October 15, 2021 Lunch - PPI Paella. Dinner - Rack of Lamb with tomato and Kale couscous

October 15, 2021 Lunch - PPI Paella. Dinner - Rack of Lamb with tomato and Kale couscous 

I got a slow start this morning although I drafted a note and Mortgage for a transaction. I skipped breakfast again.

At noon I added an egg and several stalks of asparagus diced into 1 inch pieces  to the PPI paella and pieces of grilled toast we had leftover from our dinner at Vara last Friday night.  I drank a glass of water with it.  The egg yolk went into solution to enrich the sauce of the paella we had adjusted with clam broth earlier this week to soften the tough overcooked rice in the paella.

I had a great session with Rahim in the afternoon as he updated my computer and we discussed a new project he is considering.

After Rahim left I checked my portfolio and was pleasantly surprised that it increased by .5%, perhaps because the Dow was up 382 points and big tech stocks were up slightly.

Suzette came home at 5:30 and we shared a drink in the garden as the sun set, I: a glass of Buttonwood Riesling, Suzette: a scotch.

Suzette called Jody about a problem with her Highlander, who came by a few minutes later to check the cars and took the Highlander back to his shop to work on this weekend.  What a joy to have a car mechanic who makes house calls, especially on Friday evenings.  The PRIUS checked out and is okay to drive, so we can drive it to Santa Fe tomorrow for Stephen’s big semi-annual sale.

A bit after 6:00 I picked a basket full of two types of kale, some basil and some tarragon.  I will use the tarragon to make tarragon mustard. I will dry the basil to cook with during the winter. I destemmed the kale and cut it into bite sized pieces to cook with couscous for dinner.

The menu was simple, to reheat the remaining 5 lamb riblets and make tomato, kale, and asparagus couscous.

I chopped about five or six stalks of asparagus into 1 inch lengths and two slices of red onion while Suzette diced a few tomatoes from our garden we had ripened on the kitchen window sill.

She then heated butter and olive oil in a sauce pan and added the asparagus and onion to sauté.  In a couple of minutes Suzette added the tomatoes and kale and I added another 2 T. of butter and 1 1/2 cups of couscous and stirred the pot to coat all the ingredients with butter.

Suzette heated water in the electric kettle and when it came to a boil, I added about 2 1/2 cups of boiling water to the pot of couscous and covered the pot and turned down the heat to a low simmer.

I then went down stairs looking for a bottle of wine made from a Syrian grape I thought we bought at the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery beside Keuka Lake in New York.

I could not find the bottle so I selected a Kirtland Rioja Reserva and a 2010 Chateau D’ Aurilhac Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois from the Haut Medoc that had won a gold medal in France that I bought at Costco in 2014 for 18.00.

I opened the bottle and Suzette set the table with glasses 

Willy came by at 7:00 as I was fluffing the couscous with a rubber spatula.  It looked good, moist, not too stuck on the bottom of the pot and steaming right along.  We had guessed right on the proportions of couscous, Vegetables, and water. I turned off the heat to let the couscous steam a little longer, covered.

I sliced the remaining five lamb chops and Suzette heated them in the microwave for a minute. 

Suzette then plated the plates with a pile of couscous garnished with sliced lamb riblets and I poured the wine.

I could immediately tell that the 2010 Chateau D’ Aurilhac was a different sort of wine from the thin watery wines we usually drink. It was deep purple, thick and jammy with dark Cherry overtones, a classic Bordeaux blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot Noir, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc.  It was not as highly rated as I would have thought, 86 points on Wine Searcher and 3.8 on Vinvino, but we found it to have a commanding presence on the palate.

We discussed Willy’s future since he had just received a call back on his job query to Denver. We considered all the friends he had who live in Denver and what the job might be like, and how much more he would make.  He seemed enthusiastic and we were happy for him.

He said he was genuinely interested in the job and the prospect of living in Denver.  He had come over to fetch a box of prepared entrees from Freshly that had been delivered today that he opened and showed us.  They were packaged beautifully, but I could not help thinking about the carbon footprint for six individual portions of food, each in their own plastic container wrapped in a colorful wrapper and collectively surrounded by broad sheets of coolant gel, wrapped in a large insulation blanket, and neatly fitted into a large cardboard box. The packaging clearly cost much more than the food, although the prepared meals looked great.  Willy said that the food utilized cauliflower and avoided rice to keep the carb level down.

We agreed that Freshly’s appeal is mainly to young executives working ten to 12 hours a day who want a nutritious light meal who does not wish to shop and cook.  Freshly is clearly less expensive and quicker than going out to eat.

After dinner Willy left and I drank the rest of my glass of wine with a Godiva chocolate that was a very pleasant combination 

Then I went to bed where Suzette had connected the voice activation function on the TV remote controller and found a 2018 movie on Netflix, “Destination Wedding”, starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in a romantic comedy with a tightly scripted dialogue.  Suzette compared the machine gun fast dialogue to a Shakespearean play. 

We went to bed after the movie.

I awakened at 1:30 to finish this blog with the help of a cup of chai.

Bon Appetit 

I