So...whats for dinner?

SpecialK

chisandy - so glad for you that things are not worse, hopefully things go smoothly from here on.

We have dealt with the fridge in the kitchen cabinetry - that is why we have a relatively useless counter depth side by side. I feel for anyone who is dealing with a built in - such a pain.

Dinner tonight will be Chicken Parmigiana and a butter lettuce salad

auntienance

Pretty eggs! Minus your egg dish is reminiscent of a Spanish tortilla, which I love and now will have to make soon.

Lacey we also found out that you can’t just go out and buy furniture and appliances during the time of coronavirus. We tried to purchase a love seat (well actually we did purchase it) and found that we may not get it for months. Apparently parts are in short supply due to factory shut downs. We’d unfortunately got rid of most of our ancient upholstered furniture before the move but fortunately kept two chairs. It’s a good thing we’re not doing much entertaining because seating is most definitely limited.

Having said that, DS and DDIL came over today bearing birthday (tomorrow) gifts of my favorite black mango tea and some fresh baked cherry scones (hers are outstanding) with orange glaze. We chatted at the dining room table lol.

Dinner will be grilled pork tenderloin with I don’t know what else besides applesauce. Tomorrow we are venturing to Costco in search of lobster tails for my birthday dinner. It will be my first real shopping trip there in months.

Great news on the scans Sandy. Hoping the treatments are easy.

ChiSandy

Happy birthday, Nancy! Hope you find the lobster tails.

eric95us

First, I'd check to make sure the coils on the back of the fridge are clean...or if the coils are in a small box, that those coils aren't clogged with line and that the fan pushing room air across the "coil in a box" is running.

The 'fridge here is one of those "coil in a box" designs" and every couple of months I clean out enough dog hair to "build another dog". Once it's cleaned, the refrigerator runs quite a bit less than before the celaning.

MinusTwo

Nance - Happy B-day tomorrow. Lobster tails sound like a great celebration.

Sandy - glad your eye issue isn't complicated by other health problems. I thought one had to isolate once the seeds were in place - like not even sleep in the same room with your spouse. But you're talking about an eye patch at a restaurant?

Lacey & Carole - love hearing all your news. I'm jealous of all your 'farmer's market' scores.

A friend was talking about one of her childhood favorites - fried egg sandwiches - and I remembered how much I loved those. Coming up this week in the meal plan. Likely on pumpernickel since I don't have any white bread.

I too cooked pork tenderloin. Dinner was mid-day & served with green beans and two glasses of Pinot Grigio. I'm thinking about popcorn before bed.

SpecialK

auntie - Happy Birthday!

minus - yay for fried egg sandwiches - I make them once in a blue moon and always wonder why I don’t make them more often

Reader425

Sandy glad for the 'easier' way forward so far! 🙏

Nance, happy early birthday 🎁🍾

I went to the local orchard on Saturday which turned into an adventure once I realized my WALLET was home on my desk! I woke DH from his nap to pay over the phone while about 8 people in masks, gloves and wearing irritation in the 95 degree heat lined up behind me. Oh dear! I was so glad I bought a lot. Those poor workers deserved a tip i couldn't even leave!

Tonight's dinner was the hard-earned corn from the eastern shore, a baby red and yellow tomato caprese salad (mozzarella mixed in) with basil fresh from our plants and grilled barbecue chicken. I made rice-a-roni for DH, his fave. Not mine 😁. Oh, and I scored the last homemade sugar -free pie so he said waking him up to pay was worth it.😉

Lacey12

Happy Birthday, Nance! Glad you are settled in your current digs to celebrate! And I do hope you get your lobster tails for the birthday dinner. I grew up knowing lobster tails and only converted to the “full animal” once I moved here. Lobster tails are certainly a more civilized dining experience!

Tonight (late afternoon, actually), DH and I split sandwiches for our “al fresco” dinner on DS2’s patio. One was a fried fresh caught cod with tomato, lettuce and red onion on a brioche roll, and the other was a sweet potato veggie burger with avocado and cole slaw on it. They were both delicious, and so filling that I never even ate my side caesar salad. It was great to see that progress is coming along on the house, and I was surprised to learn that they are going to start demo for their kitchen project in a month or two. I thought it was slated for next year. They are an ambitious duo...and may end up moving to our lake house during the ugliest part of that demo. What I was most happy to learn is that after three weeks, they are feeling like this house is home.
Meanwhile, little Miss 13 month old is challenging them to the hilt with her motor activity. She no longer sits to look at a book even for a second, which she used to enjoy. Even her daycare “mom” has noted her heightened level of activity. I can’t help but wonder how it might be related to her four month “Covid Incarceration” while mom and dad were remote working with her at home frequently in a safe 6’x14’ “cage” in their living room. It was painfulLy challenging for all of them, especially since she started walking before 11 months and was very frustrated being unable to explore when dad and mom were tied up in Zoom conference meetings they could not cancel. I keep wondering what the developmental psychologists are going to learn about how this Pandemic has shaped/impacted childrens’ social/emotional growth.

Nance, yes, the Pandemic’s tentacles have definitely impacted the consumer supply chain for home products! DH spent all day Friday trying to track down a refrigerator in stock that fits our allotted space. Despite the age of this oldster, we may well take Eric’s advice and see if it can be cleaned/refurbished instead of continuing the fools errand of trying to locate the size unit we need. Who would ever guess that upgrading an appliance would require a construction job!

Sandy, I’m glad for you to hear your no mets news! May the procedures go smoothly

ChiSandy

I might be allowed to go and stay home after the insertion surgery--I will be wearing a padded lead-lined eye shield (which, if I stay home, I can probably cover with a fashionable patch). Some surgeons require staying in a radiation-isolation unit for the duration of the therapy until removal, but some others discharge the patient to home. I will ask my ocular onc. whether I must remain in the hospital; if I can go home, whether I must isolate in a separate room. (Hope I don't go too stir-crazy and can read, go online & watch TV with only one functioning eye--with a huger floater, at that).

Due to the pandemic-caused supply-chain slowdown, we're still waiting for our replacement sump pump.

auntienance

Thanks all for the birthday wishes. DH has baked a cake, lobster tails have been found and the Costco run satisfactory completed. DH is distressed that although he bought candles for the cake, the lighter used to light candles apparently didn’t make it to the apartment and instead resides in the storage unit. Suits me. I can never blow the damned things out without a coughing fit and who wants someone spluttering all over their cake anyway, especially now. I plan to grill the tails and have tiny salted potatoes and corn on the cob as sides. DH is having steak.

lol Lacey, I would gladly have the whole animal and the more uncivilized dining experience if I could find it here outside of a restaurant. The regional grocery chains used to sell whole live lobsters in several of the stores but stopped a few years ago. Our biggest seafood market also went out of business so I no longer know of a consistent source of fresh seafood other than a large Chinese supermarket. They have lots of stuff but it’s so intimidating because all the labels are in Chinese and most of the workers don’t speak English. I’ve never seen lobster there but I’ve seen lots of other things most of which I don’t recognize. It’s definitely an adventure going there.

Sandy, I really hope you can ride out your treatment at home

eric95us

Happy Birthday auntie!

Chi...I'm glad to hear no mets. Just keep reminding the doctors of what all the governors are saying, "You are safer at home". Maybe it will work.

MinusTwo

Dinner was left over chicken fried rice with extra mushroom & water chestnuts added. It was good, but oh the desert. Fresh strawberries dipped in sour cream and rolled in brown sugar.

Anybody have a really good strawberry pie recipe? I'm sure I can never beat my Mothers, but somehow either she didn't write it down or it was lost.

ChiSandy

If I can stay home, an added bonus will be a huge savings on our light bill: I'll just glow in the dark!

eric95us

Sharon is a nuclear engineer. I remember her turning off the light and pulling the covers up before going to sleep...."Sharon, could you pull the covers back down a bit. I was trying to read." :-)

carolehalston

Happy Birthday, Nance.

Yesterday I ate the best-tasting tomato I have ever eaten. It was a dark red heirloom given to me by a farmer at the farmers market. I asked him if his tomatoes were ripening. He said he had one tomato and he handed it to me. I will be looking for more of those if he has them for sale in the next few weeks. Tomatoes don't ripen here until August during a normal summer. This one has been so hot they may be ripening sooner. Cucumbers are abundant.

Last night was cauliflower mash and fried Canadian walleye. I used the burner on the outdoor grill to cook the cauliflower, used it again to fry the fish. The walleye was $15.99 a lb. We won't be eating it often.

SpecialK

minus - I have a strawberry pie recipe that I like, but it has a base of a lemony cream cheese layer kind of like a no-bake cheesecake and a topping of cooked strawberries thickened with cornstarch. This is over the in-between layer of whole fresh strawberries. I would be happy to put it here if it sounds like something you would like - it is super easy and really good. The strawberries dipped in sour cream and rolled in brown sugar were often included at military parties - that was a common summer offering! I also have a Kahlua fruit dip that is creamy that you might like.

MinusTwo

special - although my Mom only did strawberries with whip cream on top, your recipe sounds good. Yes, please do post it. - Oops, thanks in advance.

SpecialK

minus - here you go:

Combine 8oz cream cheese, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 c sugar, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and beat until well mixed. Spread into a baked pie shell, either regular crust or graham cracker will work, I usually use the Pillsbury ready made ones because I can’t make a better crust than that little doughboy, lol! Once the cream cheese mixture is spread into the crust place fresh topped strawberries with points up, I put as many as will fit with the concentration of larger berries in the center of the pie. Press the berries into the cream cheese slightly to keep them in place. Put in the fridge. Meanwhile, in a pan combine 10 oz frozen strawberries that have been mashed (I use a potato masher) 1/2 c sugar, and 1/4 c cornstarch. Bring to a low boil and cook for 2 minutes until thickened. Cool completely and spoon over pie - covering as completely as possible. Chill and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

carolehalston

Last night was baby back ribs finished on the grill. Side was a large romaine salad with favorite additions.

auntienance

My birthday lobster tails yielded enough meat to have a lobster roll for lunch yesterday. Yum. But last night’s dinner was chicken enchiladas made from leftover grilled chicken that I had frozen for the occasion. Sides were cucumbers and onions in seasoned rice vinegar and refried beans from a can. The beans were totally inferior to those I make myself but the lack of freezer space prevents me from making the large pressure cooker batches I used to do. I’ll have to figure out some way to make the canned stuff more palatable.

Tonight will be pepper steak using one of the flank steaks from Costco and brown rice. I’ll probably add a tomato to the remaining cucumbers for a salad.

Minus - I just came across a delicious looking strawberry pie recipe somewhere. I’ll see if I can find it.

MinusTwo

Nance - looking forward to interesting strawberry recipes if you find it. I found notes from my Mother scribbled on the divider page of the pie section in her Better Homes & Garden Cookbook - circa 1940s. This is what she wrote:

Strawberry Pie

1 box berries
1 cup sugar
3 T corn starch
pinch salt
Cook thick
Juice one lemon
1 cup whole berries
cream

SpecialK

minus - the beginning of that part sounds like the topping part of my recipe, so it might be similar - the cream cheese layer is what is different.

CeliaC

Sauteed wild patagonian red shrimp in lemon, butter & garlic, added veggie spaghetti, a little of the pasta water, already sauteed shrooms & roasted broccoli. Will have some orange sorbet with a dab of chocolate mousse gelato for dessert, in an hour or so.

Oh, those strawberry pies sound delicious!

auntienance - Happy belated birthday! Envious of your lobster tails/lobster rolls.

ChiSandy

If Bob gets home too late for dinner (his practice is picking back up and he's been putting in a few 12-hr days), I will make myself equal parts spiralized zucchini, yellow squash and whole wheat spaghetti* cacio e pepe. Lunch was a small tuna salad sandwich on low-carb whole grain bread with lettuce, tomato & red onion. If he gets home in time, we may dine out on Cellars', Moody's or Indie's patio.

*Went for my weigh-in yesterday, and the NP was adamant that I transition from quasi-keto to Mediterranean maintenance so that I learn how to keep my weight steady (I'm pretty skilled at gaining & losing). But unlike my PCP (RIP), she was not pleased with my LDLs and wants me to start exercising more and eating less saturated fat, plus double up on the Crestor (which Bob had thought I should have been doing all along). Just got home from my first walk since spring: 1.5 mi., 22 min., got my heart rate up to 99. Doesn't sound like much, but I think I need to work up to it. And I am sweating like a glass of icewater. Baby steps...

MinusTwo

OH Celia - sounds absolutely delicious.

I had coleslaw for lunch and now it's getting too late for dinner.

MinusTwo

Hooray - the Olathe corn is here!!! Grown in Colorado, it's only available a couple of weeks the end of July/early August at stores in just a few states. Otherwise you can go the fields and buy a case. Corn is non GMO and always hand picked.

Lunch will be a pork tenderlon sandwich. Dinner will be corn on the cob.

ChiSandy

Minus, is that Olathe corn the kind that is so sweet you can even eat it raw? Yum!

Going to Cellars' patio tonight. Nice lake breeze (it's in the low-to-mid-70s, the last dry non-muggy day we'll have in quite a while). I see a salmon Caesar or grilled Bourbon salmon with sweet potato slices & julienne veggies in my very near future...

Last night's bicolor zoodles/Bionature spaghettini cacio e pepe (with a dollop of pesto) was terrific.

MinusTwo

Sandy - yes. I had forgotten just how good this corn is, since it only comes around a couple of weeks a year. Non GMO and harvested entirely by hand.

Oops - pushed submit instead of preview. Didn't get around to the corn last night, but lunch today was 2 corn on the cob and the remaining 8 strawberries. The plan for tonight was fried rice, but I just had some Jarlsberg cheese & some crackers with my Carson Ridge Cab - so that will probably be dinner.

MinusTwo

OK - where is everyone? Somehow the days go by and they're pretty much the same. I can only keep track of what day it actually is because I mark the miles walked on my calendar. This was day #116. I've walked more than 1/2 from Houston to Albuquerque, NM. Or almost 1/2 way to Eric's.

Heard a new term for leftovers in addition to the previously discussed 'jump-ups'. This is likely what I'll be having tonight "Déjà Vu" Dinner.

SpecialK

minus - I’m here! Last night was chicken breast pounded thin, stuffed with cream cheese and green onion, wrapped in bacon. I made some wedge fries, roasted them with the chicken, they were yummy and crispy. Added some broccoli to the sheet pan for the last 15 mins. Just had some of DD’s fresh eggs with pepper bacon (last 24 hours has a bacon theme...) and the leftover potatoes.

My whole life feels deja vu - or Groundhog Day, take your pick. Good on you for the walking, I seem to be in a state of inertia, but my scale is now reflecting that and I need to do something. Like, right now