what are you doing at home?

[Daveywavey70]

JP, have you tried the Fever Tree Aromatic tonic? That might work.

 

[jpalbny]

13 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

JP, have you tried the Fever Tree Aromatic tonic? That might work.

 

 

Not yet, but I ordered some. Have not found it in local stores, but I had seen it on Amazon. 

[FlyingScotSailors]

JP,  we are glad you liked the gin.  At the other end of the price scale, we like the very lemony tasting Sly Fox gin from the local Springbrook Distillery.  (The distillery is partially owned by an Albany doctor.)

 

On 6/1/2020 at 7:24 PM, jpalbny said:

 

Before dinner we went shopping. Had to hit up a few food places, as groceries are sporadically hard to find and becoming quite expensive. The meat prices at Price Chopper are obscene. Trader Joe's is impossible to get into.. We've had decent luck at our local Aldi - a place we haven't visited much in the past but it's been really handy the past month or so. Prices are good and selection is decent - limited, but plenty of stuff we want.

 

Of course we went to one of the local wine shops to stock up. Grabbed another Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice gin, which I still am not convinced can last that long... And on the recommendation of FlyingScotSailors, I got a bottle of Nolet's Silver Gin. Looking forward to that as a nightcap tonight, as I am finally not on call!

 

We have been shopping at Aldi's for the last several years.  We actually had their asparagus the same night as you.  We have recently found their meat to be good, especially the strip steak, and available.  We usually go the the store across route 9 from Exit9.  Unfortunately, Exit9 does not list the Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice gin on its web site; we may need an expedition to Empire!

 

14 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Glad to read there is a new gin to add to my nubile repertoire.

 

Stumbles, either this is an autocorrect of "nubie" or "newbie", or we really need to come drink with you! 

Edited June 3, 2020 by FlyingScotSailors

[jpalbny]

15 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Glad to read there is a new gin to add to my nubile repertoire.

 

25 minutes ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Stumbles, either this is an autocorrect of "nubie" or "newbie", or we really need to come drink with you! 

 

You caught that too! LOL.

 

Nice pics, FSS. Will have to look up the Sly Fox gin. Though I don't trust those Albany doctors... 😉

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by jpalbny

[Stumblefoot]

22 minutes ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Stumbles, either this is an autocorrect of "nubie" or "newbie", or we really need to come drink with you! 

OMG... so embarrassing!  I was so worried about spelling repertoire correctly that I totally missed what autocorrect had done to the previous word.  Oh how I wish CC had FB’s editing capabilities so I could change that offending post right now.  Sorry about that!

[QueSeraSera]

Beans are coming up.  Picture would have been better if I waited a couple days, but if you look real close, they're there!

I think that's a weed off to the left, can't remember if I planted something there.

And of course the continued threat to this enterprise is on the right, feigning disinterest.

[Lois R]

I must be the only one who doesn't garden..............

[Camillus112]

Me neither, Lois.  I just buy some annual baskets and water them.  If they wilt and die...so be it.    I much prefer doing dancercise (now at home), reading, and doing Sudoku.  I've become quite good at it in the past several months!

[Lirio]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I must be the only one who doesn't garden..............

Me either......

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I must be the only one who doesn't garden..............

Me neither, Lois.  Out here, gardens are better known as elk buffets.

[Lois R]

ahhh...ok, I am part of the "non-gardner" group😀 LOL........I like flowers and  love veggies but I have a Brown

Thumb........anything I have ever tried to plant? Well, it never lives! 

[QueSeraSera]

Although I do enjoy watching plants grow and the fresh taste of the harvest, I suspect the "gardener group" is probably smaller than the "non-gardener" group here.  As things are opening back up, its going to take a bit of will power to stick with this. 

[jpalbny]

Herb gardening works well for us. Ignore it until you need it. The squirrels and chipmunks will probably eat the rest of our vegetables before we ever get around to harvesting anything. They seem very prolific this year.

 

I put some fencing down today as a barrier over the radishes and carrots. We'll see if that stops the little buggers from digging everything up... If not, we tried.

 

Otherwise, we are enjoying a nice weekend off. Cleaned the pool filter, changed the water in the hot tub, and did a water change in the fish tank. Seems like a theme!

 

But we had time to cook too. Thawed a duck that we bought a few weeks ago, and made a different recipe than the usual one with raspberries. Instead, I made spiced grilled duck breasts with blackberries.

 

Easy to make. I trimmed the breasts and let them marinate for a few hours, with a spice rub of cumin, ancho chile, coriander, and ground mustard. While I was working on the fish tank water change, Chris cooked the blackberries in a balsamic vinegar reduction. Then I grilled the breasts for a few minutes while we finished preparing the rest of the menu.

 

Grilled spiced duck, with farro and roasted cauliflower. Topped with the balsamic reduction and blackberries.

 

 

 

It went very well with a Hermann J Wiemer Cab Franc. The wine had blackberry flavor and lots of spice. A great match! This wine could have lasted a few more years in the bottle; too bad that it was our last one. Might have to find another to see how it tastes after a bit more ageing.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by jpalbny

[silkismom]

When we first moved up here (8000+ ft) I planted snow & snap peas with netting stapled to the cedar house, a deer hooked the netting and ran off with it all, now we have stucco and DH says no staples, oh well. My lilac bush is now almost 30 years and looks pretty sick, a lot of dead branches. I used to plant annuals in big pots on the lower deck, chippies and deer ate them. Now I have some hanging basket on the upper deck. So much for my gardening.

[Stumblefoot]

I know your pain all to well, Silkismom.  When we moved in at our place @ 7,500’ back in ‘04, the landscaper told us lilacs are a good bush that elk and deer don’t bother.  He couldn’t have been more wrong.  We planted dozens of aspens.  We lost all of them within the first two years as the elk would just snap them in half.  We used to have beautiful flowers in our flower boxes. Had to give that up too.  The only thing that has worked are the countless hours in the fall I’ve spent planting daffodils and other poisonous bulbs that they leave alone for the most part.  So, at least I have color in the spring as the snow begins to melt through May.  I’m thinking of planting some herbs in the flower boxes next week after we past the last day for frost on June 15th.  Maybe I’ll try and protect them with landscape netting since I’ve never done that before.  
 

The struggle at altitude is real. 😁

[silkismom]

Stumble, I tried daffs and tulips, the squirrels dug them up.

[crusinbanjo]

17 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Herb gardening works well for us. Ignore it until you need it. The squirrels and chipmunks will probably eat the rest of our vegetables before we ever get around to harvesting anything. They seem very prolific this year.

 

I put some fencing down today as a barrier over the radishes and carrots. We'll see if that stops the little buggers from digging everything up... If not, we tried.

 

Otherwise, we are enjoying a nice weekend off. Cleaned the pool filter, changed the water in the hot tub, and did a water change in the fish tank. Seems like a theme!

 

But we had time to cook too. Thawed a duck that we bought a few weeks ago, and made a different recipe than the usual one with raspberries. Instead, I made spiced grilled duck breasts with blackberries.

 

Easy to make. I trimmed the breasts and let them marinate for a few hours, with a spice rub of cumin, ancho chile, coriander, and ground mustard. While I was working on the fish tank water change, Chris cooked the blackberries in a balsamic vinegar reduction. Then I grilled the breasts for a few minutes while we finished preparing the rest of the menu.

 

Grilled spiced duck, with farro and roasted cauliflower. Topped with the balsamic reduction and blackberries.

 

 

 

It went very well with a Hermann J Wiemer Cab Franc. The wine had blackberry flavor and lots of spice. A great match! This wine could have lasted a few more years in the bottle; too bad that it was our last one. Might have to find another to see how it tastes after a bit more ageing.

 

That look fabulous.  Going to try that out on Mrs Banjo this week!

[jpalbny]

It was delish. Love duck. Here's the recipe: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-spiced-duck-breasts-blackberries  It's a recipe for 10 duck breasts which might feed a large crowd...If you like your guests enough to buy them duck breasts! I used 1/4 of the balsamic reduction and 1/3 of the spice rub which worked well for two.

 

I really liked how the skin came out, after leaving the spice rub on for a few hours, and then cooking it on a very hot grill with mostly indirect heat.

 

The duck legs are in the freezer for another dish, another time. I will cook the duck liver in some extra fat, add a few herbs, and make a fake foie gras spread out of that.

 

Tonight I am making pork schnitzel for dinner, along with potato salad (with a mustard and vinegar dressing; not mayo). I found a bottle of Muller-Thurgau to go along with it. I was craving a Sylvaner but I almost never see that grape outside of Germany.

Edited June 7, 2020 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Tonight's dinner! We went out running this afternoon so we needed some hearty fare.

 

The schnitzel came out nicely browned, and held in the oven whle waiting for everything else to be ready.

 

 

The potato salad, with fresh chives, parsley, and tarragon from the garden. We found this great recipe that uses an olive oil and mustard vinaigrette a few years ago, and I haven't made traditional potato salad since.

 

 

Chris made a yummy cucumber salad too. With fresh dill. The herbs got harvested heavily today. Luckily they are growing like weeds.

 

 

What a happy plate! 

 

 

And a shot of this very Germanic wine. Mülller-Thurgau is a cross between Riesling and another (obscure) white grape. On the phone, I can add the umlaut!

 

 

Off to relax a little before rejuvenating in the hot tub. We are working tomorrow, instead of touring the Great Wall like we were supposed to be doing, had our 25th anniversary trip to China not been canceled. 😢  What a rotten deal that is! 

Edited June 7, 2020 by jpalbny
umlaut

[Daveywavey70]

Looks lovely JP 🙂 

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, silkismom said:

Stumble, I tried daffs and tulips, the squirrels dug them up.

😟😟😟 Those ornery li’l buggars!

[jpalbny]

8 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

😟😟😟 Those ornery li’l buggars!

 

I think they do it out of spite. Just because you didn't plant anything for them.

[silkismom]

When we lived in Ohio, they sat in a tree and threw our tomatoes at us.

[Lois R]

Hi JP🙂 of course your food looks fabulous..........(I wouldn't expect anything less😀).  I love all the items on there.

I could probably eat 1/2 a piece of pork and  2 tablespoons of the potato salad......cucumbers are are always allowed.

This new way of eating for me is not fun☹️

[Daveywavey70]

28 minutes ago, silkismom said:

When we lived in Ohio, they sat in a tree and threw our tomatoes at us.

 

silkismom that is so funny. Did you get it on film?