September 29, 2021 Lunch - Salami Salad. Dinner - Baked Chicken with Tarragon hon and Lemon, baked Delicata Squash, and Baked Brussels Sprouts with Pinots and Pecorino-Romano cheese

September 29, 2021 Lunch - Salami Salad. Dinner - Baked Chicken with Tarragon hon and Lemon, baked Delicata Squash, and Baked Brussels Sprouts with Pinots and Pecorino-Romano cheese

I awakened at 7:30 and we walked 2/3 miles at 8:30.  

Then I toasted two slices of bagel and spread cream cheese on them.  I then lay slices of red onion and Gravad lax on my slice plus some capers and Gravad lax on Suzette’s slice.  When Suzette came to the kitchen she added slices of yellow tomato from our garden.

After breakfast we had a 1 1/2 hour telephone conference.

At 2:00 I made a salad with tomato, lemon cucumber, red onion slices, and slices of Genoa salami.

Then I had a client appointment and then went to the bank.

The Internet did not work for much of the day, so I did not get as much done today as I had wished.

At 5:30 I started dinner.

Dinner - I fetched four sprigs of tarragon from the garden and a lemon.  I pushed tarragon and a slice of lemon under the skin of the thigh of each of four leg quarters and Suzette slid a slice of butter under the  skin.

I then cut a lb. of Brussels Sprouts and placed them in a 9 x 9 inch Pyrex baking dish.  Suzette then salted and toss the Brussels Sprouts with olive oil and covered them and baked them in the 350 degree oven with the chicken.

Suzette also heated the leftover delicata squash from last night’s menu.

I poured glasses of Gavi Saule.  It was lightly acidic and slightly sweet/fruity.  Not as much to my liking as the much drier Gavi Princessa.

After dinner Suzette ate a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries and a sip of cognac.

I had a sip of Calvados with a few squares of a Swedish Hazelnut milk chocolate bar.

Then I made a cup of chai and ate two chocolate wafer cookies with it.

Bon Appetit

September 28, 2021 Lunch - Cheese, Herring, and Peanut butter sandwiches. Dinner - Sautéed Cheese Hamburgers with green bean, onion, red bell pepper, and mushroom sauté and baked Delicata squash

September 28, 2021 Lunch - Cheese, Herring, and Peanut butter sandwiches. Dinner - Sautéed Cheese Hamburgers with green bean, onion, red bell pepper, and mushroom sauté and baked Delicata squash

The market went to hell today and caused me to become depressed.

Perhaps I was sleepy from a bad night’s sleep last night also.

I heated the leftover enchiladas and fried two eggs over medium for breakfast at 8:30 for a real New Mexican breakfast.

We got dressed and went to Jeeves and Zuly’s for a discussion of the proposed bathroom remodel at 9:30.

Then we drove to a couple of banks and filled the Prius with gas and then finally we went to Infinity store.  I got a new remote controller, but that did not fix the uncoupling of audio and video from the TV controller.

We then drove to Pastian’s Bakery and bought a loaf of Whole Wheat sandwich bread and rye bread.  This proved to be the Best Buy of the day because when we arrived home at 1:00 Suzette was able to make her favorite sandwich, pork and sauerkraut with Mayo on toasted rye.

I also reverted to my tradition and toasted two slices of rye and put sour cream and herring in wine sauce on one and butter and slices of Jarlsberg cheese on the other.

We shared a beer and enjoyed our sandwiches.

Suzette left for Los Lunas after lunch and I lay down and read and napped until 4:30, when Suzette returned.  I checked my mail and helped on a project for Suzette and then began dinner.

Dinner - I had partially thawed two hamburgers after lunch.  Suzette microwaved them but they became slightly cooked and tough.

I roasted a delicata squash for 55 minutes at 350 degrees and while it was roasting chopped 1/2 onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, and three mushrooms.  I also snapped about 1/3 lb. of green beans.  When Suzette came to the kitchen at 7:00 she began to sauté the hamburgers and I blanched the green beans and then sautéed all the vegetables plus six Shishito peppers in a skillet in heated butter and olive oil, first open and later covered.

I sliced a slice of Cambozola cheese that Suzette put of the top of the burgers after she flipped them.

In about twenty minutes we had a hearty meal of cheese burgers p, sautéed vegetables and delicata squash.

We drank the last 1/2 bottle of 2018 Chateau Rodier ($13.99 at Trader Joe’s).  The wine was very smooth if a bit young.

Later we watched the second half of a film on the life of William Randolph Hearst while Suzette sipped a cognac and I drank a cup,of chai, and ate 4 chocolate wafer cookies and sipped a sniffer of Calvados.

We went to bed at 10:00.

Bon Appetit 

September 27, 2021 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam No. 30, Dinner - Mapo Dofu with rice

September 27, 2021 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam No. 30,  Dinner - Mapo Dofu with rice

I awakened at 6:00 and watched the news until 7:00 when I lay down for another 30 minutes.

I then worked until 10:00 and then ate some granola, milk, and yogurt.

I then showered, dressed, and drove to my yoga session that lasted until 12:00.

I then ordered a No. 30 from 2000 Vietnam.

Lunch - 

I picked it up and drove home.  I picked a handful of basil and made a Vietnam coffee and fetched a bunch of cilantro and ate the entire dish and enjoyed the iced coffee.

At 1:00 I watched the PL match between Brighton and Crystal Palace.  It ended 1 to1 with two odd last minute goals one on a penalty kick in the last minute of the first half by Brighton and a goal in the last seconds by Crystal Palace.

After the end of the match I rested and then drove to El Super at 3:30.  I bought a head of celery, a lb. of carrots, 1 1/2 lb. of limes, 3 lb. of onions, two packages of chocolate wafer cookies, and a cantaloupe for $7.41.  Wonderful.

Dinner -

I returned home and rested until Suzette arrived at 5:30.  We decided to make Mapo Dofu and rice.  I made 1 cup of rice with two cups of water, 1/2 tsp. of chicken stock and 1 cup of rice.  

Then I peeled and cubed the two eggplants we grew in our garden, about an oz. each of ginger and garlic, 3/4 of an onion, 1/3 pasilla chili, and 2/3 lb. of pork tenderloin which I cooked in three T. of peanut oil.  I then rehydrated three dried shiitake mushrooms and 1 oz. of dried wood ear threads in hot water.

I then cubed 19 oz. of firm tofu and added that to the mixture plus the rehydrated wood ear.  I destemmed the mushrooms and sliced them into threads and added them.

I added about 1 T. of Chinese Rice Wine, 1/2 T. of soy sauce, and 1/2 tsp. of sesame oil.

I did not add any cornstarch because the stew was naturally thick.

We served ourselves cooked rice and the Mapo Dofu stew after the stew had simmered about twenty minutes.

We shared a beer and watched Antiques Roadshow.

After dinner we ate bowls of ice cream with maraschino cherries, and chocolate syrup.  I added  some rum to mine.

Later we each sipped some cognac.  We drink Chevalier VS cognac that we buy at Trader Joe’s for $19.95.  

We then watched Lawrence O’Donnell and then an American Experience film on William Randolph Hearst.

The Mapo Dofu is a meat and eggplant stew that originated in Szechuan, China.

I did not make it spicy and did not add crushed Szechuan peppercorns and chopped green onions which are traditional.

Bon Appetit

September 26, 2021 Breakfast - Bagels with cream cheese, onion, lax, and capers. Dinner - El Patio take out Mexican food

September 26, 2021 Breakfast - Bagels with cream cheese, onion, lax, and capers. Dinner - El Patio take out Mexican food

I awakened around 6:15 and watched the news and PL soccer at 7:00.  It was a match between two London teams, Arsenal and Tottenham.  Arsenal has lots of young fast players who outran and out scored Tottenham 3 to 1.

At 9:00 I toasted two slices of bagel and spread cream cheese on them and garnished them with onion slices, Gravad lax, and a sprinkle of capers.

At 2:00 Suzette and I took a walk in the bosque to the beaver pond and miraculously, we saw a beaver in full sun.  We assumed that the heavy rain yesterday forced the beaver to lower its dam to avoid flooding its lodge, but that is just a guess. Seeing the beaver in full sun bursts my theory that beavers are nocturnal animals.  Seeing the beaver was the high point of our day.

When we returned home we each ate a bag of popcorn and then I napped from 4:00 until 5:30.

Luke called and wanted to go out for New Mexican food for dinner.  We finally decided at 6:00 that Luke and Suzette would pick up take out while I made guacamole with the three avocados I bought at Smith’s, juice of a lime, two cloves of garlic pressed, 3 oz. of diced onion, about 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves a tsp. of salt, and two dashes of Cholulu hot sauce.  Willy arrived around 7:00 and tasted and approved the guacamole.

Then around 7:15 Luke and Suzette returned with the food.  Suzette fetched four Dos Equis and the sour cream.  The red chili was really spicy, so we dampened the heat with sour cream and guacamole and sips of beer.  Willy ordered tacos, Suzette a chili relleno, Luke ordered vegetarian enchiladas, and I ordered blue corn enchiladas with beef and double beans.

After dinner we played a game of Splendor and Willy won. He is more strategic on the end game.  

After the game Willy left and Suzette went to bed.

I made a cup of camomile tea for each of us and Luke and I talked until 10:15 when I drove him to the airport for his return flight to New York.

I enjoyed having a family dinner with the boys. We probably will not have another until next year, as Luke wants to spend the holidays in New York this year.

Bon Appetit

September 25, 2021 Breakfast - Salmon and Chèvre Omelette. Lunch - Chez Mamou. Dinner - 4 Tapas

 September 25, 2021 Breakfast - Salmon and Chèvre Omelette. Lunch - Chez Mamou. Dinner - 4 Tapas

Another eventful day at the Wine and Chile Fiesta.  

We awakened around 6:30 after about 9 hours’ sleep.  I watched a terrific match between Chelsea the European Champions and Manchester City, the English premier league champion last year.  It was a fast moving game between evenly matched teams that Man City won 1 to 0.

Then I got dressed and sliced a couple of slices of onion we bought at the farmers’ market in La Veta, the tomato from our garden, and two thick slices of salmon cubed.  Suzette whipped up several eggs and sautéed the onion and then added the salmon, tomato, and several spoonfuls of the fresh chèvre we bought in La Veta. I added a heaping tsp. of capers.  

We drove to the SweeneyCenter in Santa Fe arriving just before the seminar started at 10:30.  The seminar was a vertical tasting from 2016 back to 2011 of Chene Bleu Rose from the Appellation Mont Ventoux.  This is an elegant high acid Rose grown on the slopes of Mont Ventoux produced from Grenache and Syrah and Cinsault grapes mainly. The theme of the seminar was to better understand how roses age. It was slightly misleading because every one one of the Chene Bleu wines we tasted were delicious. Our favorites were 2012 and 2015, but none of these wines are available in the US because almost all of their wine every year.  These are world class wines that are selling for over $60.00 per bottle.  The seminars are unique experiences because one can not go to any liquor store in the US and buy all the six bottles.  They were shipped from the vineyard for this tasting. It is very special to taste wines that one will probably never be able to drink, but also disappointing that the wines are not available in the U.S. because of its antiquated distribution system.

The main differences were in the intensity in the acidity of the wine.  The 2014 was the least intense in acidity because 2014 was a cool wet year.

After the tasting we drove to to the Railyard to the Farmers’ Market where we bought 2 lb. of green shishito peppers and a handful of bright red sweet peppers.

Lunch - 

We then drove to Peyton Wright gallery and walked to Chez Mamou for lunch.  Suzette ordered a shrimp scampi salad and I ordered my favorite, a duck confit entree with mashed potatoes, country fries, and sautéed vegetables with a Demi-glacé sauce.  I ordered a glass of Elk Cove Pinot Noir and Suzette shared a bottle of champagne with the lady at the next table who was in an emotional mood.  We did about an hour of counseling but I don’t think it did any good, although I loved the duck and Suzette loved the scampi

We then walked down to William Cliff’s Gallery where I picked five note cards with photos of Mont St. Michel and Shiprock. William showed me so proofs of Georgia O’Keefe’s sitting he did in color when I commented on the large image of her for $4,000 in jet ink. We had a friendly conversation for a few minutes.  Bill does not sell like a normal gallery owner but he is proud to explain his work. His comment about me at the end of the conversation was, “You are a gentleman.” My response was, “My parents tried to raise me to be a gentleman.”  I was honored by Bill’s comment and up I think he was honored by my interest in and purchases of his work.  By the way, the book and limited edition folio of Mont St. Michel and Shiprock with a jet ink image of each that I paid $1,500.00 for is now priced at $2,500.  The image of La Bajada that I paid $1,000 for in 1989 is now priced at $10,000.

We then walked back to Peyton Wright and said hello to John, who showed. Us his next big exhibit of the paintings of Peter Miller, a little known New Mexico artist who was mainly a post-war Abstract expressionist with a couple of New York shows and who lived on property adjoining San Ildefonso Pueblo.  

We then drove back to Sweeney and attended the last event of the fiesta, a seminar featuring the Familia Torres wines.  The seminar featured Torres’  American representative and a sommelier who worked for Wilson-Taylor, a major importer of fine wines. After presenting the history of the family including that Torres was the first European winery to produce wine in Argentina.  Then he showed the world rankings of the top 100 producers that voted Torres the top producer in the world.  It was at this moment that I realized we were entering a rarified atmosphere and became instantly aware that this would be an interesting experience.

There were five wines all of which were unique in their own way.  The first was a Forcado white.  A result of Torres advertising in Spain for lost and unknown indigenous grapes.  It was delightful and we were told this was 1 of 900 bottles.  The next wine was a Chardonnay raised in Spain that was as close to a French Burgundy Montrachet as any wine I have tasted.

Then we tasted the three reds. The first was a 2017 Purgatori named for the estate which previously had been the monastery where bad monks were sent.  It was light high acid Grenache and Syrah blend that lasted long on the palette as all of these Torres wines did.  I thought of pairing it with Pascal lamb. 

The next red was a 2016 Mas La Plana, a huge but very clean tasting Cabernet Sauvignon without much fruitiness or California funky aftertaste.

The last wine was another Southern Rhone style wine, a 2016 Grans Muralles featuring two newly raised indigenous grapes, one of which was Rolle plus traditional Grenache and Mourvèdre blend.  It was a complex and elegant wine.  All of the wines we tasted at the seminars were in the $60.00 per bottle range and hard to find in New Mexico, but a wonderful window into the developments in current winemaking.

Also, I think the seminars offer a unique experience and a bargain in terms of the wine.  One is typically poured 2 to 3 oz. of wine in six glasses.  If the wine is a minimum of $60.00 per bottle, and many bottles cost more than $60.00, that is $5.00 to $7.50 per glass so you are getting your monies’  worth of wine, forgetting for a moment the effort and shipping cost associated with obtaining these wines on your own. So the seminars are an excellent way to taste wines you otherwise never be able to taste as well as the opportunity to discover areas and wines you were never aware of.

We left more than satisfied.  Suzette commented that it was a wonderful day.  I easily agreed.

It was 5:00 when we drove home and we arrived at 6:00 and then next 30 minutes were spent carrying the 12 chairs Suzette had bought at the garage sale at the Park Plaza Apartments in the morning as we were leaving for Santa Fe.  Willy came over to help. And, Luke called to ask if he could bring his friend, BIlly Joe, for dinner, which of course we agreed to.

Dinner - I had thawed out one of the packages of pork tenderloins this morning in anticipation of cooking our favorite tapa of apples, onions, oregano and pork and Willy’s favorite tapa, Catalan Spinach, which is diced apples, Pinon nuts, raisins and spinach sautéed together. Suzette also diced several of the sweet peppers we had bought at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and added ten to the spinach sauté.

Since we would be five with Billy Joe and because we had new potatoes and Shishito peppers, we made Papas Bravas by roasting quartered potatoes dusted with salt and sautéed a handful of Shishitos in olive oil for two additional easy to prepare tapas.

I prepped everything except the potatoes and sweet peppers, which Suzette diced.  While she was cooking the three tapas, I fetched and uncorked the bottle of Ahua Reserva Rioja that we bought with our 1/2 price coupon at Total wine several months ago.

When everything was ready Suzette plated each plate with some of each tapa and we put the sautéed Shishito in a square bowl onto the table and I poured the wine and Luke fetched glasses of water and butter lit a candle.

It was an enjoyable dinner p that everyone seemed to like.  There was talk of how traditional the foods were and we concluded that almost all the ingredients were locally available 200 years ago.

A tribute to our menu.  

After dinner Luke made whipped cream and made dessert of fresh strawberries and peaches from Amy and Val’s tree with a small mound of whipped cream.

After dinner Willy and Luke and BIlly Joe left and Suzette and I watched Death in Paradise and then went to bed at 10:00, although I blogged until 11:00.

Let me say that going to the seminars and reserve tasting was like going to wine heaven where every sip is heavenly and there is no bad wine.

Bon Appetit

September 24, 2021 Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta The Grower Champagne Tasting, The Grand Tasting and Dinner - PPI Salmon and Mixed vegetables Egg Foo Young

September 24, 2021 Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta The Grower Champagne Tasting, The Grand Tasting and Dinner - PPI Salmon and Mixed vegetables Egg Foo Young 

What a full day.  It started at 7:30 with conversation with Amy.  Then I showed Vahl Smith’s shopping app and coupon system, which I love.  Once you obtain a Smith’s honored customer card you then go to its on line coupon and weekly special listings and click on the coupons you might use.  Then when you check out at the store the app links your on line choices to the scanning device and the program registers the discounts you clicked automatically. No more clipping coupons.

We then got ready and drove to the Sweeney convention center for the champagne tasting seminar that was fantastic.  There were 7 rather unchilled still champagnes at each place.  The panel included three sommeliers and a representative of a large importer of grower champagne.

Grower champagne is produced by producers who generally grow their own grapes and make their own champagne.  Their production is really small, usually fewer than 250,000 bottles, whereas the big champagne houses that produce tens of millions of bottles.  The wines were elegant and yet varied in combinations of grapes, although most included  chardonnay, and Pinot Noir and Meunier is becoming more popular.

After the champagne tasting we boarded a bus to transport us to Marcy Field Park for the Grand Tasting

When we arrived we were greeted by twelve large tents open on their sides. About 100 wineries and importers pouring wine and a group of 30 or so Santa Fe restaurants were offering food tastings.  We started on one side of the main path through the middle of the tents and never made to the other side.  There were 120 booths. Each winery or importer was pouring four to eight wines. We must have tasted forty wines and eaten at least 20 snacks when we reached our limit and I had to sit down in about two hours, which coincided with the point at which most restaurants ran out of food and we had tasted about 40 to 50 wines and at which point we were satiated with wine and food.

                                                                 A wild boar Empanada 

                                         A Malbec that tastes better than any Malbec you have ever tasted

                                                   Suzette doing wine and food research

                                                A newly discovered wonderful Sauvignon Blanc 

My favorite food item was a Korean restaurant that was serving Korean BBQ nestled in the middle of a soft steamed bun that one ate like a taco.

My favorite wine was the last one I drank, a Hanna Family Russian River Sauvignon Blanc.  It was for full of fruit flavors including a light citrus flavor, that I immediately fell in love with it.

After two hours of constant eating and tasting wine we sat under a shaded pavilion for about 30 minutes during which time Suzette roamed into the other side of tents to fetch us bites of food and then we decided enough was enough and we should leave.

We made our way back to a bus that shuttled us back to Sweeney where we transferred to our car and Suzette drove us back home while I slept.  

We arrived home at 4:50 and Suzette promptly went to bed and I read my mail and revised deeds. 

At 7:00 I started watching Rachel and Suzette awakened.

Suzette re-heated the PPI Salmon and mixed vegetables and added two whisked eggs for one of my favorite quick dinners, a stir - fried egg foo young.  Gooey and eggy with lots of vegetables and meat.  A wonderful dinner.

We went to bed around 9:15.

Bon Appetit 

September 23, 2021 Lunch - Cafe Sena. Dinner - Chicken Soup at Vahl and Amy’s and Reserve Tasting at Santa Fe Chili and Wine Festival

We got up at 7:00 and Suzette drove to work and I worked from 8:00 until 11:00, mainly filing my motion to withdraw my representation q of the dozen or so clients in the Lower Rio Grande Adjudication.  My reason was that I had reached the age of 75 and I no longer wished to engage in major litigation.  At 10:00 I ate a bowl of granola with milk, yogurt, and three diced strawberries.  The fresh strawberries were firm and very sweet.

When Suzette returned at 11:00 we took showered, got dressed, and we drove to Santa Fe. After delivering Luke’s box of crystals, we drove to Owings Gallery and walked to Cafe Sena and met TR and Linda for lunch on the open patio at 1:00.  There is  a new menu with lots of Mediterranean recipes, such as an eggplant wrapped couscous dish that Suzette ordered, a gyros sandwich that TR and I ordered a sandwich, a pita bread wrapped around gyros cooked lamb slices with fresh cubes of tomato and red onion slices and tzatziki sauce.  Linda got a Cesar salad attractively served in a tall Parmesan cheese wrapped bundle of romaine leaves. Our waiter appeared to be a middle aged Mexican.  I guess most of the young people have abandoned food service.  

We had our usual lively conversation.  TR showed us a new product, and argon oil shin care product and Linda described a new program she is developing for the Folk Art Museum Foundation to manage estate sales of folk art collections.  So they are still active as ever.  They said that Cyclone Nora blew a tree down at Baliville at Sayulita that damaged their water meter and they were going through the governmental bureaucracy to get it replaced and that they had obtained resident visas for Mexico so they can now transit and do most things any other resident of Mexico can do.

At 2:45 we all left and said goodbye and Suzette and I walked through Owings Gallery and said hello to Mark and then drove to the Sweeney Center for the Trade Tasting.  Unfortunately or fortunately when we arrived we discovered that the Trade Tasting had been on Wednesday and today was the Reserve Tasting, at which the wineries pour their best wines and Sysco puts out a lovely assortment of food.

We explained to the staff that the mistake was due to misinformation they provided by showing the communication with a conformation that the trade tasting was today, not yesterday.  After a wait of about twenty minutes and a check with the supervisory staff we were allowed to attend the Reserve Tasting and they slipped the gold wrist band onto us.

The reserve tasting is a delight.  It features some of the best wines in the world; literally.  I started at Roderer.  They were pouring a new French champagne named Collection, Bin 242 that was Non-vintage brut that the pourer told me included the grapes from the 52 grand cru plots of vines used to make Cristal that were not deemed sufficiently fine for a vintage bottling of Cristal in 2017.  This Collection bottle is priced around $67.00. Cristal Rose is priced around $500 and regular Cristal around $250. That is the type of insider information one picks up as one sips an ounce or two of these great wines poured by the most knowledgeable persons.

Two of the reasons I like Roderer is their flagship facility in the US is located in Anderson Valley and the other reason is they own Domaines Ott that produces one of the best roses in the world and arguably the best Rose from Bandol.  I tried the Anderson Valley Pinot and it was sublime, delicate, elegant and yet complex, everything one would want in a Pinot.

I drank too much, but there were several standouts, the Spanish Rioja LAN winery had a single plot Tempranillo that was off the charts wonderful.  Banfi was pouring it iconic Brunello de Montalcino.  Ridge poured a 2011 and a 2018 Montebello.  I asked what the newly released 2018 was priced at and the lady gladly told me, $245 per bottle.

There were over 100 wineries all pouring their best stuff. 

Here are pictures of my favorites. 

The food was also delicious. I particularly liked a herb rubbed roasted chicken served hot and a black truffle oil flavored goat cheese.  

After the tasting we stumbled to the car and Suzette drove us to Amy and Vahl’s house in Eldorado where I finished my second bottle of Icelandic water to start sobering up

We talked and Amy served us lovely bowls of chicken soup with the amazing biscuits she buys at Whole Foods.

I was still sobering up and only tasted the warmth, but knew the broth was nutritious.

Vahl opened the DePonte Clay Hill Pinot Noir and drank a glass as we were going to bed.

Bon Appetit 

  

 

September 22, 2021 Lunch - Elk Stew with rice and Refried black beans. Dinner - Fresh Oysters and ice cream

September 22, 2021 Lunch - Elk Stew with rice and Refried black beans. Dinner - Fresh Oysters and ice cream

I awakened at 8:00 after going to bed at 7:30 last night and waking at 3:00 and working until 5:30. I transcribed last month’s book club meeting.

When I awakened I worked at my desk mainly on stuff for Suzette until 10:00 when I toasted two slices of bagel and spread one with butter and plum jam and garnished it with slices of Iberico cheese and Genoa salami. I spread the other one with cream cheese and garnished it with slices of onion, Gravad lax, and capers.  Here is a picture.

I had a busy day at my desk with clients, including a conversation with another lawyer about a case for a new client.  

The market perked up today with the Dow adding 338 points and the NASDAQ adding 150 points.  My portfolio increased by just over 1% to resurrect my year to date increase to date to 20%, which is great.

At 1:45 I heated the last 1/3 cup of PPI cooked rice and elk stew and added a couple spoonfuls of Refried black beans and a slice of onion for a delicious bowl of elk stew for lunch.  I wish every lunch of leftovers was this good.  We had cooked the elk stew using Julia Child’s recipe for Beouf Bourguignon, so it contained beef stock and Pinot Noir wine, sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions.

After I watched the market close and recorded my gain for the day at 2:00  I toasted two slices of French baguette. I spread butter on both slices and added plum jam and slices of Idiazabel cheese to one and brie on the other. I ate both with a second glass of 2018 Chateau Rodier from the Montange-St. Emillon Appellation.  The 2018 is more highly rated that some earlier vintages and tasted great, so I will buy more of it.

I worked until 4:00 and then turned my attention to shopping.  Stores advertise weekly specials beginning on Wednesday.  Smiths/Kroger has many more specials than just its advertised weekly specials advertised on its digital web site.  The digital app allows you to clip a coupon on line that will connect that special price to your Smiths customer discount card, so that the added coupon discount will be subtracted from your bill whenever you present that item at the checkout counter during the relevant discount period.  For example, I checked a $5.00 discount coupon for an 18 pack of Dos Equis on line and when I checked out today I received $5.00 off the sale price of $18.99.

We had run out of milk, so I had to go shopping.  After I electronically clipped a lot of coupons including a 1/2 gallon of milk for $.88, I drove to the post office and then to my local Smiths on Carlisle at Constitution.

I bought 2 1/2 gallon containers of milk, and two 1/2 gallons of Dreyer’s ice cream on sale for $2.50 each and then went to the meat department where I selected 2 double packages of pork tenderloins that were priced at $5.49/lb. but offered for Buy 1 and the second one is free, so $2.75/lb.  

Then I perused the fish offerings and saw nice small fresh oysters for $4.99/lb.  The attendant said they were from Virginia and were fresh, so I bought eleven of them for $9.34. 

I then proceeded to the produce section to replenish our vegetables and selected four avocados for $.50 each on sale, a bunch of cilantro, a bunch of parsley, a lb. container of strawberries for $.97, a nice head of romaine lettuce, 5 nice shallots for $1.99/lb. that is the cheapest price in town, 2 red onions for $.89/lb., a handful of beautifully tender green beans for $1.29/lb., a bit more than a pound of Brussels Sprouts on sale for $.99/lb. soon to be featured in our first roasted vegetable medley of the Fall. I also bought a quick sale bag of nice looking red bell peppers for $.99. 

Then I went to the liquor department where I had clipped a number of coupons and realized that I needed to use my cell phone to monitor my clipped coupons next time.  I simply chose an 18 pack of Dos Equis because I knew that was a coupon featured item and because we like Dos Equis a lot because it is a lager that goes well with most types of food and at $18.99 was a good price.  I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered after I checked out that I had received the $5.00 coupon and bought the 18 pack at a very good price at $13.99, which is probably as cheap as at a big manufacturer’s warehouse in Mexico.

There are lots of foreign produced food items in the US that are cheaper than in their country of origin.  The best example I can think of is Jarlsberg cheese.  We recently paid $5.55/lb. for a 2 lb. wedge with a $3.00 bonus discount at our local Costco.  When we were in Oslo two years ago, we bought a much smaller wedge in a food hall for about $15.00/lb. in Euros for which we had to pay a 3% exchange fee on our credit card to convert to dollars. 

How can the Norwegians ship that wedge of cheese to Albuquerque and sell it for $4.00/lb.? One reason may be that their industry is subsidized by the Norwegian government.  Another reason surely is that the maker is not burdened by Norway’s VAT (sales) tax paid on all purchases of goods in Norway. But in the end buying a superb Norwegian cheese for less than 1/3 of the price we paid in the country of origin feels a lot like dumping. And, I hope the dumping continues.

When I returned home and after we stored all the food, I presented the package of fresh oysters to Suzette who was thrilled, especially since she thought we would be eating leftovers for dinner.  I made a spicy cocktail sauce with catsup, horseradish, lemon juice, and two drops of Cholula hot sauce.  Then we shucked the oysters, which proved to be far more difficult than usual because of their small size until Suzette suggested prying the shells apart near the latch end.  Here is the result.

We wanted a light white wine with the oysters.  Suzette selected one of the recent purchases at Total wine, a Gavi Saula ($14.99 less 25%) which has more intense acidity than even Gavi Princessa, but which is balanced by a slight buttery sweetness due to a higher percentage of residual sugar; so a more complex wine. I think if given the choice, I would pick Princessa because I like a lower residual sugar, higher acid style of wine better.  I like to pucker up occasionally.

After our light appetizer/fish course of fresh oysters we decided to splurge and each bowls of ice cream since we now had lots of it.  Suzette made fresh whipped cream and fetched her homemade maraschino cherries and we made ice cream sundaes our entree and dessert.  I added a dash of Kahlua to my bowl of mocha almond fudge and double chocolate fudge ice cream topped with whipped cream and maraschino cherries to create a glorious sludge.

I have been feeling weak for the last two days because I have been eating only two meals per day, so today I made a point to eat three meals with lots of protein and carbs.  Suzette observed that my diet is somewhat like a diabetic diet; mostly carbs and proteins, except occasionally I have a need for sugar.  Whatever the balance, today I achieved it.

 

We went to bed after watching Trevor Noah at 9:30.

I awakened at 1:30 and drank a cup of chai and blogged this blog until 3:15.

Bon Appetit