So...whats for dinner?

auntienance

Happy birthday to Deb and I wish I had Laurie OR Susan's energy.



Susan, if you have not already seen it, Cook's Illustrated has a really outstanding lasagna recipe with 3 cheeses and a bechamel. No ricotta or tomato sauce at all.



Last night was primavera night. Love using up all those veggies. Boy was it good too. Today is DH's birthday so it's homemade pizza and chocolate cake for dinner. It's a good day to turn on the oven, it's only going to be in the 40's here!

gardengumby

Made eggplant lasagne for dinner - (can't eat wheat, so use eggplant instead of noodles) am having the leftovers for lunch today.  I've no clue what I'll make for dinner tonight, but tomorrow night will be braised lamb with onion sauce and squash.  I found a recipe I'm dying to try.....  and both hubby and I love lamb!  It seems a little involved, but when I try a new recipe I always try to follow it - then if I like it, I'll start modifying it in the future to make it easier.

Also, our house goes on the market next week, so this will be my last weekend of "messy" cooking for awhile...

SeasideMemories

May not be around this weekend so Happy Birthday in advance, Deb! Hope that after the blood draw you treat yourself to something a little more birthday-like!!



Carrie,



That sunset cruise sounds so beautiful!! I've always thought about doing the one that you can pay to do on Cayuga but, we've never managed to do it.... Maybe soon!



Joycek,



Thinking about you and hoping your meeting with the BS goes well today.....

Moonflwr912

Joyce, hope it goes well. Deb, you and I seem to have weird things going on during bday this year.



Supper last nite was a bean casserole. I am low on magnesium, so lots of Lima, black, kidney, northern,pinto beans with ground beef and a bit of Bacon. Served over baked potato. Lots of magnesium in that. Course not so good for the D but whatvyou gonna do. LOL. Staying home a lot anyway, while I am on abx. Much love.v

susan_02143

Moon, roasted almonds are one of the best, and tastiest, foods with tons of magnesium. Here is a great chart for reference:

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

The stupid green tomato relish is done. TWO GALLONS. Thank goodness I have friends who love the stuff. I will be the Fall Harvest Santa as I drive from house to house bringing jars of relish.

*susan* 

debbie6122

Haha! Susan on the stupid green relish! I would feel the same way after making 2 gallons! Wow!

Moon- Hope your feeling better!

Beautiful day here on the coast, we are having record breaking days without Rain ( rare for here) something like 4 months. Been around 78 which is also rare for here. Just loving it! I have been in the mood for soups and stews and casseroles but still too warm for the oven. 

Dinner out tonight with friends! Everyone have a great week-end!

Joyce- Keeping you in my thoughts! Hope Monday goes well.

LuvRVing

Stable!  Just a quick note to say I am stable and get to continue on the clinical trial drug.  This was not a good day at Dana Farber, from a logistics perspective.  But hearing "stable" made it worth it.  I'll explain more tomorrow when I'm not in a big rush.  Gotta get ready to go out with my daughter and the girls.  I hope everyone has a good weekend!

SeasideMemories

YAY Michelle!!!! Stable is fantastic news.....

susan_02143

Stable is music to one's ears! Can't wait to hear the full story.

*susan* 

auntienance

Excellent Michelle!

deborye

Doin the Happy Dance for Michelle♥

 

Tazzy

Yay Michelle - wonderful news on the 'stable'.

bedo

Michelle I am so happy that things are good

My neck just turned out to be muscle strain and arthritis (Gasp!) How did I get this old?

Thank you for those of you who asked. 

It's going to be a Big Time in the Cabin next week.  My brother is coming to stay for a while,  as well as DD  on Mon and Thurs, as she usually does,

 and I'm babysitting my landlord's old old standard poodle along with my daughter's little poodle and the two cats. so I guess there will be 7 of us? in a one room cabin My landlord is opening up the entrance to her house so ancient poodle can go back and forth. She has spinning wheels and lots of really old stuff.

Have a happy weekend all!

For dinner tonight crab cakes, mussels, Naan, and whatever that beer is that you serve with an orange slice with a friend 

Moon I hope you feel better.  Rest and take care

eric95us

Awesome news Michelle!



Eric

Lacey12

Good news Michelle! So happy for you.....:)



Carrie, I forgot to mention in my last post that I was so touched by you helping your friend commemorate her husband's life with a visit to the ashes site. You guys are true water people and caring friends! I love your good weather recreation style!



So we left NJ today....so sad to bid adieu to our sweet grand babies....and drove directly to the lake, which was a much longer trip than we are used to .......almost six hours instead of two...but we finally arrived and went out for a tasty spinach pie and salad dinner, coupled with some nice red wine. We sometimes joke about being "in rehab" when at DS1's home because they do not drink or serve alcohol at all, for religious reasons. If we ever get annoyed at that, (like last night when we had delish pizza which would have paired well with a chianti), we remember how nice it is for their surgical patients that they never have to worry about a hungover surgeon!



Happy birthday, Deb!



Enjoy your family reunion, Sally! If you weren't close before, you will be after bro's stay!

Lacey12

Keeping the positive thoughts going for you, Joyce!

eric95us

This is most certainly a busy thread. I'm having a hard time keeping up and I keep missing stuff.



Tonight was one of those "fend for yourself" nights. Sharon cooked some shrimp and rice and Chrissy had pumpkin pie.... I was busy and didn't eat much.



We are going on vacation for a few days....I'd just a soon hang out at home as this is, sadly, the place I feel like I'm around the least...but......



Anyway, today Sharon put a load of clothes into the washing machine..and it wouldn't agitate or spin. The transmission was bad. I guess after 27 years, it's entitled to go bad. The new part is $449, plus shipping...delivered next week. A whole new washer was $519 and was available this evening.



So I spent the evening getting the old washer out of here and the new one installed. The new washer looked pretty cool in the back of the 1957 truck.

Moonflwr912

Happy Birthday Deb.

Michelle, great news, stable is good.

Eric, sometimes new makes sense.

Lacey, glad you made it safe.

Bedo, I am glad it was nothing, but sorry it hurts.

Deborye, love your happy dance. To all, much love.

debbie6122

Michelle- Oh that is such great news! I pray for things to stay that way too! Can't wait to hear everything tomorrow.

Bedo-Glad it wasn't anything too serious. Sprains do still hurt! Sounds like you will have a busy week and next week, enjoy all your company!

Eric-- Have a nice time on your vacay and I agree getting a new machine VS fixing an old one was a better choice.

Happy Birthday Deb! Have a great day!

eric95us

Wow. I missed this earlier. Thinking of you Joyce.



Eric

LuvRVing

I'm awake!!!  Unbelievable since somehow I managed to stay awake until almost 2 a.m. partying with the young chicks, and we did have a great time as always.  I sang my first "solo" karaoke - Downtown by Petula Clark.  I thought these gals could use a little music history lesson...lol!  My daughter and I also sang Top of the World by the Carpenters, House that Built Me by Miranda Lambert and I'm a Bitch, I'm a Lover by Alanis Morissette.  That last one is hysterical when it's mother/daughter duet...lol.  As you can tell, we have a varied repertoire!!!

OK, so yesterday...OMG!  We got to Dana Farber at 8:35 - the drive in was quick and easy from my friend's house in Milton, MA, and she came with me so I'd have company.  We go up to the 9th floor of the Cancer Center building (which I'll call the Yawkey) to check in and have labs drawn.  Well, we sit there for a while then they call me to tell me that 1) the nurse is late and 2) they don't have the lab orders.  And I had to be at Radiology (the lower level of the Dana building next door) at 9:20 to pick up the contrast drinks.  So we trudged off to Radiology, checked in there, waited a little, got the contrast drinks, then headed back to the 9th floor of Yawkey.  Got the labs done, I'm drinking my cocktails, and we head back again to Radiology to await my CAT scan, which was scheduled for 10:50.  They take me at about 11:15, do the CAT scan, then we head back up to Yawkey 9 for my Noon appointment with my doc. 

Just one little thing someone forgot...that scan has to be read and someone has to generate a report.  And I'm probably not the most important patient waiting for results.  So we wait, and we wait, and wait some more.  At 1:15 the clinical trial nurse comes out and tells us it could be another 1 - 1.5 hours before the scan report was ready, so we should go get some lunch.  Well, that's fine except we had figured to be out of there by then and had a lunch date with a friend who works at BU Med Center.  So we cancelled her, went to the DF cafeteria and grabbed lunch.  We returned back to Yawkey 9 about 2:45.  And we waited, and we waited, and we waited some more.  At about 4:15 after seeing the waiting room empty out twice, someone said, "we haven't forgotten about you."  Finally, at 4:45, the clinical nurse came out, she had the report and told me I was stable so I'd be able to continue on the clinical trial drug.  So they took me back to the exam room, took care of that business, then I had to go down to the pharmacy and get my drugs, and then go down and claim my car.  In the meantime, my friend decided she'd take public transportation back to Milton so I wouldn't have to fight the insane traffic going back then drive to Acton, where I was heading to go out with my daughter. 

So I left DF at about 5:20 and drove to Acton.  The traffic was insane - commuter traffic time on a holiday weekend.  I got to my daughter's at about 6:45.  And the good news was that I had ignored the advice of my friend to take the Mass Pike.  Turns out there was a 45 minute delay on that route.  By the time I arrived, I was tired, hungry and cranky...but stable! 

And I get to stay on the trial drug for at least 9 more weeks! My next scan will be in 8 weeks and I'll go back a week later for the doctor appointment. This same day stuff is not a good idea. They did it because they knew I was leaving Sunday and I needed more of the drugs before I left. But I should have suggested that I have the scan on Thursday. I would rather have gone two days in a row than be stuck there the whole day.

But, it's all good because I'm stable.

Gotta go get coffee now!

Later, ladies!

auntienance

OMG Michelle, what an ordeal! But it's worth the result and now you can really relax in Hawaii. Have a wonderful trip!

luvmygoats

Michelle - STABLE!! What a great send off to Hawaii. Enjoy. Lived outside of Honolulu as a grade schooler (1961-1963). Have a patient who has a plumeria plant on her porch. It almost looks like it's big enough to bloom but don't see any. One of my most favorite scents. Might have to do some online shopping today.  Enjoy your trip. Have some mahi mahi for me.

carolehalston

Michelle, what a day.  Was "stable" the goal for this period of time since you began participating in the trial?  Hope you have a wonderful time on your Hawaiian trip.  Michelle being Michelle, I'm confident you will!

Eric, wishing you a fun vacation, too.  My washer is older than yours, and I keep waiting for it to quit on me.

Happy birthday, Deb.

Fingers crossed for you, Joyce.  I don't blame you for skipping rads.  I was just as happy not to have rads as not to have chemo. 

Put the new Crock Pot to use again yesterday to make a cassoulet casserole.  Cooked a lb. of Northern beans (white) with nothing but water until they were tender.  High setting for 4 hours.   Removed them.  Then did stovetop prep.  Browned pork sausage meatballs.  Then browned thighs and drumsticks minus skin in drippings.  Cooked chopped onions, chopped celery and chopped carrots in drippings.  Mixed liquid and seasonings together (1 1/2 cups tomato juice, 1 T. worcestershire, 1 tsp. dried basil and 1 tsp. dried oregano and 1 tsp. paprika and 1 tsp. salt.  1/2 tsp. black pepper).  Added liquid to sauted seasonings in pan on stovetop.  Added 3 cups of cooked white beans and heated.

Arranged chicken and sausage meatballs in crock.  Poured contents of saute pan (liquid, seasonings, aromatics, beans) over chicken and meatballs.  Set on high to cook. 

The recipe called for doing the stovetop prep the night before and cooking the dish on low for 8 to 10 hours.  It also called for putting the aromatics in raw (onion, celery, carrot) but I sauted them since I did the whole thing in one day.  It was very good.  I love cassoulet dishes with beans.  We have leftovers.

I have two containers of the extra white beans in the freezer.  I think a great use of the Crock Pot will be cooking dried beans for use in recipes.  This way I won't have to search for canned low fat and low sodium.  I'll cook the different kinds of beans and put them in the freezer in one-cup portions.  I could have done the cassoulet in the oven or on the stovetop but the great thing about the slow cooker is that you "fix and forget" during the cooking time.

Tonight DH and I are going to see Trouble with the Curve with Clint Eastwood.  We're going with another couple and will go somewhere casual afterwards for a late dinner.

Yay!  I'm recording my PBS cooking shows today to watch later!  I didn't watch them all summer.

Yard work is in my immediate future. 

Have a good Saturday!

carberry

Whew Michelle  that was certainly a trying day, but Congrats to you on stable...what a great word...Now on to Hawaii for some much needed relaxation!  Wish I was a fly on the wall to see you guys singing.

Lacey  When you live in upstate NY and deal with the long winters, we cherish every moment on the water, even if it means wearing a sweater.  I like to joke that if we were only going to Walmart, my husband would find a way to take the boat.

Joyce thinking of you for Monday

Eric  Have a great vacation, enjoy that time with your family.

Last night we ate out...again... Had a portabello mushrrom sandwich with roasted red pepper...soooo good.  I think they cooked it in a vinegar based (maybe balsalmic) marinade.

Tonight our friend is cooking for everyone, he is vegetarian, so there will be fish, but he also says he makes a stuffed meatloaf with pepperoni and mozzerella, mmmm, cant wait.  His wife claims its to die for.  I will let you know.

susan_02143

darn, lost a long post to Michelle... maybe I will have the energy later today to recreate. But first I have to head to the HONK Festival.

*susan* 

deborye

Thank you for the birthday wishes, I'm off to have lab work done for my kidneys.  

Michelle, the was quite an ordeal, glad you had someone with you.

chabba

susan, what ia a HONK Festival?

LuvRVing

Happy Birthday, Deb!  Have a great weekend!!!  It's a bit of a bummer that you need labs done today.  Is this just routine or are they suspecting a problem?  I hope all is OK.

I've never heard of the HONK festival - hopefully Susan will provide the details!

OK, I'm home for a few hours and need to finish packing for tomorrow's departure.  We will leave the house around 10:30 unless we end up going out for breakfast.  DH emptied out the fridge, so I suspect there's not much to make breakfast with. 

Carrie - we still see quite a few boats out on the water here late in the afternoon.  It's in the mid-70s today and I expect to see a few more.  I think this is the last warmish day for quite some time.  When we get back from Hawaii, we are going to need the heat.

Carole - since I've been on the clinical trial drug for just five weeks, anything except progression was an acceptable outcome.  Both the clinical trial nurse and the PA emphasized that these targeted therapies can take a little longer to work.  They did my tumor markers again and the CA27.29 was still 101, so no change there.  The CEA test results dropped from 0.8 to 0.5.  I'm still not sure of the significance of this particular test, at least for me.  Normal is below 2.5 so I'm clearly in the normal range.  Maybe Dr. Chen will shed some light on it when I see her after I get back from my trip.

Joyce - I'll be thinking of you early next week. I wish I could be here to hold your hand, but please know that I'm with you in spirit. Sending benign thoughts your way!

Aloha, my friends!!!

deborye

I'm back, they just wanted to check my kidney function before the MRI Tuesday, I never had to have this done B4, when I asked she just said it cuz I'm 60, I said I will be 61 Satuday, she wished my a Happy Birthday.  The MRI is just a pre-caution cus I have dense breasts and probably to check it out cuz of the bout I had with the cellulitus.

Aloha Michelle and you have a fabulous time.