So...whats for dinner?

Magari

Special - Adorable doggie birthday pic! I am a serious dog lover. We had a wonderful border collie/cattle dog mix who lived to be 18. Our current dog is an Aussie/cattle dog mix who just turned 2.

For those looking for ways to get exercise while we shelter in place, I've been using the free DownDog Barre app. They also have yoga, and a couple of others. I like that you can choose length of time, body areas on which to focus, and type of music. Or none, so that you can play your own - which is my preference. https://www.downdogapp.com/

I'm also getting exercise by doing spring cleaning! Cleaned out kitchen cabinets, scrubbed grout and did all my baseboards and banisters this past week. Take at least one walk each day to get out of the house and get a bit of fresh air and vitamin D, which is usually combined with some sort of useful errand.

On Thursday we took a walk to the local grocery where we pick up our fish CSA. No eggs, but they have a good meat department, so I bought a flank steak and some house made chorizo. Cooked the flank steak with a dry rub in my cast iron skillet last night, served with oven fries and a Paso Robles red blend. (There's a theme here!) We usually lean toward lighter reds like Pinot Noir or Beaujolais, but this was a gift from a friend who used to live in that area and it went well with the steak.

I find it hard to imagine living somewhere where glass bottles aren't recycled. We recycle just about *everything* here: glass, metal and plastic; and have curbside compost collection as well. So my husband and I generate only about half a grocery bag of actual trash per week.

Saturday morning we walked to the farmers market. Only about a third of the usual vendors, but it's usually a huge market so there was still plenty to choose from and the farmers were happy for the business. I got lots of veggies, including lovely bags of baby arugula, spinach and kale that were 3/$5.

This morning I walked over to our neighborhood "high street" and scored a still-warm loaf of Tartine bread at the gourmet store! Then waited in line for about 15 minutes to get into our grocer (they are limiting number of shoppers to maintain social distancing), where I picked up coffee and some other items. No eggs there either. The guy who rang me up said they aren't getting many delivered, and those they do get are snapped up.

Made flank steak sandwiches on the Tartine bread for lunch, with horseradish, mayo, cheddar and some of the arugula - yummy. Dinner will be potato/chorizo tacos, with the last of my homemade tomatillo salsa pulled from the freezer.

I think tomorrow I'm going to try a new recipe I found for Shawarma-Spiced Tofu Pita Wraps https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shawarma-spiced-tofu-pita-wraps I bought pita and cucumbers today so I'd have all the ingredients.

Have been making a cocktail for myself most evenings lately. Had egg whites in the freezer, so bourbon sours have been in the rotation. As well as a champagne cocktail using a decent, inexpensive Cremant de Bourgogne that we get at Trader Joe's. Cheers, everyone!

SpecialK

minus - maybe do one exercise between each chapter? Glad you were able to get the spot out - one of the many uses for Clorox. I went around the house today with Clorox wipes getting all the light switches and door knobs.

magari - Toby is a one of a kind dog - he is such a good and loving boy. He’s one of those dogs who looks you right in the eye, and he is super intuitive. He never left my side during chemo, and followed me everywhere - would even sit outside the shower and wait for me. How great that your dog made it to 18 - wow! Bigger dogs, and even middle sized ones, rarely live that long - clearly you are doing it right!!

I was in SF in October for a quick visit for Hamilton at the Orpheum. Stayed with a friend who has a great apartment on Noe and there was an awesome farmer’s market right down the street. We have such a short growing season here that you have to know where the good farmer’s markets are and get there early!

How is everyone doing

Moonflwr912

I am envious of the Strawberries! Ours arent even planted yet. We have some Winter Farmers Markets on Weekends, but those are canceled now. We have veggies that are grown in aquaponics, where they grow the fish for restsurants, so there is some fresh food. But, of course most of the restaurants are closed. A few with simple menus are carryout curbside pickup only.

Bread, milk, ground beef and eggs are hard to find here too. My DH volunteers to go early for the senior shopping, and I let him! So far hes been able to find most things on his list, but hasnt been able to find everything on the list even once. My pressure cooker is getting a workout. I made chicken breasts, 8 of them, for my Dd2s family and our dinner. After I took them out, i used the liquid as soup. Just added moodles and cooked them, adjusted the seasonings a bit, and my daughter says they ate it up fast because it was good. I only had about a quart, because i wasnt planning on using it for soup, so didnt add much water, but it smelled good, and tasted better, so i didnt want to waste it. LOL.

Covid19 is starting to hit, we had 5 deaths in an assisted living facility, it was medical workers who travel from place to place who brought it in. Most were over 80. The Good news is the containment worked, only one wing is showing signs. We all miss the Y, and i notice Im losing flexibilty. I will have to work harder at that at home.

Supper tonite was leftover spaghetti and sausage from last night. I only had to cook for 2 last night, my big day of cooking is usually Thursday when my DD2 is at the clinic. We have both kids now and when she picks up an extra day, boy do we know it. Its hard to cook for 6 people again, especially when she is still on keto. My biggest problem is making 3 meals a day when the kids are here, dont have much trouble eating them, though! Well, that and getting up before 8. LoL. On days we dont have them, even my DH will sleep in. Its also weird trying to get back into school homework mode. Its been a few years since I had homework to do ( 10 years since I had my HUC diploma!) , and even longer, 25 years or more since I had homework to oversee!

Hoping and praying you all stay healthy! Much love

Monica

eric95us

Flour, sugar and toilet paper, are difficult to find. Paper towels are starting to be left on the shelf.

Dinner tonight was made by DD...a vegan macaroni and "cheese". The "cheese" is made with soaked cashews that are blended into a cream, along with nutritional yeast, lemon juice and mustard. It is quite good. Fruit, asparagus cooked in the air fryer and some of my sourdough bread rounded out the meal.

Magari, I wish I had been able to get the time to look around when I was in San Carlos....but it wasn't to be...

Special. That's a cute picture.

We have two dogs. Gypsy is 13 and Frankie is 11. They are the longest lived dogs we've had. 18 years old is amazing.

Gypsy and Frankie are both "pound puppies" so we had to estimate their birthdays. On their "birthdays", DD does the same by bringing them pup cups from Dutch Brothers Coffee.

Moon, we'renoticing the extra groceries and dishes and it's just one extra for us. Six has to got to be quite a "jolt". :-)

ChiSandy

One of my favorite movies ever is Sideways, about a Paso Robles/Santa Barbara-area-Pinot Noir snob. I also read the book, which had a sequel called Vertical--which flips the plot on its head (not gonna give a spoiler alert).

Hey, we're doing more wine talking here than on the "How About Drinking?" thread!

Sat. night I had my leftover salmon over julienne veg. & green beans. Bob brought home a chicken shish kebab (3) appetizer, grilled veg. and (for him alone) avgolemono soup from a Greek joint with a drive-through near his suburban office. I had my leftover Italian salad and one chicken skewer as a late supper. Bad idea: between eating that late, cleaning the kitchen & feeding the kitties I didn't make it to bed till 2:30. And I could not sleep at all--my mind simply refused to shut off, and the white-noise generator app that drowns out the pulsatile tinnitus doesn't drown out snoring. But when I take out the Air Pod and replace it with an earplug, the snoring is inaudible, but it amplifies the infernal rhythmic whomp-whomp/crunch-crunch in my L ear. (It's actually vascular--when I prop myself up and turn my head to adjust the app on my cell, add a sort of "moaning" to that. About 4am I gave up, went downstairs and did a bunch of crosswords online. Went back up at 6, still couldn't sleep by nearly 8. Suddenly, it hit me: had I forgotten my bedtime pills? I had taken the CBD & melatonin, filled the pill cups (AM & PM), fed Heidi a snack, loaded the dishwasher. Sure enough, when I went back down, there were both shot glasses, still fill of pills. D'OH! Took them, went back up and told Bob he had the first cat-feeding shift.

Had a WF quiche Lorraine in the fridge I needed to use, so we had half of that (no crust for me) and the grilled Greek veggies for brunch. Dinner was from Cellars: minestrone, gorgonzola meat loaf, mashed potatoes & green beans for Bob (I would have loved it but I know meatloaf has bread in it). For me, a no-crouton Caesar, honey-brined pork chop in mustard sauce over mashed sweet potatoes (they leave out the sugar on request), and Brussels sprouts. Tom--the chef/owner--delivered it himself, with a lagniappe of a bottle of crémant de Limoux. We ate half and saved the other half for tomorrow night. Tuesday, if it doesn't rain, we'll grill. I'll probably give Bob the rest of the quiche, and have my last pasture-raised egg as shakshuka. (I have 3 dozen more eggs--2 WF cage-free-plus and only one of them is brown) and one of Eggland's Best. I'm not happy buying "battery eggs," knowing the chickens' living conditions, but these days we all have to settle. Many people can't even find eggs.

I've been making single-cup pour-over coffee from scratch (well, not quite--I don't home-roast the beans anymore) rather than K-cups. I did make a K-carafe of Tully's "Hawaiian Blend" this morning--not as tasty as the pour-over but no worse than K-cups. I was running out of beans (especialy espresso, which is on the cusp of "too old to brew" a good shot). So on Wed. I ordered from Metropolis--they roast on Thurs. and deliver on Sat. Imagine my shock when at 6 pm I got a text from UPS telling me it had been delivered via "SurePost" (turfed off to the Postal Service) at 4:10 pm, "left at mailbox." WTH? I don't have a mailbox! And I left specific delivery-location directions. No package ANYWHERE.

UPS wouldn't give me a human to talk to, and when I tried to use the "contact us" form online, it informed me that for SurePost I'd have to contact the seller. I blew a gasket--online and on the company's voicemail. Right after I posted on NextDoor, there was a knock on the door: a neighbor from the next block over--and the numbers in the address flipped--had received it, drove over and dropped it off. I did my various mea culpas, but too late--I'd engendered a whole thread of snarky "first world problems/pearl-clutcher/how can you care about coffee when everyone is getting sick& dying" posts. Point was that this sort of UPS/USPS/FedEx dishonesty, incompetence, and illiterate/dyslexic drivers has been going on in my ZIP code for years--a decade or more. Life does go on, and COVID-19 is not a fortuitously sudden handy excuse for companies' pre-existing patterns of screw-ups. And one would think illiteracy is a disqualifier for a job requiring reading labels and matching them to addresses.

carolehalston

Our garbage collection business, run by a local family, does not offer recycling. I do see recycling bins in the subdivision where I walk. Their contract is with WM. We have collection twice a week and usually have one kitchen garbage bag in the bin. We don't use a lot of canned or packaged foods.

DH bought a cute new toaster oven, Quisinart, from Best Buy with curbside pickup. The manual (I'm an oldie who always reads manuals!) has a collection of recipes, most of which look good. I was thinking of using the sweet potato fries recipe last night but dh likes baked sweet potatoes better so I got lazy and did the baked. I made breaded boneless skinless chicken thighs in the air fryer. I cooked them just enough and they were juicy and tasty. I need to find a good oil sprayer. The one that came with the fryer doesn't work well so I threw it away. The canned oil spray can damage the no stick surface of the fryer basket, according to the manual.

News Bulletin: Dow is starting off in positive territory.

I am missing my Silver Sneakers classes, too, as well as exercise using the weight machines at the gym. Silver Sneakers is offering classes on the Facebook page. I keep saving the emails but haven't followed up yet. I do walk 2 plus miles every other day and have been doing heavy pruning in the yard that tires me. The list of yard maintenance projects is long and I'm not likely to run out. I even dreamed about finishing up the huge azalea bed last night so I hope I can accomplish that this morning.

Dinner may be pork piccata with a pork tenderloin out of the freezer. In the near future I will be venturing out to do grocery shopping.

CeliaC

carolehalston - Just finished today's SS Live routine on Facebook. It was pretty good. If you go to their Facebook page, they will add today's live one to their other videos. Also, other videos on their "main website". Lots of exercise videos on Amazon Prime if you have it, plus YouTube as well.

eric95us

Arizona State University's graduation ceremonies have been canceled. I won't be able to see "the $5,000 per step across the stage" ceremony. :-(

MinusTwo

Eric - I can't believe your DD is already a senior. OH my, where has the time gone. Sorry about ceremony. Hope she's not too disappointed.

Carole - I keep thinking I should get a toaster oven to keep from turning on the oven in our summers.

Woke up at 4am - URGH since I am NOT a morning person (unless of course I'm just going to bed at 4am). Might as well cook. I made jello butterscotch pudding w/milk I needed to use (only had the kind you have to cook). One of those was my breakfast. Made potato salad with 2 boiled potatoes & 2 boiled eggs. No green onions so used very finely chopped 1015 onions. No celery so used celery salt. Lots of dill weed. It was enough for two meals and was so good I ate it all for dunch. Made ranch dip so I can dip the leftover asparagus. Or maybe I'll thin some dip into dressing for another big salad. Prepped salmon patties. I'm thinking I'll serve over spinach but I'm still so full it will have to be tomorrow. Took 1/4 chicken breast already cooked out of the freezer yesterday to make a portion for one of Laurie's Mexican chicken w/green chili & black beans. And my bag of salad is "up" tomorrow too.

I'm certainly finding some interesting combinations as I work my way through the cupboards & freezer.

Day two of my planned 3 mile walks. I'm just going around my small neighborhood. Nice shower & I got quite wet the last 10 minutes coming home.

eric95us

She was kind of upset, as are the high school kids in the neighborhood also not being able to "graduate". I was disappointed...but......

The Arizona governor just announced a stay at home order here as well. It won't change what we have been doing as it allows grocery store/pharmacy trips and outdoor exercise conforming to the "social distancing" requirements I ran 5 miles today and I never was closer than 10-15 feet from anyone the whole time I was running...and I considered the trail to be crowded. The plants here are blooming and it looks like I'm running on a yellow, orange and purple carpet.

If I get called again, I'll need to remember to give Sharon a copy of my orders just in case anyone gives her "grief" about being out when she's coming home from dropping me off at the airport.

As for doing "other stuff", I've been scanning film negatives I've found one showing some of folks in US Army WW1 uniforms and another showing people in a Model T car with snow chains on the rear wheels. There was no snow, but plenty of mud, so the chains probably helped with traction in the mud.

Lacey12

Catching up...enjoyed the dog pix! Our last Schnauzer pooch, Lacey , was with us for 15 years, but her predecessor lived until 19. It would be fun to have a dog now that we have lots of time to devote to one, but Boston winters can be a walking challenge for us old folks. Even with our fenced in backyard, every time it snowed we’d shovel a track system for our dogs to run.

Not sure if I mentioned that I’ve started making face masks to donate to our local grocery store workers, and nursing homes. I landed in a wild rabbit hole looking for a specific style mask that would accommodate a filter, and had two different fabric styles to keep the inner and outer sides easily differentiated. I finally found it, after watching waaaay too many mask making videos! Good lord! They have taken over Utube!!! And I have hardly ever watched Utube much!
Given that the fabric and craft stores are out of the notions needed for certain masks, improvising has been key, so they are taking me longer than they should. There are five other women doing this with me, and we need to complete several hundred masks. I might be a light contributer unless I start to use an easier pattern that has fewer layers and can still have some safety value. The opinions about this are all over the block...I’ve read them all, and more (!), and of course my surgeon son is wedded to his N-95s, so I know he is not thinking what I am doing has much safety merit...but he is kindly sparing me his direct opinion. The nursing home staff were deliriously happy to receive our offer. So, onward with that project! And since my allergies are revving up, I think I’ll make one for myself so my walks don’t result in the shortness of breath I experienced last week. And now lots of folks are wearing masks when they leave home.

Tonight we had really delicious leftovers from two nights ago, when I made turkey meatballs made with kale and ground oats. I made a marinara sauce for them, and they were the lightest, plumpest meatballs I can remember. They cook in the sauce, and while they start out bright green (I can hear the yuks!;), by the time they are cooked (I let them simmer in the sauce all day) they look like regular meatballs...with maybe a hue of green on the inside. But we loved them then, and especially again tonight. Had a big garden salad and some crusty bread, which seemed excessive, given our wheat pasta. But after a day of troubleshooting at the sewing table, I needed comfort food with little effort!
Speaking of pasta, I have really enjoyed the family banter between the Brothers Cuomo on CNN this past week. Their love-filled sibling rivalry on full display during interviews is an enjoyable counterpoint to the seriousness of our current situation.

I hope you are all healthy, and faring well in what might be just the bottom of the first inning of this likely long and frightening contest. DS2 recently described every day seeming like Groundhog Day, corralling their antsy nine month old while working from home. And we are so far the lucky ones...

carolehalston

I have a mask from dh's workshop in my car in case I decide to use it. It's designed to be protection from dust when using a sander. i also have sanitizer and a small package of wipes. And a small box of salon gloves. They're size small so I have to wet my hands to pull them on. I've gone food shopping only once since we began staying at home. Today or tomorrow I plan to venture out again. Instead of throwing the gloves away I may wash them for another use.

Last night's main dish was delicious. I made thin medallions of pork tenderloin, lightly dusted them with flour, browned in olive oil, added chicken broth and lemon juice, simmered in a large skillet, used xanthum gum to thicken a bit more. Sauteed hydrated dry morel mushrooms in butter, added mushrooms and butter to pork dish, added a can of quartered artichokes. DH, who is not keen on pork tenderloin, was quite appreciative of the end result.

He made the salad while I finished the version of piccata.

Minus, I recommend the toaster oven for our climate. This new one was $100 but similar ones are available for less, $60 or $70. The oven that just stopped working was too large. It came from Sam's Club and was about $60. The not-too-large-not-too-small size is better for toast and bagels and also serves as an oven for broiling and baking.

So what's for dinner tonight? A survey of freezer contents may bring some inspiration.

Magari

Carole - That pork tenderloin dish does sound delicious! But then, anything with mushrooms - especially morels and/or artichoke hearts is amazing, IMO. So both in one dish puts it over the top!

Last night I made veggie fried rice to make use of leftover plain rice that was in the fridge. Served with cucumbers in rice wine vinegar with a bit of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Simple and comforting.

I have a head of cauliflower that I need to use, so will be trying this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Kalamata Oilives, Currants & Tahini Dressing. Don't have currants so will be substituting golden raisins for those. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/07/roasted-cauliflower-with-olives-currants-and-tahini-from-vibrant-food-kimberley-hasselbrink.html We'll have this with the remaining flank steak from a couple of nights ago.

ChiSandy

I am delighted with my Breville SmartOven Air--it's three years old. Its air-fry feature works better than my air-fryer did. It reheats, broils, bakes & roasts evenly too. Its toast won't win any beauty contests, but so what?

Tonight Bob got home about 5:30, bearing 30 rolls of TP from the Costco near Union Health. He was just so happy to find it (and a 2-liter bottle of vodka) that he forgot to look for bleach or disinfectant, and a rotisserie chicken. I had preheated the grill for a grass-fed sirloin I had defrosted, so no harm, no foul. He also picked up my alprazolam from CVS (it's controlled, so by law ineligible for delivery). Dinner was an insalata Caprese (yellow heirloom+red grape tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and home-grown basil), cauliflower mash (Green Giant frozen) and the aforementioned grilled steak. We drank Casanova 2011 Chianti Riserva (which we bought in Tuscany in 2016). Dessert was blood orange sorbet for Bob, and keto "ice cream" (mint chip & vanilla fudge) for me. No way to make sorbet w/o sugar, alas. Granita, maybe.

Tomorrow night I will sous-vide and then sear Pacific salmon. Green stuff will be whatever I have on hand. Will probably pick out a good pinot noir, but Bob is adamant we open, rather than Coravin, it.

SpecialK

One of my projects while confined has been organizing the plethora of recipes I’ve torn out of various magazines and printed from online searches. I made binders for all the loose recipes and am now down to the last two years of old Bon Appetit magazines. I had a binder specifically devoted to the recipes I had saved from the previous years and as I went through it was interesting to see what I had saved - boy was I ambitious! Some of the recipes I saved I know I will never make, so I tossed at least half of them. In the April 2001 issue (yes, I have 20 year old magazines, lol!) I came across this in the wine section and thought it apropos since we had been discussing Paso Robles wines! I looked up all of the vineyard/wineries and they all seem to still be going.

carolehalston

Betty Crocker was back in the kitchen last night. We had a hot dish/casserole that was a repeat of one prepared recently. Cooked chicken out of the freezer from a rotisserie chicken, a Cracker Barrel mac and cheese (white cheddar) kit, a can of cream of chicken soup, a cup of frozen green peas. The salad was sliced peeled cucumber. Sweet onion on dh's. We each "dressed" our salads to individual tastes.

I went grocery shopping at Winn Dixie yesterday and am loaded up on fresh veggies, including asparagus and artichokes. The latter were on sale for 49 cents. They were smallish and had been picked a while ago but I bought three. Also 4 avocados. Tonight will be Atlantic salmon with a yogurt dill sauce and the asparagus. The store has installed plexiglass shields at the checkout stations to protect the employee and the customers. A great idea.

We are having a lovely day, possibly our last cool day of so-called spring which feels like summer. I wish we would have a hard rain to wash the pollen out of the air.

MinusTwo

Special - I too had a TON of clipped recipes. I agree about my past ambitions and tossed things that I'll never make. I managed to get the hoard down to my double recipe box (the size of a shoe box) where everything is filed on recipe card stock, and one other packed shoe box with things just tossed in. I need to do a second run through.

I spent yesterday in the yard after walking - digging, pruning, heavy work. Since I never know when to stop, I worked straight through - 5 hours and have lots of sore areas letting me know I over did it.

Chillly here this morning. 57 when I went for my morning 3 mile walk. I have a sweat shirt on so I decided to turn on the oven. Just baked a Simple Truth organic sourdough boule. Now cooking a Jennie-O Homestyle Boneless Turkey Breast. Several friends cooking for one or two people said this was great when they roasted at Christmas. Oven ready - direct from freezer to oven. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

ChiSandy

Made Bob French toast this a.m. (with the stash of leftover takeout baguette slices from the fridge). I gave him real maple syrup, which I miss terribly. My brunch was half a tuna salad sandwich on low-carb bread with lettuce, tomato, onion and a side of takeout coleslaw. Ate half the sandwich, put away the other half for when Bob makes his inevitable wee-hours snack trek downstairs. Might do the carciofi alla Giudia (air-fried) as tonight's app. May also try cedar-planking the salmon on the grill--no matter how well I clean and oil the grids, fish still sticks to them. Veg. will be zoodles aglio e olio. If Bob wants starch, it'll have to be bread or matzo.

He's picking up my inherited mink today--too early for cold storage. When it's safe to do so, I will take it back to the furrier for that. Meanwhile, will follow their advice to remove the zipper bag and hang the coat in the closet and let air circulate. Tomorrow he's staying over at the Oak Lawn Hilton (still operating as a hotel) for an early day at Christ & Little Company tomorrow.

Gonna try to get a couple of masks over to Gordy & Leslie today--either drop them off or have Leslie pick them up from my porch on one of her shopping forays (she's the driver for them). Will have her call so we don't have to get w/in 6' of each other.

MinusTwo

Advice needed please...

I know you're not supposed to store potatoes in the fridge, BUT - I don't have a "well ventilated, cool, dark place". Dark I might do, but not cool. In Houston we've already been over 90 several times and my house is rarely cooler than 76 degrees. I might use one potato a week - or sometimes none. Example - when I bake a potato, I eat 1/2 and save half for another day. In normal times, I only buy one potato every two weeks. I scored a four pack of russets for baking and I really don't want them to go bad. What do you all think about potatoes the fridge???

Headed out for day four of my 3 mile walks. I've done 1/3 again longer the last two days. Not sure if this could be called a power walk, although I keep a good pace. From previous experience on a treadmill, I now walk about one mile in 20 minutes - so 3 miles is an hour. (I know, I know, Eric - it's OK to laugh - just keep it down to a respectful chuckle for your elders).

Will report on the turkey later today.

carolehalston

No opinion on refrigerating potatoes.

Last night's dinner was excellent. Baked salmon topped with yogurt/dill sauce. Steamed asparagus flavored with butter and lemon juice. Romaine salad with additions. One addition a perfectly ripened avocado.

I cooked extra salmon so have leftovers for salmon sandwiches for lunch.

The news on the virus is so alarming. I am 30 to 40 minutes from the hospitals in New Orleans where the doctors and nurses are treating sick and dying people. With all this talk about wear a mask versus don't wear a mask out shopping I will probably start wearing the dust mask in my car on infrequent trips to the supermarket.

CeliaC

MinusTwo - Please see info on potato refrigeration below. Yes, you can put them in fridge!

Refrigerating potatoes will cause some of the starch to turn into sugar, resulting in a sweeter potato. ... If you are boiling, steaming, baking, roasting potatoes, refrigeration is perfectly fine. DO keep potatoes in plastic bag perforated with lots of little holes (the bag potatoes come in). Bag keeps humidity. (The thought of keeping humidity since you are in Houston is probably a laugh.)

Lacey12

Minus, I pretty much keep most vegetable in the fridge, not tomatoes or unripe avocados... but including potatoes and onions, which I know are supposed to be in cool dark bins. Never noticed a problem with taste or texture. I keep potatoes in a vegetable drawer at bottom of fridge. Be interested to read who actually keeps theirs in a cool dark place!

For the past two nights, I have been derelict about meal making since I've been glued to my sewing machine creating masks for local food stores and nursing homes, and improvising with materials due to shortages in all the online fabric stores. A slow process for this sometimes seamstress!

So two nights ago we decided to order take out from Sweet Basil, a popular chef owned spot in our town. We ordered a spicy lentil soup, an always delicious braised lamb shank with vegetables and polenta, and a greek salad. It was tasty, but too heavy on the salt.

Last night it was already dinner hour when I knew I was not about to cook the chicken breasts waiting their turn in the refridge. So we ordered dinner from Hearth Pizza. They feature sort of healthier pizza with whole wheat crust, fresh sauces, cheeses and veggies. We had their version of mushroom/onion, and really enjoyed it. While DH picked up the pie, I threw together my standard salad. Ate pretty quickly and returned to the sewing (dining room) table for rest of night.

DS2 called yesterday to ask us to make a shopping list, which he'll complete and deliver to our front porch on Saturday. At first, we thought we'd say we were fine, but then realized that we should probably be even more rigid about our distancing over this next two week period. So we are taking him up on his offer. I only wish he could drop that baby off here while he is in town...but not gonna happen! 😕

Hope everyone is staying home as much as possible! We do appreciate our daily walks, barring cold rainy weather, and one of our lake neighbors is organizing a Zoom cocktail party for late Friday afternoon....replicating a summer ritual at our beach. DH is going to do some “DJing" for background music.

Magari

Lacey - I'm impressed with your masks, and like the different fabrics!

We just received an official extension of our shelter-in-place order extending it to May 3. So I revoked my vacation request for later this month and am now waiting to see if our airline will respond to Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders' demands that they actually refund money rather than merely offering credits to those who can't travel. Our flight has not yet been cancelled but if I were to buy the tickets today they'd be about $400 less than what we paid. I expect flights will be cheap for a while even once travel becomes possible again.

The roasted cauliflower with tahini & lemon dressing that I made a couple of nights ago was quite tasty. Had leftover dressing that I used on a salad for lunch the next day. I'd forgotten how much I like those flavors and will definitely be making the dressing again for other purposes.

Yesterday afternoon we took a walk over to a neighborhood bar that has set up a take-out window. Got a growler sanitized and filled with a local IPA and bought one of their bottles of freshly made, pre-mixed cocktails - we chose the Last Word (gin, chartreuse, lime and maraschino liqueur.) And picked up dinner from a new-ish Turkish restaurant that has opened nearby. We'd heard good things but hadn't tried it before, so got the mixed appetizer and mixed grill plates. Everything was truly delicious and we had enough to have the leftovers for lunch today. I hope the family running it are able to survive the next month or so and remain in business.

Tonight I plan to do something simple. Probably a sheet pan dinner with a mix of Italian sausages, kale, carrots and maybe potatoes. This article gave me the idea, and several others I plan to use (lots of which are vegetarian-friendly): https://www.epicurious.com/recipes-menus/cooking-through-it-10-day-meal-plan-article

auntienance

Love the masks Lacey! If we are told to wear them I’ll have to be researching a pattern myself. Since our governor has his head stuck in the sand (or elsewhere) and is in complete denial about COVID19 it’s doubtful any leadership will be coming from that direction anytime soon.

Last night we carried out from our local diner. Good food as usual and they were so appreciative of the business. Today I ventured out to the ALDI 25 miles away for produce and some other things and I was so stressed about it. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it is for our medical providers and their families to face this every day. Cheers and hugs to you and Bob Sandy.

Tonight is tamales from the freezer and seasoned pinto beans. The only other side will be a fruit sala.

Reader425

Hi everyone tonight I made easy beef enchiladas from Holly Clegg's cookbook "Eating well through cancer". They were wonderful. I got the book during treatment and love it for the easy recipes and also because it sorts recipes by the kinds of issues you may experience during treatment like constipation. Ingenious.

Lacey I love your masks. My niece is a nurse at a major medical center in Philadelphia and needs scrub hats to put over their sterile bouffants. So as soon as I get a pattern I'm going to start sewing again. Stay well everyone. These are times of stress indeed. 🙏♥️

ChiSandy

Lovely masks, Lacey! I have no idea where in the basement or attic snake pits my sewing machine lurks--haven't used it in 45 years. So I thought I'd try making one of those no-sew bandanna-and-ponytail-elastics featured in YouTube tutorials. To my chagrin, every scarf in my drawer is poly or silk, designer or knockoff--"yes, we have no bandannas." No way I'm sneeezing into an Hermes. So I will take the surgical mask I have and tie a faux-designer scarf around it--I'll look like a fashionista bank robber. Anyway, a neighborhood guy makes really nice washable ones and they're fairly reasonable. I should have them (a navy blue "starry night" and brown foulard print) in a few days. (Could've picked it up today at his building, but I'm trying to keep personal contact to a minimum).

Ilona, pot pie is a major milestone, even though it still feels like two steps up and one step back. Your docs'll figure out how to keep that peristalsis at bay.

Though I had low-carb French toast for breakfast, I ordered out for dinner even though I was alone (Bob's down in Oak Lawn for an early morning echo-reading session). I got bored this afternoon after dumping kitty litter (and then plunging the toilet), and gathering & taking out the trash & recycling), so I decided to get creative (hadn't written any songs since Dec.). I suggested a different way of coping with being cooped up--and an additional weapon against the "bug" (in Yiddish & Italian). Here it is:

auntienance

Wonderful Sandy, applause! 👏

SpecialK

chisandy - you have spoken often about being a musician, what a pleasure to actually see your talent! Excellent!

Dinner last night was chicken and pinto bean tostadas, corn, and a quinoa/brown rice combo and a little organic salsa added. DH had to leave the home office today for his office on base for meetings and some other stuff - he is not happy about it, but is happy to have a job! He sits on the Covid-19 task force and asked about scrubbing the building (in which 3,000 people normally work) now that the majority are teleworking. The response of commanders was since there are no positive cases, no need to scrub the building. WTF??? His immediate boss will be there today, he has to sit in his chair and do some stuff on his computer, and his college daughter just came off confinement in Connecticut with two positive sick folks. She is now here in FL in his house. Eeeks!

ChiSandy

Dinner tonight was from Cellars again--we want to keep it afloat. I had the other half of last night's Caesar, roast chicken (dark 1/4), peas & grilled sweet potatoes. Bob ordered fish & chips, but it came with sweet potato fries instead (guess they thought that we were sharing it, and that I don't eat regular potatoes). Apps were beer-battered brussels sprouts and crab cakes over mesclun. Tomorrow night we may drive down to the Palm and pick up the 26-oz. prime rib carryout special...or I might just supplement the leftovers (not the fish--Bob ate all four pieces).

Been putting it off but...change sheets & laundry tomorrow. (King size memory-foam mattress and duvet, so those fitted sheets & duvet cover are a real bear). Tried to make a bandanna mask today, but after rummaging through my scarf drawer....yes, we have no bandannas (sorry, it was just too easy). Just silk and faux-silk scarves (and wool-or-acrylic shawls). Found one white silk 12" square, but it was too slippery. No elastic hair ties either: just elastic straps from "convertible" bras. Did use a surgical mask on my walk today, but it was way too big for my small face. It does its job, though--keeps the pollen out and any sneezes (which fortunately, I didn't do) in. Tree pollen count was off the charts today, but it affected mostly my throat and eyes. When I returned, the envelope with the handmade cloth masks I ordered Wed. night had arrived. (Made one neighborhood over). I may have to shorten the elastics, but for now they'll be fine--double thickness of tightly-woven cotton.

carolehalston

My project today is making cloth masks. I watched numerous videos yesterday. The pleated version looks easy to make. After I make some of those, I will do more research into a fitted version. DH has put in an order for masks with a pocket for inserting filter material. I don't have any elastic for the ear loops but I have a stretchy cord that should work. We should be wearing a mask for only a short time during trips for prescriptions or groceries. I see no need to wear a mask when I go for exercise walks in the neighborhood.

DH printed out a recipe for chicken curry yesterday and cooked it last night. It was a simple recipe and we had most of the ingredients. He did have to substitute sour cream for yogurt and had to omit the fresh cilantro. We ate the curry over brown rice. Our salad was pineapple slices on romaine topped with mayo and grated cheddar.

It was nice to turn the cooking over to him for a change.

Now the daily question: what's for dinner tonight?