July 31, 2022 Brunch - Bacon, Eggs, hash brown potatoes, and toast. Dinner - A one dish meal: Tomato Couscous with Lamb

July 31, 2022 Brunch - Bacon, Eggs, hash brown potatoes, and toast. Dinner - A one dish meal: Tomato Couscous with Lamb

Today I tried to walk before eating breakfast and my muscles got sore.

I ate a raspberry Newton when I came home and then around 10:00 I ate granola with milk and yogurt and cherries.

Willy came over to work with Suzette to rototill the raised bed.  I worked on the brief. We both finished around 11:30.

Willy and I watched the Women’s EURO final between Germany and England while Suzette made a wonderful brunch of Bacon, Eggs, hash brown potatoes, and toast. The new large yellow creamer potatoes I bought at Costco collapsed into slices and mounds of potato for a more lovely soft varied texture than the much more rigid russet potatoes.

England won for the first in many years, 2 to 1.

After the match and brunch Willy left for a hike and we lay down for a nap.

When we awakened around 4:00 we sent invitations for Suzette’s Birthday party on August 25th.

I started dinner while Suzette watched 60 Minutes at 6:15.  I combined the chopped tomatoes and parsley left from yesterday’s dinner, about 5 or 6 diced stalks of asparagus and added some dried basil and 3 T. of butter in a 2 Quart sauce pan and sautéed those ingredients for 3 to 4 minutes to cook them a bit.

I then heated 2 cups of water and added 1 cup of couscous to the pan and sautéed it with the other ingredients for several minutes until the water began to boil.  I then added 1 1/2 cups of boiling water to the vegetables and couscous and covered the pot and reduced the temperature and cooked for several more minutes.  I then turned off the heat and sliced and added four slices of PPI roasted lamb and fluffed the couscous. I seemed dry so I added another 1/4 cup of water and turned the heat on to medium for another couple of minutes to let the pot build up steam.

When you make couscous you are cooking with heat and steam.

After two more minutes the Couscous was perfectly cooked, not too dry, not too wet, and all the ingredients were cooked.

We ate dinner with Bobby Flay spicy mint and garlic sauce Suzette had made several weeks ago.

We drank the open bottle of Malbec Susan and Charlie gave me last Thursday.

At 7:00 we watched a documentary about Elizabeth Ii’s reign in her own words.  Then at 8:00 we watched Grantchester and at 9:00 the last episode of Hotel Portofino again.

I drank Calvados with milk chocolate and Suzette drank some cognac as we watched.

Bon Appetit

July 30, 2022 Brunch - Blue Cheese, red onion, Avocado and Tomato Bruschetta, Wine release party at Vara, Dinner - Lamb filled pita pockets

July 30, 2022 Brunch - Blue Cheese, red onion, Avocado and Tomato Bruschetta, Wine release party at Vara,  Dinner - Lamb filled pita pockets.

This was a wonderful day in lots of ways. My hips are feeling better which means. Can walk faster with less pain.  Let’s hope that in not temporary.

Then at 9:00 the Comcast technician came to fix our system. He spent an hour moving the volume back not the Comcast remote, shortening the cable to the TV so it did no get caught in the swinging door, replacing the junction were. The cable splits with one cable running to the internet and the other running to the TV, checking the Internet and TV systems to make sure we do not lose video as we have lately, and even removed an old cable dangling from the roof at the back of the house from an ancient system.  We felt rejuvenated when he left.

Then Suzette came up with a great idea for brunch at 10:30.  She toasted a 5 inch slice of French baguette. I sliced 1/2 avocado into nine thin slices and sliced four of five thin slices of red onion.  Suzette fetched the new wedge of Point Reyes Blue cheese and I sliced a medium vine ripe tomato into six slices.

I then spread butter ob the slices of toast and then blue cheese after removing the rind.  Then garnished with slices of red onion, tomato and avocado. for a lovely and delicious bruschetta. We microwaved the bread when it was covered with cheese and red onion to soften them.

While I was making the sandwiches, Suzette made us iced Vietnamese iced coffees with coffee, condensed milk, and lots of ice.

I cut the sandwiches in half to make them easier to handle and Suzette removed the tarp covering the chairs under the gazebo and we ate our brunch in the garden that is looking really lush and verdant with lots of color.  After brunch I picked a red, a white, and a pink rose to put in my office and by my bed.

After brunch, Billy and Elaine called and invited us to Dallas for Thanksgiving and said a Willy had agreed to come.  We also discussed out plans to visit them during their vacation in La Veta, Colorado in September.

So we have several nice trips to add to the calendar.

At 1:00 we showered and dressed and drove to Vara Winery for its release f it’s first two wines made by Laurent Gruet, who attended the event. Laurent made a sparkling white and rose.  We liked the white Blanc de Blanc because it was 75% Chardonnay and a goodly portion of the rest of the dosage was Spanish Cava.  The rose, although nice, was a bit to earthy since it was 100% AmericanSyrah.  Another confirmation of what Greg said at the Bandol tasting two weeks ago, “You can make Rose out of anything.”

There was also a large offering of creative food for the event.  The two most interesting dishes were chicken beignets with syrup (fried clumps of chicken in pancake dough).  The other dish we really enjoyed was a vegetable tempura with onions, mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, and thin slices of lemon fried together in clumps. We had never eaten lemon tempura and loved discovering this new food experience.

The food offerings also included small carafes of ceviche and honeydew Mellon cubes marinated in rose’ and dusted with black sesame seeds on a skewer, and fried shrimp tempura. After three glasses of bubbly and a lot of food we proceeded to JoAnn’s fabric on Coors where I read Blessing Way while Suzette shopped for fabric.  We then filled up the car with gas at Costco and drove to El Super very slowly because Atrisco was filled with rain runoff.

At El Super we bought a case of Dos Equis, zucchini, lemons, limes, red onions, yogurt, beef short ribs, three cucumbers, two smoked pork chops, celery, garlic, green onions, parsley, and condensed milk.

Suzette wanted to stuff pita pockets with lamb, parsley, tzatziki, and chopped tomatoes for dinner, so after El Super we drove to Lowe’s.  While I waited in the Highlander and read, Suzette shopped for pita bread, cans of garbanzo beans, and tonic water.

We then drove home and had a cocktail and a handful of mixed unsalted nuts after we put up the groceries.

Then at 6:30 I made tzatziki with 1 pressed clove of fresh garlic from our garden, juice of 1/2 lemon, a cup of yogurt, 1 T. of the fancy olive oil we bought in California, and one cucumber peeled, seeded, diced finely, and sprinkled with salt.

The resulting Tzatziki had an explosive garlic flavor that permeated the ingredients with its flavor as the tzatziki rested on the table and later in the fridge.

Suzette wanted to make the canned garbanzo beans into hummus but our tahini had gone bad.

I sliced eight thin slices of the PPI Roasted lamb and Suzette chopped a pile of fresh parsley and I diced a tomato.  The Suzette cut a pita in half and heated it in the microwave to soften it.

 

We then stuffed each half with slices of lamb, plus tzatziki, tomatoes, and parsley.  

                      Looking into the stuffed pocket of the gyros

Surprisingly, the pita’s pocket held together through most of our eating it.

We opened a bottle of red Bordeaux rated 97 points but saved most of it for out next lamb meal.

After dinner we watched Father Brown and Death in Paradise and I watched some of the European Champion’s league match between Real Madrid and Juventus that Real Madrid won by a score of 2 to 0.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00:and I followed after the match at around 11:00.

Bon 

July 28, 2022 Lunch - BBQ Ribs with Pinto Beans, corn on the cob, and potato Salad, Dinner - PPI Fusilli Pasta, chicken, and greens

 July 28, 2022 Lunch - BBQ Ribs with Pinto Beans, corn on the cob, and potato Salad,  Dinner - PPI Fusilli Pasta, chicken, and greens

Today I ate well and had a realization.  People who did not learn to cook or do not like to cook cater.

I ate granola with milk and yogurt and cherries for breakfast.

Then I went to Bill Turner’s to review documents.

I went to the book club at Charlie and Susan’s at 12:15.  They served a lovely pork rib BBQ with Pinto Beans, corn on the cob, and potato Salad.

Susan said it took ten minutes to prepare the meal, because that was how long she waited at Golden Pride to lace the order.

After the meeting we were served Blue Bell Peach ice cream.

I went home around 3:30 and watched Ari Melber at 4:00 at at 5:00 meditated until 5:30.

We rested and drank cocktails until 6:00 when we decided to combine the PPI Fusilli with mushrooms, onion, more chicken, and greens from the garden with a dash f white wine and garnished with a dab of sour cream.

This was an expansion of the dish we cooked before but the addition of extra ingredients and less pasta made it into an entirely different dish.

I opened a new bottle of Pinot Grigio rose, but it was difficult to taste or see any rose.

Our Video reception on the TV in the TV room is not functioning so we Midsomer Mystery in the bedroom and went to bed at 9:30.

I am so happy that Suzette loves to cook.

Bon Apperit

July 26, 2022 Lunch - Pork and Beans. Dinner - Fusilli Pasta in a Chicken, Broccoli, onion, and Mushroom Cream and wine Sauce 

Another day of leftovers.

I ate a bowl of granola with milk and blueberries and yogurt for breakfast.

Then helped Suzette load an air conditioner window unit into her Highlander.

At 9:15 I walked four blocks instead of my intended 10 blocks, but later felt growing strength in the back of my thighs. I am starting to be able to push myself up from the edge of the bed or my desk chair without much assistance from my arms.

At 12:00 I heated the leftover Pork and Beans we made with the leftover Pork ribs several weeks ago. It was filling if not memorable. The high point of the meal was the tall chilled glass of Vietnamese coffee I drank with the pork and beans.

Suzette came home at 4:30 but I was in a conference until 5:15. Suzette ate a snack of peanut butter spread on a banana and I ate a slice of Swedish crispbread spread with butter and cod fish roe and a slice spread with butter and Jarlsberg cheese.  

We rested for a bit and at 6:30 we started dinner. I offered to make a Chicken and broccoli and onion stir fry, but Suzette suggested pasta with a chicken, mushroom, and onion cream sauce.

I fetched a 1/2 bag of curly fusilli.  Suzette started a pot of water boiling and boiled the pasta.

I then diced 1/2 small onion, four cloves of garlic, a large quantity of broccoli flowerets, and five portobello mushrooms.  Suzette sautéed those ingredients in a skillet and then added white wine and cream and thickened the sauce by cooking it.

Suzette then drained the pasta and folded iit iinto the pasta.

We opened a bottle of La Ferme Julien (Trader Joe’s $5.99}. 

For some reason Suzette thought it tasted like a Chardonnay but when I checked the website it listed the following varietals of grapes in the blend:

Varietals: 

Bourboulenc

Grenache blanc

Roussanne

Ugni blanc

Vermentino

Sort of a blend of whatever Perrin can buy cheaply.

After watching Finding Your Roots and dinner I worked until 11:30.

Bon Appetit

July 25, 2022 Lunch - Chicken Noodle Soup with Ribbles. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon fillets with Hollandaise Sauce, Salad, and New Recipe: Sautéed Beets, couscous, and asparagus tips

July 25, 2022  Lunch - Chicken Noodle Soup with Ribbles. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon fillets with Hollandaise Sauce, Salad, and New Recipe: Sautéed Beets, couscous, and asparagus tips

Finally a day with three meals.

Suzette left around 7:30.

I dressed early for a meeting I did not need to attend at 9:00, so I made breakfast instead. I fried two slices of bacon and two eggs over easy with a piece of toasted Russian rye spread with butter and apricot preserves.

I worked until noon and then looked in the fridge and found a 32 oz. container of Chicken Noodle Soup with Ribbles.  I was still good so I enjoyed it for lunch and made some room.

At 2:00 I drove to the bank and then to Smith’s.  As I was walking in I ran into Mike Verhagen and invited him to dinner.  We went to the cheese section as an employee threw several cheeses into the discount section, so I bought a wedge of Point Reyes Blue cheese.  I then said goodbye to Mike and  bought milk, sour cream, Pecan Sandies and Fudge Stick cookies, a chocolate and a vanilla ice cream, bagels, a 1.6 lb. Salmon fillet, asparagus, blueberries, shallots, a red, a yellow, and an orange bell pepper, 2 avocados, a cluster of tomatoes, and bananas. 

When I returned home a bit before 4:00 I called Willy and invited him to dinner and unloaded the car and put a bottle of Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc wine in the fridge to chill and then lay down for an hour until Suzette arrived from a hard day at work.

She rested until 6:00 and then we began cooking. I peeled and diced two medium sized beets grown in the Center’s garden.

Mike arrived at 6:30 with asparagus and a lovely broccoli, radish, and lettuce salad.  I took the dressing out of the fridge and added 1 tsp. of lemon juice and some olive oil to the dressing.

I then made Hollandaise Sauce using the Mastering the Art of French cooking recipe. I whisked three egg yolks in an enameled sauce pan and  added 2 T. of water and 1 1/2 T. of lemon juice and about 1/8 tsp. of salt and a dash pepper of white pepper.

I then put the pan on the stove at low heat and added 1/2 lb. of butter in 1 T. slices until all the butter had melted. l then turned the heat off and stirred until the sauce thickened.  It was perfect. I poured it into a pitcher.

Willy arrived a bit before 7:00 and poured the wine and helped set the table on the patio.

The most interesting dish was a sautéed medley of boiled cubed beets Raised in The garden at the Center that I finely cubed, the PPI couscous and asparagus tips Mike cut. The medley was a brilliant way to combine the vegetable and carb dish int one lovely soft red colored medley that took on its own flavor characteristics.  Mike’s salad was great also.with lots of fresh broccoli, radishes and several types of lettuce.

Mike cut the salmon into four fillets and Suzette salted and peppered them and sautéed them in peanut oil on the stove, which we have discovered is the quickest way to cook in the summer.

Suzette divided the vegetable medley into four equal piles and lay a salmon fillet on or next to each pile.  We served ourselves salad and dressing and Hollandaise Sauce and we took our plates out to the patio table.

I enjoyed the meal and was impressed with how well it went with the grapefruit flavored New Zealand Picton Bay (Trader Joe’s $6.99).

After the meal we went back inside and we watched Antiques Roadshow at Sarasota, Florida at the Ringling Mansion, after which Willy left and we ate bowls of the two new ice creams with maraschino cherries, a lovely vanilla called Vividly Vanilla with a little extra vanilla flavoring and a weird and wonderful conglomeration of chunks of chocolate truffle, nuts, and cherries in chocolate ice cream called cherries and Chocolate Truffle. 

We watched the season four episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Hawaii and at 9:45 said goodnight to Mike and fell into bed.

Bon Appetit 

July 24, 2022 Brunch - Cinnamon Toast French bread with sausage Dinner - Roasted Chicken with Couscous with greens

July 24, 2022 Brunch - Cinnamon Toast French bread with sausage  Dinner - Roasted Chicken with Couscous with greens

I awakened at 5:50 and worked until 8:00. Suzette went outside to work on the garden from 7:30 to 9:30.  She retrofitted the pump in the pond and clean a raised bed and lots of other things, I suspect.

I watched the news and the final stage of the tour unto 9:45.

The only thing left to decide was who would win the sprint at the end of the stage and that was Jasper Phillipsen.

At 9:30 Suzette started frying five sausage patties and then took a phone call, so I went to the kitchen and finished frying the sausage and mixed milk, two eggs, a bit of cinnamon and sugar in a bowl for French toast.

I then melted butter in a skillet and soaked six slices of raisin bread In the batter and sautéed three at a time to make French toast.  I poured maple syrup into a Pyrex measuring cup and Suzette heated it with a bit of butter. In the microwave.

I drank tea and Suzette made a Clamato juice with lime and vodka.

Suzette then lay down for a nap and I worked until 2:00 and I then napped until 4:00.

Suzette watched Home remodeling shows and I worked until 7:00 when Suzette picked greens in the garden and cooked them in some PPI couscous.  I separated the leg and thigh quarters from the roasted chicken and we heated the couscous and then the chicken in the microwave and Suzette plated each plate with a pile of couscous and a leg and thigh quarter a pile of couscous with greens.

We each drank a glass of Gruner Vietliner and then shared a bottle of Ferme Julien rose.

At 7:00 we watched Hotel Portofino, at 8:00 Grantchester and Suzette went to bed at 9:00.

I finished the first draft of the brief by 10:30 andd then went to bed to blog and read.

Bon Appetit

July 23, 2022 Snack - Charcuterie and Cheese Dinner - Mesa Provisions

 July 23, 2022 Snack - Charcuterie and Cheese   Dinner - Mesa Provisions 

Today was spent at the computer again until 4:00 when Willy returned from a motorcycle ride. I had not eaten anything since granola with milk and yogurt at 8:00 and an iced Vietnamese coffee at12:00.

We filled a cutting board with charcuterie and goat, Jarlsberg, and Boursin cheeses and I fetched a package of Siljan’s  Crisp bread, which is round with a hole in the middle and a diameter of about 12 inches.  The story goes that the Viking dragon ships would sink dowels into the floor of the forecastle area and stack this type of crisp bread stacked to the top of the dowels.

It is made with rye flour, water and a bit of salt.  It has a rather neutral flavor and goes with anything like butter and salami and/or cheese.  When all else failed you could live on this stuff and a dash of salt water might only improve its flavor.

Carlos came today and started re shingling the garage by adding shakes were needed.  I am thrilled.

I watched the end of Stage 20 of the TDF, which was an individual time trial.  There were no surprises, Von Aert won, Vingegaard came second, Pogacar came third, and Thomas came fourth,laving the top three positions in the GC unchanged as well as the KOM. White, and green jerseys.

After Willy left at 5:00 I showered and dressed and we drove to Nob Hill at 6:15 and listened to music until 7:15 at the Girard stage of Summerfest, when we walked to Mesa Provisions for dinner.

We shared a plate with two grilled quail laying on a pile of thin rice vermicelli, garnished with crushed pecans, sweet corn kernels, small cubes of fresh zucchini and dressed with a spicy soy sauce.

Suzette ordered a glass of French rose and I ordered a pint bottle of Tieton   Farmhouse hopped apple cider from Yakima, Washington that was very smooth and pleasant.  I would order it again.

Talking about ordering it again, even though we found the soy sauce too spicy, we loved the quail and would order it again.  Suzette asked for a ramekin of yogurt that neutralized the chili’s spiciness substantially.

After dinner we walked west on Central a few minutes but the crowds were much bigger and mostly unmasked, so a few minutes before 9:00 we drove home and ate ice cream with maraschino cherries and whipped cream and watched Death in Paradise until 10:00 when we went to bed.

We enjoyed the evening, getting out of the house, and dining at a good restaurant.

Bon Appetit 

July 22, 2022: Dinner - Chicken sandwich and Peanut butter and honey sandwich

July 22, 2022: Dinner - Chicken sandwich and Peanut butter and honey sandwich 

My day reminds me of law school. A little exercise and food and lots of studying and writing.

I started the day working on the brief and then I ate a bowl of granola with milk and yogurt. Around 8:00 I walked with Suzette around the block with a little more difficulty than recently, perhaps because my right hip or spine was a bit out of alignment 

I then started back on the brief, but took a break at 10:30 and ate a fig bar and an iced Vietnamese coffee to wake up and watched the last km. of today’s Stage 19 of the TDF.  It was very satisfying, because the strongest team this year, Jumbo-visna, was able to work for one of its members, LaPorte, who had not won a stage this year to win a stage. It was the first stage this year to be won by a Frenchman.

I worked until Suzette came home around 4:00 with a roasted tarragon and lemon flavored chicken from the Greenhouse Bistro.

I took a break to make a snack.

I toasted a slice of Russian rye and spread Mayo on it.  I then lay slices of chicken breast, basil mustard, lettuce, red onion, and Jarlsberg cheese.  I also pulled three dill pickles out of the pickle jar and Suzette fetched me an apple cider.

I watched TV for a bit in bed to cool of but fell asleep from 6:00 until 8:00.

When I awakened Suzette suggested we soak in the hot tub. We both enjoyed the soak which helped loosen our sore joints and I was able to cleanse my body of the day’s sweat.  The temperature rose to 101 degrees today.

After our soak I returned to the brief and worked on it until 12:30.

After I stood up at 12:30 I was able to straighten my spine and felt the benefit of walking and soaking in less pain.

I hope it cools soon, so we can start cooking and eating full meals.

Bon Appetit

July 20, 2022 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam Restaurant. Dinner - PPI Pork and Beans for Suzette and BBQ Shrimp and Rice for Bob

July 20, 2022 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam Restaurant. Dinner - PPI Pork and Beans for Suzette and BBQ Shrimp and Rice for Bob

Finally a fun day of food. I ate my usual breakfast of granola with milk and yogurt and diced apple.

Then I helped Suzette cur low ganging limbs from the golden rain tree.

When I returned to the house and turned on the TDF there were four riders  1/2 niles  from the finish on the last of three big climbs, The two race leaders and a domestic for each.  About 400 meters from the line in a brutal uphill finish the two leaders, battled it out for the win. Pogacar won with no time gap and only gained 4 seconds for the time bonus between him and Vingegaard, which meant Vingegaard still was 2 minutes and 18 seconds ahead.

Sort of a win and a defeat for Pogacar and a defeat and a win for Vingegaard.

I worked until 12:15 when Suzette brought take out from 2000 Vietnam.  Willy joined us.  Willy and I ate a No. 30, vegetables steamed noodles topped with fried egg rolls and grilled marinated pork. The grilled pork was especially tasty today.  Suzette ordered a pile of sautéed mung bean sprouts covered by a thin layer of cooked rice flour sheets and garnished with fried egg rolls and marinated grilled pork, the same as the topping for No. 30.

The interesting aspect of Vietnamese cooking for me is you can have the same meat choice in one of many noodle or rice choices and either hot or cool.

After lunch I worked until 4:00 when II decided to lie down in the bedroom, which is the coolest room in the house.

I watched the news until 6:30 when I went to the kitchen and heated the remaining PPI Cajun BBQ shrimp.  Suzette was heating the PPI Pork and Beans for her dinner.  I fetched a Negra Modelo.

I am not sure what Suzette drank.  She was concerned about a health issue her Mom was having and spent much of the evening talking to siblings and her Mom’s health care professionals. I suspect that at age 96 almost anything that goes wrong could be a health risk. Marta, who is also 96, recently had to go into the hospital.

At 8:00 when Suzette reached a stopping point in her conversations, we unloaded the four umbrella stands and opened and set up the three umbrellas we just bought on the back patio to shade the newly planted creeping thyme.  The umbrellas have an array of solar powered lights that looks very neat.

I then retired to the bedroom to cool down and blog and read.

The four boxes of shakes arrived today, so Friday Carlos will start restoring the roof of the house and garage to their original glory.

Bon Appetit

July 19, 2022 Lunch - Pork and Beans. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon with Couscous and Greens

 July 19, 2022 Lunch - Pork and Beans. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon with Couscous and Greens

We are living simply these days because we think the hot weather messes up our digestive systems.

I ate granola with milk and yogurt and diced apple for breakfast at 9:15 as I watched the finish of Stage 16 of the Tour de France.  Amazingly a Canadian named Hugo Houl won who had never won any bike race before. It was also the first time a Canadian won a stage since 1988.

Nine stages have now been won by riders who have not won stages before. It is an amazingly entertaining TDF this year.

I then walked 1/3 mile and when I returned listened and testified in the hearing for Marie Coleman’s application to have a distillery and coffee roasting business next door to the kids’ property at 524 Romero. There were opinions expressed both for and against approving the project, so it is hard to tell which way the decision will go.

After the hearing at 12:30 I watered the creeping thyme Suzette planted yesterday. I became really hungry at 1:00 so I heated a bowl of PPI pork and bean stew with tomatoes, pimientos, and onion and a toasted flour tortilla.

Then at 3:00 I drove to two banks to deposit checks and then drove to Trader Joe’s to re-stock our everyday wines.  I bought 24 bottles of wine, a bottle of cognac and a 17 oz. bar of Belgium milk chocolate and almonds.

I was lucky that as I arrived at home when Suzette also arrived at 4:45, so she was able to help me carry the wine in.  We made four trips with six bottles each.

At 6:30 Suzette was ready to cook dinner. I had planned a simple menu, sautéed salmon filets with couscous cooked with greens from our garden and verde lago from next to our walkway.

The Couscous

I stripped the center stalk out of the green’s leaves and cut the leaves into bite sized pieces.  I the heated two T. of butter in a sauce pan and heated water in the kettle.

When the butter melted we added a cup of couscous and set the heat medium low and stirred the couscous to coat it with butter.  I the added 1 1/2 cups of hot water into the pot and we added the greens and turned the heat down to low and covered the pot to start it steaming after about five minutes the couscous was ready.

The Salmon

We had one thick piece and one thin piece.  Suzette sautéed them in olive oil until they began crisp on their edges.  Suzette also made a bowl of tartare sauce.

Suzette fetched a bottle of Picton Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the fridge in the garage that went really well with the salmon.

Suzette filled each plate with a pile of Couscous and then lay 1/2 of each fillet on each plate and we added tartare sauce.

We drank another glass of the wine after dinner and then finished the meal with a cordial glass filled with home made limoncello, that was both sweet and strong.

Bon Appetit