to the garden table and we enjoyed the light picnicky dinner, since none of us was particularly hungry.

After dinner we rested and watched TV.  The impact of the investigation into the causes of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol is just beginning to be covered in the liberal media and it is having an impact.  I don’t know if it has because of the bad press but 17 Republicans voted to open debate on the smaller $1 Trillion infrastructure bill that they voted against last week today.  The New York Times published an article today that as early as December 21 Republican members of Congress were meeting with the President to plan the insurrection on January 6.  Jim Jordan admitted that he called the President on Jan. 6.,  The Justice Department issued its opinion that the defense offered by Congressman Mo Brooks to the lawsuit for damages from the riot filed by Congressman Sawlwell of California against Donald Trump and Brooks that his speech to incite the crowd at the Ellipse rally on Jan. 6. was within the scope of his duties as a Congressman was not valid, because inciting a riot is not within his duties as a Congressman. Finally, Nancy Pelosi said that she denied Jim Jordan a seat on the select committee because he will probably be a material witness. 

Finally there was another article that says President Trump called interim Attorney General Rosen every day in December 2020 with requests to investigate voting fraud in different locals and an assistant took contemporaneous notes of those conversations that they are going to transmit to the select committee.  So it looks like Trump will be called as a material witness also.

Suzette went lie down at 9:00 and I went to sleep at 10:20.

I definitely prefer Padilla’s Restaurant.  It is lighter cuisine and serves the best sopapillas in town in my opinion.

Bon Appetit

July 29, 2021 Lunch - Greenside Cafe, Cedar Crest. Dinner - Boiled Chicken breast, PPI Sautéed Black Eyed Peas, Romano beans, and onion and fresh tomato

July 29, 2021 Lunch - Greenside Cafe, Cedar Crest. Dinner - Boiled Chicken breast, PPI Sautéed Black Eyed Peas, Romano beans, and onion and fresh tomato

We awakened at 7:30 and got dressed and drove to Costco. Suzette dropped my off at 9:00 and drove to Home Depot to buy a bathroom vanity.  I shopped in about 30 minutes, selecting a rack of lamb riblets, asparagus, blueberries, gourmet salad, olive oil, and butter.

She picked me up as I walked out the door and we arrived home by 10:00

Today was book club. I fixed a toasted bagel slice with cream cheese, thin red onion slices, Gravad lax, and capers at 10:00.  Peter picked Charlie and me up at 10:45 and drove us to Greenside Cafe in Cedar Crest where we joined the other members for lunch. 

I ordered a 1/2 Monte Christo sandwich with a salad.  The best dish on the menu is the Chicken Fried Steak but I feared it would give me indigestion and make me fatter than I am already.

                                                               The chicken fried steak

After lunch we caravanned to Karl’s house in Paako and held a lengthy discussion of Machiavelli’s the Prince.

Karl served three desserts after the meeting, bunt cake, chocolate torte squares, and truffles. 

French Onion Soup - I returned home around 4:30, just in time to get ready to meditate at 5:00 when meditation ended at 5:30 I started preparing the French Onion Soup by adding 3 T. of butter and 1 T. of olive oil to the enameled casserole holding the 5 cups of onion slices I sliced two days ago.

I followed the Julia Child recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I sautéed the onions covered for 15 minutes.  Then I added 1 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp of sugar and cooked the onions at medium heat for 40 minutes stirring frequently.  

I then added 3 T. of flour and stirred it in and cooked it for 3 or 4 minutes to cook the flour and then turned off the heat on the casserole.   Then I  fetched the beef stock I made three days ago by simmering some leftover rib steak with water, celery and two carrots sliced and heated it to a boil and then added 2 quarts of liquid, that was all the stock, and then added the cubes of beef I had made the stock with. I then let the soup cool.

Dinner - Suzette had cooked a whole chicken to make chicken stock for chicken and corn soup.  She heated the pot full of broth and the chicken.

Then she cut two slices of breast off the chicken and heated the PPI black eyed peas and Romano beans and onion and sliced one of the fresh tomatoes she brought from the Center for Ageless  Living’s garden.

I continue to be amazed at how delicious the beans and peas are.  I found the dinner to be wonderful when I combined pieces of chicken with forkfuls of beans and peas.

We opened a bottle of 2014 Benton Lane Pinot Blanc. It was pleasant but not exceptional. Perhaps because it is several years old.  

Dee arrived as we were finishing dinner.  We watched Midsomer Mystery and sipped a glass of Suzette’s wonderful lemincello.

We all went to bed at 9:30 after I took the onion soup to the garage.

Bon Appetit

July 26, 2021 Lunch - Chicken Salad Salad, Dinner - Roasted Chicken thighs, potatoes, garlic, and onions with steamed asparagus

July 26, 2021 Lunch - Chicken Salad Salad, Dinner - Roasted Chicken thighs, potatoes, garlic, and onions with steamed asparagus

I had a colonoscopy at 9:00 this morning. It went well and the doctor informed me this would be my last one.

When I returned home I ate a light meal of yogurt, granola, blueberries, milk, and banana slices.

Then I watched TV and tried to relax to let the drug used to put me to sleep wear off.  Actually Karim came by around 1:30 and we worked on his project until 3:00, by which time I was hungry.  I made a simple salad of iceberg lettuce, chicken salad, a sliced radish, a green onion, and a tomato and refreshed the Cesar dressing with juice of a lemon and some olive oil before drizzling it onto the salad.

After lunch I checked my portfolio and found that I suffered a minimal loss on a rather lackluster day on which one stock caused the loss, JD. It, like the big a Chinese companies’ stocks, tumbled as the Chinese government continues to put restrictions on Chinese companies.

Suzette came home at 5:00 and we decided rather quickly to cook a very simple meal.  We combined three diced potatoes, a diced onion, about 9 cloves of garlic with their skin left on, liberally drizzled with olive oil and four chicken pan thighs in a ceramic baking dish and covered it with aluminum foil and roasted it for 1:15 minutes covered at 350 degrees and about 15 minutes uncovered to brown the chicken.

I opened a bottle of La Granja Viura/Verdejo blend ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s) that went rather well with the chicken and Suzette steamed the last six stalks of asparagus in the microwave covered in a pyrex baking dish with a bit of water.

The thing that was remarkable about dinner was how easy it was to prepare.  The prep took no more than 5 minutes of our combined effort and we sipped wine and watched the news while dinner roasted in the oven.

Bon Appetit

July 24, 2021 Brunch - BLT Sandwich with dill pickles, Lunch - PPI Poke Shish Kabob and rice. Dinner at Debbie and Jeff’s

 July 24, 2021 Brunch - BLT Sandwich with dill pickles, Lunch - PPI Poke Shish Kabob and rice. Dinner at Debbie and Jeff’s 

I ate a fig bar and then we walked to the Farmers’ Market.  We discussed how to trim the fig tree and how to protect during the winter with Lloyd, the fig man.  I bought a pineapple and cherry empanada and ate the pineapple.  We also bought yellow and red slicing tomatoes and a basketful of black eye peas for a pea salad.  When we returned home we went to the garden and trimmed the fig bush.  

Then Suzette made us each a BLT sandwich with the lovely fresh Wholewheat bread baked by the new baker at the Greenhouse Bistro.

Then I lay down until 3:00 when I ate the leftover rice and seafood Poke shish kabob left from last night’s dinner.

We packed a bottle of 2009 Chateau Nerthe Chateauneuf de Pape, four duck breasts, flowers, asparaguses, and clafoutis.  At 5:00 we left to go to Total Wine.  We had a coupon for 25% off on winery direct wines and 15% off of spirits.  We restocked our cellar with about 40 bottles of French and Italian wine plus about five or six bottles of spirits.

We then drove to Debbie and Jeff’s at the top of Glenwood Hills.

We had drinks and watched the scenery for a while and Marty joined us.  Then we started the grill and Jeff grilled two steaks and Suzette grilled three duck breasts While Debbie made a salad, potatoes, and corn.

Suzette opened the Chateau Nerthe and we served ourselves dinner.

Everything was lovely. What I particularly liked was the juxtaposition of the grilled duck with the Wine.  I am used to duck being served with a sauce, but I appreciated this California Cuisine approach of a simple grilled piece of duck accompanied by an elegant wine.

We watched the sunset and then ate some clafoutis and then enjoyed the night air and the lights of Albuquerque from high on the mountain.

Finally at 10:30 we drove home after a lovely evening of food and conversation. 

Bon Appetit 

July 23, 2021 Lunch - East Ocean Dinner - Poke Shish kabobs with Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables and Szechuan Clams and Rice

July 23, 2021 Lunch - East Ocean Dinner - Poke Shish kabobs with Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables and Szechuan Clams and Rice

Aaron and I ate toasted slices of bagel smeared with cream cheese and garnished with slices of red onion and Gravad lax and capers and then we went to court for a hearing, except the court was not open and we did it telephonically.

Then we returned to the house and aaron tried to fix the email problem n my computer to no avail.

We then went to East Ocean to eat lunch.  We had been many times before and Aaron loves the deep fried tofu with mixed Vegetables, so we ordered those.  

I asked Aaron whether he liked clams or duck better.  He chose Manila clams, so we ordered those with a Szechuan sauce.  As it turned out the Szechuan sauce was really spicy today and it almost ruined the joy of eating the clams, but nothing really can ruin the joy of eating freshly steamed clams.

After a lengthy lunch with lots of chatting we said goodbye at 12:30.

When I checked the Market in the morning it was up, being powered by big tech names like Apple, Facebook, Moderna, and Square.  When I returned home I worked for a while and then checked after the Market closed at 2:00 and was amazed that the market had a strong close for a Friday with the early strength of the morning lasting and accelerating to the Close.  My portfolio ended the day with another stellar gain of 1.25%.  In fact the last four days have all been great with the portfolio notching a total gain of 4.78% or said another way, almost 1/2 of my expected gain for 2021 in four days.

I will need to revise my expected annual gain because my portfolio has already increased 18%. 

I took the leftover food home from East Ocean so when zsuzette arrived at 5:30, we had a dilemma.  We had the fresh salmon, tuna, and scallops plus the fried tofu and mixed vegetables and five or six clams plus rice.

Poke

I did not eat the salmon, scallops, and tuna I had bought for sushi and we had all the leftovers from lunch.  I was at a loss as to a menu utilizing those ingredients, but Suzette came up with a creative solution, Poke Shish Kabob served with the Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables and rice.

I copied a recipe from the internet for the poke while Suzette cubed the tuna.  The salmon was already cubed. Here is the recipe I used: 

Tuna Poke Bowls

METRIC

CUP MEASURES

By Jennifer Segal

Tuna poke is a traditional Hawaiian salad of raw tuna marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and onions. Here it’s served over sushi rice with your favorite toppings.

Servings: 4 to 6

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes, plus at least 15 minutes to marinate

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if necessary)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek (see note)
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 1 pound sushi-grade ahi tuna (such as yellowfin or big-eye tuna), diced into 1/4 or 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups sushi rice, cooked according to package instructions (any other type of rice or grain can be substituted)

I mixed the ingredients and marinated the cubes salmon, tuna, and scallops for about 45 minutes. We left out the sambal Oelek because we added the spicy clam sauce to the rice, tofu, and mixed vegetables. We also substituted the PPI chives slices for two of the green onions.

Suzette skewered most of the poke onto three skewers and grilled and marinated the skewers on the propane grill outside until the fish was cooked to just beyond seared. 

She placed the remaining poke in a small bowl for me to eat.

The Rice and Tofu and Mixed Vegetables and spicy clams

Suzette emptied and mixed the two boxes of leftovers into a 6 x 9 inch pyrex baking dish on which I drizzled soy sauce to flavor the vegetables and rice.  I then went to the garden and picked about 12 leaves each of two kinds of kale that I de-stemmed and cut into bite sized pieces and lay on top of the tofu, vegetables and rice.  covered the baking dish with Saran and put it into the microwave to re-heat on a setting of sensor re-heat.

Soon Suzette brought in the grilled skewers of poke and plated two plates with a pile of the re-heated tofu, vegetables, kale, clams m and riceand lay the shish kabob fish on top of the pile.

I went fetched two Negra Modelos from the garage and we ate a lovely creative meal that I finished with the raw poke.

Later we watched the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics and I ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 after the Olympic ceremony and I stayed up to blog.

Bon Appetit 

July 22, 2021 Lunch - Ratatouille on Artichoke Provençale Couscous Dinner - Salmon, Scallop, Kale, and Egg White Noodle Stir Fry

July 22, 2021 Lunch - Ratatouille on Artichoke Provençale Couscous  Dinner - Salmon, Scallop, Kale, and Egg White Noodle Stir Fry

This was a busy day.  I finally did legal work for over four hours.

I walked 1/3 mile with some difficulty at 8:00. When I returned I prepared my go to breakfast to jump start my energy, two eggs over easy, a smoked pork chop, and two pieces of Whole wheat toast spread with orange marmalade.  Sugar, protein, and carbs

After 2:00 I checked my portfolio and it reached a new high again today. Since January my portfolio has increased by 16.66%.  It looks like if the economy keeps reopening my portfolio will increase by 20 to 25% this year. Not quite as good as last year’s 32.5%, but a lot better than my expected normal 10%.

I finally got hungry at 3:00 and heated a plate of the Artichoke Provençale Couscous with chicken covered by several spoonfuls of Ratatouille.  I really enjoyed lunch, especially with the last 3 oz. of. Tavel. I had a Cote du Rhone/Southern France moment.

Then back to work to resolve a conflict between two hearings set for the same time.

By 5:00 I had resolved the conflict and drove to Walgreens to buy the meds for the colonoscopy prep on Sunday.

I was so busy and tired I forgot to meditate.  

I lay down when I returned home and was awakened by Suzette at 6:30. 

She initially said I was failing to fix dinner, but when we went over the dinner choices and finally decided on a salmon and scallops stir fr6 with two types of fresh kale from the garden, she realized I like to plan and cook the meal with her.

The wine

We have fallen love with the new 2020 French Claire Patelin Cotes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc that Trader Joe’s is selling for $5.49.  Suzette went yesterday and bought the last 11 bottles of it and chilled a bottle, so tonight we drank Sauvignon Blanc with dinner.  It is slightly sweet and has a smooth fruity finish that we both find appealing.

The Salmon and Scallop and Kale stir Fry

The Prep - I sliced the last 1 oz. of red onion, two large scallions, five asparagus stalks, 1 oz. of ginger root, and three small cloves of garlic and cleaned the last of the white beech mushrooms and cubed 1/4 lb. of fresh salmon and five scallops. Suzette wanted a Japanese style dish without any soy, so I fetched Aji Mirin, Chinese rice cooking wine, sesame oil, and fish sauce.  Suzette went to the garden and picked a basket of two types of kale and de-stemmed the leaves and roughly chopped the kale.

The Stir Fry- We then stir fried the asparagus, onion, ginger, and garlic in 1 1/2 T. of peanut oil and 1 tsp. of sesame oil in my wok.  After about three or four minutes when the vegetables began to soften we added the salmon, scallops and mushrooms. While the vegetables were cooking we soaked a bundle of egg white noodles for 1 minute in boiling water and then added them to the wok.

After another couple of minutes I added about 1 T. of each of Chinese Cooking Wine and Aji Mirin and 1 1/2 tsp. of fish sauce and then the kale and we covered the wok with its lid to steam the kale.

                 The stir Fry before we added the liquids, noodles, and kale

We then turned off the heat and divided the stir Fry onto two plates. It was amazingly delicious and the wine complemented the dish like a good Sauvignon Blanc does lightly sautéed fish.

We watched Rachel and then Midsomer Mystery with a little cognac to complete a normal Thursday night.

Bon Appetit 

July 21, 2021 Lunch - chicken Salad salad Dinner - Grilled Rib Steak and Asparagus with a baked potato

July 21, 2021 Lunch - chicken Salad salad  Dinner - Grilled Rib Steak and Asparagus with a baked potato

Days like this make me very happy.  I spent the morning and part of the afternoon doing legal work as my Portfolio marched to a new high. It started out slowly and then by the afternoon every stock except Apple seemed to go higher, ratcheting a 1.46% gain.

 

I awakened at 6:45 and received a call from a client at 7:15. I then ate my usual bowl 

of granola, yogurt, milk, and blueberries and 1/2 of a sliced banana.

I worked on a case until 10:00 when I rode to the Nature Center and back.  It took over and hour and I was tired when I returned, so I rested until Suzette made us lunch at 11:30.  She made a simple salad like yesterday’s of a bed of Romaine  lettuce with some diced tomato and a scoop of chicken salad, except today she laid the chicken salad in a peeled and seeded avocado half, which made for a much more elegant and creamy salad.

I drizzled a bit of olive oil and Moderna white vinegar on my salad for a light dressing.

We ate outside in the garden.  It was a cool day with a slight breeze, so very relaxing.  

After lunch I took one of the big 2 1/2 lb. rib steaks we had hand cut with zsuzette’s power saw out of the freezer to thaw and then rested and then enjoyed watching the Market power to a new high for me until 2:00.  I  then filed my first monthly gross receipt tax return using the State’s new on line system.  It proved to be surprisingly easy, so I guess I am acculturated to manipulating forms on the Internet, although I did study the tutorial.

Then I received a call from a client regarding a purchase of real estate that required a revised purchase agreement that took me until after 4:00 to complete.

At 4:30 I put 4 russet potatoes into the oven to bake at 375 degrees for one hour.    

A bit after 5:00 Suzette came home from running errands all afternoon.  She was hot and took a shower and relaxed for a few minutes and then we started preparing dinner.  

Grilled steak and Asparagus 

I had bought a 2.25 lb. bag of lovely medium sized asparagus at Costco yesterday for $4.99.

Suzette snapped the tough ends off about 14 asparagus stalks and then tossed the asparagus in a 1 gallon freezer bag with salt, pepper and olive oil.  The steak was still quite frozen so Suzette defrosted the steak in the microwave and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

She then heated the grill and when she put the steak and asparaguses on the grill I went to the garden and harvested about a dozen chives and sliced then thinly and put the slices in a shallow bowl and fetched the new container of crema natural (sour cream) I bought at El Super. 

As you can see this is a meal we prepare so often that we can prepare it on auto-pilot.  

Although this meal was different because we made a new sauce to serve with the steak triggered by Suzette saying the magic word, “I think horseradish might be good with the steak.”

I call the sauce Delice Sauce. It is a sauce I used to make in Texas to serve when we would grill a whole tenderloin.  It is easy to make, simply whip some heavy cream and add horseradish and salt to taste.  Suzette whipped it up in a minute or two as I was slicing the steak.

                   The sour cream, Delice Sauce, chives, and wine carafe

The wine

The only issue to be decided was the wine.  We decided to drink a good wine and then when I saw the new bottle of 2018 Calstar Cellars Petit Meunier red we decided to try it.  Neither of us had ever drunk a bottle of Petit Meunier red, so this was new territory for us.

I opened the bottle while the steak and asparaguses were grilling and we tried it. It had a slightly harsh flavor, but Suzette said, “It needs to open. Let’s pour it into a carafe.” 

She was correct because in just a few minutes after she poured the wine into a ceramic carafe its bitterness disappeared and it became a delightfully fruity bright berry flavored light red wine.  We loved it and drank the entire bottle, so it met the excellent bottle test.  In fact I will buy more bottles of Petit Meunier and thank Rick of Calstar for making it and suggesting I try it.

P

Perhaps part of the enjoyment of the wine was due to the fact that Suzette cooked the steak and asparaguses perfectly.  The asparagus were tender but not too tough or too limp and the steak was cooked from medium well one one end to rare in the middle depending on which part of it one ate. There was lots of steak left so I am thinking about making French onion soup.  Also I saw the leeks I bought at El Super in the fridge outside, so I think I will make Vichyssoises.

As we ate we watched the President’s Town Hall with Don Lemon until we were tired of him telling people to get vaccinated and turned the TV to Rachel Maddow. We each ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a glass of cognac to celebrate a successful meal and then we went to bed before 9:00.  Suzette made a more elaborate sundae with freshly whipped cream, 1/2 of a banana sliced, and several of her homemade maraschino cherries.

I woke up around 12:30 and blogged this blog as I often do after a big meal of steak.

Then I pitted several cherries and put them in the maraschino Cherry liquid to refresh the maraschino cherries.

Bon Appetit