Ovila Dubbel

We've just had a baby and, finally, I get to enjoy a beer with my wife.  I have been saving this one for a while, a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the Abbey of New Clairvaux.  I have looked longingly at the sleek bottle and classy packaging many a time.  The label with the light sketch of Gothic architecture hearkens my imagination to the whole world of delicious monk brewed beers.

We open it and I pour, perhaps I'm excited, because my wife's ends up a little foamier than I had anticipated.  The colour is dense, dark amber, "like a cloudy cola," my wife says.  The smell is somewhat like that of a wine, a good Abbey ale smell, but the true smell expert has no comment because she is stuffed up with a cold.

The beer is smooth and has a robust flavour with a sweet touch.  My wife describes it as toasted, almost like prunes, leathery, like dried fruit.  We detect a nice hoppy bite at the end.  We are both satisfied.  And my wife, the true tasting expert, states, "I like it, and I'm sick."  I'm sure the brewers of Sierra Nevada have always been looking for such high praise.

Sideways Sandwich

My lunch today came on a biodegradable plate with plastic wrap over it.  Due to the unwieldy packaging, the sandwich slid down, because I had to place it sideways into my satchel.  It was fortunate that my lunch was not mangled. 

The sandwich itself was very good.  Turkey lunchmeat, greenleaf lettuce and cheese on Dave's killer bread.  The lunchmeat was flavourful and the lettuce crisp and crunchy.  My wife slathered each slice of bread with lemonaise, making the sandwich almost creamy.  it was a wonderful effect. 

On the side I had a carrot, an apple, and a mandarin orange.  The apple was large and delicious which is to be expected with a red delicious.  The carrot was not as good as my usual carrots; it tasted more of dirt than normal, muddying the bright taste to which I am accustomed.  Were I to guess at the appearance of the carrot from its taste, I would not have expected it to be as orange as it was.  The orange was juicy, but I found the peeling and seed-spitting arduous.  I hate to have to work for my food. 

Though the central piece of my lunch rendered an extremely pleasant experience, I am giving this meal a 2.5 because of the difficult packaging, the poor quality of one of the sides and the work I had to put in myself.  Also my wife made me support her neck by wrapping a rolled-up towel around it and holding both ends while she got her hair shampooed by a hairdresser.  So this is payback.

Fiesta in the Rain

It's November 16th, a week from Thanksgiving.  The day has been wet and stormy, the first of what is expected to be a long stretch of dreary days.

My wife is serving enchiladas, a bright meal in contrast to the weather outside.  We have just come home from shopping and a child induced trip to the pet store.  Britta did not want to cook so I am doubly thankful for the effort she has put into the meal.

When the enchiladas come to the table my first sense of them is green.

They are very green.

Like a neon sign.

They are served  with chopped lettuce piled on top, and the enchilada sauce is green.  It is a meal to flash a message.  In addition to the lettuce and green sauce, the white corn tortillas are filled with sauteed zucchini squash and chile rellenos, fresh spinach and mild cheddar.

The flavours are rich and straightforward.  The zucchini squash and chile rellenos do give the meal a feel a spring, an almost fruity edge.  Weitchpec chile hot sauce and tapatio are provided to add to taste, but the table is not properly accoutred and I am forced to get a knife myself.

The beverage that is selected to compliment the meal is a chilled PBR aged two months in a large refrigerated upright plastic box.  The light beer coolly cleanses the palate, complimenting the meal quite well.  It does not contradict the spiciness of the hot sauce or the chile rellenos.  In fact, it adds to the thrust of the meal, poignantly addressing the climactic meteorological change we are experiencing: the meal is cheery.

Were it not for milk being poured on our dog Pepper's head the effect might have worked.  All in all I am well fed and satisfied that I have once again been provided with a delicious meal.  This one's the first, and I love cheese too much, so this one's getting four stars; perhaps as the winter months lengthen I'll be more critical, but for now I am happy to be reminded of the sunshine.