So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Illimae - thanks for the memories!!!

So I had jump up fruit salad for dunch and a long Civic Assoc meeting tonight. Afters was jump ups from the meeting - a lunch size bag of PT chips and 2 oatmeal-raisin cookies. Tomorrow I will meet a friend at PF Changs.

SpecialK

Egads007 - my godmother said “egads" often - I think of her when I see your screen name! She was a great presence in my life, so thanks! Armpints is a great one! I might start using it too! Another funny one in our family - my kids would get very excited when the package delivery man - the one in the brown truck - would come, they would jump up and down yelling - yay, the “present man" is here! So for a long time he was the present man, until I explained he was really called the UPS man. Next time he came by they starting yelling about the U-PMS man! We went back to present man, lol!

I’ll throw one more in - since this is food related - my son referred to soy sauce as soil sauce. Out of the mouth of babes... and yes, we still call it that

carolehalston

Now Jump Ups makes sense again. Jump Up and get your own!

Lucky son and dil, Lacey! Aren't we related somehow? LOL. I looked long and hard at VM. One reason, besides price and questions about how much use it would get, that I resisted was the height factor. They're very tall and wouldn't fit under my counter. I bought a cheaper appliance for making smoothies and now it sits in a cabinet. I have been "off" smoothies for a couple of years.

Monday night dinner was small limas (dry) cooked with a ham bone that dh had bought from a ham store. The limas were good but I could see the sheen of fat on the surface of the pot and, since it was Monday night and my WW weigh in was that morning, I fished out fatty pieces of ham. It's in my dna to like fatty meat. I burned the bottom of the pot in which the brown rice was cooked but there was enough unburned rice for dinner. Side was romaine salad with lots of good additions like avocado and blue cheese.

Last night was a hot dish with turkey Italian sausage, half a jar of leftover Rao's and bow tie pasta. At serving time I mixed in some mozzarella and romano cheese and heated in microwave. Side was romaine salad, ditto from last night.

Great weigh in at WW on Monday morning. Down 4.4 lbs. I bought a small WW spiralizer that was on sale and will finally try zucchini noodles. Maybe tonight.

Beautiful weather the last few days thanks to cool fronts. Today I will play golf.

Already departure date for Going North approaches. May 21.

Egads007

SpecialK - LOL@ soil sauce, think I'll adopt that one! Speaking of food, we refer to Kraft Parmesan cheese in a jar as "shaky cheese".....every time my son asked for the shaky cheese I wondered if the bottle had a nerve disorder!

I also LOVED the U-PMS man....ours is quite cranky so I'll be borrowing that one too!

MinusTwo

Carole - congratulations!!!! 4.4 lbs is an accomplishment. I love the spiralizer veggies. I'll often use them for stir fry mix ups or salads or saute w/butter & garlic, or whatever. I frequently mix zucchini & yellow squash. I'm gearing up to try beets since I like shoestring beets in salads. I had never heard of the name 'hot dish' for a casserole until Moonflower explained it.

Moon - how are you doing?

jpBCfree

FYI

My breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Kristi Funk (who is amazing) has written a book called BREASTS: THE OWNER'S MANUAL which is a guide to reducing cancer risk, making treatment choices and optimizing outcomes. IT HAS LOADS OF NUTRITION-FOOD INFO (Dr. Funk thinks food is one of the most effective things we can do to lower BC risk). There is nothing like it out there. I've read a pre-release copy and it's brilliant-- so straightforward and practical-- I wish I had read this years ago and maybe I wouldn't need to be on this board! :0

She offers a free download of one chapter on her website so you can see for yourself...I highly recommend for those of us going through this BC journey as well as cancer-free women to increase odds of staying that way. It's a great mom's day gift for women in your life.

More info and pre-order here https://pinklotus.com/elements/breasts-the-owners-...

auntienance

Carole, awesome, congrats!

DH came down with flu like symptoms yesterday so dragged him to the doc this a.m. He tested negative but because of his severe fatigue and body aches plus temp of 101, started him on tamiflu. Canceled weekend visit with kids and grand-dog. Food is an unknown since right now it's canned soup, fruit cocktail and pudding. Of course it's 70 degrees today and beautiful for the first time since I can't remember when. It figures. It's been that kind of winter.

carolehalston

Sorry, but I just don't believe any diet is the guaranteed prevention of bc or recurrence.

Today was such a gorgeous day. I enjoyed being out on the golf course despite a lot of sneezing and a drippy nose, thanks to all the pollen. My allergy med just wasn't up to the challenge.

Tonight's dinner will feature spiralized zucchini, shrimp, andouille sausage, and corn. All on the WW "free" list except the sausage and any olive oil or butter. The recipe is Shrimp, Chorizo and Corn Saffron Zucchini Pasta. I'm substituting andouille for chorizo. Side will be a romaine or spinach salad.

Magari

Tonight I'm making spicy sesame chicken with the remainder of the asparagus and Chinese broccoli that are in the fridge. Maybe some onion and other veggies as well, and rice to go with it.

MinusTwo

Carole - I agree that diet doesn't prevent or heal BC. I reported the posting about this book because the member posted the exact message on on 8 or 10 sites that she has never visited before. I think that is inappropriate.

PF Changs was really disappointing. They have changed their lunch menu so my old favorites are gone. I had a "tempura shrimp bowl". Unfortunately all the veggies were fried too. I ate about half before the grease totally coated my mouth.

ChiSandy

"For most of us, family history and genetics do not determine who gets breast cancer—we do! You have power over this disease."

Oh, good grief--yet another "blame-the-victim" manifesto. Bad enough those of us who had early menarche/late menopause must also beat ourselves up over having been on The Pill too long, having had too few children too late (or not at all) or not having nursed them long enough (if at all)--now we have to rue the dietary choices we made over a lifetime? And now if we get a recurrence or mets we brought that on ourselves as well?

MinusTwo

Like I said - I turned this in as a rule violation.

M0mmyof3

Thanks Minus. I got turned off by that one. As my surgeon said when I asked her what could have caused me to get BC, her answer was that it was hard to find a cause.

Anywho, dinner was spaghetti. Been cutting back on eating pasta a lot.

ChiSandy

PF Chang's has been "meh" for years now--all they do well are the lettuce wraps. Last time I ate there, the "stir-fry vegetables" were limp, bland, greasy & watery--wouldn't be surprised if they used frozen (but thawed before cooking). Sad state of affairs that their frozen supermarket meals-in-a-bag are better than what they serve up.

SpecialK

Tonight was Mia's Kitchen marinara with Italian sausage and extra red pepper flakes added over spaghetti - not very exciting, but it was quick - DH walked after work so dinner was about 90 mins ago, lol! I really need to grocery shop tomorrow, and get my nails done! They are a mess! A good friend wants me to go blueberry picking with her in the afternoon - will report back on that!

ChiSandy

My nails are a trainwreck. One week into my mani, I had reached deep into my coat pocket to verify my keys were still there; and my middle nail tip folded itself off at the quick. Three applications of nail glue, tissue patch, tape and a band-aid later, it broke completely off. Had to use a press-on floating around the bottom of my nail polish box. Then two days later I was mincing herbs and nicked my left nail tip. A coat of no-light gel seems to have kept it from chipping. But all week long the edges of several nails have gotten "snaggy" (there went two pair of knee-highs) and tonight my left index nail lifted at the inner corner. I swear, there isn't enough superglue on the face of the earth...

So tomorrow is my mani-pedi. Because I will be a packing fool (I leave for the airport Sun. morning at 9 am for my trip to Rome) and doubtless will be rummaging about in my bags, the nails will have to hold up really well. My Italian is good enough to order food & wine, hail a cab and ask where the bathroom is--but not to explain to a Roman nail tech why I need long nails on my R hand but short on my L. (And my days are pretty much scheduled tightly*). Only once did I ever have a beauty appt. in Europe w/o speaking a word of English: I got a haircut in Paris in 1992 (it was cute, but I was thin and could pull it off), and even being halfway fluent in French it was a challenge.

*One fascinating thing on the agenda will be a presentation about the Amanda Knox murder case, given by her defense attorneys.

SpecialK

chisandy - wish I had invested in super glue stock way back when - I have probably used my weight in it, lol! My middle finger, dominant hand, has the acrylic completely lifted as of post-dinner dishes tonight - just glued it back down about half an hour ago. I wouldn't want to try getting my nails done in Italy either - my DD just did exactly the same in Columbia - she texted me pictures throughout the experience. She was lucky to have bi-lingual fellow bridesmaids to help, but I think it was a bit nerve wracking! It is hard to do Google translate on the cell phone when you can't use your nails, lol! Fortunately, they turned out well! Enjoy your trip - yes, the Knox case would be fascinating to hear about. Are these presentations given in Italian or English?

ChiSandy

Special, they're given in English. The trip is sponsored by the Chicago Bar Assn., for continuing legal ed (CLE) credit. 4 credits of ethics. (Best one was a really intensive one in Lausanne in 2016: it was an int'l symposium on diversity & inclusion, and we got 16 credits). We have to report 30 credits every 2 yrs., so when I get back I'll probably have to watch 26 more hrs. of videos by June 30. Unfortunately, I can't download, only stream them; so I can't watch them on the plane. (Wi-fi in the air over the Atlantic is insanely expensive--in 2015 I flew bus. class on Iberia and they "gave" me 250MB free wi-fi. The catch was you had to sign up for it with a credit card for the overages; 250MB is less than 1/2 hr. of browsing, and the signal kept buffering like crazy. When I got to my hotel in Madrid, I got my wi-fi receipt: trying to surf through a few threads on the Acoustic Guitar Forum, then giving up, logging off & catching some Zs, cost me $250!).

I used to get acrylics, but they're really rough on the nail beds and the fumes in the salon are something awful. Of course, they only had to be "filled" every 3 weeks or so. I switched to a combo of gels and "no-chip" gel polish for the R hand (which I use for picking) and the "no-chip" on the L (which has to be very short, for fretting). They have to be soaked off every 2 weeks, but unlike acrylics, don't require the nail bed to be roughed up. I get a subtle oval French manicure (no big "Long Island Medium"-style Chiclet tips), and I can generally touch up with Sally Hansen no-light gel polish between manis if need be. When acrylics chip, whole chunks break off and sometimes take part of the nail bed with them.

carolehalston

Glad you reported that post, Minus. I found it suspicious.

The shrimp, sausage and zoodles dish last night was "Meh," too, to use Sandy's adjective. I will discard that printed recipe. Just not enough flavor.

Tonight will be chicken breast cooked in the air fryer.

No gym this morning. Yard work instead. I would much rather go to the gym.

MinusTwo

I'm the opposite. Gym for me & I'd rather do yard work.

Egads007

I’d rather my personal trainer from the gymcame over and did my yard work lol!

Magari

Minus - Allow me to add my thanks for reporting the multiple posts about that Pink Lotus doctor's book. I took a look (without clicking on the link) and was unimpressed. Found it telling that nearly all the rave reviews were from TV "personalities" rather than people from the medical community.

Carole - I've never been able to get myself to enjoy zoodles. But my guess is that one needs to amp up all the flavors of the "sauce" going with them, since the higher water content of squash versus pasta literally dilutes what it being served over them.

ChiSandy - Enjoy Rome! How great to be able to do your MCLE there, and the topic does indeed sound interesting. Italy is one of my favorite places and I miss it almost as soon as I leave. Travel was pretty much off the table this past year and after all the time I've taken off work plus my ongoing every 3 week infusion schedule I think we'll be taking shorter, domestic trips this year. Possibly NYC or New Orleans, depending on the heat (which I do not enjoy.)

SpecialK

Dr. Funk is actually a well respected surgeon but I think being a breast surgeon in Los Angeles has skewed her toward becoming a celebrity herself, in addition to treating celebrity patients, with appearances on many TV shows, etc. The book seems to be directed more at preventing cancer - um, what? Do we know how that works yet? - than providing anything for those of us who are already diagnosed other than possible discussion of surgical techniques, many of which you can only get at her center. She is commercializing - like so many things associated with breast cancer - which I think leaves a bad taste (ha! On the dinner thread!) here on BCO.

magari - I have found the water content in the zoodles to be problematic too, to cook them makes them soggy - I wonder if you could salt them like eggplant first then blot them? When I have used them I tend not to sauce them, cook briefly at higher heat to evaporate the moisture and then mix in a lot of garlic and lemon pepper, and top with parm. My regular local grocery store also has pre-zoodled (is that a word?) sweet potato spirals which are less moist and seem to work better for my purposes if I am using something like marinara.

ChiSandy

Magari, your use of the acronym MCLE suggests that you, too, are a lawyer. If so, do you still practice (I retired but keep my license so I can be in the Bar Show) and in what disciplines? (Here in IL we can't say "specialties" because only patent law has a specialty certification--the most specific we can get is "practice limited to--or concentrated in...").

carolehalston

Yes, the zoodles put out a lot of moisture and watered down the flavors. I'm not a zucchini fan and probably won't be a zoodles fan either! I will try them again with a little olive oil and preserved lemon. I have two more in the veggie drawer. The WW hand spiralizer worked well. I regret wasting the last of my saffron.

Minus, I wish we could work something out, where I could go to the gym for you and you could do my yard work. I put in 2 hours of weeding and pruning and did make a dent in improving the appearance of the two front flower beds. This is the same woman who built the beds and did all the planting 20 plus years ago. DH put in hours of his own, mowing and weed eating. We have a 2-acre property that originally was 6 acres.

auntienance

I like the squash zoodles best sauted in a little olive oil and garlic. Sometimes I add onion and or green pepper strips and add a chopped up tomato them let it cook down a bit..

The new instant pot arrived today so I celebrated by making ham and beans. DH has a bit more appetite so I'm hoping it will appeal. I'll make cornbread too.

My yard is a disaster. Yesterday and today are the first days over 50 degrees in months. I should have been outside but have been playing nursemaid to DH.

Magari

ChiSandy - I am actually a paralegal rather than an attorney, but here in CA we must also do MCLE hours. I work for a public agency here in San Francisco. All civil litigation. I worked in general litigation for many years (mostly PI and civil rights cases) but was transferred to the Labor group about 3 years ago.

I've been on medical leave since my surgery in October, but have at least a few years to go before I can retire. My plan is to return to work next week, though I may have to go back out for few days to have a surgery to remove/adjust/replace my port. I have a consult with my surgeon tomorrow to discuss what she wants to do and when.

Our seafood CSA gave us grenadier fillets today. I will sprinkle them with ancho chili powder, pan sear them and make fish tacos with red cabbage slaw and spicy lime mayo.

eric95us

The wind has been blowing 20mph or so all day and that is just enough to blow the palo verde tree leaves and blossoms into everything. I'm hoping it doesn't aggravate Sharon's allergies.

MinusTwo

Eric - we've had the same wind. Yellow dust from the trees everywhere. And I've been sneezing all evening. Hope Sharon does better.

Egads007

Spring must definitely be here. While driving today (windy here also) it started to snow. I thought ‘not again!!’ Until I stopped at a red light and realized it wasn’t snow...it was a shower of fluff! I started sneezing shortly after lol