Now That's a Knife

As always, I had a wonderful time during my cousin and friend, Susan's, visit. She came down yesterday at about noon and we went shopping. First, to the Savory Spice Shop, where we got - you guessed it - spices and herbs. (One was a truffle salt that we are going to share, but Susan forgot to take her half.) Then, we stopped by a new place, In Season Local Market, that specializes in local produce. We purchased eggs (pasture-fed), yoghurt, mushrooms (elephant ear and some red-capped something-or-other), and soap. Then, it was off to one of my favorite places to empty my pockets, Sur Le Table. There, among other things, Susan contributed towards my latest birthday present, a new knife:



It's a lovely blade and I look forward to using it lots and lots! :D

It's always tough to avoid spending way too much at Sur Le Table, but I've never regretted a purchase from there, so I guess it's alright. Finally, we stopped by a pretty large Asian supermarket that a friend of mine pointed out to me that I hadn't checked out yet. It's pretty awesome, with great looking produce and a huge selection of ramen (they even had Tung-I!). I found the proper boba pearls (I'd like to learn to make "bubble tea"), mochi ice cream, and other fun stuff.

As Susan and I are fans of fine cuisine, we usually try to find ourselves somewhere delicious to feast. Yesterday, it was Brasserie Felix (which is only 1.5 miles from my house, so we walked). We had red wine (a Spanish Tempranillo), escargot, paté, beef bourguignon, and coq au vin. All was delicious. We ended the day with a long, deep talk, chocolate peanut nut dessert, and a chocolate digestif.

The next morning, after sleeping in as long as we dared, we put The Knife to work with the local produce we had bought. Here's the mushrooms and some bacon:

Added the eggs (they were mixed colors, indicating mixed breeds of chickens):


The final breakfast included: eggs scrambled with mushrooms and bacon, yoghurt sweetened slightly with honey (delicious!), Indian chai, and bread with apple butter and chokecherry jam.


I gave the knife a workout this afternoon, chopping up lots of veg for a lentil-rice-vegetable dish. It tastes yummy and has lots and lots of veg, but the lentils are way overdone. Note for all y'all: lentils do NOT need to be soaked prior to cooking, no matter what the package says.