So...whats for dinner?

carolehalston

Minus, I am addicted to buying multiples of a clothing item, especially things like denim shorts for every day wear. And if there's a selection of blouses, all the same style but different patterns or colors, I might buy two, three, or four of them. Same with jeans that fit. Same style but several different colors. Two years ago I bought the same sandals in three different colors but I can defend that action because I have trouble finding narrow sandals unless they're adjustable.

I try to avoid sales items that are SUCH a good buy and I MIGHT wear this jacket or blouse or whatever when the right occasion comes up. Often these great buys end up at Good Will with the tag still dangling. I'm not a good shopper.

I've never eaten soda bread. I might have to make it some time. It always looks good on the cooking shows.

auntienance

Minus, here is the recipe I https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rye-soda-bread-recipe

I substituted whole wheat for the whole meal and old fashioned oats for the harvest grain blend.

MinusTwo

Thanks Nance. Since there is no kneading and I LOVE pumpernickel, I might actually get this made.

eric95us

Most of my bread baking is "by feel and sight".

Lacey12

Special, I hope all goes well with DMIL’s house sale...and that everyone in the Southeast is spared Florence.

And Nance, I am also really impressed that you are clearing out the house and moving. That effort seems to be a topic among many of my friends who can’t seem to “get there”...me very much included in the inertia. My poor local son continues to intermittently check with us about our 3-5 year plan. And his sweet wife has offered several times to help me “sort and throw”. But with no place to move in this crazy Boston market, we are less than motivated to clear out. But at some point.....

Nance, I also have a collection of pillows...both here and at lakehouse. LOL Not so sure how much company I think we will be having!!! I do think I can get rid of a few of those. And yes, ladies, I think it is a generational thing to re-use and/or save things and buy more than one of the same item that fits! Last night we were walking on Newbury Street in Back Bay, after eating out with our Cali friends and I feel so old and conservative when passing high end chic specialty store after store which I would not ever enter for purchasing purposes. We are who we are....and I am also a bad shopper, fortunately not a frequent one!

I finally made it to both the local Farmer’s Market and the grocery store today, and made a nice healthy meal...with a giant salad. Felt great! Unfortunately it also felt great to have a small piece of peach crumb pie that I could not resist buying on sale at the store! I put fresh raspberries on the top....ooh la! Faux peach melba dessert!

For dinner I made salmon fillets topped with garlic, basil chiffonade , sliced tomato and parmesan. Very easy prep and nice presentation. In addition to the huge salad we had corn on the cob.

carolehalston

Yum. The salmon looks really appetizing.

Ok. I will re-make the goal of tackling the closets in the guest room and the office. All "storage" closets and full of "good stuff."

Today is Monday, WW meeting. After missing the past two Mondays, I plan to go this afternoon, with the expectation that my weight will be up. The scale at the gym showed me up a lb yesterday morning. It's like those scales in doctors' offices and doesn't seem adjusted for accuracy. I wish the owners would replace it with a scale with a digital read out.

Dinner will be at a restaurant in Bemidji following the WW meeting. Maybe Dave's Pizza. Or maybe the Bemidji Country Club restaurant. We haven't tried it and it's open to the public.

eric95us

I was just told activation that orders are in process.... I'm going to the Carolinas.

Eric

MinusTwo

Oh wow Eric. Hope the predictions don't turn out as bad as they could be. Safe trip & thanks in advance for your service.

SpecialK

eric - sorry you're being activated, but I know the need will be real - I appreciate your service. If you happen to be in Beaufort SC, I can give you the address to check - just kidding. Sort of... I also have two SILs in the Charlotte area and they will be looking at an excessive rain situation and flooding if the storm stalls out near the coast and builds up a lot of extra moisture. They experienced a rain event with Matthew while my in-laws had a wind event. We had big trees come down at my in-laws on the house from Matthew - my DH went up to chain saw them up and see about repairs and hauling off debris, and he was worried then that some additional trees should be removed. Eeesh - just need It to be next week already.

Tonight is spaghetti with meat sauce and some Monday Night Football.

ChiSandy

Good luck, Eric! I just learned that some of the worst rain will be in central NC because after Florence moves ashore & inland, it is predicted to "stall out" the way Harvey did last year. (Speaking of storm names, I've been kidding Gordy because "his" storm--tropical depression Gordon--this year turned out to be something of a dud, though its remnants did give us a good soaking last week. "Mine," of course, will live in infamy throughout NY & NJ).

Tonight's dinner was a rotisserie chicken & carrot-sweet potato-prune tzimmes from Whole Foods (alas, they--like everywhere else--ran out of chopped liver). They had no challah, of any shape. (Of course, had I driven north to Jewel, I'd have had my pick of a whole table full of round ones--traditional for Rosh Hashonah, symbolizing the continuity of the old year into the new--plain or raisin). But they did have honey cake and some local heirloom apples. So I will cut one up and dip it in honey as dessert.

eric95us

If they ever name a storm Eric, I'd prefer that it be a dud. :-)

M0mmyof3

Stay safe Eric!

auntienance

Oh Eric, thank you for the work that you do, please stay safe.

Lacey12

Eric, safe travels, and safe work! Thank you so very much for your help to those in need in the face of this scary hurricane. And Special, hoping things are safe going near your inlaws’ home, and the sale happens. .

We finally showed our faces at the gym yesterday after a two month hiatus. Tho rusty in the pilates class, it felt good to be there and reconnect with some of our fellow gym classmates. Our new young instructor is lovely and reasonable about expectations for our senior bodies, so that’s a relief. Our former instructor moved suddenly to North Carolina due to her husband’s work transfer. So we will all march on, tho missing her. My joints are speaking to me today! At least I feel more motivated to hike back up onto the health wagon!

But then...On way home from gym, we stopped at Volantes to look for my favorite Acane apples. Instead, they had a hybrid Acane/Gala which I will try today. Volantes’ baker had just put out her wonderful French baguettes...and how could we resist a warm baguette after a hard workout! Yum! So aside from the pieces we ate in the car, we enjoyed the bread with dinner at home, grilled chicken breasts, the leftover lemon/garlic linguine casserole and Boston lettuce garden salad. Tonight will be chicken leftovers with Volantes corn and salad....back to our boring but fairly healthful home meals! Once corn season is past, our sides will be veggies and not starches.

Revisiting memories of 17 years ago today, the stunningly gorgeous morning weather here, the unfolding shock of learning about the 9/11 tragedy, and the pain of processing the horror and ensuing fear and grief...and listening all night to military aircraft overhead. It’s one of those times we remember exactly where we were, like when JFK was assassinated. Thinking of and honoring the victims, survivors and many heroes of that day, and beyond.

SpecialK

lacey - thanks for the positive thoughts about my in-laws house and hopeful closing next week. The coastal county the house is located in is under mandatory evac, but it appears that the storm's target is slightly more northern than initially thought so maybe it will be spared. I have come to a place of acceptance in terms of what may happen - glad my DH and SILs emptied the house of all contents, so it is just the house itself in danger. I have all the family photos on my kitchen table right now - dividing them up for everyone. I too remember 9/11/2001 like it was yesterday - a beautiful sunny day in northern Virginia, my DH at work in the Pentagon - I spoke to him on the phone after the planes hit in NY and then again briefly after the Pentagon was hit, then nothing for 6 hours. I was not sure that he got out until later that afternoon. A number of those in our neighborhood of federal workers - military and civilian - were injured - our two doors down neighbor burned severely, two neighbors were killed, one of them lived four doors down the other direction. A bunch of us met in the middle of our street - counting noses - when Air Force One floated over in the quiet skies with a fighter jet contingent escorting. Such a terrible time for all of us, haunting memories for sure. My son was in 8th grade, became a volunteer firefighter when he was a senior in high school, and when he left for his freshman year in college he got a tattoo - against my wishes. It is in the middle of his upper back - a red/white/blue fire helmet, inside a pentagon shape, with the 9/11 insignia above the helmet with the Twin Towers as the 11 part. Can't really object, right?

Redheaded1

On Sunday I put a butterflied, boneless leg of lamb (smallest I could find) in the crockpot. It was pre-seasoned with a tag that said "perfect for the grill" but the package told you how to put in the oven....Well, here goes, with 1 cup or more of a red wine that was supposed to pair well with lamb) I let it cook on low all day and I nuked some baby potatoes that came with a seasoning packet and some butter and sliced some garden tomatoes. Probably the last as it has been cool here at night and I get more eye surgery Oct 4, so I will have to empty pots and dump soil as soon as my weight restrictions are up this Friday...But back to the Lamb----- OMG...so good.… I will so look for more of these to add to the freezer. I finished it up tonight like a little pig. And I am drinking 5 ounces of the wine every night hoping to help my blood pressure. Once the crock pot was empty I was planning on white chicken chili, but now the weather is heating up again.

Checked out a great Foods of Islam cookbook at the library. Had the chicken, olive, preserved lemon tangine Thouht I'd liketo add book to my collection, but the inside cover said USA $60.00...….so not.

Eric stay safe. When they said they were naming one Sandy (my name) My DAD said OH NO-THAT ONE WILL BE TROUBLE.....how did he know?????

Lacey12

Right, Special! Sounds to me like a truly heartfelt, valid reason for DS to get his tattoo...and yes, as a non tattoo fan, I would unable to say “no” to this either! Thank you for sharing that poignant account of your experience on 9/11...what a painful piece of history for your family and entire neighborhood community. It leaves me reflecting on how many surviving families carry varying sizes of scars related to the attacks on that terrible day.

For our salad tonight, we had a caprese salad over romaine to which I added some of my still hearty scapes! Nice and tasty! The basil was from a plant I literally popped into the ground before we left for the summer. That abandoned basil thrived beautifully on its own all summer, (well, it probably did get the edges of water DH left hadset up for the lawn) and now we have a lovely yield. Am guessing our rabbits do not prefer basil leaves!

Redheaded1

Why do I keep losing my posts????? Maybe cause I can't see the submit button????

Eric, please stay safe. When they said they were naming a hurricane Sandy (my name) my dad said--OH NO THAT WILL BE One Awful Storm.... how on eearth did he know?????

Sunday I popped a butterflied boneless leg of lamb int he crockpot. It was preseasoned, on sale, with a tag that said perfect for the grill. But the wrapper only told how to cook in the oven. I decided if I could braise lamb shanks, why couldn't I slow cook this in the crock pot. So in it went with enough of a good red wine that pairs with lamb to cover it and I cooked in on low all day. Then I nuked a package of mixed baby potatoes that came with a seasoning packet and added some butter and sliced some tomato from the garden (probably the last of them, since it has been into the 50's here at night) I will be needing to dump pots and clean up plants starting r\Friday as my weight restrictions are over and my next surgery is early Oct.

Anyhow, I finished up the lamb/potato/tomato tonight, eating like a little pig. And the wine is good, so 5 ounces a night for "medicinal purposes"......natures tranquilizer or something like that. I seethe doc tomorrow a.m. about my blood pressure. She probably won't be happy as I can't remember to drink every night or take the Xanax every day......And it it has been a stressful week. So I wrote my stress down next to my readings for her...LOL>

A daughter of a man from my home town was on the plane that crashed into the pentagon. Her dad is now dead. Losing that daughter just devastated him. He was divorced and so successful it was hard to watch. I think of her and him every Sept 11th along with so many other images that are just burned into my brain. I so wish that all americans could have kept that sense of unification and patriotism that we had inside ourselves. I thought at the time that something wonderful was rising from the most terrible thing imaginable, but it didn't last. It has nothing to do with our politics, or social issues, its something inside us that we can't seem to keep lit. So sad.

Redheaded1

Well Heidi sounds just like Esmerelda. So it must be normal. Esmerelda's never had kittens either. It is a bedtime ritual or anytime I crash on the sofa. So I guess I won't worry too much about it. Vet told me there is something called "Feli-way" that is a spray or you can put it in a diffuser. Supposed to calm cats. Havne't looked for it yet. Sometimes Esmerelda meow's and meows in the house-she never did it till I moved to this larger home. The previous owner had a little dog named Napoleon. I don't know if Napoleon died in the house but sometimes I wonder if she is seeing ghosts and talking to them.

MinusTwo

Red - good to see you. Thanks for posting. The lamb sounds delicious. But not sure who Heidi is on the 2nd post. I'm thinking you meant to direct that elsewhere?

ChiSandy

A little boy for whom I was a jr. counselor at day camp--he was a guitar prodigy who taught me some barre chords, and I helped him with reading--grew up to work in one of the towers, and was killed on 9/11. I found this out a year later, when they were reciting the names at what was still Ground Zero, and I recognized his instantly--it's not a common surname. The NYTimes had a section of tributes to each of the victims--and when I saw the photo, even with the receding hairline & mustache, I knew it was him. When his fiancee described how much he loved playing reggae & blues guitar, that clinched it.

On the morning of 9/11:

We had been using our first HDTV as a giant alarm clock. The Today show was on, and they were discussing Michael Jordan's return to basketball, so I pulled out my earplugs and sat up to watch. Suddenly, they cut to a woman in the street saying "I think it was a small plane..." Then a sickening shot of the North tower in flames, and then every reporter on the network came on. As the coverage went on, I saw the second plane appear, cross the screen, and hit the South tower. I called my boss and told him I wasn't going to the status call we had scheduled at court at the Daley Center--I said I was pretty sure that court would be cancelled that morning. Turns out they evacuated the building and even the CTA elevated trains stopped running.

I called my sister in Arlington, VA--we'd grown up in Brooklyn and watched the WTC's foundations being dug. We'd gathered in NYC each year and had family holiday brunches at Windows on the World. We were talking when there was this rumbling noise in the background. "Hold on," she said, "there's a plane flying really low and I can't hear you." Less than a couple minutes later, NBC cut to the DC feed and reported an explosion at the Pentagon. My sister said she had to go retrieve my niece from kindergarten--she had several classmates whose parents worked at the Pentagon. (Miraculously, none of them were there that day). Her house is in a direct line between Dulles & Reagan.

My friend who worked at a suburban weekly paper called--their newsroom had only a B&W antenna TV; could I fill her in on what was happening? I described what I was seeing--and it looked like the South tower was bending. The commentators noted that and said it must be an optical illusion. Just then, the tower collapsed.

The school sec'y at Gordy's school called to say that classes were being dismissed early--could I pick some of Gordy's friends up and take them home until their folks got home from work? We all piled into our Taurus and I turned on the radio to the rock station we always listened to (WXRT). All the DJs were on the air, not playing music but instead discussing the day's events and taking live calls from anyone who wanted to talk.

Four days later I had a show scheduled in Madison, WI. UW had cancelled all events for the weekend. I called the coffeehouse and asked if the show was still on. "We need music more than ever," came the reply. I drove up I-90, underneath a blue sky empty of anything but a few birds--we were so used to no air traffic by then that every bird at first looked ominous till we realized they were alive.

M0mmyof3

My stepdad at the time of 9/11 was working in Boston at one of the Federal buildings. I was laid off from work at the time and the first indication something was going on was that a relative from another state called us and asked if we had seen the news, I told her we hadn't seen anything since the early morning news and what was going on. She told me and I turned on the tv to a local channel. My younger brother was trying to get a part-time job at the base in the area and my mom was gone with him. They came back a bit later and said the base was in total lockdown. I told her why and we sat watching the coverage as we worried about my stepdad. When he got home, I was the first one to meet him at the door with a huge bear hug. They had sent everyone home as soon as word of the plane hitting the Pentagon reached them. From what he said at the time the highways were packed with people trying to get out. He said he had watched the two planes that had left Boston take off.

carolehalston

Can't say I "enjoyed" the personal experiences of 9/11 but I appreciate the sharing. I was in a waiting room at a medical clinic waiting to be called for blood work when the news came on a little tv in the room.

I hope Florence isn't as devastating as possible and probable. September is a bad hurricane month. The doubters of the science behind climate change can continue doubting, all to no good effect.

Tonight's dinner will be the menu that didn't happen for last night. I returned home from women's golf at 5 pm, walked into the camper summer home and heard ice cubes clinking in glasses. Immediately I knew, broasted chicken from Clancy's restaurant for dinner. So tonight will be baby back ribs with salad and a veggie side, maybe corn cut off the cob.

M0mmyof3

Still debating about dinner.

MinusTwo

Thinking about Florence and I agree with Carol. Today is the anniversary of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Although I didn't have any flooding in my house, we were without power for 3 weeks. And then Harvey last year when the storm stalled and the rain just kept coming.

Brunch will be leftover ham hock & beans. Dinner will likely be a salad, but maybe a couple more of those wild caught Cod fillets. They were really good.

eric95us

I was deployed to Ike.....

All the road signs had blown over, EXCEPT, the 35mph speed limit signs.

All the billboards were shredded except for one that a chaplain pointed out. "I know it's a small world. I built it. God."

I, too, watched the TV coverage on 9/11 and later, I monitored the telephone network performance foe everything all along the east coast. The phone system held together...barely.....

illimae

Eric, I just started my job at TxDOT a few months before Ike hit, I helped write and issue the contracts to replace all those signs, fix the traffic signals and remove debris. We were still dealing with the financial stuff several years later, same with Harvey.

For 9/11, DH and were at a hotel in Phoenix on our way back to Texas from visiting family in California. We were packing to leave and watching the news for local traffic. When the first plan hit, DH said “that doesn’t just happen, they’ll say it was terrorists” and when the 2nd hit, we knew this was something major. It was so strange to see the sky so empty for the remainder of the trip. Eerie.

Homemade chicken soup and a salad tonight.

auntienance

It's difficult for me to talk about 9/11 to this day and I had no direct connection to the event. It was, for me, the most unthinkable horrifying event of my life followed by the second most horrorific -- helplessly watching the gulf coast and a place I love, New Orleans, drown while our government did nothing. I'm hoping that we've gotten better since then, although Puerto Rico makes me skeptical. Thoughts are with those in Florence's path.

Ham and beans here too Minus, along with cornbread with lots of butter.

CeliaC

On 8/11, my sister, daughter & I were admiring the imposing view of the Towers and NYC skyline from the Staten Island Ferry. On 9/11, a known prankster in our office (Airport Board, operators of CVG Airport) ran in, stating a plane had just hit one of the Twin Towers. I asked if he was pranking us & he said no. We all rushed to the lunch room to watch the TV coverage. Talking to one of our engineers, I remarked the hit tower would not survive & he agreed. Airplane fuel burns much hotter, as we both knew. Then, plane 2 struck the other tower & we both agreed it, too, would crumble. The skies began to empty and aircraft were landing & parking wherever space was available. It was creepy/scary. After the Pentagon was hit, the 4th plane crashed in PA & the towers fell, the office closed & most employees headed for home. Many employees were crying, even though they did not have a "connection" to anyone there. Unbelievably, my daughter's school was not dismissed early. When she saw the TV coverage, it was very impactful since we had been in NYC a month earlier. Eerily quiet at the Airport for 2 days afterward - no aircraft in or out. My cousin, working for NY/NJ Port Authority was one of the people running for their life. I remember visiting the Merrill Lynch office in the towers in the 80s when a good friend worked there. My sister was working in nearby CT & they had several associates who were in the City that day - they all were ok. I hope we never experience another event like 9/11.

Our office was busy today assembling & provisioning staff that could potentially be deployed to assist Airports affected by Florence. We will likely send some of our firefighters who are also either EMTs or Paramedics. plus various maintenance staff.

Eric - Take care of yourself & thanks for your service.

Redheaded1

Minus---Heidi is Chisandy's cat. I went to two Aldi's today before I found more lamb. They didn't have anymore seasoned ones, but I bought the three that were left but unseasoned. It was only 5.55 per lb. Next week their flyer says they will have spatchcocked lemon rosemary chicken. So I will definitely have to eat out of the freezer so I can get a couple of those.

So I need some suggestions for a rub or a marinade that will withstand the slow cooker. I put these in the freezer (crammed) If I pop one in when I have my eye surgery, I can eat that for three or four days...LOL. Although me doctor told me today lamb is a red meat and I thought this was a good meat option for me....HA. They have the best Naan bread there too. I guess Doctor would approve of the chicken next week...…

Blood pressure was 128, she was delighted. Told me to stop taking it 3 or four times a day and to just take it a couple times a week and if I felt stressed, pop a Xanax. And she would see me in January unless I needed her sooner.