November 27, 2024 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel Lunch - East Ocean, BBQ Pork with Snow peas, Steamed Whole Rock Cod, and Stir fried Chinese Broccoli, Dinner - Leftover Pot Roast and Chinese Broccoli over PPI Sushi Rice

November 27, 2024 Breakfast - Lax and Bagel Lunch - East Ocean, BBQ Pork with Snow peas, Steamed Whole Rock Cod, and Stir fried Chinese Broccoli,  Dinner - Leftover Pot Roast and Chinese Broccoli over PPI Sushi Rice

I read Melville’s The Confidence Man from 4:30 to 6:15 this morning and then slept until 8:15.

I ate Gravad lax on 2 slices of toasted bagel spread with cream cheese and garnished with finely sliced red onion and Gravad lax and sprinkled with capers with a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Then at 11:45 Peter and Etienne picked me up and drove to East ocean.

We each ordered a dish from the dinner menu. Peter ordered BBQ Pork with Snow Peas and baby corn, Etienne ordered a steamed whole Rock Cod and I ordered Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lin) that is one of the traditional dishes served with steamed fish.

All the dishes were wonderful. I was amazed that we finished the fish and BBQ Pork and most of the Chinese Broccoli. It was our warm up for lots of food tomorrow on Thanksgiving.

I took a small container home with the last bit of broccoli.

I arrived home at 2:00 just in time to start the zoom meeting. It was not very successful. Only one of the four invitees connected so we had to re-schedule the meeting.

Then I worked on my objection to the State’s Proposed Order in SSI 104 until 4:30 when I meditated until 5:00.

We then cooked for Thanksgiving. We made cranberry sauce with orange zest and juice, roasted carrots with red onions and dates, I chopped an onion, celery and white sandwich bread for the stuffing p, and Suzette started simmering the turkey giblets for brown gravy.

Dinner - I fetched the PPI Pot Roast and Suzette combined some of it with the leftover Chinese Broccoli from East Ocean-and the sushi rice and heated it in the microwave. I opened a bottle of 2022 Barbera di Asti red wine ($6.99 at Trader Joe’s) and we ate a quick and hearty dinner.

At 7:00 we watched a PBS nature program on Woodpeckers that was very interesting. I learned that the common characteristic of woodpeckers is that they all live in holes. They hollow out nests in trees, Saguaro cactus or in cliffs, but always a hole.

I drank a cup of tea and ate the rest of my fee from Henry, four chocolate chip cookies.

We went to bed at 9:30 and set the alarm for 6:30.

Bon Appetit

November 26, 2024 Breakfast - Granola, milk, yogurt, and Tropical Fruit Salad. Lunch - Bologna Salad with melted cheese sandwiches, Dinner - Lamb Kebabs with Mediterranean Salad on Lettuce.

November 26, 2024 Breakfast - Granola, milk, yogurt, and Tropical Fruit Salad. Lunch - Bologna Salad with melted cheese sandwiches, Dinner - Lamb Kebabs with Mediterranean Salad on Lettuce.

I worked all day today. Henry arrived just after 8:00 when I was still in my pajamas. I threw on a robe and met with him on a complicated residential house purchase for and hour and explained the elements of a purchase and the financing and title policy.

After he left I ate a bowl of granola with milk, yogurt, and lots of tropical fruit salad.

I checked the mail and reviewed and responded to scheduling queries for the LRGA hearing. The market was down and up today with a slight sell off at the close that left my portfolio just under where my portfolio finished two days ago. I guess you would call this market volatile with spreading gains in unloved stocks and the rest of the market moving sideways.

At 1:30 I made a salad with sliced Cucumber, radish, red onion, and romaine lettuce, and a diced tomato.

I also toasted two slices of baguette and melted slices of Jarlsberg cheese on them in the microwave.

I thawed a lb. of ground lamb at lunch and at 6:00 we decided to make lamb kebabs and a Mediterranean Salad. Suzette prepared the lamb by mixing the lamb with an egg, some minced onion, z’atar, ground cumin, and ground basil from our garden. She then sautéed the small meat loafs in olive oil. 

I diced two vine ripe tomatoes, sliced 1 1/3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded, and minced about 3 oz. of red onion and about 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, to which I added 2 T. of olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 cup of yogurt, lemon juice, and a pressed clove of garlic.  The result was a soupy salad.

When everything was ready Suzette laid four kebabs on a leaf of lettuce on each plate and each of us added several spoonfuls of Salad. I added more lettuce to create more of a salad.

I opened a bottle of bottle of 2020 Chateau Courac from Cotes Du Rhone that was amazingly smooth and which garnered a 95 rating. I knew it was a really good wine the minute I tasted it. I guess I am finally developing my wine palate. Suzette agreed that it was a very good wine. I think I bought it at Costco.

This is the best wine we have drunk in a long time and I highly recommend it

This meal is a perfect example of how we quickly cook delicious meals. We discussed the menu and decided upon a Mediterranean salad with lamb kebabs. 

Since the salad required a lot of chopping and no cooking I prepared that dish. We decided to cook the lamb into little meatloafs seasoned with ground basil, cumin, and z’attar and an egg. Since the kebabs were to be sautéed, Suzette prepped them, because she usually makes our meatloafs.

That division of labor produced two excellent dishes. I toasted three small slices of baguette but our decision was to serve the kebabs on fresh romaine lettuce leaves to make yhe dinner more of a salad and less of a sandwich.

We watched Finding You Roots and some news, that was finally positive today because Israel and Lebonan signed a cease fire in their war.

Bon Appetit 

November 25, 2024 Breakfast -granola with milk, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad, Lunch - Fabada. Dinner - stuffed Acorn Hash

November 25, 2024 Breakfast -granola with milk, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad, Lunch - Fabada. Dinner - stuffed Acorn Hash

Today day’s food included the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly but delicious.

At around 9:00 I ate a bowl of granola with milk, yogurt, and tropical fruit salad. It was delicious and healthy.

I worked in the morning, walking to the bank to deposit a check and sending a request to Phillips to see if they would auction my Christo.  

Then at 12:30 I heated the remaining Fabada and ate it with two slices of buttered toast baguette and the last of the Calstar 2018 Sonoma Ridge Pinot Noir that was still surprisingly pleasant after sitting corked for several days.

I watched West Ham beat Newcastle  and when it ended around 3:00 read until Suzette came home at 3:45. I then napped until 5:30 while Suzette watched home decorating shows.

At 6:00 Suzette began cooking dinner. She sautéed the leftover acorn squash stuffed with pork sausage and nuts. I went to the garage and found a bottle of Le Ferme’ Julien rose produced by the Family Perrin and bought at Trader Joe’s for $6.99.

It is in the light smooth style of Southern Rhone Roses that we like and definitely worth the money when Bandol roses sell for $20.00.

After dinner we flipped from the Antique Roadshow to Monday Night Football in which the Ravens beat the L.A. Chargers.

I had another awful day in the Market with Nvidia sliding another $5.90.

I sipped Bernenroy Calvados XO with a cup of chai and the Ghirardelli square mints. Later Suzette made a brandied strawberry sundae and offered me a bit or two.

We went to bed a bit after 9:00 when the Ravens were up by a touchdown with 1 minute left.

I loved breakfast and dinner and would have loved the Fabada if it had not hurt me.

Bon Appetit

November 24, 2024 Brunch - Swedish Salmon and Potato Pancakes Snack - Salami Sandwiches Dinner - Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash

November 24, 2024 Brunch - Swedish Salmon and Potato Pancakes   Snack - Salami Sandwiches Dinner - Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash

I woke up at 6:30 and read until 7:00 when a very exciting Match between Southampton and Liverpool started. It was even much of the match but Salah scored twice to but Liverpool ahead and at the top of the PL.

Then a feisty Ipswich Town tied Man United in a great match.

I ate a chocolate croissant early and with a cup of chai and around 9:00 Suzette made very interesting potato pancakes with leftover mashed potato types and sautéed Salmon garnished with lingonsylt and walnuts.

I watched an amazing crazy game between the Cowboys and Washington. Then I ate several salami and Boursin sandwiches and then went shopping at El Super, for oranges, orange juice, limes, lemons, green beans, broccoli. Sour cream, red and brown onions, cucumbers, and for Thanksgiving, turkey bags, carrots, and bread for stuffing.

I rested when I returned home I put a bottle of Vara Rosado into the freezer to chill while Suzette made roasted acorn squash stuffed with a pork sausage, walnuts, egg, and bread filling and baked them in the oven and sautéed green beans with shaved almonds to golden brown.  We like Vara’s Rosado’s freshness. It was great with the pork stuffed squash.

Suzette also prepped Bartlett pears stuffed with walnuts and goat cheese.

I enjoyed dinner but we could only eat 1/2 of each of our half of the acorn squash.

After dinner Suzette served each of us 1/2 of a baked pear with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

We watched the L.A. Rams play the Philadelphia Eagles until Philly overpowered L.A. on the 4th quarter and we went to bed around 9:00.

Suzette finished her Christmas decorations for each house at the Center.

An interesting day of food.  As Suzette says, “It is great that we cook.”

Bon Appetit 

November 23, 2024 Breakfast - Granola, milk, yogurt, and Tropical fruit salad. Lunch - Costco Hot Dog. Dinner - PPI Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Snow Peas

November 23, 2024 Breakfast - Granola, milk, yogurt, and Tropical fruit salad. Lunch - Costco Hot Dog. Dinner - PPI Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Snow Peas

I woke up at 6:00 and watched Leicester lose 2 to 1 against Chelsea and ate a chocolate Croissant with a Latte Macchiato.

Then at 8:30 I and watched Arsenal beat Nottingham 3 to 0 while I made a bucket of tropical fruit salad by peeling and slicing a papaya, a pineapple, 2 1/2 mangos, and three oranges and adding the juice of two limes.

Suzette woke up at 8:00 and exercised as usual and then worked on Christmas decorations.

When the fruit salad was finished we each at a bowl of fruit salad with granola, milk, and yogurt.

                                         Sectioning a peeled orange

Then at 10:30 I watched Texas beat Kentucky 31 to 14.

We drove to Costco at 12:30 and ate a hot dog and ran into Karim and Nizar and sat with them and spent some time talking to them. We then shopped, purchasing, a 2016 Rioja Gran Reserva rated 94 points for $15.00, a bag of seasonal Ghirardelli chocolate wafers on sale, Yukon Gold potatoes, two wreaths, a pecan pie for Thanksgiving, eggs, butter, and a bag of garlic, 

We drove home and Suzette rested and I watched football. There were several significant upsets, including Alabama losing a third game in one season for the first time in decades and Texas A & M losing to Auburn.

At 5:30 I diced five small Yukon gold potatoes and started them boiling and de-stemmed a handful of snow peas.  

Suzette took over and heated the PPI Pot Roast, steamed the snow peas, and whipped the potatoes with cream and butter in the Kitchen-aid to make mashed potatoes and stacked a pile of snow peas on a pile of roast beef on a pile of potatoes.

I opened a bottle of Embroidery California Pinot Noir and we quickly decided it had been sweetened and mixed with another grape , such as merlot. We were spoiled two nights ago by the 2018 Calstar Sonoma Ridge Pinot Noir that was 100 Pinot and smooth as silk with a long lingering finish. The Embroidery had a very over-produced flavor.

During and after dinner we  dinner we watched Bill Maher and at 7:00 Have I got News for You on CNN.

Then we watched Father Brown and Death in Paradise and split a bowl of Chocolate Cherry Truffle ice cream with spoonful of brandied strawberries and whipped cream.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 and I watched the contemporary Masterpiece Sherlock Holmes until 11:30 with a cup of chai and then blogged this entry.

Bon Appetit