There’s nothing like an arugula and tomato salad that was grown in your backyard - our plot in my case. The nutty arugula flavor combines sublimely with the acidity of the tomato. No comparison with store bought produce. The porcini risotto was my first try to stick with the original recipe. But for some reason I had to go 8 minutes over the religious 14 minutes of cooking the risotto after the first stock scoop. Nevertheless it turned out wicked!

As every caring husband would do, I wanted to get the perfect Birthday gift to my dear wife, cooking the perfect meal, make her day, etc., and as every procrastinator husband does, I realized half day into it that I did NOT have a plan!