So...whats for dinner?

Lacey12

Carole, I don’t envy your ill neighbors having to make a trip back to FL in their condition!
We have about the same climate as you, up here. Tonight, on the beach, our association has scheduled music and a slide show of the summer, followed by a movie “MaMa Mia”. This is always the night when we have our huge end of summer association pot luck, and dance on the beach. So this is an attempt to have a celebratory gathering, 2020 style. The young girls who organized activities for the summer really worked hard this year to approximate some of the fun events the neighbors always look forward to, given social distancing. Everyone appreciated their energy and creativity!

I may skip the events tonight since sitting in a beach chairdoes not agree with my back, and I’ll be warmer at home watching the Celtics’ game. This has certainly been a weird summer....culminating in a basketball playoff conflict with our beach activities!
We will head home next week, and return here in October when a tree guy is coming to do some major work on the property.

ChiSandy

Carole, your neighbor is making the smart call: vitreous detachments can lead to retinal ones. I have a slight one in the L eye, which caused the big floater that led to the dilated eye exam that revealed the tumor in my R eye.

Grilling Wagyu bacon-cheeseburgers tonight--last good grilling night we'll have in nearly a week, as rain is forecast to roll in tomorrow or even overnight. Will fridge-forage leftovers as the sides.

MinusTwo

Cowgirl - good to see you. Interesting that your method is one I learned on a 3 week sailing trip. We did not mix the dressing ahead & did just what you said. We used coleslaw instead of lettuce since it kept longer w/o refrigeration. Chop & put it in the bowl, add oil & toss. Add some garlic salt to taste & toss again. Before serving, sprinkle with a bit of vinegar & toss again. I always use Tarragon Vinegar. But yes, you could use lemon instead.

Interesting digression. I was blond as a kid. My Mother always rinsed my hair after shampooing with lemon to get out the soap & bring out the blond highlights. Her hair was brown. She rinsed her hair with vinegar to bring out the red highlights.

Dunch was leftover fried rice - chicken/peas/carrots/celery/onion/rice - with the addition of a small can of sliced mushrooms.

illimae

Hi everyone, jumping back in with a dinner pic after a very long absence. I had brain surgery in January, which got the cancer but damaged a nerve leaving a vocal cord paralyzed. As a result, I've been mainly on soup and boost for more than 6 months but even with liquids I was choking a lot. I'm thrilled to finally be able to eat again after a scary and miserable year so far. My voice is quiet and breathy as my airway remains unable to close, hopefully more time is all that's needed.

Anyway, dinner was French bread pizza and it was wonderful. Food has been glorious after so many months of starvation.

Great to see everyone

ChiSandy

Grilled bacon cheddar burgers with Vidalia onion, leaf lettuce, & homegrown tomato on whole-wheat brioche buns. No ketchup necessary. I'd forgotten how great a normal burger (on a bun, not lettuce wrap) could be: last one I had was March 16, the last night Chicago restaurants were allowed to serve indoors before the shutdown. Even then, bar stools were 6 ft. apart, we all used Purell. and nobody shook hands. Outdoor dining wasn't allowed till June, and indoors (at 25% capacity) not till mid-July.

CeliaC

For vinaigrette dressing I use a 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar ratio & then add in dijon mustard, pepper, herbs, whatever to taste. This ratio works for me whether using teaspoons, tablespoons, etc., as the "measure". SpecialK - Would enjoy that lemon vinaigrette recipe, whenever you can share (thanks in advance).

Enjoyed reading everyone's updates on meal. Nothing exciting lately for dinners here. DH's birthday is the 7th and mine the 8th so will be ordering some curbside carryout meals to celebrate.

SpecialK

lacey - thanks for the info about the virtual fan experience, seems a bit disconcerting, but interesting. Funny that someone recognized you, I've had a few of those moments where someone knows me but I'm fuzzy on who they are - it is usually connected to DH's work gatherings. They don't really know me, only through association. I had someone recognize me during chemo - from my avatar on this site - we became friends and later formed the Tampa lunch group.

celia - here is the (Bonefish Grill) dressing recipe: Whisk the following ingredients together in a microwaveable bowl (I use a glass measuring cup):

2/3 c olive oil, 1/4 sugar, 3 T water, 2 T white wine vinegar, 4 t minced garlic, 1 T Dijon mustard, 2 t lime juice, 2 t lemon juice, 2 t minced parsley, 1/2 t dried basil, 1/4 t dried oregano, 1/4 t salt, 1/8 t black pepper. Microwave on high for one minute, or until mixture bubbles rapidly, remove from microwave and whisk for one minute. Cover and chill for a minimum of one hour.

I don't know if you could substitute stevia or another sweetener for the sugar or if that quantity is necessary for the microwave magic. I have used dried parsley when I didn't have fresh. Keeps well in a dressing jar or mason jar in the fridge.

Illimae - welcome back! I had been wondering where you were - but had seen that you were active on the site. I’m glad you are able to eat interesting things again, that’s a long haul with soup.Hoping the residual speaking issues resolve.

CeliaC

Thanks Special K for the dressing recipe.

Just finished brunch. Omelet w/baby bella shrooms, herbs & cheese, couple of strips of bacon, a cauliflower hash brown (like a potato pancake only with cauli as main ingredient, store bought, Strong Roots brand), orange juice spiked with mango pineapple vodka (hey, it's a holiday weekend). Consumed while listening to Mozart and with some lovely flowers DH brought home to me today on the table.

Will probably have a salad of chopped avocado, rotisserie chicken breast & more shrooms. I smash up the avocado with the chicken, so do not need to use more than a small dab of dressing.

Lovely weather here today - windows open and birds singing away.

auntienance

oh Ilimae, what a trial you’ve had! Glad you’re feeling better and your appetite has returned. Best wishes to you.

I don’t like sweet dressing so would probably cut the sugar in that recipe but otherwise it sounds delish. And tart. I expect some sugar is required to balance that.

Dinner is courtesy of door dash. Just don’t know where from yet.

ChiSandy

Tuna salad with lettuce, homegrown tomato & red onion on low-carb whole grain bread for brunch. Dinner will likely be defrosted and pan-seared salmon, cod or scallops plus whatever veggies are still good.

Lacey12

Wow, Illimae, you sure have been through a lot! It’s great to see you back and know that you are doing well and able to enjoy eating some of your favorite foods again.

Last night we ended up having lobster rolls from the local take-out seafood and ice cream shack. Since the place is closing tomorrow for the “winter” the lob rolls were reduced to almost half price, which was a pleasant surprise. So, DH bought three, and had one for his lunch today while at the beach. For dinner, I made a salad as our side.

Tomorrow the food shack I mentioned will be giving away their ice cream, and while I should not, I may very well walk over there and enjoy a nice pistachio and chocolate cone. The serving sizes tend to be huge during this giveaway since the kids manning the windows are eager to use up the ice cream, so they can clean the place and go home.

It’s going to be strange to leave here next week and return to an environment where Covid cases are starting to surface as all the many colleges in the Boston area have been populated with kids from all over the country. We’ve felt so remote from virus worry up here with no cases in the town for many weeks. Tho we’ve still really isolated except for at the beach, which is mostly not crowded.

Dinner tonight will probably be leftover grilled chicken, sautéed veggies and salad.

Special, I searched unsuccessfully for that virtual fan site, but I bet it would be advertised thru the NBA somewhere. Today I rec’d another invite to “apply” to “attend” Wednesday’s Cs game, and while I’d be really happy to just watch it on TV, I don’t want to say “no” and risk being taken off the virtual fan list, because, if by a miracle, the Cs make it to the finals, I’d like to go to that. Such a gross 1st world problem! Will stop with the basketball talk now....Sorry! It seems like basketball and hummingbirds have been getting us through our isolated summer

illimae

Thanks for the warm welcome back everyone.

A few weeks ago, I had my first piece of pineapple this year and wow! It’s was so amazing that I just sobbed, then DH got teary because it was the happiest I’d been since before surgery.

Tonight’s dinner is tiny taco salad

MinusTwo

Oh Mae - what a treat to have you posting here again. I won't have to haunt all those other threads just so see if you're OK. Hadn't heard the story about the pineapple but that almost makes me cry too. You & Nance will have to share MAJOR downsizing stories. Do you have a target move date yet? The Taco Salad looks delicious, and the French Bread Pizza. (I always forget about that neat & easy entree). It must seem amazing to be eating normal things.

Lacey - it would be hard for me to leave the lake - or any water. Just now re-reading "A Year By The Sea" by Joan Anderson. She spends an entire year at the Cape Code cottage. Oh - and lobster rolls. And chocolate ice cream...

I'd like to replicate the dressing in the Dole Sunflower Crunch kit. I know, I know - a kit - but it's a creamy delicious combination of sweet & sour. Any ideas?

I'd intended to make enchiladas tonight, but I got wrapped up in neighborhood Civic Club stuff and it's almost 7pm so I think it will be maccaroni with butter.

Cowgirl13

Thank you for all your feed back on my vingarette salad/dressing. It's such a big deal for me and certainly opens possibilities. Right now I'll keep with just the oil and vinegarette just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. And then on to your suggestions of different salad dressings. And thank you for the info about the salad emulsifier--I had no idea that such a thing existed!

illimae

Minus, it’s nice to be back! I was just so hungry and sad, I had to temporarily remove this thread from my favorites because it was too upsetting. Definitely not the way I wanted to lose 80 lbs but I successfully avoided a feeding tube and got a trimmer summer bod, so that’s my silver lining.

SpecialK

minus - does this sound right?

https://simplerootswellness.com/sunflower-crunch-chopped-salad-remix/

Or:

https://www.kudoskitchenbyrenee.com/copycat-sunflower-crunch-kale-cabbage-salad/

MinusTwo

Wow Special - you are amazing. I think the first one is closer, but I have a bag in the fridge so I'll check ingredients tomorrow.

ChiSandy

Come 6 pm I wasn't really hungry, so Bob went to Cellars' patio for a Reuben. I grilled myself a panino (red bell pepper, red onion, baby bella 'shroom, prosciutto, rosemary, roast beef, homegrown tomato, basil and provolone) on my low-carb bread. Because of forecast windstorms, I proactively picked all the remaining red tomatoes (beefsteak & cherry) lest I lose them if the pots get blown over. Have two green beefsteaks and about a dozen green cherry tomatoes still on the vine. Not exactly a bumper crop this year. (In the past, we had cherry tomatoes ripening on the sill into early Nov.).

WC3

Lacey:

My refrigerator also has a control box in the way of everything so I keep the tall items on the bottom shelf. That means the upper shelf has to be even closer to the control box and vent and anything directly under it freezes.

WC3

It was 122F (50C) just a few miles from me and I don't have central AC so I had no intention of turning the oven on. Dinner tonight was pasta salad from the deli at the market and some fruit.

carolehalston

Lobster roll envy. And Reuben envy. My chances of getting a good Reuben are definitely better than finding a delicious lobster roll.

Illimae, I wondered where you had gone. Happy that you're back in a slimmer version and able to enjoy food.

Last night was warmed up chicken and sausage jambalaya made with white basmati rice. I enjoyed my portion without any additions but dh splattered his with Louisiana hot sauce and ketchup. I sometimes wonder if he didn't damage his taste buds with smoking a pipe years ago. To each his/her own. The side was a tossed salad with romaine and tomato and cucumber and blue cheese.

I don't like sweet dressing. I often eat my salad with a sprinkle of white balsamic and a little extra virgin olive oil from the bottle. My favorite bottled dressing is Ken's Caesar, usually the lite version. Not too much. My favorite restaurant dressing is a good blue cheese, restaurant made.

WC3

carole:

I don't like sweet dressing either. I was a strictly ranch person until chemotherapy and I switched to white vinegar and balsamic. Sometimes I like to mix a little bit of hummus in to it, though it contains sesame seeds which are not recommended for ER+ breast cancer so I only use a fouth of a serving.

ChiSandy

No sesame seeds for ER+ bc? My MO never told me that, nor have I seen it anywhere. It's flax-seeds that are phytoestrogenic--but in the amounts they're found even in foods like "Flackers" grain-free crackers it's not a danger. Even the occasional tofu & edamame are okay. Hummus contains far more garbanzo beans than it does tahini (sesame paste).

Bob wants to bring home a steak dinner from the Palm en route home from work today. I hope they still are doing lobster rolls (I'll just switch mine out of the potato roll and on to low-carb wholegrain or even a whole wheat brioche bun). We usually share a "Gigi" salad (romaine, tomato, onion, green beans, hard boiled egg and shrimp) as an app.

This morning I had a French rolled omelet, per the ATK recipe (2 eggs+1 yolk, chopped fresh herbs, and grated Gruyère; I added a dollop of Boursin, per chef Ludo Lefebvre).

MinusTwo

Carole - oh restaurant made blue cheese. Always a favorite. But in most restaurants, I have to settle for Ranch. And even better that one can NEVER find anymore, at least in the South, REAL Roquefort dressing. Most restaurants don't even understand there is a difference between that & blue cheese.

My Mother always served homemade dressing & never bought a bottled salad dressing, except for Trader Vic's French that was used only to marinate chicken halves for the BBQ. My aunt thought a daub of mayo was salad dressing. But of course she only served jello salads & never green salads, so it was just a little bit more acceptable. (except my Mother never allowed mayo in her house for any reason - interesting feud between loving sisters) My Mother made dressing for jello salads with heavy whipping cream and some frozen orange juice concentratge. And the salads were always jello with fruit - so of course sweet & never savory with vegetables.

Supper was a large Spinach salad with Miso dressing and grilled chicken strips on the side. Desert was 4 fresh, whole strawberries dipped in sour cream and rolled in brown sugar. Served with a small glass of Carson Ridge Cab. I had already treated myself to a Screwdriver - this being a holiday.

ChiSandy

Ah, salad dressings of a bygone era! When I was a little kid, both "Continental" style restaurants and Catskills resort dining rooms would offer as an appetizer "egg a la Russe:" a halved hard-boiled egg set on a lettuce leaf, napped with "Russian" dressing. No, not the bright red viscous stuff in the Kraft or Wish-Bone bottle, nor Thousand Island (which has replaced "Russian" nearly everywhere as a dressing choice), but Russian dressing--smooth (no pickle relish) and sort of like remoulade but without the latter's spicy bite. (Our moms used to mix mayo--or, ugh, Miracle Whip--with ketchup and call it "Russian"). And after I moved from Seattle to Chicago, Green Goddess was nowhere to be found (except in some organic or vegan version at Whole Foods). One of my favorite meals was a crab Louis salad (with Thousand Island or Green Goddess) or a batter-fried geoduck "steak" with a Green Goddess-dressed salad as a side dish. IIRC, Green Goddess must have avocado in it.

And any East Coast 1950s-60s kids remember Nesselrode pie? NOBODY serves it any more! (Rum-flavored chiffon studded with candied fruit, topped with whipped cream and shaved-chocolate curls). Heck, "chiffon" pies in general seem to have fallen off the face of the earth!

MinusTwo

Sandy - what about Crab Louis with Remoulade instead of plain Thousand Island? That's really hard to find but we had it growing up in Northern California. I bet Carole can find it in Louisiana.

I remember the name Nesselrode but not the pie. But I do still make chiffon pies occasionally.

carolehalston

Winter has suddenly descended on us. Last night's temperature was in the 30's! So good soup weather. I cooked a lb. of Camilia navy beans brought from home. They took forever to tender so may have been old. Turned them into white bean soup. Made garlic toast with sliced bread. A huge pot of leftovers.

Tuesday is one of my two golf days but I definitely will not be playing golf. Next week more moderate temperatures are supposed to return with highs of 70.

Has anyone here known a person or persons with Covid? I know only one, a man who recently tested positive and who has symptoms. My brother in Louisiana who is Clerk of Court of the parish/county in which he lives knows at least 40 and 3 of those died. He encounters many more people than I do. I think rural folks tend to be skeptical because they haven't directly experienced the pandemic and depend on right wing media for information.

auntienance

Unfortunately Carole, I know several with or recovered from the virus. A few (including my former neighbors) by virtue of living in a small town. Other recent cases are siblings of nephews by marriage. Those folks contracted it through school associations as they are both teachers and coaches. Fortunately none of those I know have died although one was close to being intubated. My former small town is notorious for ignoring mask recommendations and social distancing. It’s cases have more than tripled in the past 90 days. Schools have just gone back full time in person. I expect more.

Dinner is as yet a mystery. There is plenty of leftover chicken for consideration.

SpecialK

I know two families and a number of individuals who have been positive for Covid. None of them were ill enough to require hospitalization.

Speaking of hospitals - DH had his surgery this morning. It was so weird to just drop him off and leave. The hospital provided a phone app that advised me of his whereabouts around the hospital. He will stay overnight and is doing well - he has texted me - although his BP was high, but now coming down. It does not seem as though there was any visible tumor in the sinus, and he has not experienced any temporary blindness on that side, which was a risk. The doc called and said things went “just fine” which sounds good to me

ChiSandy

My PCP died of Covid (died in early June after 7 weeks in the ICU, 5 of them on a vent). My HK's DH tested positive (probably exposed at the V.A. hosp.) but remained asymptomatic and then tested negative twice (a week apart).

It's doubly cruel when the virus finally hits a rural community, whose residents get their "news" from right-wing media (social or otherwise)--because they have so little access to decent hospital care (if they have any, it's usually at facilities with tiny ICUs and no ventilators).