December 7, 2015 Breakfast – Biodynamic Granola, lunch – Anatolia Donar Kebab Restaurant, Dinner – Rack of Lamb and Eggplant with Tzatziki, green Peas, and Roasted Potatoes

December 7, 2015  Breakfast – Biodynamic Granola, lunch – Anatolia Donar Kebab Restaurant,  Dinner – Rack of Lamb and Eggplant with Tzatziki, green Peas, and Roasted Potatoes

I had a bowl of fruit salad with Greek yogurt, and Mango nectar for breakfast.  Then went with Aaron to a meeting with Aaron for the Los Lunas Project.  We decided to go to lunch after the meeting and decided to go to either Bistro Francais or Anatolia Donar Kebab Restaurant, aFter checking on its Facebook page and finding that the Lunch special was Burque Kebab.

I drove to downtown and parked at Third and Gold.  We first went to  Bistro Francais and spoke to the waiter.  When we heard that there were no new specials on the three course lunch, we decided to go to Anatolia Donar Kebab Restaurant, because Aaron wanted Falafels and we were in the mood for something different than what we had previously eaten at Bistro Francais.  During our conversation the waiter mentioned enjoying the chicken Donar Kebab, which is what Aaron ordered ($9.95) along with a Falafel appetizer (4.95).  I ordered the Daily special for $6.99 with all salad, instead of rice and salad.

The Falafels had a  very crisp crust and a very tender center. Very delicious.  Here is a recipe:

Falafel

Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian

Falafel

Total Time:

1 hr 10 min

Prep:

15 min

Inactive:

30 min

Cook:

25 min

Yield:4 servings (3 patties per serving)

Level:Easy

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas

3 scallions, coarsely chopped

1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Generous 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley

Generous 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1 egg

1 lemon, juiced

Kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup flour, plus 1/4 cup flour for shaping patties

Vegetable oil, for frying

Lettuce, for garnish

Chopped salted tomatoes, for garnish

Grated cucumber, for garnish

White Bean Yogurt Sauce, recipe follows

Creamy White Bean Yogurt Sauce

3/4 cup cooked white beans

1 small garlic clove, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, scallions, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, parsley, cilantro, egg, and lemon juice. Pulse to combine and season with salt. The mixture will not be smooth, but it should not have large chunks.

Add in the baking powder and 1/3 cup of the flour and pulse to just combine. Remove to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove the chickpea mixture from the refrigerator. Add enough oil to a large saute pan so it reaches 1/2-inch up the sides and heat it over medium-high heat until an inserted thermometer reads 360 degrees F.

Meanwhile, drop spoonfuls of the chickpea mixture onto a plate with 1/4 cup flour. Roll into balls on the floured plate and press gently into patties. Fry in batches of hot oil for about 3 to 4 minutes each side and drain on paper towels.

Serve the falafel on a bed of lettuce with chopped salted tomatoes, grated cucumber and White Bean Yogurt Sauce.

Puree the white beans, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, and olive oil in a mini food processor until very smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with falafel or as a salad dressing.

Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian

I really enjoyed the freshly grilled Burque Kebab studded with red chili flakes that turned much of the meat a reddish color and spiced the meat with a zesty chili flavor.  The salad was wonderful also large strips of green leaf lettuce with red cabbage dressed with a strong vinaigrette.  Aaron’s chicken Donar was a plate filled half with salad and the other half holding a layer of rice with a pile of diced grilled marinated chicken on top.

At 3:00 in the afternoon I rode to Rio Bravo and back.  

Suzette arrived around 5:00 hungry for dinner, just as I was putting about a dozen PPI roasted New potatoes into a pyrex baking dish and squeezing the juice of a lemon onto them.  Suzette fetched the two small racks of lamb from the fridge and salted and peppered them and the PPI green peas from Thanksgiving.  I sliced the ½ eggplant we had into 1 inch thick slices and put the potatoes into a 350 degree oven to heat them.  Suzette grilled the lamb and eggplant slices while I made tzatziki with Greek yogurt, a minced clove of garlic, lemon juice, about a Tbsp. of olive oil, about ¼ cup of chopped fresh mint leaves, and 1/3 of a cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced. 

Suzette came in from the grill while I was making the tzatziki and asked, “Do you want a slice of fresh mozzarella melted on top of the eggplant?”

Of course, the answer was, “Yes.” So, Suzette sliced fresh mozzarella cheese slices and laid them on the eggplant and melted the cheese as she grilled the eggplant.  

The racks of lamb were thick and when we sliced them, they were undercooked, Suzette heated some olive oil in a large skillet and seared them for a minute or two on each side to get them to medium rare.

I fetched a bottle of 2012 Famille Perrin Reserve from the basement and poured glasses of it and fetched the mint jelly made by  the Greenhouse Bistro and Suzette plated a wonderful dinner.

A Southern Cotes du Rhone wine is my favorite with lamb and the 50/50 blend of Syrah and Grenache in Famille Perrin Reserve is very representative of that style of wine.  It is a bargain at $7.99 less 15% at Total Wine.

 We watched the News Hour to catch up on all the horrors of modern civilization.  Tonight’s feature was the Beijing smog alert with pictures of the skies over the city filled with pollution and peoples’ faces covered with masks to reduce the inhalation of airborne particulate matter.  Welcome to hell on earth.

 Another interesting bit of news was the announcement by Donald Trump’s campaign that all Muslims should be denied entry into the U.S. and accompanying commentary whether this was a step too far by him.  Do people realize that he is stoking the disintegration of American democracy?  The Republican campaign is feeling a lot like Germany circa the 1930s, when all Jews were required to register and their rights and property taken away from them.

We watched a bit of the Dallas v. Washington football game but the performance of both teams was so lackluster that I went to bed at 9:00 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

I also received word today that my appeal to the 10th circuit was denied, so we will need to create a record in the state court and take the case back up on appeal, if the state court gives us a chance to present our evidence.

Bon Appetit 

December 6, 2015 Brunch – Bacon, lettuce, and tomato Sandwiches, Mexican Three Dried Chili Salsa, Dinner – Spaghetti and New Recipe sautéed Chard, Green Olive, and fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta

December 6, 2015 Brunch – Bacon, lettuce, and tomato Sandwiches,  Mexican - Three chili Salsa, Dinner – Spaghetti and New Recipe    sautéed Chard, Green Olive, and fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta

Three big things dominated today. Suzette painted the basement floor and I made spaghetti sauce, I saw a great program about Jewish  migration to America, and we created a new dish. 

It started as a relatively relaxing day.  I watched the news shows although I became depressed by the haggling over whether the President and our government was doing enough to deal with ISIS and domestic terrorism.

Yesterday I went to Albertson's to buy fresh oysters for $.79 each and was greeted by a cart of free food near the entrance to the store.  I knew I had old tomatoes and mushrooms at home that needed to be used, so I decided instantly to make Marinara Sauce with mushrooms and meat.  When I went to the butcher shop, I bought a lb. of 93% fat free ground beef for $3.99/lb. in addition to the oysters.  I also bought vanilla ice cream ($2.88 for 1.5 quarts) and long wooden matches.

Before the news shows ended at 10:00 Suzette said she was hungry and asked if we had bacon.  When I said, “Yes.”, she said, “I will make bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwiches.” 

 

I suggested using the relatively new whole wheat bread.

Suzette made lovely sandwiches that we drank with tea.  

Mexican three chili Salsa

After brunch, Suzette made a three chili salsa using the recipe we learned at our cooking class in PV last year.  

She soaked mulatto, capable and red chilis in hot water for an hour then chopped two or three tomatoes and puréed those with garlic and salt in themCuisinart.  Then Suzette cooked that mixture into a sauce.  We both tried the salsa and loved it's interesting mild chili flavor.

   Here is the three chili salsa

Suzette the finished painting the basement floor green, while I made spaghetti sauce.  

Spaghetti Sauce (this is my basic spaghetti sauce.)

I diced 1 large onion and sautéed it in a large pot with the 1 lb. of ground beef and eight or ten cloves of garlic Suzette packed in olive oil last year.  

I then sliced the three old portobello mushrooms and four newer white mushrooms and added them to the sauté.  Then I cubed an old bola tomato and five or six of the free Roma tomatoes acquired yesterday.

I then added a  67 oz. jar of Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Sauce we bought at Costco, about 20 oz. of water, and about1 cup of red wine.  

Then I went to the garden and picked 1 cup of fresh oregano, rinsed them to clean any dirt from the leaves, de-stemmed the leaves, chopped them and added the oregano to the sauce by now simmering at low heat on the stove.

    The Spaghetti Sauce 

While I made the sauce Suzette painted the cellar floor green.

She then went to Los Lunas to decorate the houses for Christmas and orchestrate craft projects like making reindeer out of clothes pins and pipe cleaners.

After Suzette left at 12:30 I rested on the couch, dozed off and awoke a little after 1:30 to discover a video being shown on PBS about Jewish Immigration to America.  I missed the first part about Spanish immigration, but saw the rest of the show that lasted until 3:00 with wonderful historic photos  and movies of immigrants and life in the Pale of Settlement in Eastern Europe and Russia.  The show also had lots of Jewish historians who discussed Judaism in America.  I loved the show.

At 3:00 I rode to Montano and back in the low gears, since my high gears were broken.  It was an interesting ride, easy and rapid peddling but not as much speed.  I took me almost 1 ½ hour to finish a ride that I usually finish in an hour or less, although it was an exceedingly pleasant ride.

I stopped to say hello to Crystal and Doug, who had just returned from New York setting up their Christmas tree in front of their house.

As I was getting dressed around 4:30 Suzette arrived from Los Lunas.

New Recipe: Sautéed Chard, Green Olive, and Mozzarella Bruschetta 

When Suzette arrived from Los Lunas, she said she was hungry.  I asked, “Do you want some garlic bread and what about a green vegetable?” Suzette said, “What about sautéing  chard with garlic and serving it on garlic bread?”

We filled the pot we use to make spaghetti with water and heated it.  I went to the garden and picked about 1 ½ cups of chard, about seven or eight stalks of garlic chives, and two stalks of dried thyme.

I de-stemmed and chopped the chard, de-stemmed the thyme, and thinly sliced the garlic chives, which have a rich garlic flavor.  While I was chopping Suzette asked, “Do you want some olives on the Bruschettas?” My answer was, “Yes, do you want black Kalamatas or green olives?”  We immediately agreed upon green olives, so I quartered about eight green olives.

While I was doing all this, Suzette asked me how much pasta to make and we decided to fix only ½ lb., in order to have none left.   After putting the spaghetti into the boiling water, Suzette sliced six slices of French bread and drizzled them with the last of the gourmet Portuguese olive oil.  She then sautéed 1 cup of chopped chard with the thyme, green olives, and garlic chives in olive oil and carefully laid the sautéed vegetables on the oil drizzled french bread and then laid a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese on top of each slice of vegetable covered bread.  

   Suzette laying the vegetables onto the bread

Suzette then placed the bread on a rack and baked the Bruschettas in a hot pre-heated oven set to turbo convect for a few minutes until the cheese began to melt and the bread became toasted.

We loved everything about the dish;  the toasted bread, wonderful olive oil, almost creamy texture of the vegetables, and the soft melted cheese covering it all.

  The Bruschettas 

I opened a bottle of Romanian Cabernet Sauvignon that Aaron had bought me on Thursday. It was very smooth and drinkable and went well with the food but had very little character.  We both liked the wine and drank the whole bottle. 

   The Spaghetti 

We watched the President’s speech and then I made a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk and ate the last of the chocolate dessert and pouring custard while we watched a episode of Downtown Abbey.  

After Downtown Abbey, we soaked in the hot tub for about ten to fifteen minutes and were in bed by 8:00.

Bon Appetit 

December 5, 2015 Breakfast – Banana and Blackberry Pancakes, Lunch – Oysters and Champagne, Dinner – Posole

December 5, 2015 Breakfast – Banana and Blackberry Pancakes, Lunch – Oysters and Champagne, Dinner – Posole 

We were hungry when we woke up and we had two bananas that had turned black, so we decided to make pancakes.  I sliced the four remaining blackberries and Suzette sliced the bananas and made pancakes with a mix.  

I went to Albertson's at 10:30 to buy fresh oysters that were on sale for $.79/each.  When I walked in there was a cart of free vegetables, so picked up some tomatoes and decided to make a tomato and mushroom pasta sauce, so when I went to the meat counter, I bought a lb. hamburger meat and two dozen fresh oysters from Mexico. I also bought stick matches and vanilla ice cream.  

  I worked until 3:00 .  Suzette and I  had decided to play bocce, eat oysters on the half shell, and drink champagne.  

I put a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noir Twenty-fifth Anniversary champagne in the freezer and Suzette rinsed the oysters off and put them in a drying rack. She fetched the wooden guacamole cutting board which has a depression where one usually mixes the guacamole but in this case, she found a rag and put that in the bowl part so I could stabilize the oysters while I shucked them.  I made a cocktail sauce with  catsup, horseradish, lemon juice, and a few drops of Cholula hot sauce.  

We took the champagne and oysters out to the table by the bocce court. While Suzette opened the champagne and poured us glasses, I shucked 12 oysters.  We each ate 6 oysters and drank glasses of champagne.  The 25th Anniversary Gruet was wonderful. It had a nice balance of Pinot Noir and good character.  We then played a game of bocce and then opened the last dozen oysters and finished the champagne for a delightful late lunch. 

We mopped the basement floor and then got cleaned up and at 6:00 we went to the Harwood for their Annual 12x12 show and to meet Ricardo and Cynthia.  The Harwood was crowded but we were able to get into the gallery and Suzette found a piece she liked and bought it.  After we ate appetizers and talked and saw some art, we found Cynthia and Ricardo and went home.  I made a Crema and avocado guacamole with a few drops of Cholula hot sauce and chopped ½ onion and about three Tbsp. of fresh cilantro.  Cynthia and Ricardo brought a bottle of 2015 Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough District of New Zealand, which I found surprisingly fruity and refreshing.  We heated the Posole and had bowls of it with lime juice, cilantro, and guacamole.  After Posole we sipped wine and and biscochitos.

By 10:00 we were ready to call it a night. 

What a fun day of food and activity.  

Bon Appetit 

December 4, 2015 Lunch- PPI Egg Foo Young, Dinner – Posole and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

December 4, 2015 Lunch- PPI Egg Foo Young,  Dinner – Posole and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

I worked all morning until 12:30.  I was hungry, so I noticed a container of Yu Choy, water chestnuts, and ham in the fridge, so I fried an egg in peanut oil in the wok and added the PPI ingredients and fried it into a pancake.  

I wanted to take my bike to the Bike Coop, go to the bank, and go by Birdland to get a Lease Amendment signed. 

It looks like Birdland is going to be a marijuana dispensary and head shop.

When I showed the bike to the mechanic at the Bike Coop, he immediately saw that the bike’s large sprocket dérailleur was broken by the bike accident last week, so a new one was ordered.

When I returned home, I heated the Posole and by 4:00 I could not resist trying it.  Suzette arrived as I was eating my second bowl and ate a bowl also.  

At 4:30 I rode to the freeway and back with only the small gear sprocket, which made peddling so easy, I could peddle feverishly.  

At 6:00 we went to Old Town for the lighting of the Christmas tree.we walked to the little chapel of Guadalupe and then the Albuquerque Museum, where we enjoyed seeing the Miniatures exhibit.  We saw a few more shops and galleries as we walked back to the car.  

We were home by 7:45 and decided to make Suzette’s favorite Chinese dish, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Lo.

I made 1 ½ cups of rice and then sliced 1 ½ eggplants into 2  ½ inch long and Suzette stir fried them in peanut oil.  She made the seasoning and thickening sauce.  Suzette can make this dish easily and it turns out great.  

  Here are the sauce ingredients 

Suzette fetched Blonde Beers and we enjoyed dinner.

Bon Appetit 

December 2, 2015 Breakfast – Biodynamic Granola, Lunch – Salad, Dinner – PPI Split Pea and Ham Soup and making Posole

December 2, 2015 Breakfast – Biodynamic Granola, Lunch – Salad, Dinner – PPI Split Pea and Ham Soup and making Posole

I intended to ride my bike today for the first time in a week, since I found out yesterday that my arm was not fractured and because the temperature was expected to approach 50 degrees without any wind, so I ate breakfast.  I filled a bowl full of pineapple and Orange salad and the accumulated juices into a bowl and the added a handful of granola (Sprouts Market), a couple of spoonfuls of Kirtland Greek Yogurt and filled the bowl with mango nectar.  I call this combination biodynamic granola, because that is what I saw granola named in a super market in Puerto Vallarta 15 years ago, when I came up with this combination of tropical fruit salad (usually mango, pineapple, and orange and lime juice), fruit flavored LaLa yogurt, “biodynamic” granola, and fruit juice.

At noon I wanted to keep things very clean and simple so I made a salad of romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, a cubed vine ripe tomato, some cucumber, three minced green onions, and some sliced P’tit Basque cheese, which I also used to make an open faced cheese sandwich.

I had seen in the advertising brochure for Ranch Market onions on sale today for 4 lb. for $.99 and since we needed onions, I went to Ranch Market after lunch.  I bought about 5 lb. of brown onions, limes, Latin Crema for $1.79/lb., and then saw that a huge 108 oz. can of hominy was on sale for $2.99. I have been having a hankering for Posole since the weather became frigid and I read in my book club selection for this month “Mayflower” that the Pilgrims ate a lot of hominy, as they adapted their food tastes to the indignant and ubiquitous food crop of the Indians, corn.  The reason why they ate a lot of hominy is because dried corn kernels can be stored indefinitely and then turned into hominy by soaking the dried kernels in lye and water, which is the first food product derived from dried corn and requires no further processing, such as grinding and baking. 

I then went to the meat department and bought a 3.64 lb. package of thinly sliced pork chops for $1.29/lb., so under $8.00 I was able to make a large pot of Posole.  I also bought 2 cucumbers (5 for $.99) and three tomatoes at 2 lb. for $.99 to make Tzatziki and a cucumber, onion and tomato salad for the racks of lamb I had bought yesterday at Sprouts.

I refer to this form of shopping for menus in the future as longitudinal meal planning.

I napped for an hour and the rode from 4:00 to 5:00 and when I returned Suzette was home.  We decide quickly to eat bowls of the split pea, ham and barley soup Suzette had made a few days ago.  

At 5:30 I started making the Posole by cleaning the large pot I use for Posole, which was still outside on the patio, filling it half full with water, heating the water on the double ring burner on the stove to quickly heat the water and rinsing and adding the pork chops to the water.  I then diced one of the onions I bought today and threw that into the pot plus about 3 Tbsp. of Mexican oregano, plus about eight to ten cloves of garlic.  When the pork chops were cooked, I removed them and slices them into cubes and returned the chopped pieces and bones to the pot.  I the opened the can of hominy and rinsed it in cool water and added it to the pot.  I moved the pot to the burner with the smallest gas ring and turned the gas down to its lowest setting to simmer the Posole.

   Perhaps the label attracted me; the Spanish translates as "Corn Posole Maker" In Mexican Spanish.  In Mexico Posole is spelled with a "z" instead of an "s" as in New Mexican Spanish, so in two words the label is telling Mexican folks, "This the stuff that will make your great Mexican dish, Pozole."  How can anyone resist the urge to buy a large can that will help them make their Pozole. I felt psychologically like I was halfway finished with making the Pozole as soon as I had picked up the can.

Suzette then went to the basement and fetched a quart freezer bag with six or seven green chiles that had been roasted and frozen by her kitchen staff in Los Lunas last year. We thawed the chiles by run warm water over them and the Suzette peeled the chiles an de-seeded them and added the cleaned chiles to the pot of Posole. 

Suzette then heated the Split Pea Soup and toasted four slices of the new French baguette and we enjoyed bowls of the soup, which had become much more integrated and creamier in its texture as it sat in the fridge in the garage for the last two or three days.

At 6:40 I went to meditate and when I returned home the Posole pot was still on a low simmer.  I turned off the heat, said hello to Suzette, who had gone to bed, and, rather than go to the basement to look for the cover for the pot, covered it with a sheet of aluminum foil and carried it to the garage and placed it only the concrete floor, as the temperature was below freezing. 

I'm sure we will be eating Posole for weeks for the same price as two bowls of Posole at a restaurant.  Posole seems to be a perfect example of elegantly simple peasant cuisine in New Mexico.

I am also proud to be adapting our diet to that of the indignant natives, just like the Pilgrims.

Bon Appetit 

December 1, 2015 Lunch – East Ocean, Dinner – Steam baked Salmon, Green Peas and Onions, and baked Sweet Potato

December 1, 2015 Lunch – East Ocean, Dinner – Steam baked Salmon, Green Peas and Onions, and baked Sweet Potato

I completed a closing this morning with an incorporation.  Then I went to the bank and then drove to East Ocean for one of my favorite lunches of scallops in Lobster Sauce.  

I then drove to Fano and bought a baguette ($3.00).

I then drove to Sprouts at Academy and San Mateo.  I am almost always thrilled by some value at Sprouts.  Today it was French cut rack of lamb for $6.99/lb. and sweet potatoes for $.48/lb.  I also bought another eggplant for $.98, some vine ripened tomatoes for $1.50/lb., and some Brussels Sprouts for $1.98/lb.  I bought about a lb. of Atlantic fresh salmon for dinner (&6.99/lb.).

When I got home I read for a while and then about 5:00 I poked holes into the three sweet potatoes and started baking the sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for 60 minutes on convection bake in the new oven.

Suzette arrived around 5:45 and a little after 6:00 she began cooking.  We decided to steam bake the salmon in the new steamer oven. We refilled the water compartment and Suzette checked the cooking instruction chart for 1 lb. of fresh fish and dialed in the recommended setting.  She the placed the salmon filet on the cooking rack and dotted it with slices of lemon and pat of butter and put the catch pan in under the cooking rack and steam baked the salmon.

While the salmon was cooking Suzette heated the PPI Creamed Peas and Onions from Thanksgiving in the new microwave.  I opened our last bottle of 2010 Leese-Fitch Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc that I had chilled yesterday in anticipation of a fish dinner and poured us glasses of it.  It was delicious, a golden color and full bodied and wonderfully acidic.  

1

When the salmon was cooked, Suzette cut one of the roasted sweet potatoes in half and put ½ on each plate with ½ of the salmon.  We had about1/4 cup of liquid collected in the drip pan from the salmon, so we poured it into the Creamed peas to loosen up the cream sauce and give it a little more flavor.  

We each buttered our sweet potatoes but other than that not extra seasoning was added.  The food all tasted delicious.  I was particularly impressed with the flavor of the salmon.  With only a light butter and lemon flavor, the flavor of the fresh salmon really came through nicely.

We were both tired and went to bed shortly after 8:00.

This is a momentous day, because it marks the last time Suzette will travel to Santa Rosa.  She has every right to be tired and thrilled by the prospect of not having to manage that program any longer.

Bon Appetit 

November 30, 2015 breakfast – Granola with yogurt and fruit, Lunch - Clam Chowder, Dinner at Charlie a and Susan’s house

NNovember 30, 2015 breakfast – Granola with  yogurt and fruit, Lunch - Clam Chowder, Dinner at Charlie a and Susan’s house

Breakfast was straight forward, Kirtland Greek yogurt, some of the pineapple and oranges I cut up yesterday with the juice from the fruit plus a little mango nectar.

I then went to the Emergency Room at Presbyterian Hospital to be x rayed and luckily my arm was not fractured from the fall from my bike last week.  Then I went home and fixed a can of the Progresso clam chowder with the addition of the PPI clam sauce from last week’s Little Neck Clam dish, some thyme from the garden, and the Tbsp. of PPI Amontillado sherry from last night. I also made cheese sandwiches with some P’tit Basque and Beaufort cheese on toasted pieces of French bread.

I called Charlie and Susan and invited myself over for dinner.  I started to get dressed to ride until I found out it was 43 with an wind chill of 38 so from 4:00 until 6:00 I rested and read The Mayflower by Pritchard.

At 6:00 I gathered up a bottle of Chilean Santiago Station Devil Back Cabernet Sauvignon I bought yesterday for $4.00 at Total Wine, the remaining twenty or so stalks of asparagus, and a couple of ears of corn I bought at Sprouts last week and walked over to the Palmer’s.

Charlie and I drank gin and tonics and nibbled on pistachios and cheese and crackers while Susan steamed the asparagus and heated up some PPI Boeuf Bourguignon and a Mexican rice Susan had made with a Rick Bayless recipe garnished with fresh chopped parsley.  Susan also made a fresh green salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mushrooms.  We dressed the salad with a commercial Cesar Salad dressing that was quite good.

The boeuf bourguignon was delicious with mushrooms and pieces of fried bacon and tender shredded beef that had been cooked until the meat fell apart in red wine.  

We talked about many things but the most interesting thing was the strength training Charlie is doing on a weight machine he has 15 minutes a day that has doubled the strength In his bad leg that was injured by polio when he was young.  

We talked about the Middle East and a myriad of other topics, mostly political.  I awakened at 2:00 with the realization that American exceptional is a curse on the world order in one sense. All we need to do is to look at Russia’s form of Russian exceptionalism in Syria as it comes up against Turkish  exceptionalism, not to mention the support of traditionally Sunni nations in the region, such as Saudi Arabia.  Nation is even an imprecise term because in many cases we are dealing with tribal and sectarian religious allegiances, not nations in the Middle East. 

Exceptionalism is not a sound basis for a foreign policy if it gets in the way of negotiated multilateral solutions.  As most responsible diplomats say, “there can be no solely military solution without diplomacy.”

For dessert Susan served ice cream and chocolate brownies baked at Whole Foods with Darjeeling tea.

I opened the wine buy Charlie and Susan passed on the wine.   It was fine, but rather fruity and jammy, lacking that definition that many good Napa cabs have at ten times the price.

At 9:00 I said goodnight. 

Bon Appetit