Three Beautiful Things 11-08-2023: Getting Things Done, A New Dinner, Cognac and Deep Conversation

1. After I wrote this month's bills and registered the Sube online, I ventured out into the hustle and bustle of Kellogg and completed tasks. Debbie read her third graders a children's book about Senator Tammy Duckworth. Her students, moved by Senator Duckworth's story, were blown away that the person in the book was not only a real person but was alive. They each wrote Sen. Duckworth a letter. I went to the Post Office and mailed the packet of letters to Washington, D.C. today. 

I also took care of some business at Kellogg Insurance and emptied the garage of recyclables with a trip to the recycle station up the street and drove out to the transfer station.

2. Back home, I prepared a HelloFresh dinner we'd never had before: Old Bay Panko-Crusted Cobia with Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Parsley Rice.

I had never heard of cobia before this bag came in our HelloFresh box. It's a solid, mild, saltwater fish. How did HelloFresh have me prepare it? I made a sour cream and Old Bay Seasoning sauce and a panko with Old Bay and butter mixture. First, I put a layer of the sauce on the fish and then applied the panko-Old Bay crust. I baked it, along with asparagus spears that I merely oiled, salted, and peppered, for about fifteen minutes. Once baked, I applied another layer of the sauce to it. It was delicious.

So was the rice. Once cooked, I added the juice of a small lemon, a half a handful of chopped parsley, and a small chunk of butter to the rice and it paired really well with the asparagus and cobia.

We loved this dinner. 

3. After dinner, I poured myself a little cognac and drank it along with a couple of Trader Joe's chocolate dunkers, a very tasty combination. Debbie and I fell into a long conversation about things currently happening in the world, and, as we always do, talked about history, too. The subject matter of our discussion was unpleasant, beyond our ability to even try to think of solutions, but it was very satisfying to talk so intelligently and earnestly together about these subjects.