HUNGRY GERALD

Beautiful night. Gentle breeze. BSK has festooned the spreading branches of HG/BSK’s dining terrace tree with tiny sparkling electric lights. Perfect setting for an outdoor New Mexico dinner. Gorgeous (and brilliant) granddaughter, Sofia R., and friend, Anton, are at HG/BSK’s home so a celebration is appropriate. (Toby, The Wonder Dog, is overjoyed to be with Sofia). BSK served a lush Jerusalem dish of ground lamb, cherry tomatoes, poached eggs `with HG’s special Greek yogurt sauce. Both the lamb and sauce utilized a wide range of herbs and middle eastern spices. Social distance was maintained. HG/BSK dined at one table and the young folks were at another table a few yards away. The sun set. And, then the evening skies turned a miraculous Yves Klein blue (check out his art). Magic. Yes, New Mexico is The Land of Enchantment.

Asians use rice as a nourishing and integral part of their cuisine. Of course, their rice is not the same as American rice found in supermarkets. HG has written often about the pleasures of rice porridge (“congee” or “jook”). BSK makes the best congee, enriching it with scallops, mushrooms, garlic, turmeric and numerous herbs and spices. BSK uses sushi rice to create this epitome of comfort food, satisfying for breakfast, lunch or dinner. HG uses Italian rice (Arborio or Carnarolli) for HG’s lush risotto, often mixed with in-season asparagus or all-season baby spinach. Last night, BSK used a David Tanis/New York Times recipe for a delicious rice dish that is midway between congee and risotto. The rice is mixed with English peas plus a sofrito of garlic, onions, olive oil, etc. BSK used basmati rice for the dish and, upon serving, mixed in butter and parmesan. Healthy grinds of back pepper. Joy!!

COPD is the lung disease which affects HG, the residue of almost a half-century of cigarettes (HG started puffing at age 12). Nicotine addiction led to throat cancer, survived by HG through the skills of a remarkable surgeon, Dr. Victor Schramm. There’s no surgical intervention for COPD. It just calls for steady maintenance to keep it in check and leave HG capable of enjoying the beauties of HG/BSK’s New Mexico and Prince Edward Island homes; the love of HG’s family and the delights of food, wine and Negroni cocktails. So, four times a day, HG inserts ipratopium bromide into a breathing apparatus called a nebulizer and breathes the solution for 10 to 15-minute sessions. To ease boredom, HG watches The Food Network while nebulizing. HG’s favorite programs are “Carnival Treats”; “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”; “Man, Fire, Food”; “Burgers, Barbecue and Beer”; “Restaurant Impossible.” The personalities are engaging (even flamboyant Guy Fieri) and there are many useful recipes and cooking tips. However, The Food Network has one vile program which should be banished, the despicable and disgusting “Man Vs. Food”. The program consists of an unattractive man messily eating an enormous amount of food during a short time while being cheered by onlookers. A very unappetizing spectacle. HG has no idea why this glorification of gluttony appears on a network that touts the splendors of food and cooking.

HG, a passionate fan of seafood, has never liked halibut, whether at home or in a restaurant. Dry, tasteless, coarse-textured. Well, due to BSK’s culinary artistry and bargain hunting, HG has had a radical change of mind about the fish. Last night, HG ate pan-seared marinated fillets of halibut. Raising a glass of pinot noir to BSK, HG praised BSK’s kitchen artistry and proclaimed the halibut the best fish dish ever (on a par with the pompano served at Stone Crab Joe’s in Miami Beach). BSK’s halibut was juicy with a silken, buttery texture enhanced by a lemony, herbaceous sauce. Fabulous. BSK had marinated the fillets for an hour in a mix of olive oil, garlic, basil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Pan-seared the fish in olive oil while basting it a few times with the marinade. BSK was inspired by a New York Times recipe but BSK (as usual) added some tweaks. Pan broiled cherry tomatoes, seared baby spinach and boiled fingerling potatoes completed the meal. A happy note. Halibut is usually expensive. BSK bought it at Whole Foods at a bargain sale. Thanks, Jeff Bezos.

“Tree hugger” is the contemptuous label for environmentalists, conservationists and those folks who love nature in all its complex but available beauty. Well, HG is a happy tree hugger. HG/BSK’s five-acre New Mexico property is filled with trees: Cottonwood, ash, Russian olive, locust, elm, blue spruce and more. Despite being high above sea level, the Jacona/Pojoaque valley (15-minute drive north of Santa Fe) where HG/BSK live, is green and fertile. There are many small farms (some are generations old). One of HG’s delights during HG’s pleasant self-isolation is to enjoy the cocktail hour seated on the portale (roofed veranda) and gazing at a favorite tree–a majestic cottonwood. The backdrop for the tree is an organic farm and Las Barrancas (rugged mesas). The slightest breeze sends the cottonwoods leaves into gentle movement. The sun adds glitter, from shining dark green at the top of the tree to flashes of gold and yellow on the lower branches. HG never tires of this sight even as HG’s gaze takes in other trees and calm meadows. For many years, urban HG paid little attention to trees and other foliage. However, there is one happy sight engraved in HG’s memory. HG/BSK had a wonderful dune house on Fire Island, the famed Long Island barrier beach that stretches for miles between Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. No cars on Fire Island. It is reached by ferries from Bay Shore, Sayville and Patchogue. Ferries run from March to October. When HG/BSK and children reached Patchogue to board the first ferry of the year, they were confronted by masses of bright yellow forsythia in full bloom. A happy sight. It meant that a joyous summer of sun, sand, sea was on the way. Constricted by apartment living in New York, the kids welcomed the freedom to roam (but, no swimming without an adult watching).