Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon Coolers

 

A few have been lovely to remember me and ask that I return sometimes for odds and sods in particular about food and nostalgia and so I guess nostalgia not being what it was I presume that both in one post is better ….

 

Over the last few weeks under the continued effects of lockdown yearnings I had today some Cypriot Keftico (“Thieves Lamb”) in order to take wifey back to her memories of the wonderful visits we had to Cyprus in those days when it was what it was and before it made so called progress and is as it is today and has been for some time. For that read if you are sensible - “never go back” and instead simply savour memories rather than have them destroyed by current reality.

 

One of wifey's most memorable meals was completely by chance and was Kleftico at the Stroumbi Wine Festival some time in the early 80's during a lovely lower light month of September with the mayor of the town having earlier in the day invited myself and others with me into what we eventually realised was his front garden but us thinking it was a taverna because of the Keo umbrellas and enjoying ordering his lovely mum around to provide us with his beer, coffee and cake without any complaint from him other than a kind smile and an odd chortle.

 

He invited us to join his table that evening to eat with his family and witness him awarding shiney scythes and hoes to various winners of awards from the small local family vinyards. They were a lovely rustic welcoming tender bunch who all proudly shared their wine with everyone. You bought or borrowed a glass tumbler and they kept it full for hours.

 

For those at a loose end and wanting distraction here are some pictures of today's five hour slow baked kleftico with Mediterranean stuff and links to the Cooler discussion way back in 2014 about Cyprus, and some on Vienna where I posting from in that bit of thread and then backwards and forwards from that page for other stuff including Atlanta and unrelated meanderings.

 

Anyway only for those with absolutely nothing better to do …. below a link to the middle of the the very first Cooler thread from 2013 which gives an idea of earlier Cooler and you can page forward and back before this page for the readings of the then square route of bugger all. So to over clarify page down and up and backwards and forwards if you are exceptionally and embarrassingly bored. If I recall … I was starting the Cooler whilst wifey and I were on an extended trip to Singapore and possibly Sydney and I think we were chatting about Cyprus whilst in Vienna in March?

 

I became obsessed with Singapore hawker food going back for upto three times a year for many years having realised that it was't fast food but slow food cooked individually for each customer by families who'd been cooking the same thing for several generations. I'd gone there simply because I wanted to extend my eating and therefore cooking repertoire and so we wandered around for a long trip.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1818374-silversea-water-cooler-welcome/page/19/?tab=comments

 

But first the very rustic peasant food of today  - and then the linkings above if bored.

 

As you can see I remain a peasant and have no concept of food presentation. 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by UKCruiseJeff
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[mysty]

@UKCruiseJeff, Thanks so much for returning to the start of civilization here!  The links to your musings and stories are much appreciated as are the recent pics of the feast!  Maybe you can linger awhile and share your expertise with the Cooler Denizens who have recently joined the fun here!  😀

[spinnaker2]

El jefe.

Hail to the chief.

And the food.

Yum.

[jpalbny]

Loving it Jeff. Feels like old times. Glad you're still eating and drinking well.

 

Cooking (and eating) good food sustained me through the first 6 months or so of the pandemic but I'm feeling out of gas lately. Trying to get motivated again to make some nicer food. I have some heritage pork chops to cook for tonight's dinner which should be tasty.

 

Stick around old chap! Glad to see you again.

[TrulyBlonde]

Thank you UK Jeff. I am the lurker. I also just googled the recipe:) Such a savory dish and I will definitely try to make it one day. I love to cook, however, after over a year of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I need a break. We are vaccinated and went out to our 1st restaurant yesterday in over a year for a nice outdoor lunch. I must say that my cooking is superior to the lunch we had. It was freedom we enjoyed most.

[jpalbny]

37 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

I must say that my cooking is superior to the lunch we had. It was freedom we enjoyed most.

 

Freedom from cooking,  and from washing all the pots and pans! Blissful. Almost worth taking the hit on the quality of the food?

[mysty]

[TrulyBlonde]

24 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Freedom from cooking,  and from washing all the pots and pans! Blissful. Almost worth taking the hit on the quality of the food?

The nice chilled glass of Rose camouflaged the food quality.

[UKCruiseJeff]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

El jefe.

Hail to the chief.

And the food.

Yum.

 

Good Grief. 🙂

 

I haven't eaten properly in over a year and have lost nearly a stone.  My body says "don't eat" so I don't.  However my body has yet to say "don't drink Absolut" so I continue.  That works for me. 

 

🙂

[UKCruiseJeff]

1 hour ago, TrulyBlonde said:

Thank you UK Jeff. I am the lurker. I also just googled the recipe:) Such a savory dish and I will definitely try to make it one day. I love to cook, however, after over a year of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I need a break. We are vaccinated and went out to our 1st restaurant yesterday in over a year for a nice outdoor lunch. I must say that my cooking is superior to the lunch we had. It was freedom we enjoyed most.

 

TrulyBlonde from TrulyGreylyBaldish.

 

I'm so happy that you found a new p-lace at this old established bar for lost souls and the hungry and thirsty.  Don't hold back.  Imbibe.

 

🙂

[UKCruiseJeff]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Loving it Jeff. Feels like old times. Glad you're still eating and drinking well.

 

Cooking (and eating) good food sustained me through the first 6 months or so of the pandemic but I'm feeling out of gas lately. Trying to get motivated again to make some nicer food. I have some heritage pork chops to cook for tonight's dinner which should be tasty.

 

Stick around old chap! Glad to see you again.

JP,

 

It seems so long ago that we were mulling over a move from virtual Cooler to real cooler here with you and Chris and some others for a pizza and a real go at serious day of drinking etc.  Perhaps one day.

 

I subscribe to the notion that it is better to be optimisitic than pessimistic but also much better to be realistic than optimistic and as you might recall me saying a year or so back all of this is existential.  I believe that you are where you are rather than simply where you'd like to be.  So I'm for the very first time in my life happy to be older with having done stuff I needed to rather than be younger and frustrated that I've done not enough.

 

Jeff

[mysty]

7 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

JP,

 

It seems so long ago that we were mulling over a move from virtual Cooler to real cooler here with you and Chris and some others for a pizza and a real go at serious day of drinking etc.  Perhaps one day.

 

I subscribe to the notion that it is better to be optimisitic than pessimistic but also much better to be realistic than optimistic and as you might recall me saying a year or so back all of this is existential.  I believe that you are where you are rather than simply where you'd like to be.  So I'm for the very first time in my life happy to be older with having done stuff I needed to rather than be younger and frustrated that I've done not enough.

 

Jeff

 

 

Welcome back to your blue chair J!  🥰

[Host Jazzbeau]

I have finally found a way out of this existential crisis, by consulting the best minds in philosophy.

Nietzsche told me, "To do is to be."

Sartre told me, "To be is to do."

But ultimately Sinatra said it all:  "do be do be do..."  🤣

[zqtchas]

[Lvshack]

Husband & I celebrated 35th wedding anniversary 🍾 had smoked salmon with cavair & dill dressing.. followed by duck glazed breast. Duck leg stuffed spring roll,sesame,four royale.. followed by rhubarb meringue posset...yum yum

🍾(👙 Not any time soon lol!!) Sorry pictures not very clear... ...

[mysty]

Some good news for Canada and other countries struggling with vaccine supply.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/astra-zeneca-covid-vaccine-pandemic-1.6002450

 

"The U.S. will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca-Oxford once the COVID-19 vaccine clears federal safety reviews, the White House told The Associated Press on Monday — with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months.

The move greatly expands on the Biden administration's action last month to share about four million doses of the vaccine with Canada and Mexico.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is widely in use around the world, including here in Canada, but is not yet authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The White House is increasingly confident in the supply of the three vaccines being administered in the U.S., particularly following the restart of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot over the weekend.

The U.S. also has been under mounting pressure in recent weeks to share more of its vaccine supply with the world, as nations like India experience devastating surges of the virus and others struggle to access doses needed to protect their most vulnerable populations."

 

Thanks to all the Cooler folk who sympathized and to those who actually acted on championing our cause!

 

[mysty]

5 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Husband & I celebrated 35th wedding anniversary 🍾 had smoked salmon with cavair & dill dressing.. followed by duck glazed breast. Duck leg stuffed spring roll,sesame,four royale.. followed by rhubarb meringue posset...yum yum

🍾(👙 Not any time soon lol!!) Sorry pictures not very clear... ...

 

 

Looks delicious LV!  Happy Anniversary!

 

[mysty]

[Lvshack]

1 hour ago, mysty said:

 

 

Looks delicious LV!  Happy Anniversary!

 

Thank you mysty ..  I know your along away from my husbands family ( I have mentioned before ) Saskatchewan...

[QueSeraSera]

3 hours ago, Lvshack said:

35th wedding anniversary

Congratulations Lvshack and to your lucky spouse!  The food looks delicious.

 

4 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

I'm so happy that you found a new p-lace at this old established bar for lost souls and the hungry and thirsty.  Don't hold back.  Imbibe.

Indeed. 😉

Your posts are thoughtful and I look forward to many more, UKCruiseJeff

 

[Lois R]

LVshack, congrats on your anniversary🙂💗 and the food looks delicious too!

[QueSeraSera]

Nightcap tonight is a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.

Does this bring back memories?

 

[Lois R]

1 minute ago, QueSeraSera said:

Nightcap tonight is a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.

Does this bring back memories?

 

OMG.....doesn't that go back eons ago?........they used to have commercials on tv with it.

[TrulyBlonde]

17 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

Nightcap tonight is a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.

Does this bring back memories?

 

I am having a  glass of Boone's Farm  Apple Wine....just teasing 😉

My tastes have changed dramatically. I would prefer a nice Montrachet now.

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by TrulyBlonde

[jpalbny]

42 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

Nightcap tonight is a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.

Does this bring back memories?

 

 

What was the pre-cap? The usual 3 glasses of Savvy? 😉

 

Enjoying a Magellan gin and some elderflower tonic for our nightcap. We had a bottle of Domaine Serene "Grand Cheval" with dinner. Too bad that's empty.

 

 

Tonight I made a pair of decadent Heritage Berkshire pork chops with an au poivre coating, and served with a shallot and red wine reduction. With lots of butter.

 

 

FlyingScotSailors will know of course that I got them from Fred the Butcher. They cost twice what a supermarket pork chop costs, and they weighed at least a pound each. But you only live once. I cooked them no more than medium rare and they were outstanding. Good thing we only had yogurt for lunch...

 

 

After dinner we went out for a walk to burn a few calories. The full moon rising in the cemetery was pretty. We didn't stay past sunset though! You never know what else might rise once the sun goes down...

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by jpalbny