20 June 2024
Last night was movie night with Chris and Tucker. We saw The Hundred Foot Journey, starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon. It’s a great story set in an idyllic village in France (the scenery is gorgeous) and can be considered food porn. It’s got it all if you like either French cuisine or Indian cuisine – and I like both. It’s about chasing Michelin stars, young love and older love.
Years ago, a group of us decided to have a Julia Child party where each of us would prepare a dish from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I decided to boeuf bourguignon. I even roasted bones in the oven to get the deep flavor as per Julia Child. It took two days to make. Everyone went all out and we assembled at Nancy and Michel’s and sat down to glorious food. We were all sick the next day because we were not use to (1) that rich of food and (2) the large portions we ate. We forgot French don’t serve giant size portions.
Probably the most amazing food film I’ve ever seen was Babette’s Feast. It’s about a woman who shows up on the coast of Denmark and begins to serve as a cook to two old women whose deceased father established a religious sect. As part of the sect’s charity, the two women fed the disabled and poor of the sect until Babette shows up and begins to cook. To say there’s a difference in the meals is an understatement. Later, Babette is notified she has won the French lottery. She spends the entire amount on a feast for the two women and their friends/long lost lovers. It’s food porn at its finest. I saw the film at an art showing with my friend Adam and after we left the theater, we did our own food porn at a restaurant in Coral Gables. Our meal went on for hours!
It’s a dreary, rainy, windy day. My energy level seems to continue to drop. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m not doing enough physical activity or if it’s due to the reduced left ventricle ejection fraction. It’s easy enough to talk myself into the latter.
In any case, I canceled physical therapy with Shannon this afternoon. Tomorrow I meet with my surgeon, Dr. Burgers. I’ll ask her advice on my quandary with Herceptin and heart failure. Hopefully she will give me some insight. In any case, on Tuesday of next week I’m scheduled to talk with Dr. Velez. Monday I have the bone density scan. I’ve never had one but Chris gets one every two years and says it’s about the easiest procedure you can do.
It’s mango season is South Florida and my neighbor’s tree was a bust this year. Chris brought me two large mangos from a neighbor of hers. When she pulled them out of the bag, they were so large I thought they were papaya. These are truly large mangos. The ones on my neighbor’s tree are about half the size.
I’d never eaten mangos before I moved down here. They now rank among one of my favorite fruits. The only problem with them is the large seed. It reminds me of the film Oh God! starring John Denver and George Burns. John is conversing with God aka George Burns and asks if God has ever made a mistake. God thinks for a moment and says avocado. “I made the seed too big.” Ditto mangos.
Stay tuned!