Long Mountain Trike Route Drive / White Al Ajillo

 

Song:  Alone

Artist:  Ray Wilson

Today...

I took my wife on a little car ride...

following the long mountain run/triking route we will use in the future.

It is five miles in total...

and it has various declines and inclines.

I took her on a reverse route I normally take with Bandi while triking...

as, at least...

for her first time...

the route in reverse is relatively flat for the first mile

(after a steep and long decline)...

it will allow her to get into her rhythm as she warms up

before she enters the majority of the inclines.

But...

as we drove...

she said that she would like to try both ways eventually.

On our way down our mountain.

As I took the majority of these photos through the front windshield...

whenever we faced the sun...

the bright light through the glass washed out the photos a bit.

We had hit the first T-intersection.

It is where going left runs the course in reverse...

and going right runs the course forwards.

We had gone left for the reverse course.

We then turned off on a side road to begin the long gentle inclines.

The inclines got a little steeper.

And then there was a small portion of declines.

And we finally ended up at the T-intersection...

and where the long and steep incline would begin...

and only end at home.

Just a short ways from home here.

Almost home here...

just around the next corner.

We had just pulled into the lower driveway.

This is my view just to my right as I eat at our kitchen eating counter.

I ordered these heavily padded bar stools last night...

as our present stools are not nearly so comfortable as are these.

I like to eat in comfort.

We should be getting them in a couple of weeks.

As you can see...

some of the Aspens are already losing their leaves...

while some are still developing their full colors.

------------------------

After our drive...

my wife began making my meal for the day...

White An Ajillo.

It was just so outrageously delicious...

so deeply flavorful...

and even though it is an alteration of a Spanish dish...

it is an iteration that all places around the world should incorporate.

It is like a seafood stew...

but I have never had any stew with these combination of flavors.

My wife explained that she had crushed seven cloves of garlic...

and had heated them in olive oil...

and then sautéed three types of mushrooms in the garlic infused olive oil.

She then added heavy cream...

and the seafood (shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels)...

and then brought everything to a low boil...

and then plated and garnished it with parsley and black pepper.

It was ohhh SO good.

What flavor...

and I couldn't even taste any garlic...

but it must have been a large part of the flavor.

This is a high end stew...

the type you would expect in a high end restaurant.

My wife said next time...

she will try the actual Spanish way of making Al Ajillo...

with no heavy cream...

but with just the garlic infused olive oil...

with the mushrooms and seafood.

My wife had made these meal accompaniments last night:

She had diced and air fried:

 Kabocha

Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Purple Yams

And she had also made another batch of Tsukemono (Japanese pickles):

Japanese Cucumbers

Turnips

Daikon

But these had a Yuzu flavor...

as she had added Yuzu juice and Yuzu pepper...

along with her normal pickling ingredients.

They went along so well with the stew.

And for an appetizer...

my wife air fried some calamari rings.

These perfectly complimented the seafood stew.

This Thai Sweet Chili sauce just tastes so good with the calamari.

I am now full...

but even more importantly...

I am feeling fully satisfied.

What a meal!

That was the most delicious stew I have ever had.

And...

my wife has so many more dishes she wants me to try.

Of course!

I am on a delicious adventure...

and loving every meal.

And...

as I always give Bandi little tastes of my food...

she stands near me as I eat...

and then she will rest her muzzle on my thigh...

and if I don't give her another piece of food quickly enough...

that is when she will lift up her upper body...

using my leg as a step stool.

Bandi is just too cute to resist...

and so...

what Bandi wants...

Bandi gets  :)