The Smear

Sometimes I feel we live in an alternate reality where “plate” is a culinary verb. Yesterday I made peanut-butter-flavored semifreddo. Tonight it was time to remove it from the freezer, plate it, then let it warm up a bit in the fridge. I had fun with The Smear, one method for plating a sauce. The…… Continue reading The Smear

Categorized as Cook

Boundaries

Minnesota Orchestra tonight. Enjoyed our usual pre-show wine in the upper bar which had been set up as a piano lounge. At this point most people were outside listening to a rock group. At our usual seats in Orchestra Hall, found ourselves next to the just-announced music director, Thomas Søndergård, and his husband. Pretended not…… Continue reading Boundaries

Categorized as Arts

Veg-Forward

At the end of our walk, stopped in to Trader’s for enough fresh food to get us through the day. After 3 weeks of too much eating out, we’re craving veg-forward meals. Tonight: stir-fried veggies over brown rice.

Categorized as Cook

Time to Water the Plants

9:30 a.m., Salema, Portugal: Dwight watered all the houseplants in Minneapolis where it was still night. Misters are on autopilot, but he prefers to run watering zones manually. The system has been reliable, but I find myself imagining additional fault-tolerant features to minimize the possibility of returning from a trip to racks of dead plants.…… Continue reading Time to Water the Plants

Supermarket Hike

While the boys and their mom enjoyed the beach and the waves, we hiked to a supermarket where we filled backpacks with fresh produce and meats for the grill. We got in a pleasant hike and stocked up beyond the limited selections at two small stores near where we’re staying.

A Goose Chase

We divided into three teams for a scavenger hunt I’d created for the GooseChase app. The theme of six “missions” was “Nerja Rocks (Literally).” Goofy photographic evidence was encouraged; pixelation protects reputations.

Dreaming of Paella

We’ve been talking for months about revisiting this restaurant by the beach for paella. There was plenty paella to feed the six of us at lunch, including two teenagers. In the foreground, shrimp are being rinsed in a sink, and chopped-up wooden pallets wait to fuel the fire.