Chanterelle pizza

11-30-2014 Sun. mild, sunny.  


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | bread and cheese | grapefruit | apple 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- persimmon | tea
DINNER --- homemade pizza : eggplant | onion | Chanterelle mushroom | wine 

 

 a ripe persimmon

a visitor in the front yard 

 

• a hawk stopped by this morning 

a travel in time through Etruria

11-29-2014 Sat. chilly, clouds.  


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee with Irish cream | bread and goat cheese ( herve  mons pave cardinal ) | grapefruit | apple 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea | mandarin
DINNER --- ( at Oreste's) Replica of a completely Etruscan meal: turnip, fig preserve, veg sausage, water buffalo cheese and focaccia, matching with Etruscan beer | modern but still traditional Tuscan dish: a vegetarian version of the Pappardelle al Ragu di Cinghiale, with Chianti  | Tuscan bread, sheep cheeses, and Morellino da Scansano, another Tuscan Red | Panettone, with Rum

• turnip simmered with olive oil and savories is weet, soft, soaked in flavors from herbs. 
• the beer has reference to a research on micro elements of ancient Etruscan beer. 

scallops with lemon apple sauce

11-28-2014 Fri. cold, cloudy.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee with Irish cream |  Norwegian pancake | grape fruit | apple AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea | mandarin  
DINNER --- citrus marinated and seared sea scallops with lemon apple sauce | sauteed French green beans with garlic | pan-fried potatoes | baked  delicata squash stuffed with  hashed turkey leftovers | wine 

 

• apple and lemon made a good team in this sauce.

Turkey run, homemade everything

11-27-2014  Thu. cold, cloudy.



BREAKFAST --- coffee with Irish cream | scallion pancake | grape fruit | apple
DINNER --- ( at Inger's, by Patricia)  cheese and olives | wine | Thanksgiving turkey | mashed potatoes | yam | Brussels sprouts | homemade cranberry sauce | homemade pecan pie | homemade pumpkin pie

 

• a story-book Thanksgiving dinner, three-day preparation and cooking.

Bailey's Irish cream

11-26-2014 Wed. cold, rain to snow.   



BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- Ji-cai wonton soup
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- mandarin
DINNER ---  butternut squash apple soup | sauteed baby spinach | steamed asparagus | broiled salmon with fresh ginger sauce | cracked wheat with Japanese cured tiny fish and chili | wine | Bailey's Irish cream coffee

 

•  Irish cream season starts officially 

• The camera, Lewis Baltz said, was often a device less for communication than for a kind of existential defense. “I used photography to distance myself from a world that I loathed and was powerless to improve.”  --- NYT " Lewis Baltz, Photographer of American Landscapes, Dies at 69"

workman's meals

11-25-2014 Tue. mild, clouds.  


 BREAKFAST --- coffee
 LUNCH --- ( at G.J.) pastrami sandwich 
 AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
 DINNER --- butternut squash and apple soup | pan-fried pork chop | spicy cabbage | rice |wine 

 

• snow is coming to the town...

French with Mexcian accent

11-24-2014 Mon. mild, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice and vegetables 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER ---  butternut and apple soup | duck and sausage cassoulet with pinto beans and chipotle | sauteed French green beans | wine

•   beans are cooked days before from the same batch for chili,  pinto and small black beans are better than thick-skinned  kidney beans
• duck legs are lightly cured with salt and pepper for a day,  browned with shallots and chipotle, then braised in bean juice with beans for 2 hours.

Yellow tail

11-23-2014 Sun. mild, rain.  


 WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | bread and cheese | scallion pancake | mandarin | apple
 AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea 
 DINNER --- butternut squash and apple soup |  baked yellow tail in ginger scallion sauce | sauteed French green beans with garlic and chili sauce | rice | wine 

•  yellow tail is underdone,  it needs longer cooking time than bronzini or sea bream
• very good green beans and squash soup 

•  

three bean chili and corn bread

11-22-2014 Sat. chily, sunny. 



WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | croissant |  baguette | French cheese | apple 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea
DINNER --- ( at Inger's)  baked fries | three-bean chili | homemade corn bread | salad | key lime cake | wine 

 

• 6 hours of slow cooking: small black bean, pinto bean, and red kidney bean , beef, tomato, onion, chipotle in adobo sauce, oregano, garlic, cumin, coriander, pimenton.

the end of a humble-food week

11-21-2014 Fri. cold, sunny.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- seasoned cracked wheat with vegetables 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple 
DINNER --- potato and seafood stew | French green lentils with vegetable ragu | wine 

 

• cooked everyday without going shopping this week

all the warm-up food

11-20-2014 Thu. cold, sunny.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- pasta with ragu sauce 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- Ji-cai wonton soup | simmered napa cabbage with twice-cooked pork | baked stuffed delicata squash | wine 

 

• unusual cold weather calls for food that have large heat capacity

carrot celery lamb ragu

11-19-2014 Wed. cold, sunny. 

  
BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice and spicy cabbage  
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER ---  pasta with lamb ragu sauce  | wine

• celery and carrot go so well with lamb

big and small cabbage

11-18-2014 Tue. cold, sunny.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with napa cabbage 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- pan-fried pork chop | Chinese spicy cabbage | pan-fried Brussels sprouts | rice | wine 

• Tuesday special, quick and easy 

smoked tofu and tofu skin

11-17-2011 Mon. chilly, rain.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with vegetables 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- steamed egg custard with Japanese cured fish | simmered napa cabbage, bok choy, wood-ear and tofu skin | Shanghai salsa | rice | wine

 

• Monday is " Buddha's delight"

norwegian pancake

11-16-2014 Sun. chilly, cloudy.  


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | Norwegian pancake with apple | pomegranate  | orange 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea
DINNER ---  pan-fried Brussel's sprouts | pulled pork with leek | seasoned rice | wine 

 

• some old some new,  one stalk Brussels sprouts lasts a whole week.

northern dumplings and southern buns

11-15-2014 Sat. chilly, sunny.  


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- ( at L. Dumplings) Northern Chinese dumplings ( chive & egg, lamb & carrot ) | lamb on stick
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- fried twists | spicy nuts | wine 
DINNER ---  Southern Chinese lotus buns with twice-cooked pork, caramelized leek and cilantro | taro roots and cracked wheat risotto | baked whole bronzini with lime and chroizo | wine 

 

• a nice day to hangout with friends. after all we do not have endless time