Spontaneous Chinese Cabbage Soup

Ingredients: Whatever is in the 'fridge

In this case...get a big pot - add oil

• fry Merluza (hake) pieces 'til done/brown a little - remove - set aside
• one sliced onion - fry - salt - soften - cover - steam for a bit
• 1/4 C hot water - deglaze, more or less, the pot
  
• 1 C carrots - sliced - into the pot - cover & steam
  
• 1 C celery - same
  
• sprig of tyme, bay leaf, celery leaf into the pot (better to wrap as boquet garnis but did not feel so inclined)
• white pepper
  
• 1C dry wh. wine - boil away the alcohol
• 75 gr of seranno ham - sliced and diced
• 10 cheery tomatoes - halved (for color)
  
• All of a chinese cabbage - slice broad (1cm) and remove core bits - steam 'til softer
• 1/2 way thru that add 1/2 L caldo de pescado - fish stock
  
• once cabbage has softened a little add 1C hot water (water up to cover the materials)
• a little more salt (softens the cabbage actually)
  
• simmer gently for an hour or so
• Put the merluza back in and bring to a poil
• reduce to a hot simmer - check salt & pepper - simmer for 5 min (hea the fish)
  
• Serve it up.

No picture- can't find the camera.

No Dinner and a Movie

Instead of dinner went to a movie.

Movie: The Aviator; Martin Scorsese - not bad, bit on the long side. Can't figure out why Alan Alda would be nominated for his performance as a senator; maybe just 'cause he's old and is "due".

Reading: Therapy; Jonathan Kellerman

Lunch: Napolitaine Pizza (anchovies & capers) at Pizza Pino on the Champs Elysee - "Cooked in an oven with wood" is one of their taglines. Better than average but not spectacular. Vino - house Red Italian somethingorother was okay.

Snap dinner

Was programming all day and didn't get out of the apt for lunch even. Just had paté de foie gras on swedish breads (little toasted ½ loafs) at midday.
Dinner was planned as a light salad (less light than last night's - but still lite) until suddenly great hunger was expressed and thus the plans changed. I finally went out into the streets of Paris; in search of supplementary food. Just to the Monoprox across the street but at least I got out of the house. 2 (Irish) filets, a tiny can of french green beans and a bottle of cheap white cab.
Sauté chopped garlic in small pan, toss in green beens warm it all up and add wh. wine - boil 'til reduced to nada and the alcohol is sure to be gone. Just gave the (canned) beans a touch of home-made.
The filets were sautéed too. We only have teflon here so not much in the way of deglazing can be done - but I do anyway. Set filets aside, deglaze with sauterne, flambé, reduce/cook away alcohol and add a commercial pepper sauce; return filets to pan.
Oh yes, the main thing I wanted to note was the salad. It was baby spinach leaves; baby tomatoes marinated in (commercial) seafood sauce with a touch of sugar; and sliced ham (sweet) that had been marinated in soja & a little plum vinegar. It was very good.

Wine: Château Thuillac, Côtes de Bourge 2000 (Grand Vin de Bordeaux) Gironde - don't bother (although maybe the bottle was off?)

Reading: Professional Cooking Fifth Edition; Wayne Gisslen - well, skimming actually.