December 28, 2021 Brunch - Bagels with cream cheese and Lax and cheese. Dinner - Sautéed Rack of Lamb with Tomato and Onion Couscous and steamed Broccoli

December 28, 2021 Brunch - Bagels with cream cheese and Lax and cheese. Dinner - Sautéed Rack of Lamb with Tomato and Onion Couscous and steamed Broccoli 

I awakened at 8:15 and lay in bed and watched Tottenham and Southampton play to a 1 to 1 tie.  Then I worked and prepared a brunch at 10:30 of three toasted bagel slices spread with cream cheese.  One two I lay thin slices of red onion, Gravad lax, and garnished them with capers.  On the other slice I lay slices of Gouda cheese.  I drank a cup of Earl Grey Tea with milk.

It was a lackluster day in the market with the Dow up about 100 points and the NASDAQ down.  My portfolio was down a little less than .4% but remained over 20% for the year, which is my goal.

The big event of the day for me was the evening match between Leicester and No. 2 Liverpool that started at 1:00 p.m. MST, which I thought would be a slaughter, since last week No. 1 ranked Man City beat Leicester 6 to 3.  I tuned in at the 42nd minute and was amazed that the score was still 0 to 0.

I watched the rest of the match and was thrilled that Leicester scored a goal and held off the Liverpool scoring juggernaut as the local crowd thunderously cheered Leicester on to win the match.  It was my best sports Christmas gift of this year.  The town will probably be in joyous exultation for a week.

At 4:00 I drank a glass of Vietnamese iced coffee with two chocolate chip cookies and then walked 2/3 mile without pain or stopping to catch my breath with one sugar pill.  I would like to think my stamina is improving and my joint pain diminished, but it most likely is just euphoria resulting from the Leicester victory.

Suzette came home just as I returned home after picking four sprigs of Rosemary from the garden for the lamb dinner I had planned.  We had four ribs left from the rack of lamb we grilled last week.  I proposed to Suzette that we sauté the lamb riblets in olive oil and Rosemary and serve them with tomato couscous and steamed broccoli.  Suzette agreed but first I had to drive to Lowe’s at 5:30 to buy a gallon of milk.

Tomato Couscous 

When I returned at 5:50 Suzette had begun prepping the couscous by dicing a tomato and several ounces of red onion.

Suzette wanted to reduce leftovers, so we cooked only 1/2 cup of couscous.  We sautéed the diced onion and then the diced tomato in butter in a sauce pan and then added the couscous and stirred it to coat it with butter.  Then we added 3/4 cup of boiling water to the sautéing ingredients and covered the pot and lowered the heat to slowly cook and steam the couscous.  After about five minutes I checked the couscous and then fluffed it with a fork and recovered the pan and after another 30 seconds turned off the heat to allow the couscous to steam for several minutes.

Suzette then sautéed the four lamb riblets in olive oil and Rosemary and steamed the broccoli flowerets, while I chose a bottle of 2011 Gran Reserva Origon from the Terra Alta region of Spain located at the southern end of Catalonia; a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, so the same blend as found in many Southern Rhone reds: my preferred wine with lamb.  We dabbed Hollandaise Sauce on the steamed broccoli.  Everything was really flavorful, a wonderful dinner.

After dinner we watched a documentary on the career of Angela Merkel, titled “In Her Own Words” that was very impressive.

A ate a few squares of chocolate with my last glass of wine and Suzette ate a couple of chocolate chip cookies with her glass of wine as we watched. Suzette gave the cookies her seal of approval, which was pleasing.

Suzette went to bed after the documentary at 8:30 and I brewed a cup of Earl Grey tea and stayed up and blogged and read.

I thought today’s food consumption was perfect, a late brunch, an afternoon snack of tea and biscuits, and an early dinner with a chop, a starch, and a green vegetable.p with a good wine.

After dinner I talked to Rick, who owns Calstar Cellars and ordered a case of his wines, including several Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs.  We discussed driving the camper to Anderson Valley for the Pinot Festival in May.  We have not been in over ten years.

Bon Appetit