Text 2486, 120 rader
Skriven 2006-06-25 08:30:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: boredom 871
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Bachelor eating. What I've eaten since I got back from
Carol's, or, if you think I eat like a king when I'm by
myself, you've got another thing coming, or, I'm bored
and lame and trying to avoid doing work.

First meal, waiting for the airplane Tuesday afternoon. Actually
a snack. A couple ounces of almonds plus a "small plate" - about
10 oz, of lentils stewed with bacon, at Vino Volo, a snazzy
little wine bar at Dulles. Washed down with three 2-oz tastes of
wine in a flight called Taste of Virginia:

Their descriptions with mine after.

Horton Petit Manseng 03 - Pineapple and honeysuckle. Horton's
Petit Manseng bursts with tropical fruit flavors of pineapple
and guava, with honeysuckle and toasted almond notes on a long
rich finish. I enjoyed this and actually ordered an extra
glass of it: it's off-dry, but with good acidity. Nice golden
color. Strong pineapple-Riesling aroma. I didn't taste any
almonds, but I admit that a side dish of caramelized Marconas
with rosemary was an amazing complement.

Rappahannock Cellars Viognier 05 - Mango, papaya & oak. This
local wine combines lush mango, papaya and apricot fruit
flavors with mineral citrus and oak notes on a full buttery
finish. This was less floral and fruity than I expected,
though the mango was there in abundance, and papaya could be
discerned if one thought about it. It was a pale wine in both
flavor and color, and perhaps a mistake to serve after the
Horton. The finish was not full or buttery, or, in fact,
existent.

Pearmund Cellars (Fauquier County) Cabernet Franc 03 - Tart
cherry and spice. This tangy Cabernet Franc offers tart 
cherry fruit plus notes of spice, tobacco, and smoked meats
with a peppery finish. Aroma of old shoes. This was very
like the old-style French Cab Fs, lots of tannin (although
fairly smooth). Low fruit - I think it's gone dumb. Didn't
show well.

This shot my food budget for the week (how anyone can drop
over $20 on snacks and the equivalent of a glass of wine is
beyond me, except that I was in an airport in one of the
most expensive cities in the country).

Second meal, on the airplane. A "Southwestern chicken salad,"
which had been held in the fridge too long, owing in part to
an hour delay on the runway: Chopped romaine with a grilled
half chicken breast - the salad was a little past its prime,
with brownish spots here and there; the chicken was dried out,
with the unexpected effect of giving the brown-burned edges a
curious intensity of flavor while the bulk of the piece had
the usual salt-water-soaked cotton taste. The accompaniments
were stale tortilla chips (the "Southwestern" part), a glass
of De Bortoli Merlot (acceptable, not too sweet), and a
two-pack of Oreos (saved for later). Not bad for an hour flight
- interesting how being in a metal tube makes me tolerant of
food that would not impress me at an Applebee's or Friday's.

Meals 3 and 4. Opened two 1 lb cans of pinto beans and made me
some beans and rice. As I was still trying the Tylenol regimen,
no booze. Just water.

Michael's empty larder beans and rice
cat: okay
servings: 7

1 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ts EV olive oil
2 cn pinto beans (1 lb each)
hot red pepper flakes, salt, thyme, sage, cumin to taste
hot sauce (I used President's Choice and a little Sachs)
cooked rice

Saute onion and garlic; add drained and rinsed beans.
Season. Cook on low for an hour. Correct seasoning
with hot sauce. Serve over rice.

Meal 5. The Oreos left over from the flight, plus a
1/2 oz packet of pretzels left over from a previous
flight. Some leftover candy (about 1 oz). Water.

Meal 6. Half a can of Pringles. Some more leftover
candy (about 1 oz). Water.

Meals 7, 8. Green Giant extra sweet Niblets. 2 meals,
1/2 lb each. Fairly corny tasting, quite sweet. Not
bad (also a buck). The package (should I quit reading
labels?) says to microwave on high for 7 to 11 min.
I did half a package for 2 min, and it was perfect.
Lots of water.

Meals 9, 10. Same as 3 and 4, but meal 10, had just
now, was heightened by - 

Old Orchard apple juice. A good source of calcium,
the label says. Okay, there may be calcium in apples,
but that much? The nutrition facts indicate that if
you drank the full half gallon you'd ingest 960
carbo-Calories and even then get only 80% of the
recommended intake of calcium. The stuff, by the
way, tastes like plain sugar water. I had to add
a tot of vinegar (influenced by the switchel or
joggin' in a jug discussion) to make it taste like
anything at all. Should have been suspicious that
the S&S had it on sale for a buck a bottle. I've
gone off the Tylenol, as it doesn't seem to do any
good, and so maybe today I'll do a small quantity
of whiskey for lunch.

And that's what I've eaten so far. I'm hoping that my
friends Dirk and Jackie will have dinner with me tonight.
Otherwise I'll probably hobble down to the store and get
a steak or something.


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