So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Eric - car is at the repair shop for a new starter. I have a 2003 Toyota Camry. Several mechanics have said it will easily last 200K miles, and maybe 300K. I know my brother's lasted past 300K. I sometimes go two or three days w/o leaving my house. Now that I've had no car since Friday, there seem to all sorts of things I remember needing to do.

Yes Eric, do go to the ophthalmologist. Hopefully the eye wasn't 'scratched'.

Illi - I love Brussels sprouts - not to mention pulled pork. Sandy - food is over the top. I wouldn't eat for a week. Special - sounds like your DS put together a wonderful tribute for your DD. Did the new beau laugh in the appropriate places?

Lacey - you made me hungry for cucumber salad - marinated in tarragon vinegar w/onions then drained and mixed with a sour cream/dill mixure. I added tomatoes for the first time ever & won't do that again. As many years as I've tried, I DO NOT like tomato skins and these were too small to peel.

SpecialK

minus - he did! He is a really great guy, from what I know so far. He is an adventure videographer - owns his own company so has an interest in all things photo and media. He and DD met making a short film about bonefish in the Bahamas a few years ago - he has had a crush on her since then but didn’t fess up until a little while ago. I’m glad they were friends first - I think that works out well in the long run.

carolehalston

Sounds serious, SpecialK.

DH did not like the ground turkey meatloaf, which wasn't as good as I remembered from the last time I made it. Last night I cooked him a breaded pork steak and a baked sweet potato. I cut the turkey meatloaf into squares and simmered gently in Rao's sauce. Still not great. My side was cauliflower mash made with a small cauliflower.

This morning I'm off to WW meeting and not expecting any weight loss. I will stop at PJ's Coffee and get a large cappucinno to sip at the meeting. I'm due a free coffee this time.

Not sure about dinner. Maybe shrimp and linguini and salad. I have romaine hearts in the refrigerator from a package partially used. I won't throw it out since we've already eaten one of the hearts.

carolehalston

After WW an appointment with my bc doctor's NP for an annual ultrasound of chest of underarms. Will ask if there is any new advice about diet.

Lacey12

Eric, I hope you got to the ophthalmologist, and the eye is healing. You need both eyes operating in full focus to keep up your amazing productivity! Keep us posted....

Sandy, I was so “full” from your Roman meals, I was feeling badly that I could not have even enjoyed those delightful courses on the flight home. My DH would have been in heaven with all of it! He has the metabolism of a mouse, I think.

Minus, yes Camrys often last ‘forever’....especially in your climate. Here the only thing that leads to their demise is rust from our snow/rain and treated roads....a definite car killer. I’m a firm believer in holding on to perfectly good cars....we are a different generation!

Our dinner out on Saturday ended up with my selecting an entree that was pretty typical for me. Salmon over a sautéed dice of sweet potato and red peppers. Sounds so simple, and was done perfectly, making me the happiest diner at the table. And, I could easily replicate this at home. We shared two apps...calamari, and roasted brussells sprouts with a soy sauce dip. We did not risk any leaf salads, especially with our friend who is in chemo trmt. DH’s risotto with scallops was not too flavorful and our friends’ chicken parm was actually baked chicken with a tomato sauce over it....served on mashed potatoes. Yuk! Pretty awful for a trendy neighborhood restaurant....but maybe appeals to some hungry college kids who venture in there....since it is close to several schools.

Special, what a fun full evening you had with DD and her new beau! Given that he has held a crush for so long, he must really have enjoyed that slide show about her. Our friends had happy news about their 40ish son bringing home a serious girlfriend to meet them. They were sooo thrilled for him, we enjoyed the news too.

Sun and 60’s yesterday motivated us to grill dinner. I made a balsamic/garlic/rosemary marinade for the chicken breasts which DH grilled. Sides were arugula salad (today I plan to stop at Volante Farms to get some Mass grown lettuce), brussels sprouts, and sour dough bread.

Tonight I have no idea....probably ‘jump ups’ after our pilates class (which I am finally returning to since I’m pretty well healed from my recent fall). Tomorrow we will eat at The Harp (for my fave salmon dish), after dropping the visiting pooch off to DS2’s home, and before the Celtics/Bucks’ game.

Off to teach self-regulation skills to 5th graders!

Lacey12

Carole, clearly your romaine hearts pass the safe test. Will be interested to hear if the NP says anything about diet. Hope the ultra sound is totally insignificant

SpecialK

carole/lacey - I am hoping this boyfriend stays the course - DD is a handful! He is younger than her, which she would never have considered before, but I think because she knows his character and loyalty, she was willing to consider dating him. It was a slow start and she needed some convincing, but as time has gone by she finds herself missing him - they both travel for work - and that is a good sign because she is so fiercely independent she often won't admit something like that. He is a strong family guy so I think he appreciated seeing her growing up years in the slideshows and old school video - some of it is pretty hilarious - particularly my hair and clothes - what was I thinking???

eric95us

Special......as a guy.....an accomplished and confident lady that one must work to keep up with is the best...just saying... :-)

Well, the ophthalmologist worked on my eye a bit and decided that I needed to see a cornea specialist to get the rest of the debris out. I was raking the yard Tuesday afternoon, went to bed that night with everything feeling fine and woke up on Wednesday with a very aggravated eye. I don't know if I need safety goggles for when I'm raking the yard or when I'm sleeping.

Lacey12

Haha, Special....you were thinking you were contemporarily stylish, of course! . I am constantly hearing of young women who are dating/marrying men three to five years younger than them. Seems to be a trend that was not so popular in my day. I know so many wonderful accomplished gals who just cannot find men to seriously date. I was actually relieved when DS2 became engaged to his then girlfriend, (who, by the way, is also older than he is) because many moms of girls he grew up with in our town, knew he was unmarried and checked in with me about his status constantly. I do not play matchmaker, so it was uncomfortable, despite the fact that I was so fond of these girls. Glad your DD's bf is a decent guy. He certainly has an interesting career!

Eric, yes!! Goggles for everything for you!!

So I returned to our pilates class today after my school gig. Boy was it hard after being away for several weeks. But it always feels better after a few hours...and our sub instructor was great today.

On our way home we headed to Volantes and learned there that their lettuces are from a specific farm in California, (not Mass which would have been greenhouse variety) so I happily purchased some romaine and green leaf heads. We also saw some ground lamb there, so instead of jump ups for tonight, we treated ourselves to doctored up lamburgers on delicious purchased slow rise sandwich rolls that included spelt, and held their shape well with our burgers and all the fixings. I was also happy to get back to our regular salads!

Tonight I made a double batch of oatmeal cookie dough to be baked later in the week....three flavors: some with just vanilla and orange zest added; some with pecans and dried cranberries; and some with chcolate chips and walnuts. These are all going 1) to our elderly friend who just had an old hip replacement re-replaced (!), and 2) for an afternoon snack at a regional “summit" our trafficking prevention group is holding on Saturday. I think calling this meeting of about 30 people a “summit" is hyperbole, but I don't work for the government as our leader does.

I'm also in charge of food for lunch, which will be ordered from a nearby speciality pizza and saladsplace. Just can't get away from the food tasks!

Am watching the OKC/UTAH playoff game while writing this, and I hope tomorrow night our arena of fans will be erupting with excitement like the Jazz fans are right now. I am so unapologetically obsessed with playoff basketball this year! Some retired people golf, others feed the NBA coffers!

eric95us

I am a year younger than Sharon...

eric95us

The eye surgeon got the rust ring out of my eye. Like many medical things, it was not comfortable....I'm sure you all can relate to that.

Right now the eye is "bright electric red" and is watering a lot....which seems to be making me sneeze.

The doctor said it should heal just fine and not degrade my vision.

ChiSandy

Eric, now's the time to put on a pair of shades and look enigmatic.

Tonight I will pick some dandelion greens (no pesticide on our lawn) to sauté with garlic & Meyer lemon. There's a fast-food (mostly hot dogs, burgers & gyros) place around the corner called Patio Grill--and it makes a mean Athenian chicken (whenever I buy a whole chicken at the grocery, much of it goes to waste). No Greek wines in my cellar, alas, but seeing as how Bob slept in and therefore won't be home for dinner, I don't see a need to imbibe all by myself at home. But I might see what I can do with the rest of that Meyer lemon and seltzer. Thurs. night is "Dine Out For Life" (AIDS benefit) at Cellars, so I will save my alco-calories for that. (Hope they have Aperol--I've been jonesing for a spritz ever since I got home from Rome, and Whole Foods doesn't have it).

carolehalston

Romaine salad with rotisserie chicken.

ChiSandy

Be careful about the romaine! Unless you know for sure it wasn't from Arizona, I'd pick a different salad green.

eric95us

This time of year, the bulk of romaine lettuce sold in the USA comes from Arizona....

SpecialK

eric - hope your eye is improving - and no permanent damage, and yes get some all-occasion goggles! I think the young man DD is dating likes the fact that she is independent and confident - he is wise beyond his years. She has struggled in the past with men who were intimidated by her, but he doesn't seem to be. I decided many years ago that, for me, respect is the cornerstone in a long happy marriage. When you lose that it is tough sledding. So far, they seem to respect each other personally and professionally, so that is a great sign.

lacey - yes, stylish and contemporary - I am going with that thought, lol! I am three years older than my DH, which my parents thought was great since women tend to outlive men they thought the age difference gave us more potential years together! I also think as you get a little older small age differences matter less, although I just learned from DD that she said "your 23 is showing" after she tripped over the shoes her beau left in the way in a dark room, ha! I will cut her some slack though it was after a long work day and a flight home that landed after midnight.

illimae

Big salad here too (iceberg & green leaf) with green cabbage, radishes, red onion, cucumber, grilled chicken and some crunchy chow mein noodles.

ChiSandy

In some cities there are urban farms & greenhouses that sell their lettuces & herbs to various specialty grocers. There's a big one on Chicago's South Side called "Grown Here," which sells its stuff (mostly basil but sometimes green leaf lettuces) at WF.

MinusTwo

I bought a head of iceberg this week for $0.79. Should be safe.

ChiSandy

Iceberg? Bleh. All the nutrition of Kleenex & water. IMHO, good only for lining the insides of steamer baskets when preparing dim sum or shredding for tacos. (Or for big sloppy thousand-island or blue-cheese-and-bacon wedge salads, which sort of defeats the purpose of a salad). If I can't have romaine, I prefer green & red leaf, Boston, Bibb (especially hydroponic) or butter lettuce. Green leaf works equally well on sandwiches and as a stand-in for romaine in Caesar salad.

Egads007

I prefer field greens mixed with arugula, or bibb but everyso often I get a hankering for iceberg. Comfort food as I was raised on it, I don't think my mother looked on either side of the icebergs at the grocery store lol.

MinusTwo

Exactly - comfort good. My son once asked why we only had iceberg when he was growing up. Well - that was all that was in the stores. I was raised in CA, but in a city. Even there, that is what was in our stores - iceberg. Occasionally there was butter lettuce for special occasions, but it was too expensive to eat often. Unless you had your own garden, you ate what was in the grocery stores. The world has changed.

Yes, now I usually buy red or green leaf lettuce - but to get my weekly quota of greens for $0.79 is a real help to my budget. I remember when a head of lettuce was $0.15. Unfortunately some of us single retired persons don't have the money to eat out all the time and buy tasty gourmet 'take out' prepared foods at the drop of a hat and indulge in fancy wines. I still plan my meals & shop for a week. And that's on a day when I don't have to clean the house or do the wash because there's only me to do it. When I worked full time I did have a lady clean my house every other week. Otherwise & in between it's always been just me to do it all.

So no - I don't think iceberg is "kleenex & water". I'm actually looking forward to a lettuce wedge with blue cheese.

Lunch today was 2 deviled eggs. Dinner tonight was macaroni & butter since I had a meeting that wasn't over until 10pm Tomorrow I will be making a variation of cod. Haven't decided whether to use the open bottle of Raos in the fridge & make Lacey's special or do a lemon/pepper/butter sauce.

carolehalston

When I was growing up, iceberg was synonymous with lettuce. Now I rarely buy iceberg although I still like it in a "chopped" salad with mayo for dressing. My go lettuce is romaine in a package with three hearts. It holds up well in the refrigerator.

Tonight's dinner will be a pork tenderloin with salad and sweet potato fries cooked in the air fryer.

auntienance

Like others, iceberg was THE lettuce when I was growing up. It was synonymous with "salad". Today it's not my favorite but it is DH's so I always seem to have a head around. Besides, I think it has a place in the lettuce world and I like the sweet taste as a counter point to some of its more bitter cousins. (I'd have grabbed that .79 cent head too Minus.) I'm missing romaine though.

Last night was grilled huli huli chicken made with some gigantic chicken parts. I swear, the bone in breast looked like a turkey breast. I had to halve the half and I've never seen a chicken wing as big as those. Mutants.

Dinner tonight may be pork burgers with a German potato salad. Haven't had that for a while.

carolehalston

Love pork burgers and German potato salad. Great meal, Nance. I had never had a pork burger until recent years. Burger meant ground beef. I know a MN couple who always make pork burgers.

ChiSandy

I find iceberg devoid of taste, but it is a useful dressing delivery device. Only the greenest outer leaves have any nutritional value other than temporarily filling you up. A glass of water does the latter far more cheaply.

And yes, it's what I grew up with...till they opened a greengrocer stand in my neighborhood. Sometimes when Dominic the produce guy came around with his mule-drawn wagon, he had romaine and escarole. My mom did an amazing job on very little money--she could squeeze a dollar till George Washington pooped.

illimae

Tonight was a grilled tuna steak, brown & wild rice and broccoli. I haven’t had tuna in forever, it was so good!

ChiSandy

I was going to grill a ribeye steak (it's still frozen), but Bob just called to say he's bringing home the other half of his large filet mignon. So I'll just make the veggies (probably broccolini and either rainbow carrots or roast fingerling potatoes). Breakfast was avocado toast (high-fiber/low carb/whole grain) and a fried egg. For a late lunch I had a honey tangerine and some ultra-low-carb white sourdough toast. (The latter, even after toasting on the darkest setting, tasted like the salted butter on which I spread it).

MinusTwo

Illi - that looks delicious.

I did the Cod with Lemon Butter. Sauteed onions, mushrooms & garlic in a bit of olive Oil & butter. Added cod fillet. After browning both sides, I added lemon, more butter & some chicken stock and sort of poached. Served with boiled new potatoes - because they needed to be used and because that was my Dad's favorite accompaniment with fish. Well it was my Dad's favorite side dish any time - or just new potatoes alone. It was fun to think of him and the cod was really good. Just enough lemon.

Tomorrow I'll combine the leftover Rao's with meatballs and spoon over zucchini noodles.

Exciting new plans. I'm going to SF next week for a couple of days to see the Pacific Ocean. Well yes, my DS lives there but after 2 years the ocean is much more important than anything else. So Magari and I have made plans to have cocktails one afternoon. I'm really looking forward to meeting her. I had such fun meeting Lacey & Susan in Boston and Eric in Phoenix.

ChiSandy

Decided to do the roast fingerlings (with olive oil & rosemary), sauteed rainbow carrots (with butter, mint & pineapple juice) and haricots verts (garlic, olive oil, Meyer lemon). Keeping 'em covered & warm. Waiting for Bob to get home with the filet...