So...whats for dinner?

ChiSandy

My two kitties have food issues too. Neither will eat any texture other than pate, nor the same thing two meals in a row (well, at least 16-y-o Her Majesty). She Who Must Be Indulged is extremely finicky, comes down to the kitchen late (on her own schedule, grazing and then coming back to her dish if her 14-y-o brother doesn't hoover up her food first. He has IBD which might be progressing to intestinal lymphoma--if he gets too hungry, he gets hunger pangs and "reverse peristalsis" (if you get my drift). The IBD has narrowed the "lumen" (inner diameter) of his little guts, so he is constantly hungry because he can't absorb enough calories or nutrients. They both eat their respective prescription kibbles (moderate-calorie anti-kidney-stone for her, vegan "sensitive stomach" for him) but it's always a crapshoot whether they'll eat their prescription wet food, and the vet wants them eating mostly wet. They are very vocal if I haven't given them enough food often enough--which is every 4 hours while I'm up. I don't dare leave her kibble uncovered, lest he eat and then "reject" it. I fill his kibble dish overnight. When they refuse their prescription wet food, which is most often, I have to experiment with different brands. Pandemic supply-chain issues make it very hard to find the stuff they like best (Friskies & Fancy Feast, no fish flavors except sometimes salmon).

Beaverntx

Speaking of salmon, dinner tonight was salmon with pesto, steamed broccoli, sweet potato, slaw and warm homemade bread. Stretched the AC to bake the salmon in the oven; temp high today was 92F.

Sandy, sorry to learn of your HK's family challenges, may they have safe travels and a successful PICC line replacement.

ChiSandy

Just before Bob & went to dinner, our HK called to tell us her sister passed away. Turns out she also had leukemia (CML) & meningitis; the doctors told her family that if she'd been a cat, she was on the eleventh of her nine lives. She wasn't expected to last anywhere near this long, in fact the only reason she wasn't a "no-code" and was placed on a vent was that she'd been kicked out of home hospice a couple of months ago.

Dinner was nothing special--we went to Moody's, our local pub/burger joint and sat in one of its three outdoor beer gardens. (The dining room was deserted). We had their signature "Moody Bleu" burgers--lettuce, tomato, onion and blue cheese. They put mine on a keto bun I'd brought along so as not to waste a good brioche bun I can't eat, and let me sub out the fries for extra lettuce, tomato & onion; and the juices & blue cheese dripping onto the extra veg made for a pretty decent salad.

Dinner Fri. night is proving to be a challenge--anything from Lincoln Park on south is booked till way late in the evening (for the place we wanted, an hour before closing time, AND they insisted on a credit card in order to reserve) because this is Chicago Marathon weekend. So I decided to head north to Lincolnwood (the suburb just NW of us)--hope the kids are okay with L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge, which is like a northern WI "supper club." Simple food (the usual meat, ribs & fish) & huge portions. Big plus is free parking in the surrounding lot--no valet necessary.

Tomorrow night will be seared walleye & sable on baby arugula, with corn on the cob for Bob & asparagus for the two of us.

WC3

I switched out my old teflon pans with ceramic coated pans from Greenpan. It seemed to be the safest non-stick option. I don't do much cooking so I just have a skillet and medium sauce pan. The skillet is ok but I don't know what they were thinking with the handle design on the sauce pan. It has sharp corners, which makes it difficult and painful to hold. I've been meaning to get a better model.

Dinner was broccoli, corn, and mashed baby yukon potatoes with some butter spray, sour cream and ketchup.

eric95us

MILs PICC has been removed and she's doing the happy dance.

....twice, I lost the post...grrr.... The mouspad on this laptop is right were I like to rest my hands when I'm typing. I bump the mouse pad, the entire post gets highlighted and the next character replaces all the highlighted text.....

The nurse recommended some pro-biotics to get the gut flora reestablished (so c-diff doesn't fill the "vacuum") and when we brought a jar of capsules home, her cat *WANTS* that bottle. I didn't see fish oil mentioned in the ingredient list..still, the cat is treating it like canned cat food surrounded by a bale of cat nip. :-)

Dinner last night was a lightly toasted ham-cheese sandwich and some of the egg plant Parmigiana for MIL She would have preferred the chicken-rice salad, but she said it fits "too well" with her pulled teeth. So, Sharon and I had the salad and egg plant. to

MIL is getting anxious to get home, which I suppose is good, but we will miss her not being here. For a MIL, she's great to have around! :-) a

Edited to add...WC3...would one of those "handle hot pads", used on the handles of cast iron skillets, hide the sharp edges of your skillet's handle?

MinusTwo

Finally got the meatloaf cooked. As I've said before - i LOVE meatloaf sandwiches so I put up with the original the first night. Served with boiled fingerling potatoes w/rosemary and Brussels sprouts. No question about tomorrow's sandwiches since I have some delicious sour dough bread.

I'm on my 2nd package of strawberries in 10 days. I have only purchased raspberries all summer which I like in heavy cream. But I'd forgotten how much I like to dip strawberries in sour cream & then brown sugar. YUM.

Got my flu shot this morning. My rear is a bit sore but I don't expect any other SEs.

eric95us

I didn't read up the page when I posted....I was kind of annoyed at losing the post so many times.

My condolences to your HK and her family, Chi.

illimae

Dinner tonight was leftover grilled chicken with spinach, garlic/parm brown rice, Brussels sprouts and carrot ribbons.

wallycat

Scrambled eggs with the leftover fried potatoes and green beans.

I had a raw onion for a snack. Love 'em and eat 'em like apples.

Have my flu shot scheduled via a drive-thru on sunday.

My condolences to your HK and her family, Chi, as Eric said.

Illimae, any tips on making those carrot ribbons. Love the photo.

illimae

Wallycat, the carrots are super easy, I just use a veg peeler and cook them in a little olive oil and seasonlightly with salt and pepper. They’re thin, so only take a bout 5 minutes.

carolehalston

Last night's dinner was pan seared catfish fillets, cooked until blackened. They tasted delicious. We miss our catfish during the summer. Sides were cauliflower mash and green peas.

Tonight will be crabmeat patties. It's good to be back in the land of Louisiana seafood. Eventually we hope to have some oysters. I have read that they are in short supply, the beds having been damaged by Ida.

wallycat

Spinach/cod thai coconut curry. I added the last of the little purple potatoes to the curry that I I had left boiled (I **heart** those so much) instead of making rice.

carolehalston

The crab cakes I made for dinner last night were delicious. One side was creamed spinach made with frozen chopped spinach. Another side was a romaine salad with additions. DH made a remoulade sauce instead of his usual tartar sauce. It was "ok."

Thanksgiving lies ahead. A problem has surfaced in dh's family. Some people have declined to be vaccinated, much to the frustration of BIL retired physician, whose daughter was pressured by one of the unvaccinated to host a gathering at her home in Indiana. She is now wrestling with the prospect of mingling vaccinated and unvaccinated from different locales. If she opts out, one of the unvaccinated will step up and host a gathering. He has told dh that he will not hold it against us if we choose not to attend.

I would just as soon not attend because it's expensive for us to do all that travel with overnight motel stays and fuel. Plus the possible health risk. Whatever dh decides, I will go along. Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday.

SpecialK

carole - same deal here on the T-Giv plans. We normally get together with long time friends, who are local now but we've been friends for 25 years since we met in Virginia, and their whole fam. I am unclear about who is vaccinated and who isn't but I don't think they all are, and they have young ones not yet eligible for vaccination, so we declined to celebrate together this year. I have been careful too long to take the risk. I can count on one hand the people I have eaten a meal with in the last 18 months - and they are all vaccinated. Could be a tiny T-Giv this year, but I am a loon and still cook a huge variety of foods - it is my favorite holiday as well. Prob because it is about FOOD, plus thankfulness.

We have resumed our anti-inflammation diet since Monday. Much easier this time around as I know what I am doing - last time I floundered for the first three weeks while in the middle of the sugar withdrawal - lol! DH announced that this morning, for the first time in a long time, his back didn't hurt. That's a win, if it continues. His oncological endocrinologist suggested he try going gluten free as many hypothyroid patients do better without it - sounds to me like he may be one of them! Dinner tonight is chicken breast, butternut squash zoodles with pesto, and a kale salad with goat cheese and hazelnuts and a vinaigrette dressing. Just made a big pitcher of green tea with a little monk fruit and lemon, and another pitcher of filtered cold water with orange slices in the infusion pitcher.

wallycat

Left over curry.

Tomorrow will be frozen pizza and a flu shot.

carolehalston

Last night's dinner featured boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat. I cooked them in a skillet with a can of cream soup (MN influence) thinned with white wine. One side was steamed brown rice cooked in the usual way with salt and about a tablespoon of olive oil. Last night I also sprinkled some poultry seasoning powder. The other side was tossed salad with romaine, tomato, and blue cheese, dressed with EVOO and white balsamic.

Easy and tasty. I am cutting down on my portions and getting back to some basic WW techniques to drop the added 5 to 7 lbs I picked up over the summer.

Yesterday our refrigerator died and came back to life. It was bizarre. The temperature dropped, the ice cubes in the freezer started to melt. I took the few packages in the freezer to the outside refrigerator and bagged up some ice. I returned the settings to normal (we had turned them to colder settings) and the refrigerator motor kicked on. The freezer made ice all night. I could hear the dumps. This will give us time to shop for a new model. This one is 20 plus years old.

The big Thanksgiving gathering with dh's extended family is all but cancelled. In private texting I've learned that physician BIL will not attend a "mixed" occasion and his college graduate nephew will not, either. I feel somewhat guilty about my feeling of relief over the prospect of staying at home. Car travel at Thanksgiving is hazardous with all the people on the highways and filling the motels, not to mention the expense.

SpecialK

carole - shop carefully for a new fridge - I am still waiting for my Kitchenaid refrigerator I ordered in JANUARY!

MinusTwo

Special - my son had the same problem when he moved last year & left his old fridge in the old house. My fridge has started feeling hot around the freezer doors. Since I no longer have a "garage fridge", I've given some though to ordering one now. Oh ugh....

SpecialK

minus - the good news is I have a perfectly functional fridge in the kitchen and a garage rated one in the garage. I even have a small stainless one in the outdoor kitchen, although it only seems to hold beer. If I actually needed a fridge I’m not sure what I would have done. To compound that, my door installer was here last week - early because he had a cancellation. He installed one door which is perfect, 50% of the French door is warped slightly - but for the cost it should be 100% good - and there is no track or handle for the 96”pocket slider. So I wait some more…ack.

MinusTwo

Oh no Special. I know you are just SICK of waiting on this darn door project.

Linner was leftover meatloaf. I meant to make sandwiches but decided I didn't need the bread so just cut thick slices and spread mayo & mustard on top. I even ate them with my fingers. Accompanied by leftover baby carrots steamed with dill.

Last night I treated myself to a slice of Edward's freezer pie. I try to keep the two slice package of Hersey's Chocolate Cream Pie in the freezer - but it had migrated to the back & I hadn't thought about it for months. YUM.

wallycat

Neighbors that we yard sit while they are in Alaska for most of the summer dropped off a small grocery bag full of foraged Chanterelles. I used a garden leek, the 'shrooms as a bed and roasted chicken parts over it. IN-credible! Made a second apple sharlotka so had a piece for dessert.

Sorry to hear the fridge angst. Our fridge bit the dust in August of last year and we lucked out ordering a lower end whirlpool french door from costco; arrived within a week, installed. Hope they can get yours working/installed soon.

illimae

Burger and tots on the deck 😁

MinusTwo

Oh Mae - how lovely. I hope that means you two are not relaxing after the crazy last week. Glad to hear your friend has been moved to a larger hospital. Did you find his cat?

wallycat

Leftover chanterelle's, chicken and broccoli and a slice of apple sharlotka. I'm leaving the rest of the dessert for DH.

WC3

eric95us:

The pan holders would help. Sometimes I use a pot holder, but I don't really understand why the handle was designed as it was to begin with.

Dinner was a few bites of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, a salad from the salad bar with lettuce, carrots, red cabage, garbonzo beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, some chicken, kalamata olives in oil, some blue cheese, and lemon vinegar dressing. Dessert was half a giant chocolate chip cookie and a few bites of frozen yogurt.

illimae

Minus, I updated on the my life thread since the story of my crazy few days hasn’t been told here and it’s so much to get into.

I think we’re heading home today, dinner will either be sandwiches that I’ll make this afternoon or some kind of truck stop food.

MinusTwo

Mae - I understand. Thanks. Glad you are on the way home. I vote for truck stop food so you don't have to do ANYTHING.

Drove to visit my BFF yesterday - an hour to the North. We have only seen each other twice in 18 months - both times on my patio when she was in town for a dentist or doc appointment. We toured the grounds of the original Boy Scout Camp Strake - which is now massive acres of concrete with homes, duplexes, retail.... While the construction quality seems reasonably decent - I bemoan the loss of the acres & acres of wild natural forest & ground covered over with impervious parking lots & streets & buildings & driveways. Many happy scouting & camping memories in the past.

Lunch was at a small Italian place. I had a reasonably decent spinach & mushroom combination in a cream sauce with garlic toast. My BFF had Chicken Marsala. Unfortunately it was Montgomery County so NO ONE (except me) wore a mask. It was weird having a server hang over you w/o a mask. I've only been out to eat 3 times in a year and this is the first time at a place where at least the employees didn't wear masks. I'll continue calling first and declining to patronize restaurants if at least the employees aren't masked.

wallycat

Vegetarian nachos. I used refried pinto beans (canned).

MinusTwo

Wally - I'm pretty sure I have a can of re-fried beans in the cupboard. Need to dig them out.

Interesting to discover all the yearly "hurricane" supplies not that I HOPE the season is over - for Houston anyway.

eric95us

WC3...being a guy...and an engineer, I got a double dose of the "fix it" gene! :-) When I would interview candidates for engineering positions, I'd ask about their non-engineering interests and hobbies. I always felt that engineers with lots of hobbies and outside interests worked out better than "the double pocket protector with a propeller hat" crowd...even if the latter could more quickly answer the technical stuff. An engineer that cooked would know that a skillet *needs* an easy to hold handle. :-)

MIL went back to her house today. Her back is still bothering her, but it's needing to wait until she gets some blood work done (making sure the infection is truly gone) before anything else can happen. I was amazed at the lab wait times for blood draws. All the places are appointment only and within 45 miles there was only one open appointment in the next 2 weeks!!!!!!! I don't know if her cat is glad to not have the "dirty-stinky-noisy-uncouth" dogs around, or is missing them...he sometimes acted as if the dogs were "cat toys". :-)

Dinner tonight was pumpkin soup. It's not a "light" soup.

saute a medium onion and 3-4 minced cloves of garlic until the onions become translucent. Add two 15oz (weight) cans of pumpkin, a similar sized (as the pumpkin) can of coconut milk, 2 cups of vege stock, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg, salt to taste (I use around 1/2 tsp) and a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper..

Stir, bring to boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. I use a blender to puree the soup (smooth out the onion chunks).

We are hosting next week's music jam...two couples, neither of which don't get out much, plus my MIL. Anyway we all bring a bit of snack food to eat before the music starts. So, I'm going to make some of the usual cheese-garlic rolls and some of (I think I described it here here several years ago) what seems like a naan bread, plus some lemon-herb chicken "nuggets".

Minus, I always mourn the loss of open space.