The day started off gloriously but quickly degenerated into a very cool, very cloudy day, perfect for a three-hour walk. I walked familiar territory today but because every day brings forth new flowers and blooming trees; it was a delight. There was one spot, near the train refurbishing plant, which has a row of very mature chestnuts on one side of the sidewalk and equally mature lilacs on the other. At many points they connect at about fifteen feet in the air and form a marvelously colorful and fragrant arc. I wandered around several parks and took some photos with my cell phone, which in bright light does a grand job but in dim light I’m afraid they aren’t the best but they will give you a feeling for the parks.
I ended up at the embassy where I did some shopping and paid our TV bill. We only watch three channels, which works out to about $12.50 per channel per month. My friend was in charge of the cash register so I took the opportunity to purchase some gin for Cindy. It seems that I everything I needed was heavy: milk, olive oil, mayo, tuna, wine, etc. It was a heavy load to carry home and my shoulders are still protesting, but I think that will be our last big run to the embassy store.
Yesterday afternoon when we got back from our shopping trip, we had tea and a little pastry we purchased from a new store we found. It was a very thin crust, almost like toasted bread and covered with little lingon berries. It wasn’t at all sweet and the berries were very tart and it was a delightfully tangy treat. While Cindy went to a neighbor’s apartment to practice her music for the upcoming parties, I surveyed the kitchen to see what I might create for dinner. By now I was determined not to leave the apartment for any ingredients so I challenged myself to create a new masterpiece.
A quick survey of our micro-freezer produced a package of scallops and a half package of peas, both of which I began to defrost. I found the leftover caramelized carrots and took those out and then found a package of Casarecce pasta that we had purchased in Cremona. Casarecce is a specialty of that area and they are designed to transport lots of sauce with each little scroll of pasta. So now I knew I needed to use all the above ingredients to make a pasta dish that had a wonderful sauce. I decided to make a spicy curried scallop/pea/carrot casserole. As the pasta was boiling in salted water, I poached the scallops in butter. Yes, I know it sounds decadent, but it is wonderful and Thomas Keller made his reputation with lobster poached in butter so I figured, how bad could it be?
I slowly melted two-thirds of a stick of unsalted butter in a small saucepan. When it was just simmering I added the scallops and let them very, very slowly poach for about eight minutes before removing them from the heat. I removed the scallops with a slotted spoon and placed them in a large bowl. I reheated the butter and used it to make a roux, to which I added three cloves of finely chopped garlic. I let that cook with the flour until everything was bubbling softly at which point I added a cup of chicken broth and kept stirring until everything started to thicken. I reduced the heat to almost nothing and added a half-cup of skimmed milk and a mixture of curry, turmeric, chives, red chili flakes and black coarsely ground pepper. I mixed that up until everything was velvety smooth and had a dynamite yellow color.
Just before the pasta was done, I threw in the still semi-frozen peas for one minute and drained it all, saving a cup of the pasta water. I removed the roux based sauce and added a half-cup of yogurt and a half-cup of grated Parmesan, mixing it all very well. I placed the drained pasta back into the pasta pan and stirred in a bit of olive oil to make sure none of the pasta stuck together. I then incorporated the sauce and then added the carrots and scallops stirring gently until it was all well mixed. I placed it all in a square glass baking dish, topped it with a mixture of fresh bread crumbs and Parmesan and threw it into a 400° oven for thirty-five minutes. When I brought it to the table it was still bubbling and the breadcrumbs had browned and crisped nicely. It wasn’t fiery hot, but it was spicy and the scallops were as tender and flavorful as if they had just come from the sea. Cindy enjoyed the meal immensely.
Here are some interesting facts regarding Russia and the fact that it is just not a tourist friendly country, which I’ve been saying all along. Of course, don’t say that to these two who seem to be having a wonderful time in Moscow.
Best to all, Cindy and Wm.
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