So...whats for dinner?

SpecialK

auntie - I have my sewing machine back out to make some more masks for my husband's co-workers and the family of his boss who are currently using t-shirt DIY masks. His boss is a general so he feels like he should have a more official looking mask, so I am back in business. Would you like two masks? I would be happy to mail you some, just PM me where to send them, if you would like them. I can also PM you my method if you want to try making them yourself. I have refined my technique and what I am doing now is pretty easy - agree that it is info overload online. I cherry picked from several youtube videos.

Dinner has been non-exciting. I grilled some chicken on my stovetop flat grill night before last - less than enthused with the grill itself - I may get a new one. The chicken was cooked fine, and moist, but boring. Also had mashed potatoes and sautéed zucchini. I used the remainder of the chicken last night atop kale salads with orange segments, almonds, scallions, and a creamy vinaigrette. Not sure what tonight's dinner will feature. I have some frozen fish and also some yellow squash and more zucchini that need to be used. I seem to be uninspired. Maybe it is because I have not left my house in 39 days.... I did binge watch two things over the weekend on Netflix - two seasons of Baby Ballroom, and one season of The Stranger - both enthralling for very different reasons...

auntienance

Special, thank you for your very sweet offer. I have managed to make a couple and plan to try a couple more from a you tube video I just watched. My results are not “professional” looking by any means and I’m sure yours are a much better quality. But I’m seeing this as a challenge so let me try the newest pattern before I throw in the towel (mask) and rely on the kindness of others lol.

Today I did something at which I’m much more accomplished - made a carrot cake with my favorite whipped cream/cream cheese frosting. I’ll take half of it to our friends whom we have not seen up close for weeks. I’ll leave it on their porch and say hi from the driveway.

After 3 inches of rain yesterday, it’s a beautiful sunny dayso I’m off to plant the rest of my flowers in the front. I think dinner will be a grilled pork steak with coleslaw and baked beans or mac and chees. Probably should skip the extra carbs because well - Carrotcake.

ChiSandy

I am so glad I have a deck, a porch, a backyard, and an alley to which I must take my garbage & recycling--so I can go outdoors. It would drive me nuts to be sealed into my apartment, like so many living in apts., condos and independent-living retirement buildings.

Bob's day off today so I made shakshuka for brunch: ran out of harissa, so I had to "customize" Rao's Marinara with ground cayenne, Aleppo pepper and za'atar. Sliced up a fistful of Kalamata olives and a sprinkling of feta crumbles. He had 3 eggs, I had one (which turned out to be a jumbo). 3 strips of bacon and 2 slices of marble rye toast for him, 1 strip and no bread for me. Still quite filling. (And Happy was in seventh heaven with the drippings-soaked microwaved paper towel to lick--he jumps up on to the counter and meows whenever he sees me take bacon out of the fridge).

Got some delicious breakfast blend coffee beans (La Cordillera and Yolk--the latter a blend developed for a local brunch spot) delivered from Metropolis. I made pour-over drips with them for me. But Bob prefers dark roasts--Sumatra Reverve and Emeril's Big Easy K-Cups. Might get some Spice Island Blend (dark roast various Indonesian beans) from Metropolis next time out, assuming he's willing to wait for me to make a pour-over pot; he has gotten used to coffee in 30 seconds from the Keurig.

He brought home a lovely biodynamic Grüner Veltliner from WF, so we changed things up this time from Cellars and ordered chicken piccata, with extra veg. instead of potato or pasta. They made it w/o flouring the chicken breasts--they know me by now. Still yummy! (And enough for tomorrow's dinner too).

carolehalston

I was up early this morning, 6 am, so I took my grocery list to the supermarket during the 7-8 time slot. There were few shoppers and most were wearing masks. But the Deli counter wasn't open and the fish counter hadn't been stocked. So the senior time slot won't work for those who want Deli items or seafood. I didn't buy a lot and the bill was $100. I feel sorry for families with a lot of members to feed and no paycheck.

Yesterday I bought eggplants at the produce stand. I'm thawing ground turkey to make turkey Italian sausage. Dinner will be the eggplant layered dish (a version of lasagna) that I like so much.

DH and I are taking a "wait and see" attitude toward going north to MN for the summer. We're thinking we might risk a road trip in June. At present Hubbard County in MN, where the campground/resort is located, has no known cases of Coronavirus. I would guess the testing is at zero. The state of MN is allowing the resorts and campgrounds with seasonal people to open but not those open to transient guests.

Meanwhile today is a beautiful day and there is much to appreciate.

eric95us

I guess we've been pretty lucky here. The stay at home stuff has not been excessive. Outdoors exercise, as long as one can stay far enough apart--is encouraged.

MinusTwo

Like Eric, I've been outside too. Today was DAY # 29 - walking 3-4 brisk miles every morning. Tomorrow I get a star. We've hit 90 several times but I'm OK as long as the humidity isn't too high.

As usual, I managed to pick up too many fresh things to eat in a reasonable amount of time on my Friday grocery run. All of the Costco rotisserie chicken had to go into the freezer while I on concentrate of a delicious California sushi roll and a huge bowl of cold boiled shrimp. Unfortunately that means I'll likely have to toss a bag of salad too. Sigh. Just can eat enough with one person to have much variety. Good thing I like leftovers.

Today - 1/2 cup of leftover turkey stuffing for breakfast. LARGE slice of chocolate cake for lunch. Dinner will be the rest of the cold boiled shrimp.

ChiSandy

Same with outdoor exercise here in IL Eric, even Chicago--stay far apart, don't congregate, wear a mask. The mayor has reopened the city parks except for the lakefront; she drove around the city incognito yesterday and was pleased at the general compliance with social distancing. Most of the close-in suburbs already have mandatory-masking laws in place; the rest of the state will as of this coming Friday.

But last week in 60645 (a ZIP code with one of the highest levels of infection in the state despite a relatively high household income) a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish family held a backyard wedding & celebration--originally limited to the invited immediate family, with everyone (except bride & groom) social-distancing. But neighbors crowded around them, dancing and embracing and eventually entering the yard from sidewalk & alley. The police had to break it up. The local rabbinical authorities issued a joint statement that it was not approved by them and was in fact a "chillul Hashem" (sin against God in the sight of the rest of the world--stronger than a "shanda fur de goyim," which is a shame in front of the "nations"), a violation of Talmud & Torah (the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh--preservation of health & life--takes precedence over all other mitzvot, including Sabbath observance, visiting the sick, promptly burying the dead, and "rejoicing with bridegroom & bride"). The West Ridge neighborhood is bracing for a new wave of positive diagnoses in the next 2 weeks.

Made lemon-ricotta pancakes (with keto pancake mix) for brunch. Will have arugula-grape tomato salad at 6 (after the kitties eat) and a late dinner of chicken piccata leftovers when Bob gets home. Alas, my indoor basil plants have bitten the dust--watered them Saturday (every other day had been fine) but this morning except for a few leaves they were dead and did not come back after watering. The shriveled leaves have a silvery cast to them, making me suspect some sort of fungus, or maybe the plants got rootbound.

eric95us

Masks are a recommendation here, but not a state requirement. If a business chooses to make it a requirement on their premises that's OK, but again, not absolutely required. I'd say only about 1/2 of the people wear a mask outside, but then *most* (not all) folks are being careful about things when they aren't wearing a mask...no hugging or piling up on each other.

I tried wearing a mask while running and my times went to about 1-1/2 times longer than normal. To make up for not wearing a mask, I am careful about where and when I run. So far, no one has been within 200 feet of me. I did, however, violate the social distancing protocols with a diamondback rattlesnake....something I QUICKLY corrected! :-) Once I finished my Olympics worthy gymnastics tumbling routine and I figured out where the snake was at, I got a good chance to watch it. Eventually I just went around it (at a safe distance).

M0mmyof3

Eric, masks or a face covering is recommended here in Connecticut too, but not required unless you cannot practice social distancing safely. Can’t find masks, so I am using bandanas.

carolehalston

I am impressed with our governor's extending the stay at home mandate another two weeks. I was expecting him to bow to pressure to re-open business. There are such mixed signals from the national "leadership." Sandy, dh's conservative relatives in IL have nothing good to say about your governor. They're part of the verbal "Leave Illinois" crowd.

I made one eggplant lasagna for dinner last night and one to freeze. Our side was a big salad with many good ingredients.

Today my exercise will be yard work. Haven't made the What's for Dinner? decision yet.

SpecialK

eric - eeeks on the snake encounter - although I am guessing it is as common for you to see them in your locale as we are here. We live on a preserve and saw many more snakes before they built a neighborhood behind us and appropriated about 2/3 of the preserve that is not part of our development. Can't say I miss seeing them...

We have the mask recommendation here too, but not a requirement - other than you will get "mask shamed" if you go to a public interior space without one. Waiting to see what our Gov will do at the end of the week about stay-at-home, which expires 5/1. Our mayor has been pretty proactive, and way more willing to be strict than either the county leadership or the Gov, who actually was late to instituting restrictions. He has also made some pretty jackass and uninformed statements in the process.

Dinner last night was a shrimp and pasta salad for DH, and a Greek pasta salad for me. DH likes absolutely nothing that goes in a Greek salad, except the lettuce and feta, and it is one of my faves - so I just made him a different one. I used to only cook as much hearty pasta, like penne, as we needed for the meal, but recently started cooking the whole box and freezing what we don't use in portions. 90 seconds in the microwave will thaw it, a little more will warm it. Helps for quick meals!

auntienance

Double eek on the rattlesnake Eric! Although I did giggle at the mental image of your “tumbling” routine. It’s copperhead season here and since we’ve had several who liked to frequent my front flower bed, among other places in the yard, I’m always watching where I’m putting my foot down. More than once I’ve started to step and had to perform gymnastics in order to avoid a snake in the grass. It’s a sure way to get your heart rate up.

The mask making was a smashing success yesterday so as soon as I can acquire some more material we will have an adequate supply.

Today’s activity is weeding which is challenging with a knee with no cartilage. We’ll see how it goes. No idea what’s for dinner.

auntienance

Double eek on the rattlesnake Eric! Although I did giggle at the mental image of your “tumbling” routine. It’s copperhead season here and since we’ve had several who liked to frequent my front flower bed, among other places in the yard, I’m always watching where I’m putting my foot down. More than once I’ve started to step and had to perform gymnastics in order to avoid a snake in the grass. It’s a sure way to get your heart rate up.

The mask making was a smashing success yesterday so as soon as I can acquire some more material we will have an adequate supply.

Today’s activity is weeding which is challenging with a knee with no cartilage. We’ll see how it goes. No idea what’s for dinner.

MinusTwo

OK - I'm unlikely to get a medal and there's no place to take myself out for a reward - so I'll celebrate by sharing. Oh and maybe having wine for lunch with my salad. Thirty consecutive days of brisk walking 3-4 miles every day. Yup - 30 days. The goal wasn't to loose weight, just to keep moving with Silver Sneakers & Chair Yoga classes closed. I've managed to loose a pound or two, but more important - not gained any with the different eating patterns Covid has caused. And yes, I too added in gardening to the mix.

It's been an interesting 30 days. Lots of blooming things triggering allergies. Some days 90 degrees and some days 60 degrees. Today was only mid 70's, but 100% humidity so I got home wringing wet. I wake up every morning with my calves aching so I've doubled my magnesium supplement. Any other thoughts/tricks appreciated.

I've walked at different hours so I've renewed acquaintances with lots of neighbors and met most of the newcomers. My neighborhood only has 188 homes and is bounded by creeks on two sides, an elementary school on the third and a road to the west. Because it can't grow, it's mostly kept it's charm. My goal was to "fill in" email addresses for every house so we could sent e-blast news & alerts instead of having our 12 block captains personally deliver newsletters. Seven residents have no access to a computer or smart phone (over age 80), but other than that we now have emails for all but two rental homes. And I've recruited one new block captain and two alternates. Woo Hoo!!!

On second thought, I think I'll have a slice of chocolate pudding cake for brunch instead of a salad.

SpecialK

I am snake-phobic, and we have a plethora of them, so I too watch where I'm stepping. We have an armoire on the covered part of our lanai with a TV in it for watching football in the fall, when it isn't so hot. I opened it and there was a corn snake curled up on the remote! I have a crescent window above my double front door - great for Christmas garland! Also...basking snakes! One time I opened the door to take the dog out and thankfully he went out ahead of me, startled a snake that was up there, which fell on him and then hurriedly slithered away. I have never been so happy to have a rude dog that goes ahead of me out the door - if it had fallen on me I would have had a heart attack.

auntie - yay for you on mask making!

minus - yay for you on the walking! And the neighborhood info! I have not walked because of the pollen - I had 10 years of allergy shots which subdued my allergies so that they are mostly controlled with OTC meds like Claritin, and I am like an average allergic person. Stopped the shots because we kept moving to new military bases with new plants/trees and I couldn't build immunity fast enough before I moved again. For about a month of the spring here Claritin is not enough and avoidance of the outside world is the answer. Fortunately, this coincided with stay-at-home orders, so I literally did. I was doing some paperwork sorting/filing yesterday and came across my allergy testing from 1983 (yes...I still had it...) and pretty much if it has chlorophyll I am allergic to it, in some instances - like every blade of grass and every weed - kind of violently. Things are just at the point where I think I can venture out using OTC meds, so I plan to resume some walking. I don't know how it is possible, but I have not gained since abandoning the gym - it is a miracle!

auntienance

Minus - good job!

🥇🎖🏅

MinusTwo

Oh Nance - medals. I win, I win...

eric95us

Thirty days in a row. That's quite a plus, Minus! :-)

ChiSandy

This is the first year I can remember that tree pollens have caused me major problems. (When first tested, I was only 1+ for them). Oak, maple, elm, juniper, cottonwood--all taking turns making me miserable. Too chilly to run the A/Cs yet (and the one in the bedroom would deprive Heidi of her fave perch atop the radiator cover. Itchy, burning eyes, itchy nose, intermittently scratchy throat (and nighttime tickle) and drippy nose. So far (knock wood) no fever, and the only headache I get is either over one eye when a storm front is coming through (or I've overslept and am in a.m. caffeine withdrawal). Taking Zyrtec & Montelukast. I'm decongesting 2x/day with Ayr saline spray, Nasalcrom and Nasacort. Dreading when ragweed season starts and I need to switch to Nasonex (which my PCP says could immunosuppress). I have a pulse oximeter arriving Thurs.--can't get here too soon.

The only thing making outdoor exercise tolerable is wearing a mask--not only keeps my breath in but the pollens out.

carolehalston

Severe storms last night but they moved a little north of us. To my surprise, and pleasure, we have tv and internet this morning. It's a dark, gloomy day with light rain at the present time.

When I was a kid, I once stepped on a black snake. That was a jarring experience. A rough cool sensation. We called them black runners. They are not poisonous. We had to be vigilant about coral snakes, small and banded with vivid colors, which are very poisonous and lurk in sheds and piles of junk.

Yay on walking 30 days in a row! I don't dare walk every day on the street for fear of injuring my feet. I try to walk every other day and play golf some days. My challenge is to figure out how to get Silver Sneakers exercise routines from the website to the tv. I have the phone app but haven't applied myself to the process. Maybe today. A friend has done this.

Last night's dinner meat was pork tenderloin and about the only way we like pork tenderloin is in a piccata skillet dish. The side was yellow squash, first steamed and then browned in small amount of butter in another skillet. Definitely a skillet dinner night! No leftovers, which is good. We don't always eat leftovers.

Dinner tonight will probably be catfish. I have a couple of packages in the freezer.

auntienance

Same day here Carole. No yard work today.

Thankfully black snakes are not poisonous because we have many here. But they do bite as my DH can attest to. He was bitten trying to rescue one from some plastic bird netting it had gotten caught in, resulting in bloodshed from the bite itself, a tetanus booster and a round of antibiotics. They are an ungrateful bunch.

Even though it’s a cold rainy day I’m venturing to the grocery store in the hopes that more people are home. I’ll be sporting my new mask 😷

Dinner will be whatever inspiration I find at the grocery store

MinusTwo

Coral snakes were a surprise when I moved to Houston with a 3 year old who loved to explore. We learned this rhyme. "Red & Yellow, Kill the Fellow. Red & Black, Danger lack."

The only thing that has allowed me to continue walking is the shoes my podiatrist recommended after chemo detached my toenails. I was surprised to learn that women specifically lose the fat in their foot pads as we age. The shoes have made a real difference. Hoka One & I buy the Mach model. Another company that I wish I had a vested interest... (with 'english' apologies to Carole - can't end the sentence with "in" - but "in which I wish" sounds stilted). Oh - and the big, knobby, hardwood walking stick I carry.

Dinner has to be a salad or lots of greens will have to be trashed.

M0mmyof3

Hubby brought home dinner from Subway. He had gone out to run a couple of errands.

eric95us

Last night I saw a gopher snake, aka bull snake, on the trail. Unfortunately it had been run over (a bicycle, most likely) and was dead. These are harmless to humans and good to have around because they eat mice and rats. A half hour later on my return trip, a coyote was taking advantage of the free meal, so the snake didn't go to waste.

It's been in the mid 100F/40C degree range during the day, so I've been going out at night when it's cooled down to around 95F/35C. The trail is much less crowded then and I see a lot more wildlife. With the sun down, it doesn't seem to be that hot.

Dinner last nigh was a DD creation. She made a turnip casserole that was quite good. Unlike me at that age, she has the knack of "just add stuff together until it tastes good".

ChiSandy

WF had a special on peeled & deveined shrimp yesterday, so I'm making scampi over cauliflower "risotto" with a side of sugar snap peas tonight.

Reader425

Tonight was DH's favorite meal - BLT on farmhouse toast, mayo and good greenleaf lettuce and tomatoes. The side was delicious homemade vegetable soup ( not by me - it was from a favorite Pennsylvania family owned market) which we had frozen from our last visit north.

Tomorrow my goal is "healthier" but the sammies and soup were tasty .

Lacey12

Reader, your BLTs are exactly how we love them....and over the summer is when we treat ourselves to having a few for an easy dinner. I totally cheat and use the already cooked bacon.

Congrats, Minus! I admire your sticktoittiveness! And great neighborhood work!

I have yet to return to our previous walking schedule. The early tree pollen has really impacted my breathing this year, even with wearing a mask, so I have remained housebound since late March. With the concern about Covid, I found it really frightening to have lousy lung capacity. I grew up having allergy shots after being hospitalized at age 5yrs for asthma. Other than a few unfortunate experiences with reactions to a couple of specific foods, requiring an ER visit for an adrenalin injection, I sailed through adulthood with hardly a need for even OTC Meds. However,,,,,after being on Tamoxifen for a year, my allergies reappeared with a vengeance, and despite two years of self-injections and a few years of sublingual treatments (which did help with things like animal dander) indoor and outdoor environmental allergies are getting worse every year. This year’s tree pollen is the worst offender. I may have to trek back to the allergist at this rate....The social distancing has worked well for my pollen avoidance regimen.

No snakes of note here. I would be really frightened to garden if I knew I’d come across a poisonous snake! And I’m not knowledgable enough about snake identification, I’d worry about any. I don’t have any snake phobia, tho, and was pleasantly surprised at the feel of live snakeskin. We are seeing more wildlife In our suburb, with coyotes topping the predator list. Last week, after dinner, we found a large dead, unidentifiable mauled animal in our backyard, DH decided to wait until morning to remove it, and by morning its predator did the job for him. So,I guess our yard was the 2 night buffet. Given the reduced traffic, people are often seeing new mother coyotes hunting regularly in our neighborhoods...kinda scary for families with small pets and children.

Our meals have been a little haphazard of late since I get involved in my mask tasks, and don’t feel motivated to cook...too much home ec in the same day! So when I do cook, I try to make enough for two meals to cut back on prep.

Tomorrow DH will pick up a box of produce that I ordered from a local company that usually supplies restaurants, but is now selling bushel boxes of mixed produce wholesale to the public In order to stay in business through the closures. Can’t wait to see what we receive!

Tonight was the last of leftovers, moo shi chicken, shrimp fried rice, and cuke salad.

Nance, I hope your grocery store outing was unpopulated,and productive enough to avoid it for a while.

carolehalston

Minus, I wear Hokas, too. I ordered a new pair several weeks ago from the small sports store where I buy them. They keep a record of what their customers buy. The store is located in a little house on a quiet side street. The store wasn't open but the owner or manager answered the phone, took my order and placed the bag on the little front porch. As a pair of Hokas gets older, it gets demoted to yard shoes. I'm wearing the most recently demoted pair as golf shoes. My podiatrist sent me to this store originally. The shoes are expensive but worth every penny.

Speaking of expensive, we had two tree removal business people come by yesterday to give a price on removing a large dying oak tree that is near our house. I appreciate the difficulty of the job but the estimates were real budget busters. Another company is sending someone on Monday.

The catfish was nicely thawed by dinner time but my resolve to cook dinner had weakened. We ordered takeout pizza with thin crust. AND the brownie "pizza." So tonight's menu will be last night's original menu.

DH went for blood work this morning. He wore a mask and did have to sit in the waiting room but it was set up for distancing, he said. He had his temperature taken and answered questions about his health that related to Covid-19.

The tv is on CNBC, a business channel and the recent discussion was about Costco's new policy for all employees to wear masks. It's a very progressive and prosperous business. I wish we had one near us. Instead we have Sam's Club.

auntienance

We are tolerant of the black snakes (unless they're in the garage or on the porch. I have a strict rule - no snakes on the porch or in the garage or they get "the broom") because they are voracious rodent eaters. Unfortunately they also like bird eggs and baby birds so all of our bird houses are critter proofed with baffles specially made to deter snakes and raccoons. One of the worst acts of predation I experienced here, before we learned to protect them, was a large black snake who had somehow managed to crawl into a tiny bird house and was preying on the yet unfledged baby birds. The parents of course were having a fit and I was banging and poking on the box with a rake handle trying to get him out. He eventually got tired of the commotion and crawled out with me yelling and urging him along the fence with the rake. It would have been a good video. I don't know how many he consumed before I got him out. Fortunately (not for them) they were house sparrows - a non native species that are a pest and compete with the native bluebirds leading to their decline around here. Although I'm never sorry when their numbers are reduced, I couldn't bring myself to silently witness that predatory act.

The grocery store was better yesterday. Since my last visit they had made the aisles one way and though I think it's a good idea, it took me longer to navigate if I didn't need to go down every aisle. There were lots more people wearing masks and most were making an effort not to crowd each other. Of course there's always somebody who isn't. Like the two unmasked ladies standing two feet apart blocking the bread aisle while they yakked. After waiting politely for two minutes or so I finally asked them to move. It's not like they didn't see me waiting to get by. I don't get it.

Anyway, the store didn't offer any dinner inspiration so since it was such a yukky day I made chili. Hopefully it's the last chili kind of day for the season. We'll get a lunch and probably a chili mac dinner out of it. Although there was hamburger available, there was almost no other beef in the cases at the store and very little pork. I don't buy much beef there but I do buy pork and wanted a pork tenderloin or some ribs. I'll have to try from the local butcher.

I'll have to check out the Hokas. I have peripheral neuropathy and the shoes make a big difference in how much my feet burn.

DH wants baked ravioli for dinner. He can have it. I'll have shrimp scampi or something or better yet barbecued shrimp.

auntienance

Carole - we've lost six big oak trees since we moved here. We've found that the best prices here for tree removal are when it's late winter and they don't have as much business. Right now we're lucky because we have a teenage friend who wants firewood, so the last tree we had taken down (which was right next to the house) we asked that they just take it down and not cut it up. Our guy came and cut up the downed tree and hauled the logs home. Saved us a bunch of money.