sex, wine and smoked salmon salad

I'm on my own this weekend, as Mrs C has gone
off to Coventry (University of Warwick) with
a couple of her friends. She attending a
conference all about the brain and sex - a very
interesting subject. As I've mentioned before,
I enjoy having sex more, if we're both emotionally
involved and excited. Gone are the days when I
enjoyed having a "quickie". I think either my
testosterone levels are dropping off, or I've
"matured" as time's gone by, in the sense that
I appreciate the quality of experience more
than the quantity.
It's a bit like drinking and appreciating better
quality wines ... in my younger days, I might
have drunk anything (apart from paint-stripper),
but now I'd be prefer drinking half to one glass
of a good quality Shiraz.
Returning to the sex theme, I find that alcohol
has a detrimental effect on my sexual performance
... even half a glass of wine can have a bad
effect, so I keep off the booze some nights!
It's a sign that I'm getting older.

How to spend the rest of today? Well, if I was
really "good", I would be getting out the paint
pots and brushes as our hallway badly need a
make-over. But I've got a few minor jobs to do
this morning - a quick walk into town to transfer
some money between accounts (Mrs C and I are
about to take out a mini-cost ISA with the Post
Office) and to get some mixed leaf lettuce from
Tesco for tomorrow evening's meal.

Mrs C has requested that I make up a smoked
salmon salad, which is one of our favourites
meals (and excellent party food too).... Jamie
Oliver did this on one of his TV programmes a
few years ago .....here's the recipe for you
(the quantities up to you)...

Boiled new potatoes ... halved/quartered (and
served slightly warm)
Lettuce ... any type you like.
Watercress & rocket optional
Half an avocado per person, cut into big chunks
(prepare this last minute and sprinkle a little
lemon juice on top to stop the avocado turning
black)
One and a half hard-boiled eggs per person...
rapidly cool the eggs after boiling them, in
cold running water, to stop the egg yolks
turning black at the edges (my mother's tip).
Any other salad stuff you like ... sliced vine
tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, radish, spring
onion or chives, and any herby stuff you like
(eg a little parsley)
A salad dressing, eg the Pizza Express Dressing,
which is our favourite.
A good squeeze or two of lemon juice
Good quality smoked salmon, cut up into small pieces.

So all you do is layer up the salad and potato
in a large shallow serving dish, put the egg and
avocado on top, and then strips of smoked salmon,
a little bit of parsley, then a drizzle of the
dressing and the lemon juice.
Absolutely sensational.... MMmmm...MMmmmm.

All served up with a glass of chilled white wine ...
well, perhaps a quarter of a glass for me.... and
some honey-dew melon for afters.