October 7, 2020 Lunch – Seafood Soup with Rice. Dinner – Chicken and Refried Black Bean Tacos with Guacamole

 October 7, 2020 Lunch – Seafood Soup with Rice. Dinner – Chicken and Refried Black Bean Tacos with Guacamole

Today I did a lot of grocery shopping.  I placed a 30 item order from El Super and then went to a Doctor’s appointment at 9:00, after which I stopped at the large Smith’s an Montgomery and Louisiana.

I intended to only buy parsley but went crazy when I saw some of the specials.  I bought a whole chicken for $.59/lb., 3 salmon filets for $4.97/lb., and broccoli crowns for $1.39/lb., a head of celery, a Hawaiian pineapple for $1.88, and Brussels Sprouts for $1.40/lb.  Then when I arrived at the back end of the produce section I saw lots of interesting items reduced to $.99 per bag.  The reduced items I bought included two bags with four parsnips each, a bag with four large avocados, a bag with six turnips, and a bag with two large portobello mushrooms and two green bell peppers. I also bought two ½ gallon containers of ice cream on sale for $1.88 each.

I am sure we will be roasting root vegetables soon.

After lunch the Instacart 30 item order from El Super was delivered at 1:00 that included mangos, a papaya, a pineapple, oranges, yellow and red onions, requeson, head on shrimp for $4.99/lb., bacon, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, condensed milk, Refried Black beans, apples, leeks, potatoes, a bag of mung bean sprouts, small avocados, radishes, and a Napa cabbage.

When I returned home at 11:00 I heated the PPI container of seafood soup Suzette made with the PPI grilled salmon, Halibut, and the clam and spaghetti dish and added a small container of PPI sushi rice for lunch. Then I worked for until 2:00 when I checked the Market and found that it was up over 500 points today fueled by the hope there will be some stimulus legislation.I then lay down and rested and read Educated until 4:20.  

I then made tortilla chips by baking quartered corn tortillas at 350 degrees until they dried out and futzed golden brown. 

Then I made guacamole with the four large avocados, about 4 oz. of yellow onion, 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro, two cloves of garlic pressed, a few dashes of Cholula hot sauce, ¼ tsp. of salt, and juice of ½ lime.

 

 

 Suzette arrived while I was making the guacamole and reminded me she was not cooking this week but after some discussions agreed that using the ½ pound of PPI chicken breast to make chicken and black bean tacos would not constitute cooking.  I agreed with her and cubed the chicken meat, about 3 oz. of onion, two cloves of garlic, and opened one of the cans of Refried Black Beans for her.

Suzette had harvested the seeds inside the pumpkin she brought home Monday and toasted them in the oven.  Then she ground a handful of toasted seeds in a coffee grinder and added them to the chicken, onion, black bean mixture In a large skillet to add a pipian flavor.

  

 I chopped lettuce as a garnish and opened two Bohemias while Suzette heated two tortillas each and spooned the chicken filling into the double walled taco shells and garnished them with lettuce.

We each added dollops of guacamole to our tacos and ate two each with gusto and washed them down with beer.

I was very satisfied and only drank two cups of chai after dinner, although Suzette ate a chocolate chip cookie.

We watched the Vice President debate, a little after commentary, and Trevor Noah.

Then at 9:30 Suzette went to bed and I blogged and then read in bed for a few minutes.

A rather unexciting day of food but an immensely interesting day of refilling the larder.

Bon Appetit 

October 5, 2020 Lunch – Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice

 October 5, 2020 Lunch – Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. Dinner – Madras Chicken Curry with Rice

The market snapped back today and my portfolio increased 2.75%, which is one of the largest increase of the year I think.

I ate yogurt, milk, granola, and banana and blueberries for breakfast. Then I worked until noon.  I boiled a bundle of egg white noodles in water for about fifteen minutes.i then drained the noodles and added the PPI spaghetti sauce and heated that.  It was delicious.  The egg white noodles are fresh noodles so they have a softer texture than dried spaghetti. 

After lunch at 1:00 I rode north to Campbell Rd., about six miles.  

I was tired when I returned a few minutes after 2:00 but was thrilled by the huge gain in the market. I lay down at 2:30 and fell asleep almost immediately and slept until 3:50.

When I awakened I took a shower and drove to the bank.

When I returned a few minutes after 5:00 Suzette had arrived with a small pumpkin, which was the  

ingredient we needed to make Madras chicken curry.  

I try to use approximately the same quantity of each ingredient except raisins.  Today I selected 2 cups of each ingredient. I chopped 2 cups of Onions, two apples, the two chicken breasts, 1 cup of raisins, and 3 cups of baked pumpkin and added approximately 30 oz. of chicken stock and 20 oz. of water to cover the ingredients in an enameled casserole, added 2 heaping T. ofMadras curry powder and 1 tsp of a spicy curry powder and simmered the casserole for approximately 1 hour.

Suzette heated some PPI rice in the microwave.  I mixed 2 T. of flour with 1/3 cup of heavy cream and added it to the curry to give its creamy texture and thicken it.

We ladled curry onto a pile of rice and garnished the curry with chopped peanuts and grated coconut.

We added Major Grey’s Chutney and 5 ingredient pickle and drank beer.

Suzette really liked the curry and said she would serve it to her clients at the Center.

Later I brewed a cup of chai and ate a chocolate chip cookie.

Bon Appetit

October 6, 2020 Brunch – a sausage Omelet burrito Dinner – Grilled Rib Steak, a Baked Potato, and Creamed Spinach

 October 6, 2020 Brunch – a sausage Omelet burrito   Dinner – Grilled Rib Steak, a Baked Potato, and Creamed Spinach

This was a truly crazy day.  I started watching the Market and it slowly went from negative to 177 points- positive around 1:30, when I felt great.  Then President Trump tweeted that he was stopping negotiations on a stimulus package and the market went into a 600point dive to -450 points. Mi sold near the bottom and suffered about a $10,000 loss as I repurchased my prior positions as the DOW rebounded a bit to –375 points.  I hated myself for getting swept up in panic selling and buying and especiallyPresident Trump for his erratic behavior.

  Just when we most need economic assistance to prevent a melt down he is pulling the plug on relief. It makes no sense from any perspective.  I can only assume his thinking is impaired by too much heavy steroids.

But that does not help the nation.

I had a great conversation with Dee last night in which he described making a burrito, so at 9:30i decided to make a burrito.  I sautéed baked potato strips, a crumbled slice of porkJimmie Dean sausage, some green onion, ½ of a roasted green chili, and 2 oz. of onion in butter.

 

 

  I then poured two whisked eggs over the ingredients.  It cooked into an omelet that I flipped easily with a spatula.i then toasted a flour tortilla on the gas element and then lay the tortilla on a plate and slid the 

omelet onto the tortilla.  I then rolled the omelet and tortilla into a burrito that was fabulously delicious.

  

     

 

       I drank my favorite Mexican breakfast drink hot camomile tea with honey and lime juice for a great breakfast.

At 2:30 I took steaks out of the freezer to thaw and went to the bank and then re-filled our Propane tank so we could grill.

I was not hungry until 4:00 when I toasted a slice of German whole wheat bread that a smeared with sour cream and lay pickled herring on.

I then washed and baked two large russet potatoes in the oven at 350degrees for an hour. While the potatoes baked I walked ½ mile.

I had given up working because I was so upset, so I read Educated until 5:15 when I started de-stemming spinach for dinner.

Suzette is remodeling her facility and has asked me to plan and cook dinners. Today I picked my favorite traditional Texas meal, grilled steak with a baked potato and Creamed Spinach, although a Salad is also acceptable.

When Suzette arrived around 5:30 she was hungry, so she put the steak on the grill and I chopped a shallot, a clove of garlic, 1 oz. of red bell pepper, and four sliced mushrooms.  We sautéed those 

  ingredients and Suzette made cream sauce with butter, flour, and cream.  We then added spinach to the ingredients.

The sauce was too thick so we added milk and red Vermouth and the steak juices, which produced a flavorful thick sauce.  When we added the sauce to the spinach, we had to add more milk to loosen the clumps of spinach.  When that was done I sliced the steak and Suzette opened the baked potatoes and inserted pads of butter and chopped and garnished the potatoes with chives she had picked in the garden.

 I opened a 2017 Gruet Cuvée Pinot Noir that was quite smooth and pleasant with the steak.

After dinner Suzette ate cobbler with whipped cream.  Later I made a cup of chai and ate a couple of squares of chocolate and served us each a sip of cognac.  I was able to find our favorite $19.95 cognac at Trader Joe’s, Claude chevalier VS the other day  so we are happily sipping cognac once again.

Bon Appetit     

October 4, 2020 Lunch-Seafood Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Hamburger, Ratatouille, and Fried Potato Slice

 October 4, 2020 Lunch-Seafood Soup. Dinner – Sautéed Hamburger, Ratatouille, and Fried Potato Slice

We had a very relaxing day today.  There were several upsets in PL soccer, Tottenham hammered Man Union and Aston Villa hammered Last year’s PL winner, Liverpool. 

I started he morning watching English P L of a breakfast of Pickled herring on onion slices and sour cream on toasted French baguette.

Then at 10:00 I ate the PPI Beef Noodle Soup and at 11:00 I rode five miles south.

When I returned I rested until 1:00 when Suzette made a seafood soup with the PPI clams and spaghetti a piece of frozen Halibut and the PPI grilled teriyaki salmon.  She also toasted French bread for dipping.

I then took a shower and dressed by 2:00 for the family Zoom meeting.  After the Zoom meeting at 3:00 we napped until 5:00.  I read some more of Educated and looked up some information about Buck Mountain in Idaho on the Internet.

Then a 6:00 we watched Sixty Minutes.  At 7:00 Suzette thawed two hamburgers, started frying four 1inch thick slices of Russet potato, and placed some Ratatouille in a Pyrex loaf P.A. and covered it with Saran.

 By 8:00 Suzette had sautéed the potatoes and hamburgers, microwaved the Ratatouille, plated our dinner with potatoes stacked on Ratatouille and the Jarlsberg melted cheese topped hamburger stacked on top and served us each a beautifully arranged plate.

I opened a bottle of the newly acquired 2015 Cosecha Kirkland Rioja Reserva.  The wine buyers for Kirkland have done a wonderful job of picking a smooth wine with long lasting flavor in the mouth, even after an hour after being opened and it only costs $6.99/bottle.

 I drank Calvados and ate three chocolates after the meal as we watched the first episodes of Masterpiece Theatre’s two new series.

At 10:00 Suzette went to bed aNd I stayed up to drink a cup of tea, eat a cookie, and blog.

Bon Appetit.

October 3, 2020 Brunch – Sausage, Potato, egg, green chili, and onion burritos. Dinner – Garlic Eggplant and Rice

 October 3, 2020 Brunch – Sausage, Potato, egg, green chili, and onion burritos.  Dinner – Garlic Eggplant and Rice 

Today turned out to be a lot about spirits.

I started by watching some soccer including a tie between newly elevated Leeds against Man City and then walked ½ mile.

We then made burritos stuffed with Sausage, Potato, egg, and onion garnished with avocado slices and Cholula.   

 

      

        My open faced burrito

I made camomile tea and Suzette drank water.

During and after brunch I watched a TCU beat Texas 33 to 31.  It was a great game.

Then we took empty bottles to recycling and on to Trader Joe’s.  There was a line, so I waited and Suzette drove to Total Wine where she bought her favorite scotch and three six packs of beer.

After ten to fifteen minutes of waiting for clients to leave Trader Joe’s I was admitted.  I quickly collected a wedge of Iberico cheese, a bottle of St. Sagnol, a white Cotes Du Rhone, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a Barbera D’Asti plus 4 bottles of Claude Chatelier VS cognac.

 

  When we returned home at 4:45 the Cooper’s hawk was sitting on the bird bath.

We decided to make chicken stock so I fetched the rest of the roast chicken left from last night’s dinner and de-boned the meat.  I put the bones int9 a pot to which Suzette added a chopped carrot, ½ onion, and several stalks of celery chopped and simmered the bones into a broth.

 Unfortunately. we had decided to make garlic eggplant and Suzette needed to pick an eggplant in the garden, so when she went to the garden the hawk flew away

Here is the recipe.

I made rice with 2 cups of water flavored with dehydrated chicken stock and when the water boiled I added 1 cup of long grain rice and simmered it covered at the lowest temperature on the smallest burner on our stove. 

When Suzette brought in the eggplant, I sliced it into 2 to 3 inch by 1/3 inch slices.  I then peeled and sliced the same amount of zucchini slices and sliced a 2/3 lb. chunk of pork steak into strips also, while Suzette chopped onion and garlic. 

Suzette fried the slices of eggplant and zucchini in oil in the wok until cooked and then drained the oil by laying them on a paper towel.

While they were frying she made the seasoning sauce with rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, water and hoisin sauce instead of oyster sauce.

She then drained much of the oil and sautéed the garlic, onion, chopped asparagus, and pork in the wok and added the seasoning sauce to thicken the liquid into a sauce.

Suzette served the dish on the warm rice for a wonderful meal.

I was hungry, so I warmed and ate some PPI cobbler with whipped cream with two cups Earl a Grey tea and later after a Suzette opened one of the cognacs, a sip of cognac with two Belgium chocolates, another cup of tea and a sip of cognac.

Suzette went to bed at 9:00 and I followed at 10:30 after writing this blog.

Bon Appetit 

October 2, 2020 Two Garden Parties Lunch – 2000 Vietnam No. 21, Dinner – Roasted Chicken, Salad, and Focaccia

 October 2, 2020 Two Garden Parties Lunch  – 2000 Vietnam No. 21,  Dinner – Roasted Chicken, Salad, and Focaccia 

The Fall days are beautiful.  Cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoon lingering into the evenings.  

The market faltered with the news that the President and others in the WH have covid.  My portfolio dropped 1.4% today with early indications that more drops are to follow unless Congress gets its act together and passes a stimulus package.  Unfortunately, the WH and Congress seem to be new hot spots for covid infections, which does not bode well for any legislation.

I ate a bowl of granola, milk, yogurt, and blueberries for breakfast and at 9:30 rode 6 miles south.  The weather report said it was 57 degrees and a 5 mph breeze but by the time I finished riding the temp warmed a bit.

Then I confirmed lunch plans with Peter, showered and at noon called 2000 Vietnam to order two No. 21s, which are a three layer assemblage of cold salad, mung bean sprouts, and herbs on the bottom; warm freshly boiled rice vermicelli in the middle and hot freshly fried egg rolls and marinated char grilled pork on top.

Peter arrived in his newly acquired White 2004 Mustang convertible that looked every bit the classic it is. 

I made us glasses of iced coffee by swirling condensed milk into coffee with Suzette’s tiny emulsion mixer.  

We took the boxes, the coffees and cilantro to the garden.  I picked basil from the Bush in the garden and added it with some cilantro leaves to my styrofoam box holding No. 21.

 

                                                      Peter with box lunch and iced coffee

We enjoyed the light breeze and cool weather and conversation, mainly about the book club Peter has just joined.

After lunch I checked the Market meltdown that actually was not as bad as it could have been.  Market activity in the last two weeks took the market 5% lower, so things are not so bad yet.

I then took a 2 hour nap.

When I awakened at 4:30 I called Suzette and told her I would not be arriving at the Center for a tour of her newly hung female artists of New exhibit until after 5:00.  When I arrived she showed me the exhibit, which is impressive.  

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 We then went to the tent in the park for dinner.  Suzette brought out a whole roasted chicken, a generous fresh salad made with power greens, chopped tomatoes, and cubes of fresh mozzarella with a container with a generous amount of creamy balsamic dressing, and a sandwich bag of slices of freshly baked focaccia.  I had brought a bottle of Kirkland Pinot Grigio I bought yesterday at Costco for $6.99 that was clean tasting and pleasant to drink with a few cubes of ice.

We enjoyed the view of the flowers planted along the edge of the tangle of trees, cattails, and trees that border the park and resemble a Monet painting of his garden.

Everything was delicious.  The Bistro at the Center uses a German Kombi unit that cooks the chickens to perfection by adding moisture as needed to keep the chickens from drying out

After dinner we drove home.  Suzette made a cobbler with the peaches and blueberries we sliced and sugared last night.  She used Laura’s Jiffy cobbler recipe, which produces a cobbler that is in all respects a sweetened fruit filled fluffy biscuit.

I hand whipped ¾ cup of fresh heavy cream I bought yesterday with the addition of a T. of powdered sugar and ½ tsp.of Mexican vanilla into a soft peak.

Suzette served us portions of cobbled with a mound of the flavored whipped cream.

Suzette had worked all day and was tired, so went to bed at 9:30.

I stayed up to blog and read.

I loved the two al fresco meals with perfect weather, excellent food, and no cooking. .

Bon Appetit

October 1, 2020 Lunch – Beef, Potato, Chard, and Noodle Soup Dinner – Manila Clams with Linguine

October 1, 2020 Lunch – Beef, Potato, Chard, and Noodle Soup  Dinner – Manila Clams with Linguine

I awakened at 6:30 and watched the Market open pretty strongly but as the day proceeded the Dow settled down toward zero but the NASDAQ held a healthy gain of over 100 points.  For the day, my portfolio gained an additional 2/3%.  It is now approximately 1.4% away from its all time high.  I bought additional shares.  when the market dropped from its high so if it returns to the same level my portfolio will increase in value.  Unfortunately, it has not yet and it appears that the President has gotten covid 19, which is the type of disruption that will cause the Market to become very volatile.  The futures as of 11:00 p.m. are falling precipitously.

Back to my day.

I toasted two slices of French baguette and smeared them with goat cheese and garnished them with slices of onion and pieces of whitefish for breakfast and drank a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk.

 

Then at noon I butchered approximately 1 cup of PPI grill rib steak and chopped and simmered it in a 2 quart pot filled to 2/3 full of water with 1 T. of dehydrated beef stock and a Pho seasoning cube added.  I then added 3 oz. of diced onion, a bundle of Chinese wheat noodles, a T. of red miso, about ½ cup of PPI Baked Potato with sour cream and chives.  I then went to the garden and picked six or seven Chard leaves 

and chives and de-stemmed and sectioned the Chard leaves into bite-sized pieces and sliced the chives into thin rounds and added them to the soup after it had simmered about 30 minutes.

I ate two bowls with some hoisin sauce added and put the remaining approximately 1 bowl of soup into the fridge.

   

 

 

 After my soup I made a cup of green tea and drank it with a chocolate chip cookie. 

 

I worked until 3:15 and then napped until 4:30.  I ate a cookie with a cup of green tea and meditated from 5:00 to 5:30 with the four other members of our three stones zen sitting group.

Suzette arrived around 4:45 and we drove to Costco.  We each took a basket.  I shopped for the home and Suzette shopped for her facility and some for the home.  I went to the wine section first and bought 14 bottles.  I was wanting to try mostly Kirkland brand bottles.  The two I wanted, the Cotes du Rhone and Chablis has been discontinued.  I bought 5 Kirkland Rioja Reserva, two New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, a Gruet Brut, a Kirkland 1.5 liter Cabernet Sauvignon, a Premier Cru St. Emillon, a Kirkland Malbec, a Kirkland Pinot Grigio, and two French Cahors (70% Malbec and 30% Merlot).

I  then looked for something for dinner and decided on a five lb. bag of fresh Manila clams for $3.99/lb.  I also bought a dozen chicken thighs for $.99/lb.

I found Suzette and she sent me to fetch eggs and heavy cream. We decided to meet at the sugar, where I picked up a 10 lb. bag of sugar and Suzette put a 5 lb. log of Jimmie Dean Sausage into my basket.  Jimmie Dean Sausage has become a staple food item in our house because it can be used in lots of different ways and quick and easy to cook. 

Suzette bought a 2 liter EV olive oil, 4 lb. of butter, fresh mozzarella cheese, and bibb lettuce for our house and a basket full of items for her facility, 

We left Costco in the twilight after the sun set and drove home.  We unloaded the Highlander and brought in the clams.

Clams with Linguine 

Suzette filled a large pot with water and opened the bag of clams and let them relax in water that I add Ed ice cubes to chill the water a bit.

Suzette then made a poaching medium for the clams of ¼ lb. of butter ½ cup of white wine and a cup of water in a large enamel casserole. She also added about ¼ cup of chopped parsley.

 

She steamed the clams open in batches that could be covered in the poaching medium.  As the clams cooked they released their juices to the broth also.

I went to the garden and picked six or seven chives and sliced them into thin ringlets and grated 1 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese and mixed it with the chives to garnish the dish.

 I then heated the gallon freezer bag of PPI spaghetti in the microwave for 1 minute and 23 seconds. As the clams opened we picked the meat out of the shells with cocktail forks.

When all of the clams had steamed open, Suzette added the spaghetti and clams to casserole full of broth and heated them together.

I toasted four slices of French baguette for dipping in the sauce.

Suzette filled pasta bowls with the clam, spaghetti, and broth mixture and garnished each bowl with a mound of the grated cheese and chive mixture.

I poured glasses of the Kirkland Marlborough, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc ($7.99) that was complex with good but not over powering acidity.  The wine complemented the clams perfectly and was pleasant to drink after the meal also.

Suzette filled cordial glasses  of limoncello with crushed ice for us after dinner and we watched  Midsomer Mystery.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 when Midsomer ended, but I ate a chocolate chip cookie with a cup of tea after and watched an episode of the BBC Sherlock Holmes series until 11:00.

At 11:00 I checked the Market futures on Bloomberg and noticed they had dipped dramatically down, so I tuned to CNN and found out the reason; the President and First Lady had tested positive for Covid 19.

Bon Appetit