Happy Anniversary!

We just got a really wonderful heartfelt message from dad (Roger) to celebrate our anniversary and he suggested we post to share the day with everyone. What a fantastic idea. We're celebrating a day early (or actually two if you think about the time change!) because we just can't wait until tomorrow! In typical Marlene and Joel fashion, Joel has been researching the fantastic "mystery" anniversary dinner and planning a menu, which he only revealed to me this morning. Very early (2 am) this morning we were entertained with a real live soap opera outside our window of a girl weeping about some ordeal with her boyfriend. It was so intense that Joel and I actually stood looking out the window watching the excitement! Thank god those days are over! Sooo... we slept in until 8:30, but I think it was worth it. We then got up and had a few mugs of Yerba Mate tea (my first few real cups!) and sourdough bread french toast tower with honey, passion fruit and roasted bananas (all made by Joel while I hunted up a farmer's market).

The farmer's market was necessary because the venison Joel bought on Wednesday at the farmer's market went bad because the vacuum pack was punctured. dang. All the same, we found another (a third!) farmer's market to shop at. Here we found a butcher stall that sells grass fed - grass finished beef where we bought a prime rib roast. Fancy! We also bought two pineapples (ananas!) for 4$ and some seafood antipasti to accompany Joel's olive antipasti.

So the menu that was posted for me this morning went as follows:
1. antipasti
2. wilted greens
3. roast venison (or prime rib) and root vegetables
4. date, honey and pineapple (added later) polenta for dessert.

So the antipasti were had for lunch with a sparkling Shiraz (who knew!) on the balcony after our swim while sitting in the lovely sun. Now Joeli is making the polenta and has prepared the rub for the prime rib roast. I am writing this blog with aromas of cooking honey in the air (and sounds of David Grisman and Bill Monroe filling my ears) while drinking a juniper berry - rosemary maritini, with an olive. Here are a few early pictures.