So...whats for dinner?

luvmygoats

Tinker - that sounds wonderful. I've never been a jelly maker. I need to try the 4 little containers of freezer plum butter I made but don't see DH eating it (grape jelly only and then not much of it). I say if you're up to it go for the rose hip jelly. I know they're full of vit. C. So long as they are unsprayed - bug/fert as such but seems they are au naturel. Your dinner sounds wonderful.

Such fun family pics Lacey. I always get confuzzled whether it's your sister or Susan's who lives in the barn. Maybe both? Be sure to take any allergy meds you have. It is very common around here to build a steel barn - big - and live in it for a few years b4 building the "home place". Know of 2 just down my road that did that. But really I see no progress on anything else so money is prob. the issue. Cert. plenty of land for anything.

Gads Susan. Not sure what the subway extension means to you/yours. Hoping negotiations go in your favor if that's your decided upon place.

Add my sorry too Special for the skin cancers. Ugh. Happened upon a friend from church.

Mommy - we've had the whatever nights. Last night DH had the leftover pizza, I think I had graham crackers. Snacking way too much during the day. Need to get my arse up and get some fruit or yogurt. Tonight will be the spaghetti I could not bring myself to cook last night. We need to go back thru the freezer and get out stuffs DH won't eat so I can have them for lunch. Announced he was not eating the eggplant lasagna I made/froze but would eat the ratatouille. Both have drifted somewhere in the freezer. My refrig. freezer needs major cleaning out. I have Tues. trash day and never remember to throw that stuff out.

Ah Bedo - I give all my portions of squid to you with my blessings.

SpecialK

luv - thanks for the skin cancer commiseration! I will also donate my squid portions to bedo, lol!

Tinkerbells

luvmygoats- I am proud to say I am a completely reformed former freezer hoarder! My freezer went from scary to bare. It took a few years and learning how to cook smaller amounts but here I am.

Tell me More about your goats

bedo

Yay squid and more squid
Mommy do this preheat oven to 4:25 cut an avocado in half. Remove pit break an egg into each. Put in oven for about 15 minutes till cooked eat YUM I would suggest spices or chives on top but I know you would never do that lol yes

M0mmyof3

No squid for me, not a fan of seafood.

susan_02143

Busy life here. Amended offer has been assembled, but my realtor is on the Cape and has been a little slow to get us the paperwork that we need to sign. Thank goodness we told the seller's agent that there might be a two day delay. Tonight, I used the rest of this week's farmer's market bounty. A warm German potato salad, green salad, garden tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella that I marinated in last night's leftover pesto, and some lamb rib chops on the grill. Way too much food, but maybe the kids will enjoy tonight.

Special, it may be a regular part of your life, but these skin things you keep getting are a terrible drag. Really sorry that this is part of your life. Your attitude is remarkable!

Bedo, squid for me! Thank you very much..... such a delicious little critter and one of the most sustainable ones in the ocean. Next up, stuffing those suckers to bake! Maybe I can located a recipe for you. To be honest, I have never done that preparation since I think of squid as a fast protein.

I know there were more people I wanted to respond to, but I can't scroll up since I am on the next page. Sorry.....

Oh! The email with the offer has just arrived... of we go, again.

*susan*

luvmygoats

Fingers crossed for the offer response you're looking for Susan.

MinusTwo

Bedo - I'll have some squid please.

Susan - good luck on the condo resolution. We're all sitting on tenterhooks. (I always wanted to use that phrase.)

Lacey - pictures are cute & meals sounds scrumptious,.

Special - guess we're stuck w/our geographic locations. I lived 20 years in CA, 7 yrs in New Mexico at 5000 ft altitude, and now 40 years in Texas. And we used to lie in the sun for hours covered in baby oil to accelerate the "tan". So far I've had 5 or 6 Mohs surgeries for basal cell carcinoma. I have a full body exam every 6 months and the derm doc never freezes fewer than 20 pre-cancerous lesions. This has been going on with the same dermatologist since 1996, tho she sends me to a special derm surgeon for the Mohs. The funny part - my first visit after chemo she was just astounded how wonderful my skin looked. Almost nothing for her to freeze. I told her I wouldn't recommend heavy duty chemo to her other patients for actinic keratosis, or any other skin conditions.

My cousin & her daughter were in town today from Arizona for more tests at MD Anderson. Sad part is the daughter is only 38 w/continually, fast growing sarcomas & she's already been battling this for 8 years. The Phoenix doc said 3-6 months to live, We ate at one of my favorite places, The Raven Grill. Each ordered something different and we split it up. I of course had rainbow trout, but gave most of my fish to cousin's daughter since it appealed to her and her taste buds are still messed up w/chemo. I ate the French green lentils and sauteed spinach w/pecans. Other entrees were fish tacos, and sweet potato & spinach enchiladas w/an ancho cream sauce, served w/black beans & cilantro rice. And this is the place that bakes fresh bread every day - whole wheat, cranberry-walnut, sourdough, and rosemary garlic. Who needs food with the excellent bread & butter.

carolehalston

Goodness, a lot of posts to read! Susan, good luck on the condo. Minus, that sounds like a great place to eat where you took your cousin and her daughter. Lacey, I enjoyed the photos.

I cooked a "hot dish" today for our dinner tonight. Whole wheat macaroni, diced Jimmy Dean turkey sausage, green peas, white sauce with cheddar cheese, s & p, onion and garlic powder. Side will be cooked fresh beets sliced with vinegar and olive oil and blue cheese.

mysunshine48

Carole, You sure are a good cook

susan_02143

rosemary-garlic bread???? Oh, I want that now.

*susan*

eric95us

Rosemary garlic bread *does* sound good. I think I have a recipe here for that....I'll have to look. I wonder how it would do with sourdough? I haven't exercised the sourdough lately. hmmmm.... :-) Hopefully the condo stuff works out in an agreeable manner.

The dermatologist is on my list of things to do. I've lived my entire life in the desert southwest and wouldn't be surprised that my old habits will cause pounds of flesh to be extracted...still, Special, that would be good for the surgeries to slow down.

As far as Jelly...Tinker,, I love making jelly. it's almost time for making prickly pear cactus jelly. Rose hips...hmm...I've never done that, but I don't have access to roses to get the fruit/berries...

It's been a long time since I've had squid--at least 30 years. I don't think I'd like it "plain", but with "other stuff"...it was really good.

Lacey..nice pictures and that's quite the cake....Little kids are a lot of fun....but then I'm 3 at heart myself, so we're about the same age..

Auntie, I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I think no longer driving would be a "double whammy" for your dad....loss of freedom and now having to depend (being a burden) on others to get around.

I've got to go get Nyquil and Dayquil for Sharon....she ran out....one sneaked past her immune system....

Edited to add....

While getting the cold stuff for Sharon, I noticed the store had whole pork loins on sale for 99 cents per pound. I have a bone saw and knives....25 pounds of pork is in the freezer.

carolehalston

Thank you, mysunshine.

The macaroni hot dish tasted good, but the cheesy factor disappeared when I heated it up in the microwave. I will grate more cheese and add for the next warm-up. The dish looked creamy and cheesy when I finished it.

Eric, that's alotsa pork in your freezer!

I'm in the process of embroidering a pot of rosemary design. After many years, I started embroidering again and am making MORE placemats! I found old-fashioned iron-on designs at a local quilt/yarn shop.

We're off to the gym this morning. After problems with the membership, our fob keys to the local Anytime Fitness are working again, thanks to my persistence in calling the corporate office.

I

mysunshine48

I have been making a lot of lifestyle changes since this BC experience. Also, doing a lot of research. I have donated all my Tupperware and am using only glass containers instead. And, the more I read, the more I learn that microwaving food is really bad. Anyone know more about this?

Lacey12

It's my sister who lives in the barn that was convertedmodestly into a living space for an elderly couple some years ago. DS bought it as a mess and it is still basic but clean snd very Shaker in feel. Her town, adjacent to Lake Champlaign, is filled with gorgeous mountain views....and Bedo (!!!) a goat farm in view across the fields. You would love it here.

Heading to Middlebury then back to the lake. Had a great dinner last nite in Brandon VT. Will post about it later. Gotta run.

Susan, may the Real Estate gods shine upon you!

Apologies for the giant pix.... can't reduce them on iphone

mysunshine48

Beautiful! I could live there!

auntienance

Thanks Eric. Actually dad called last night to tell me he passed his test so he's good for another year. His doctor warned him though that he was nearing the end of his driving privileges so I doubt that he'll sign the papers next year. But at least dad has a year to get his mind around that thought. He was in a much better frame of mind though.

We were supposed to go paint my SIL's front porch today but dh has come down with a cold and is feeling puny so I'm not sure we will. It's one of the last things that needs to be done although the house has been put on the market. It's amazing what a group of people working together can accomplish. We managed to turn a disaster of a house into an acceptable dwelling in three days. We should start our own home show called Geezer Brigade. The youngest of us is 62.

I started going to the derm a couple of years ago. I'm one if those light hair light eyes people who had numerous blistering sunburns as a child. Sunscreen wasn't much of a thing or very effective back then. And I have lots of moles. So far nothing suspicious has been found but dh has had several pre cancerous spots removed.

So far blood work hasn't shown anything alarming. Still waiting on the ferritin test. Really hope I can stop taking iron.

Dinner is a mystery. Was going to pick up something (like walleye) on the way home from SIL's. Now I don't know.

auntienance

Lacey, we cross posted again. Gorgeous!

Minus, your restaurant sounds wonderful and rather eclectic but so very sad about your cousin.

Carole, lol on the hot dish -- "when in Rome". Sounds like the perfect comfort food for a chilly day. And I concur with mysunshine.

I made rosehip jelly years ago. Don't know if it was just mine but it was pretty tasteless. They were big rosehips too. Maybe that was the problem. Not a fan.

SpecialK

eric - yikes! Porkapalooza! Hope Sharon feels better soon!

auntie - Geezer Brigade, lol! Impressive how quickly you were able to prep the property, hope your DH feels better soon also!

mysunshine - what have you read in regards to microwaving being bad?

minus - so sorry about your cousin with the sarcoma - it is a brutal cancer, very difficult to treat. About 18 months prior to diagnosis with BC I had a 3cm tumor in my right calf and there was thought it was a sarcoma. Turned out to be a benign tumor, but very rare in that physical location. I researched sarcoma at that time and it scared the pants off me - more than breast cancer did.

susan - hope the condo situation works out the way you want it to - real estate buying/selling is stressful, right? Thanks for the commiseration on the skin cancers. The derm I see is connected to USF and always has residents with him - I call them his posse ('cuz I'm so gangsta - lol!) and the one who did the biopsy shaves was optimistic - I just laughed and said I am 100% malignant on at least 30 biopsies - I will play the part of the pessimist! The part of this that is the most annoying is that I seem to be in some state of healing all the time - from a biopsy or treatment, and because I go every six months, and they always find something, I start again. I feel like I should have bought stock in paper tape and non-stick dressings. The spots on my shins, including this recurrent one, take forever to heal because of the distance from the heart, so this one will heal right about the time I go again in six months. I do however feel fortunate that all of these have been relatively harmless basal cell carcinomas. I am a bit worried about the one on my LE arm - I had convinced them to treat it topically but they were unsatisfied with how it looked after two separate treatments of six weeks each. I am pretty sure they will want to cut it, and it is making me cringe to think of the LE flare that will ensue as I am already having trouble with swelling control in the FL heat. I may ask about some alternative treatments available across the street from my derm at the NCI center - they may have some more sophisticated or late breaking options.

luvmygoats

Nancy - thanks for the laugh for the morning. Geezer Brigade I love it.

I'm thinking of the rose hips. Maybe smaller is more potent, smaller package. Never had any so can't speak to the taste but maybe it's a subtle one rather than hit you in the face kind.

Minus - you are such a good person. I'm so sorry for your cousin's daughter. Just not fair.

Gosh Special. Keeping you and the weather weirdness close in prayer. I've been following a storm board since last winter and know they are all over the map on where Erika is going.

Mystery dinner for us at the moment. Did make the not so great spaghetti yesterday. DH is OK with jarred sauce but this was a Prego OK but not memorable. I prefer Ragu but seems most groceries around here have cut back to the simple plainer sauces. I had a Bertolli too but DH chose this one. I know someone has given me a simple sauce on here. DH is not fond of great chunks, esp. tomato. I guess I need to dig out my numerous cookbooks esp. the olden ones.

Ah Eric. Bone saws. DH has a hacksaw and I think somewhere I have my extra blade for it. We've hack sawed a frozen ham.

Carole - I love the term "hot dish". The way I grew up cooking. My 1st recipe box was filled with "hot dish" recipes.

Lacey - beautiful pics from sister's barn. I'd live there except for dealing with the snow. Move it south and I'm there.

SpecialK

Funny about the impending storm Erika and condo news. I previously mentioned the condo for sale on the east coast of FL that my DH is executor for. We had a very lowball ($40K below list, which is already $25K below appraised value) offer a week or so ago, he countered and then there were crickets. Apparently they came back today with a reasonable offer which we are taking - cash with a fast close - yay! Consider how ironic it would be if this hurricane comes and damages this stupid condo right when we have an offer after it has been for sale for a year with zero offers. Arrggghhh!

Here is the Pioneer Woman's marinara - she does it with crushed tomatoes for a smoother sauce - this is easy and pretty quick.

Edited due to non-working link, see luv's post for the link.

Tinkerbells

that sounds amazing!!!!

Going out for dinner tonight and tomorrow!!!! Yahooooooo

luvmygoats

Thanks Special. I could not get your link to work but I think this is the sauce. I do have a giant can of Cento crushed tomatoes. I know Carole says they're the best.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/ma...

See that the Pioneer Woman website has been completely redone (I went there looking first).

Dug around in the freezer. Found the ratatouille. Maybe I'll make some cornbread to go with it. Also moved some other stuff to the top to use up.

Ah Tinker. Out to eat. Cannot budge DH from this house once he gets home. Turned down Mexican Food invite last week that was actually only 25 minutes from us. Carole I think might follow NASCAR. It was Bristol night.

bedo

Akkk! Too many posts to respond to!

Minus that is so sad, I'm glad that your cousin's daughter has a family like yours. When is your trip???

Lacey Before I even read your post I thought "I must have that barn!" It really would be great

Now I have to have cherry tomato relish

Susan good luck on the bidding

My daughter has lovingly told me "Don't worry Mom, when we have kids, you can retire and come live with us in a Mother -in-law apartment and watch our kids" Ahahahahaha! That's a funny one. I'm not going to live in a basement apt and watch kids. I haven't done anything wrong!

I have to get going. I'm off today! I've already 1) Had too much wine with Landlords last evening on the patio 2) Cancelled my violin lesson for today

SpecialK

luv - sorry my link didn't work, but yes, that is the recipe!

bedo - lol!

susan_02143

No response.... here is a squid recipe that I think sounds lovely: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017390-stuffed-squid-sicilian-style

carolehalston

Vermont is a wonderful place. DH and I went there and worked at a ski lodge at Bolton Valley the first year we were married. Middlebury is a lovely town. Love the barn. Be sure to post a winter picture!

Luv, you made my day quoting me as saying Cento was the best tomatoes! Make a large batch of simple tomato sauce and freeze portions. A lot cheaper and better tasting than the jar stuff, except for pricey Rao. It's pretty darned good. The others like Prego have a "funny" taste I can't describe.

Geezer Squad gave me a chuckle.

Back to August weather. Fans are whirling. Temperature supposed to rise into the 80's tomorrow.

bedo

Susan that looks great, but I'm an inexperienced cook and only have a basic kitchen and ingredients.

Can I substitute fennel fronds and fennel seeds for something else? As I don't know where to get them.

Oh, and I learned how to make my own mozzarella cheese. Yippee! Now to wait for the crucial ingredients from Amazon

luvmygoats

Bedo - I'm betting the fennel fronds are the frothy/lacey stuff on the top. I've never cooked with them but I do see them even in the local grocery here in town. Yup just googled them. Look like dill to me. Now fennel seeds not a clue.

luvmygoats

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/dining/embracing...

I could not resist putting in the companion article from the squid recipe. Embracing squid in its many forms. More info for you Bedo.