Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[highplanesdrifters]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:32 AM, mysty said:

Here is my bit of joy for today....from South Africa are the amazingly talented Dad & Daughter team Adrian and Emma-Jean Galliard singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-cUDtveaTg

Just imagine having that much talent in your back pocket. 

[highplanesdrifters]

M - Hope this brightens your day.

 

[mysty]

19 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

M - Hope this brightens your day.

 

 

And the client is always right!  🤣  Thanks for chiming in @highplanesdrifters !  🥰

[QueSeraSera]

7 hours ago, mysty said:

It's been a rough couple of days for us. 

Wishing you & Mister the best.

So often you have offered some sunshine on our cloudy days, thank you for that.

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

 

And food porn will happen.  Myster is golfing this morning and he has the photos on his phone.  Stay tuned.....

[zqtchas]

In case you haven’t noticed….. the wardrobe controversy has progressed from Silversea CC to the U S senate.

[zqtchas]

[mysty]

Here is the glory from Black Tartan Kitchen last night.....

1.  Brie - brie on pastry filled with pear and honey

 

2.  Tomatoes - tomato salad

 

3.  Maize - corn soup

 

4. Lobster - in brioche with hollandaise sauce

 

5. Pork

 

6. Blueberry - Saskatoon and blueberry tart

 

7. Orchard - choke cherries and apple

 

[Lois R]

Hi Mysty, as usual, their food looks wonderful🙂

[Mr Luxury]

16 minutes ago, mysty said:

Here is the glory from Black Tartan Kitchen last night.....

1.  Brie - brie on pastry filled with pear and honey

 

2.  Tomatoes - tomato salad

 

3.  Maize - corn soup

 

4. Lobster - in brioche with hollandaise sauce

 

5. Pork

 

6. Blueberry - Saskatoon and blueberry tart

 

7. Orchard - choke cherries and apple

 

Yes,yes,

Rub it in why don't you.😁

[Lirio]

@  New Orleans.

 

My first encounter with NOLA was back in the 1980´s when I watched Angel Heart with Mickey Rourke and Robert de Niro. Several films after and a lot of music, here I am for a busy week of courses, meetings and conference. Took me 22 hours D2D, but flights were all good, no delay....

 

After a quick lunch at the hotel (shrimp & grits, always my 1^st option) I went to see the Mississippi river.

 

I won’t have a lot of time to tourism, but any recommendation is welcomed.

 

 

[TLCOhio]

9 hours ago, zqtchas said:

In case you haven’t noticed….. the wardrobe controversy has progressed from Silversea CC to the U S senate.

 

Great, significant point and question.  Personally not into hoodies and shorts for going to nice, classy locations such as the Silversea Main Dinig Room in the evenings.  BUT, the U.S. Senate does not requiring wearing a Tux to make a speech there.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

Just now, TLCOhio said:

Great, significant point and question.  Personally not into hoodies and shorts for going to nice, classy locations such as the Silversea Main Dinig Room in the evenings.  BUT, the U.S. Senate does not require wearing a Tux to make a speech there.  What are the rules for the House of Commons in the UK?  Or, for the House of Lords?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by TLCOhio

[jpalbny]

34 minutes ago, Lirio said:

@  New Orleans.

 

My first encounter with NOLA was back in the 1980´s when I watched Angel Heart with Mickey Rourke and Robert de Niro. Several films after and a lot of music, here I am for a busy week of courses, meetings and conference. Took me 22 hours D2D, but flights were all good, no delay....

 

After a quick lunch at the hotel (shrimp & grits, always my 1^st option) I went to see the Mississippi river.

 

I won’t have a lot of time to tourism, but any recommendation is welcomed.

 

Enjoy it Lirio! We have only been there once. The French Quarter just begs for a slow wander through, taking in the atmosphere. Lots of good food to try. The beignets at Cafe du Monde are famous too.

 

 

I'd say just soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the food. It's a lot of fun.

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

Mysty's posts makes me wish for pre-pandemic days when we would go out to eat more often.  My DW & I still wear masks when we go to public places - shopping mostly.  We've gone out for dinner maybe 3 times since 2020 - fortunately once to Kann's in Portland, Or - which is rated one of the best in the US - Haitian chef, spectacular food, lovely room, wonderful service, stellar bar.  DW is recovering from a recent Covid episode, so our guard is still up. 

 

So, we have to rely on cooking at home, and that falls on me (in our division of labor).  Fortunately, I enjoy it, and am reminded of the quote from WC Fields - "Why, I always cook with wine.  Sometimes, I even put some in the food - yes!"  Since I was a young sprout, I always helped my mum in the kitchen.  On my 13th bday, an older brother gifted me a copy of "Larousse Gastronomique", a fat tome containing seemingly everything there is to know about French food.  I've been fortunate to dine at some pretty stellar places all over the US.  We lived in Tennessee for a while, and as a growing lad, had a chance to scarf down endless great southern food, much of it cooked by housekeepers who knew what they were doing in a kitchen.  

 

So now, we try to cook from cultures all over the world, drawing on a huge library of cookbooks, and my normal tendency to menu plan by looking in the fridge and seeing what needs to get used up.  Being in Oregon, we draw on so much bounty - currently seeing the last of the fresh albacore caught off the coast, (we grill it - so good!), clams, mussels, oysters from nearby estuaries.  Local wheat milled fresh in town.  World class cheeses.  Produce and tree fruits of every type.  Salmon and steelhead from the rivers, grass raised beef  from central Oregon, locally raised pork from hogs fed with tree nuts and grain, wine from endless wonderful wineries, including some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.  Blah blah blah.  

 

But the prime source:  Our garden.  I'm just now finishing up most of a long period of harvesting.  The freezers are bulging with tomatoes of several varieties, tomatillos, dozens of bags of every sort of pepper, some stemmed, seeded and chopped and frozen, others roasted and skinned.  I make "proto pesto" - fresh basil, EVO, pine nuts & garlic - and freeze in small batches, to thaw out on chilly evenings, add butter, parmesan & romano, and enjoy with homemade pasta, gnocchi or in soup. I'm still shucking dry beans for use in the winter (we had a proper French cassoulet last Xmas, instead of a turkey).  I did my first boiling water canning this year (pickles of various sorts & jalapeños), and pressure canned a bunch of fresh albacore, bought while cheap at peak of the season.  We compete with the chickens & squirrels for several types of raspberries, blue berries and strawberries, as well as corn.  The chickens crank out eggs, of course, and we keep bees - my DW just harvested about 60# of honey.  We planted 6 types of wine grapes 5 years ago (red & white), I built about 80' of grape arbors, and we are now gearing up to produce our own wine.  (MY DW's doing - I've told her I'll have to crank up my wine drinking expertise - already formidable! )  Just took delivery on an Italian crusher/destemmer - DW appears to be getting serious!  There are potatoes, carrots, beets & turnips in the ground (can be harvested all winter long - amazing to me), and we have many pounds of garlic & shallots drying in the shed.  Salad greens still going at it, until first freeze, as are cukes, zukes & other squash, and artichokes.  Four kinds of fruit trees, and almond & olive trees, also kiwi's & figs.  Ginger, wasabi, asparagus, and a small patch right out the kitchen door with spices - oregano, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, dill, etc.  So, we try to do our part to sustain home agriculture, and are happy to have everything fresh, and never a chemical used anywhere on the property for 40 years.  (We have two small lots in a residential subdivision near edge of the suburbs, with good sun exposure.)  Lots to share with the neighbors.  And of course, outdoors - a nice natural gas fired Lynx grill with rotisserie, a smoker, and a 55,000 btu side burner, set up for wok cooking, or the occasional paella.  On tonight's menu - grilled albacore, blistered shishito peppers, & a dish from my favorite Spanish cookbook -"Timbet" - a Mallorcan casserole of eggplant, peppers, garlic, potatoes & tomatoes confit.  Bon appetit!  

Edited September 24, 2023 by Will Work for Tiramisu

[Dolcevita Diva]

42 minutes ago, Lirio said:

@  New Orleans.

 

My first encounter with NOLA was back in the 1980´s when I watched Angel Heart with Mickey Rourke and Robert de Niro. Several films after and a lot of music, here I am for a busy week of courses, meetings and conference. Took me 22 hours D2D, but flights were all good, no delay....

 

After a quick lunch at the hotel (shrimp & grits, always my 1^st option) I went to see the Mississippi river.

 

I won’t have a lot of time to tourism, but any recommendation is welcomed.

 

 

I lived in New Orleans for a few years several decades ago. Although that was quite a while ago, here are some classic sights/activities if you have time: 

 

• @jpalbny is absolutely correct about soaking up the atmosphere in the French Quarter.
• Stop into Preservation Hall to listen to some jazz
• You've shown us photos of several cathedrals in Brazil - consider visiting St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square (and Cafe du Monde, which JP recommended, is right nearby)
• Take a streetcar down St. Charles Avenue
•  If you have time, there are excellent walking tours of the Garden District. While you're there, wander down Magazine Street to peruse the antique shops
• The weekend Jazz brunch at Commander's Palace is fantastic (oops, too late for that)
• Take a cemetery tour
• The National WWII Museum and the New Orleans Jazz Museum 

Have fun!  It's definitely an interesting city...
 

[mysty]

1 hour ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

Mysty's posts makes me wish for pre-pandemic days when we would go out to eat more often.  My DW & I still wear masks when we go to public places - shopping mostly.  We've gone out for dinner maybe 3 times since 2020 - fortunately once to Kann's in Portland, Or - which is rated one of the best in the US - Haitian chef, spectacular food, lovely room, wonderful service, stellar bar.  DW is recovering from a recent Covid episode, so our guard is still up. 

 

So, we have to rely on cooking at home, and that falls on me (in our division of labor).  Fortunately, I enjoy it, and am reminded of the quote from WC Fields - "Why, I always cook with wine.  Sometimes, I even put some in the food - yes!"  Since I was a young sprout, I always helped my mum in the kitchen.  On my 13th bday, an older brother gifted me a copy of "Larousse Gastronomique", a fat tome containing seemingly everything there is to know about French food.  I've been fortunate to dine at some pretty stellar places all over the US.  We lived in Tennessee for a while, and as a growing lad, had a chance to scarf down endless great southern food, much of it cooked by housekeepers who knew what they were doing in a kitchen.  

 

So now, we try to cook from cultures all over the world, drawing on a huge library of cookbooks, and my normal tendency to menu plan by looking in the fridge and seeing what needs to get used up.  Being in Oregon, we draw on so much bounty - currently seeing the last of the fresh albacore caught off the coast, (we grill it - so good!), clams, mussels, oysters from nearby estuaries.  Local wheat milled fresh in town.  World class cheeses.  Produce and tree fruits of every type.  Salmon and steelhead from the rivers, grass raised beef  from central Oregon, locally raised pork from hogs fed with tree nuts and grain, wine from endless wonderful wineries, including some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.  Blah blah blah.  

 

But the prime source:  Our garden.  I'm just now finishing up most of a long period of harvesting.  The freezers are bulging with tomatoes of several varieties, tomatillos, dozens of bags of every sort of pepper, some stemmed, seeded and chopped and frozen, others roasted and skinned.  I make "proto pesto" - fresh basil, EVO, pine nuts & garlic - and freeze in small batches, to thaw out on chilly evenings, add butter, parmesan & romano, and enjoy with homemade pasta, gnocchi or in soup. I'm still shucking dry beans for use in the winter (we had a proper French cassoulet last Xmas, instead of a turkey).  I did my first boiling water canning this year (pickles of various sorts & jalapeños), and pressure canned a bunch of fresh albacore, bought while cheap at peak of the season.  We compete with the chickens & squirrels for several types of raspberries, blue berries and strawberries, as well as corn.  The chickens crank out eggs, of course, and we keep bees - my DW just harvested about 60# of honey.  We planted 6 types of wine grapes 5 years ago (red & white), I built about 80' of grape arbors, and we are now gearing up to produce our own wine.  (MY DW's doing - I've told her I'll have to crank up my wine drinking expertise - already formidable! )  Just took delivery on an Italian crusher/destemmer - DW appears to be getting serious!  There are potatoes, carrots, beets & turnips in the ground (can be harvested all winter long - amazing to me), and we have many pounds of garlic & shallots drying in the shed.  Salad greens still going at it, until first freeze, as are cukes, zukes & other squash, and artichokes.  Four kinds of fruit trees, and almond & olive trees, also kiwi's & figs.  Ginger, wasabi, asparagus, and a small patch right out the kitchen door with spices - oregano, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, dill, etc.  So, we try to do our part to sustain home agriculture, and are happy to have everything fresh, and never a chemical used anywhere on the property for 40 years.  (We have two small lots in a residential subdivision near edge of the suburbs, with good sun exposure.)  Lots to share with the neighbors.  And of course, outdoors - a nice natural gas fired Lynx grill with rotisserie, a smoker, and a 55,000 btu side burner, set up for wok cooking, or the occasional paella.  On tonight's menu - grilled albacore, blistered shishito peppers, & a dish from my favorite Spanish cookbook -"Timbet" - a Mallorcan casserole of eggplant, peppers, garlic, potatoes & tomatoes confit.  Bon appetit!  

 

Well done @Will Work for Tiramisu !  You are the envy of me and Myster!  And Kudos to Mrs WWFT!

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

Mysty's posts makes me wish for pre-pandemic days when we would go out to eat more often.  My DW & I still wear masks when we go to public places - shopping mostly.  We've gone out for dinner maybe 3 times since 2020 - fortunately once to Kann's in Portland, Or - which is rated one of the best in the US - Haitian chef, spectacular food, lovely room, wonderful service, stellar bar.  DW is recovering from a recent Covid episode, so our guard is still up. 

 

So, we have to rely on cooking at home, and that falls on me (in our division of labor).  Fortunately, I enjoy it, and am reminded of the quote from WC Fields - "Why, I always cook with wine.  Sometimes, I even put some in the food - yes!"  Since I was a young sprout, I always helped my mum in the kitchen.  On my 13th bday, an older brother gifted me a copy of "Larousse Gastronomique", a fat tome containing seemingly everything there is to know about French food.  I've been fortunate to dine at some pretty stellar places all over the US.  We lived in Tennessee for a while, and as a growing lad, had a chance to scarf down endless great southern food, much of it cooked by housekeepers who knew what they were doing in a kitchen.  

 

So now, we try to cook from cultures all over the world, drawing on a huge library of cookbooks, and my normal tendency to menu plan by looking in the fridge and seeing what needs to get used up.  Being in Oregon, we draw on so much bounty - currently seeing the last of the fresh albacore caught off the coast, (we grill it - so good!), clams, mussels, oysters from nearby estuaries.  Local wheat milled fresh in town.  World class cheeses.  Produce and tree fruits of every type.  Salmon and steelhead from the rivers, grass raised beef  from central Oregon, locally raised pork from hogs fed with tree nuts and grain, wine from endless wonderful wineries, including some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.  Blah blah blah.  

 

But the prime source:  Our garden.  I'm just now finishing up most of a long period of harvesting.  The freezers are bulging with tomatoes of several varieties, tomatillos, dozens of bags of every sort of pepper, some stemmed, seeded and chopped and frozen, others roasted and skinned.  I make "proto pesto" - fresh basil, EVO, pine nuts & garlic - and freeze in small batches, to thaw out on chilly evenings, add butter, parmesan & romano, and enjoy with homemade pasta, gnocchi or in soup. I'm still shucking dry beans for use in the winter (we had a proper French cassoulet last Xmas, instead of a turkey).  I did my first boiling water canning this year (pickles of various sorts & jalapeños), and pressure canned a bunch of fresh albacore, bought while cheap at peak of the season.  We compete with the chickens & squirrels for several types of raspberries, blue berries and strawberries, as well as corn.  The chickens crank out eggs, of course, and we keep bees - my DW just harvested about 60# of honey.  We planted 6 types of wine grapes 5 years ago (red & white), I built about 80' of grape arbors, and we are now gearing up to produce our own wine.  (MY DW's doing - I've told her I'll have to crank up my wine drinking expertise - already formidable! )  Just took delivery on an Italian crusher/destemmer - DW appears to be getting serious!  There are potatoes, carrots, beets & turnips in the ground (can be harvested all winter long - amazing to me), and we have many pounds of garlic & shallots drying in the shed.  Salad greens still going at it, until first freeze, as are cukes, zukes & other squash, and artichokes.  Four kinds of fruit trees, and almond & olive trees, also kiwi's & figs.  Ginger, wasabi, asparagus, and a small patch right out the kitchen door with spices - oregano, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, dill, etc.  So, we try to do our part to sustain home agriculture, and are happy to have everything fresh, and never a chemical used anywhere on the property for 40 years.  (We have two small lots in a residential subdivision near edge of the suburbs, with good sun exposure.)  Lots to share with the neighbors.  And of course, outdoors - a nice natural gas fired Lynx grill with rotisserie, a smoker, and a 55,000 btu side burner, set up for wok cooking, or the occasional paella.  On tonight's menu - grilled albacore, blistered shishito peppers, & a dish from my favorite Spanish cookbook -"Timbet" - a Mallorcan casserole of eggplant, peppers, garlic, potatoes & tomatoes confit.  Bon appetit!  

 

Amazing! I'm exhausted just reading your post, and duly impressed! 

 

Here I was all proud of my tomato salad garnished with fresh basil, both from the garden. Looks like I've got to move to a better climate. 

 

Kudos for all of that incredible work.

[Daveywavey70]

25 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Amazing! I'm exhausted just reading your post, and duly impressed! 

 

Here I was all proud of my tomato salad garnished with fresh basil, both from the garden. Looks like I've got to move to a better climate. 

 

Kudos for all of that incredible work.

You just need a couple of Buffalo and you could go full Caprese. 

[Stumblefoot]

7 hours ago, mysty said:

Here is the glory from Black Tartan Kitchen last night...

To say that meal looks incredible would be an understatement. Wow!

[mysty]

1 minute ago, Stumblefoot said:

To say that meal looks incredible would be an understatement. Wow!

C'mon up Stumble!  You'll love it!!! 🥰

[jpalbny]

5 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

To say that meal looks incredible would be an understatement. Wow!

 

2 minutes ago, mysty said:

C'mon up Stumble!  You'll love it!!! 🥰

 

I'll vouch for that!

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Lirio said:

…any recommendation is welcomed.

JP and my favorite Diva have nailed it. My only addition is to grab a New Orleans classic sandwich; Po’ Boy.  Mahony’s is a good stop before strolling the French Quarter. My mouth waters thinking about their Shrimp Remi, a fried shrimp po’ boy topped with remoulade sauce and fried green tomatoes.  If you go, don’t miss their shoestring onion rings, maybe the best I’ve ever had.

[Stumblefoot]

12 minutes ago, mysty said:

C'mon up Stumble!  You'll love it!!! 🥰

Careful with your invitations.  Bumbles like me have been known to take folks up on them.

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

23 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

You just need a couple of Buffalo and you could go full Caprese. 

OK, Wavy Gravy - we're on it!  Hun, call the buffalo wranglers!  In early September, I harvested some huge, sun-warmed beef-steak type tomatoes (dark red, ready to fall off the vine), fresh butter lettuce from the garden, cooked a bunch of locally raised smoked bacon (on the outdoor burner), and carved up some local whole-wheat hippy-dippy sourdough bread, and made BLT's for dinner.  Slathered a little home-made mayo from neighbor who gives us aioli in exchange for fresh eggs, ground some pepper, chopped up some basil from the top of the plant.  Yum.  If they don't have good BLT's in heaven, I'm going to the other place....