So...whats for dinner?

We are all:

Carole, a loon calling event....would love that....a four wheeler event, not so much. I always felt horrified when my little 9 year old clients would tell me about their exciting runs around the woods on four wheelers. Why not let em drive a car?!



Eric, I also used aquaphor...very successfully. Was totally grossed out by the greasiness of it, but developed a regimen whereby I used Aveno cream by day (so as not to ruin my work clothes with the greasy stuff), then every afternoon right after rads loaded up on aquaphor and wore DH's softest old undershirts.....repeated the yucky dose at bedtime, and again used a t-shirt to sleep in. I really had minimal burns with this plan.....only SE was gooked up shower drain after the three month period. Good luck to Sharon and your t-shirt supply.

And best of luck to Chrissy. I loved my boys' high school years....such a great time of personal development and growth.



Happy for you, Kay, that your reconstruction went so well. If you are worried about being identified by co-workers might you want to change your photo too?



Went to Blue Ginger for dinner tonight to use a gift certificate. We shared the Ming Tsai specialty shitake leek spring rolls with slaw and Thai dipping sauce for appetizer. DH had scallops over a very interesting set of grains, vegetables and corn. I had rack of lamb with a wonderful little crispy taro corncake, Asian chimichurri sauce and adobo cream....very nice. We decided to try a new frozen yogurt place in town for dessert....Swizzles (?).

I had vanilla and red velvet frozen yogurt. Tasty and pricey.

Kay, I'm with Lacy, I thought the same about your picture. And I love Minh Tsai. Carole, I miss camping. Haven't felt up to it this year. Sometimes I go by myself in a tent. But its been two years cause its getting too hard to pack and unload and set up by myself. Laurie, I am glad you got to rejuvenate. You need it with little ones.

Tonight I did 3 batches of 4 half pint jars. The final batch just clicked (the lids sealing) about 10 seconds after I pulled them out of the boiling water bath canner.



Now to see if the jelly sets up. Every now and again the jelly doesn't set, even after redoing it. If that happens, it's good on pancakes.



Sharon is asleep already. I wish stuff would cool down faster so I can get things cleaned up and fall asleep myself.



I've ordered some cream for Sharon and got her some cream (petrolatum and vitamin E) from the local CVS drug store until the good stuff arrives. Thanks again for tne suggestions.





Eric

Shepard's Pie last night.

Rained most of the day yesterday and today we are going to get more thunder showers.  My garden loves it. 

Apple  that marble is great for rolling out pie crust.  What a find! Rest when you can and just give in to the fatigue.

Eric  Cactus jelly? what part of the plant is used to make it?....okay...yeah I am a north easterner.

We did the reisling festival yesterday....total marathon wine tasting as we got there late and they were about to close.Best part of day was the chicken gyro I had for dinner with feta cheese  OH YUM

Tomorrow morning we are doing a breakfast for a couple of girls that are leaving for college...one is leaving for Sweden to go to school.  I am taking homemade blueberry muffins...the blueberrries are so great now.

So here's the food side to the wonderful evening spent at Newfound Lake. DH and I absolutely loved spending the time with Michelle and her DH. This afternoon when they arrived, we had frozen Margaritas and easy Trader Joe's apps.....spinach and kale dip and assorted cheeses...while we chatted and watched the soaring hummingbirds from our deck. They must have been trying to warn us about the impending downpour, which arrived twenty minutes before our dinner reservation. Perfect....NOT! We got totally drenched and walked thru inches of water on the way to Ledgewater restaurant....known for its beautiful views of the lake. We had to be patient....and finally did enjoy the overview. For dinner we all enjoyed their tenderloin beef, with house and caesar salads, special thick cut chips (Michelle, who shares:), asparagus with Hollandaise (Lacey), escarole with bacon (DHs). Then my DH decided we should head to the Pasquaney Inn, up the road a bit to have dessert on their lovely big porch overlooking the lake. The sunset was beautiful....Michelle got some shots if it. The strawberry/blackberry and blueberry/strawberry pies drew rave reviews as did the coconut custard pie. All in all, we had a great time together....good food, great conversation! And we actually dried off during the evening!

Michelle, I'll be interested to hear how that lasagna is!

Ahhhh, tomorrow we expect sun...a day for the beach, after a long walk to burn up tonight's calorie intake.

Ah, the sunset picture:

The hanging baskets at the inn...the biggest baskets we've ever seen:

The lake is just beautiful and the company was equally delightful!

my poor husband.. i used to be such a good cook.. (former chef) but now, i have no energy for cooking.  MY kids have really picked up the slack, but they are still going thru their mistakes.  they don't like to be instructed too much.  thank goodness they love it tho.

my daughter makes guacamole and mac and cheese

my sons grill.. they make marinades, baste, and really get into it.  I especially like son #1's sweet potatoes.  he slices them in long 1/2 inch slices and bastes them with garlic oil.. man they are good!  they grill alot of vegetables and rarely get the meat right.. it's either under or over done.. but i am so happy they love to cook.  son #2 is the baconator.. he has so many excellent recipes.. green pepper cut into 6ths, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.  I guess i am glad that i feel the need to eat plenty.

Son #2 will make anything i instruct.

congrats on the granddaughter Lacey.

 Dx 4/10/2008, IDC, 5cm, Stage IV, Grade 3, 4/9 nodes, mets, ER+, HER2+

Apple, your descriptions of your sons and daughter makes me smile. 

When I started college in Aug '79 cooking was a horrible chore that I wasn't very good at doing.  I met Mickey during her first semester of college in Feb of 80 and her views on cooking were very similar.  We could boil water without burning the place down....one of us with the fire extinguisher and the other at the stove kind of thing. Baked potatos in the microwave and spaghetti were pretty much the limit of our skills.

My mom bought a paperback Betty Crocker cookbook and gave it to me.  I didn't do much with it, but one day Mickey decided it might be fun to give it a try..the directions didn't look that hard to follow.....and that's how things started.

Cooking went from a hated chore to enjoyable "us" time. Instead of going out on Friday and Saturday, we'd get together and cook and study...her pre-med biology and me engineering.

Mickey liked the stovetop cooking and I tended toward the baking, breads and jellies kind of thing...something you can tell now! :-)

When I met Sharon, our 1st date was a long drive along a dirt mountain road and the 2nd date was getting together to cook...and the "us" time aspect of cooking was handed to Sharon. 

It's now being passed to Chrissy.   I know she carefully watches Sharon and I work/interact in the kitchen and yesterday she was carefully watching me in my jelly factory. She has been helping Sharon cook and I wouldn't be surprised if she helps me when it's time to make orange marmalade.

I guess I'm kind of pensive today.  I was over at my mom's house yesterday and mom was showing me some recipes that Mickey had given her.  Mickey's mom wasn't the most agreeable person to her, so she sort of adopted my mom.  I still shake my head in wonderment at her mom.... "Mickey. You, of all people, should know that there are doctors that can make you bigger.  You should look into that.  It would help your social life."  Or, "Denice. For God's sake, GROW YOUR HAIR.  Between your figure and *THAT* short hair, you look like a boy.  Don't you want to attract a man?"  I'm not quite sure where that last one put me in the scheme of things..as she was wearing an engagement ring by then... :-) Her dad, on the other hand, more than made up for her mom. He was great.

Lacey...A granddaughter!  That's sooooooo cool.....It's probably hard to tell if you or DS1 and DDIL are more thrilled.... :-)

The jelly all jelled up nicely.



Right now I'm waiting for Sharon to get back from a biopsy. A lump developed in a node under her ear and while the doctors don't think it's anything worth worrying about....they still want to check it out.



Eric

I love Newfound Lake.

I have the entire collection of Woman's Day Cookbooks/Encylopedias.  I always follow the French Onion Soup recipe for Christmas Eve party.  I didn't have a party this year, we went to Bermuda to visit DD and FSIL.  We leave this Saturday for the UK, looking forward for some Yorkshire Pudding.  

FSIL loves to cook, that is how he paid his way through college, worked as a chef all over Europe.  I think my DD caught a great one.  

Excellent timing, Lacey!!!  Can't wait to see a picture of your new granddaughter.  I'm sure she'll be a beautiful little princess!

Apple - sorry you are so tired, but happy that your kids are so willing to pitch in and take over KP duty!  You have raised some lovely, thoughtful, self-sufficient kids who are making you proud every day.

Deb - you  must be so excited about the trip to the UK, have a fabulous time!

Kay - you know it's good when the kids say thanks!  Au gratin potatoes sound pretty yummy right now!

Eric - I am sending positive thoughts for Sharon's biopsy results - b9, b9, b9!!!

Carole - I love Dreamfield's pasta!  Even my fussy grandkids can't tell the difference!

I am so tired tonight...mom is moved and is now 9 minutes away.  Everything, and I mean everything is done, put away, pictures on the walls, etc.  We tried to replicate her other studio but we had to put the bed on a different wall and she figured out that she had moved.  And she was not a happy camper after she came back from a walk and the social hour.  But I was able to settle her down a bit, we left while she went to dinner, and when we left after setting up her new remote control for her TV, she seemed to be ok.  She'll adjust but every move takes its toll on her. 

I cooked the lasagna that we had picked up at the farmstand yesterday.  It was quite good, although much different from my traditional recipe.  The homemade bolognese was really good and the noodles were very light, so it was a hit.  And it was a better option than the pizza that would have happened if I didn't have that dish in the fridge ready to go.  I may not leave my recliner for the rest of the evening!  And tomorrow will be an easy day, too, after I show up for labwork at 9:15.