On Friday morning, I went for coffee with a friend and former manager. While the conversation ranged far and wide, one thing he did convince me of, use the nice things. If you have them, use them. The sense of joy you can get out of it. It came from three examples, one of moving his mom from her house to an apartment. One was she didn’t like her every day plates, so just use the really nice ones she likes, same with the flatware vs the actual silverware. How much time does one have left to not enjoy the things you like. The other was with a suit coat that he bought, but only wore maybe once a year, even though it was expensive to him at the time. He keeps it in his closet as a reminder that you use the things you have. On a mildly drunk whim, I bought a fairly expensive neodymium low ball glass. I have a number of glasses that I drink whiskey from, some more or less expensive, most bought on a whim, but I had trouble bringing myself to use this one. I used it Friday night and had some nice whiskey out of it.

Brats

Om nom nom.

Pizza

Making of my pizza after a we bit of a break. All the bread flour I had was well past their time, so I dumped it thinking I could get more and, I could not. None, not just of my preferred brand, but none, at all. So I ended up using AP, which, is not the same. I also may have forgotten to mix the salt in, so I added it on the outside., after getting a bit of advice from my brother. The crust didn’t rise as much, or was as chewy, but far more dense. Not unpleasant, but not right. Everything else worked out ok, just disappointed in the dough.

Cheese and Meat day

Of the two Rush Creek Reserve rounds I bought, I still had one left, so I cut up some cured sausage, and some other cheese and we had an unhealthy dinner. This is the first time I’ve actually baked it, which gives a different experience.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Of the options of pork butt, I took the smallest one which was still way more than I needed. I should have prepped the butt earlier but I didn’t so I delayed dinner a bit longer then I planned, while I extracted the bone. I ended up cubing off the entire butt, so I can use some more in the next week or so (tossing in the freezer). I ordered the Kashmiri chili powder from Amazon, though I suspect I need to get more familiar with some of the local shops. I used apple cider vinegar, instead of the coconut, as it was an acceptable alternative. I ended up using smoked hot paprika, and Jalapeño powder instead of cayenne. The general method to combine everything was pretty easy and led to a bit of snuggle time with Mani. I did end up using more dried spices so I added more water to counter balance that.

After the cooking, I served them with naan that I had gotten from the food coop (then froze) a bit ago. Good Saturday meal.

Triple Garlic Chicken Ramen

I made adjustments…ok I only used it as a suggestion, vaguely. I ended up cooking the chicken with the garlic and ginger and spicy season salt. Then made the ramen and combined the 2 with a fried egg on top. So not the same, but inspired by.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Ahh one of my favorite soups. Comes together well, takes a bit more time then a weeknight dinner, but not to bad. I always ad a bit of spicy hot sauce when I have leftovers, and it still does not disappoint.