A Celebration - The Greatest Steak Of My Life

 

Song:  Nothing Else Matters Medley

Arranger / Pianist:  Joslin

My life took another leap today...

as it smoothly tracks upwards and forwards once again...

and so...

I just had to celebrate by going to a steak house in Cripple Creek...

not even 20 minutes from home.

I had always wanted to try it...

and on this evening...

try it I did.

Shortly after exiting my mountain ridge road...

there was this small herd of deer crossing the road...

and so...

I stopped to let them cross as I took some photos.

The wildlife are used to people...

and so...

they amble about without a care.

I continued on to the main road on the way to Cripple Creek...

and to Saltgrass Steak House in one of the casinos in town.

The restaurant is at the end of one of the hallways in the casino.

I had never before been here...

but I had heard good things about it.

This was near the restaurant entrance.

As I waited for a seat...

I took some pics inside the rotunda.

I first received some complementary fresh and hot bread with creamy butter...

along with my Raspberry iced tea.

And from my seat in a booth...

I just started taking more photos all around me.

My appetizer arrived...

battered mushrooms with Ranch dipping sauce.

I loved these.

They were just so tasty...

and had arrived quite fresh and hot.

I then had a Caesar salad.

And then my delicious 21 oz Porter House Steak arrived (.60 kilos).

OMG!!!

I had bitten into steak heaven.

It was so juicy and well spiced...

as I chewed...

some of the meat juices actually spurted out my mouth!

There was absolutely no need for any supplementary sauces...

as the steak was so perfectly cooked and just filled with juicy goodness.

You can see the meat juices on the plate.

The outside flame sear added such flavor.

It was the best steak I have ever had in my life.

And...

this restaurant is less than a 20 minute drive from home.

On my way back home...

with a full belly...

with the wind in my hair...

with a song on my lips...

and with a smile on my face.

I was about 10 minutes from home here.

--------

My life is steadily falling into place...

with even more heavenly things to shortly come.

--------

I am so full...

so deeply satisfied...

that I am going to bed early...

to just watch some DVDs until I get sleepy.

Life is so sweet...

just so wonderful.

This is how life is supposed to be.

Another Late Night Taco Run

 

Song:  Legend of a Mind

Group:  Moody Blues

As I was relaxing in bed at 8 PM...

I suddenly got a craving for tacos.

I wanted to try another new place...

and so...

I decided to drive to Colorado Springs...

as they have restaurants which don't close until much later 

than the nearby restaurants to me.

The temperature was in the low 60s F when I left.

On my way to the main road shortly after reaching the main community road...

after just exiting my mountain ridge road.

I was just a few miles down the main road to town when the sun began to set.

I had never before been to Dos Santos.

As it was near the downtown district of Colorado Springs...

I hadn't realized that it is more of a date night place...

as there were a lot of young couples there.

I also hadn't realized that the fire pit area belonged to a different restaurant.

And so...

I had just sat down at one of the tables there...

when one of the waiters from Dos Santos told me that I was in the wrong seating area.

I sat at one of the Dos Santos' outside tables...

since it was warm with a slightly cool breeze on this night.

As I looked at the menu...

I had seen that it was filled with specialty items not normally associated 

with a standard Mexican restaurant.

So...

I ordered a shrimp and avocado appetizer...

...and one shrimp...

one fish...

and three beef tacos.

These had unique sauces and ingredients...

and while they tasted okay...

I like the more traditional Mexican style food much more...

but these had satisfied my craving for the night.

These were more like "Fusion" tacos.

My favorite taco restaurant is still in Cripple Creek...

but it isn't open late.

After finishing my meal...

I saw this late night ice cream shop just across the street.

It still had customers at 10 PM.

I had gotten myself a coffee milk shake...

which was very good...

and I sipped on it on the way home.

----------

I have a great love of food.

It is one of the great simple pleasures in life...

and one of the adventures to be had in retirement.

To have a great appetite for food...

is to also have a great appetite for life.

Devour both with the voraciousness of a tiger.

It is the only way to live life.

Benefits Of Batch Cooking / Fulfilling A Short Wishlist

 

Song:  Under The Bridge

Group:  Red Hot Chili Peppers

I had gone to my favorite Asian market the other day.

I went there to stock up on tins of unagi.

Unagi is not only more healthful than are sardines...

but they are so much more delicious.

They keep up to two years in the tins...

and I just empty two tins into a bowl and microwave them for 60 seconds.

I will then eat them with a large bowl of Natto.

It makes for a great and healthful meal.

I had bought all they had in stock and double row stacked them in the pantry

(they only had about 60 tins from three different manufacturers.

If they had more...I would have bought more).

As you can tell...

I love Unagi  :)

I had warmed up a serving of my previously batch cooked Thai chicken and shrimp green curry

(I had previously let the frozen serving defrost in the fridge).

I have two other meals defrosting in the fridge:

my younger sister's beef stew...

and a serving of Natto.

I just make 4 cups of rice...

and it lasts for 3 meals.

I love my high pressure rice cooker.

The rice comes out perfectly...

just so moist and fluffy

(I add slightly more than the recommended amount of water

to help compensate for my altitude).

For the subsequent two meals...

I place the leftover rice into two separate glass containers and place them in the fridge.

Upon warming...

the rice still is still perfect in texture and taste.

Batch cooking is the way to go.

It greatly eases daily life while still supplying a healthful and delicious

way to eat without the great hassle of cooking on a daily basis.

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

Next week...

I will be buying the many different items in my Walmart shopping cart.

I love Walmart...

as when I shop online...

the items get delivered right to my door.

This way I can get a great many things...

bulky and otherwise...

all at once...

and without having to do multiple trips in my car...

and delivery is free.

The following are just a few of the many items I will be purchasing next week

(I am still shopping online for more items).

I had been waiting for sales to occur...

and starting next week...

I will be getting them all

(although not pictured...

a lot of deck staining supplies...

tree climbing equipment...

 more canned dog food...

equipment for Milo...etc.).

I have been wanting a good BBQ and smoker.

This is an excellent one...

as it does so much...

including slow smoking...

up to 500 F regular BBQ...

up to 1,000 F direct flame searing...

and with a large hardwood pellet hopper with auto feed...

and while it is electric...

the primary heat source comes from the wood pellets...

and I just love the aroma of burning wood.

I will finally be able to cook a decent steak...

as all of my previous attempts were pathetic

(although...Bandi still loved them :)

I finally found a very rugged hauling wagon to ferry the results 

of my logging and land clearing down the ridge.

While I will still have to haul small batches of logs up the ridge in a hand carried log wrap...

once I get to the top of the ridge...

I will load the logs into this hauler...

and then ferry them to the off street designated storage area 

for the free wood chipping offered by my community

(I log during Winter so I may have a large stack

of wood to be chipped starting the following summer).

This cart is not only built to be exceptionally rugged...

but the wheels have multiple ball bearing components...

and the tires are pneumatic...

for easy rolling.

I also plan to cut down some large trees which are too near the deck...

and so...

the logger's tree climbing equipment.

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

This Autumn...

I will be purchasing the bigger ticket items...

 most of the furniture for the great room...

the loft...

the decks...

 the entertainment room / guest room

(including a movie projector and screen).

That is my plan for now...

although I may delay the purchase of some pieces until later...

but most likely...

I will not...

as I not only want a place for myself to enjoy...

but I want a place for my guests to enjoy whenever they visit.

----------

Camelot is slowly forming...

and the King (me)...

is becoming happier and more serene as time goes on...

by design.

Being able to say no to a lesser form of pleasure inherent in immediate gratification...

is...

in and of itself...

a great pleasure...

so long as it is in the service of your later dreams to come.

Pleasure deferred...

is pleasure greatly enhanced.

Pleasure...

therefore earned...

is pleasure more fully experienced...

and of which...

 lasts a lifetime.

One of our great decisions in life comes from the realization 

that life is won by playing the long game.

It is being able to distinguish between...

temporary happiness...

and happiness which permanently raises your plane of existence.

Being truly and deeply happy is additive in life.

You never lose it...

and you become even more happy as more things in life

just raise your basic plane of happiness...

so that more and more of everything in life continues to make you happy...

to where even just being alive becomes so enjoyable

(enjoying the great simple pleasures in life).

Being able to make yourself deeply and serenely happy...

is all part of the long game in life.

If you think it is another's responsibility to make you happy in life...

know that you are an emotional parasite

with an entitled attitude which will soon enough wear upon those in your life.

Each of us must be the captain of our own ship...

never to be a barnacle or an anchor on another's ship

(in relation to our personal happiness).

Only then are you worthy to share your life with another.

A light and kind hearted person is a pleasure to be around.

One of the indicators of this is having a great sense of humor...

of having genuine smiles and laughter.

The chief indicator of the opposite is the BS of feigning offense...

or of purposely dulling the emotions in a deceitful ploy of feigning toughness

(the preposterous body power posturing...

and the attempt to have the stone face of the emotionally dead...

all of which is feigning with the intent to signal dominance).

The main false premise they don't realize they are operating under is that...

they are completely dependent upon the approval...

or "respect"...

of others.

People such as these can only operate where they have a captive audience.

They are never truly respected...

and are only tolerated because they must be for the moment.

They are fools wasting their lives...

never knowing true love or deep happiness...

for these are in the realm of the light and kind hearted.

Someone who is always unhappy...

always complaining...

not to identify problems which can be fixed...

but merely to vent their internal vitriol in a vain attempt to lessen their own discomfort...

is someone to leave behind in your dust without guilt.

It is not only our own responsibility to make ourselves happy...

it is also our own responsibility to not unload our unhappiness onto others.

Our own lives are our own responsibility...

never someone else's.

So long as you believe otherwise...

you will never seek your own happiness...

and so...

you will be forever stuck in your own misery.

So...

in accordance with my previously stated words...

am I merely complaining...

venting my internal discomfort on you?

No

Why?

Because there is a very simple and effective solution.

Know what makes you deeply and serenely happy...

absent anyone else.

Then...

pursue it.

The long game in life is simply that.