So...whats for dinner?

Pleased for you, Michelle that the American diet agrees with your numbers! Enjoy your boost tomorrow and have an enjoyable and safe trip!



Welcome home Susan!



I expect that you had a really productive day at work, BoBo. LOL! I hope DD at least had fun! Leftover flank steak with reheated stuffed mushrooms tonight....oh and not to forget, a piece of Trader's whole wheat bread smeared with cherry jam.

That was just a craving!

I love falafals! It is on my list of items to learn how to make well. I bought some chickpeas from the Indian market, but so far they have only turned into chana masala and soup. How do you get all those pesky skins off?

*susan*

luvrving - if you are heading out for a trip after your transfusion consider asking (or just doing it yourself!) for pre-meds of Tylenol and Benadryl.  Just like pre-meds before chemo many docs give this combo to keep you from a low grade fever and/or hives reaction to the transfused blood.

Hello all!

Dinner tonight was a BLT on toast.  Trying to wind down the fridge contents before our trip.  I still have two weeks but DH is gone this weekend, DD is gone for 10 days, I will be gone for three days for my vaccine trial in D.C. the last week of the month - I get back and we leave two days later - yikes!  I need to start getting organized NOW!

Happy Birthday, Seaside, Debbie and Lacey! Hope it was fun.Luvrving, I love the cheap kraft neon Orange mac and cheese too. One day I eat it for lunch plain, the next add a small can of tuna and small can of peas for a real old fashioned casserole. That's my guilty secret! Lol

Today I went with my daughter to look at wedding dresses. We ate at a new Hawaiian place nearby. Not too bad, nor too expensive. The curry crusted chicken was aeesome, and, didn't really need the sauce it was flavored so well. I had Bologo beef, kind of Korean beef and onion also good. It came with Miso vegetable soup, that was great. Favorite part? A small lettuce salad with an orchid on it. Lol, we don't get a lot of those here in the Midwest! LOL. Much love.

Happy birthday to the triplets - forgot to say that above!

moon - looking at wedding dresses - how special!

minus and moon - lunch sounds yum!

Made pappardelle today, so drunken noodles tonight. My orchids are blooming, so maybe I'll put an orchid in our salad. I need a smile today.

Thank you Monica

Mom's air conditioner has been replaced. $5800, which is a decent price for what was installed.



Mom is participating in an Alzheimer's disease study. The doctors follow as many people as possible, for as long as possible and do a ton of tests in hopes of finding an easier way of diagnosing the disease than autopsy. After she dies, they do an autopsy and then see if any tests show any predictive "powers". Today was one of her testing days. For 95, her mind is in pretty good shape.



Dinner tonight is Hamburger Soup.



Also, I got a "garage sale" kerosene stove today. It is a single burner one that is strong enough and just the right size to hold either my large boiling water canner (for Jelly) or pressure canner. There isn't enough room between the stovetop and the microwave oven for the canners, so I needed to try something else. The kerosene stove, once it's going, doesn't stink at all, and it puts out a LOT of heat, so I'm hoping it will work out well..outside...as it does smell until it warms up....

Finally....gorgeous day here! Only marred by the discovery that my beautiful kale plants were eaten right down to the bottom of the stalks. I immediately assumed it was the ground hog guy, but as I was inspecting, saw our adolescent bunny run back under the shed. He must have a very full tummy!! So much for kale salad tonight.... So I gave all my plants a good sprinkle of hot pepper flakes...we'll see what happens. I wouldn't mind if I lived in a rural area....but we must have our own little nature preserve in the center of my town. Off to sit in the sun with my shotgun....;)

Neighbor has told me she has a family of jackrabbits living on her property. And her DH keeps a large garden. Haven't seen any around in several years. Drought has eased just a bit this year. But we've been fighting with a skunk living under the shed that stores my hay. I've lost my patience because have found it every evening in the goat yard so poor babies are getting locked up WAYYY early. I think DH needs some target practice. Article in paper about the large increase in copperhead bites this year. DH ran over small one with mower or weed eating. I don't go out of backyard except in boots and not even in backyard at night unless in boots.

Anyone have a favorite kind of supermarket olive oil? I just bought some Olivari which has a cute pop-up spout. I mostly just use for stir fries and for chicken saute so not a big user. The bottle I just emptied was a Bertoli. I went yesterday to the holy grail of supermarkets Central Market. They do have an olive oil bar but as usual I was in a hurry. I need to spend some time and get a primer there. Bad thing is it backs up to the coffee, another weakness. They had taste testing out all over. I also have Misto I need to wash and put some oil in. I do have to go back week after next to Ft. Worth for eye dr. appt. I was very good and restrained my purchases yest. so I feel I deserve another trip, right???

Have a tray of peppers/onions slow cooking in oven. I just baggie them up and use when I want a flavor boost. Tonight is Hebrew National hotdogs, about the only ones I will buy. Tomorrow I think is pork ribs in crockpot with fresh green beans. Should have done ribs in oven today; only 86 degrees, cloudy with little showers around.

Michelle - hope the "boost" makes you feel better 'n better for your trip.

Eric - we have a single burner propane stove just for power outages. One of these days I know we'll have the ice storm of the century. I (well DH did) have used it only once but it made coffee at the most opportune time. Wow, $5800. That sounds like a price for condenser air. Didn't know "swamp coolers" were that expensive. Or is it just the electric usage that is less? I remember the 1st whole house AC parents bought about 1959; living in Albuquerque. Wonderful.

Swamp coolers are much less expensive, both to purchase and to operate...but they don't work so well in July and August when it's both hot and humid.

I am sitting here watching a doe eat the leaves off my apple tree. I give up.



I also have a green tree frog living in the spout of my watering can. Him, I like.

Regarding the snakes and "creepy crawly" things.  I *still* tend to walk with my head down to make sure I'm not going to step on a rattlesnake and I still check my shoes before I slip my feet in them (scorpions).

In the city we don't have much in the way of 4 legged critters that eat in the gardens.  My competition are the birds eating the grapes and pommegranites and little grey moths that lay eggs that turn into armies of caterpillars that eat the grape leaves.  Netting "fixes" the birds and I use BT for the caterpillars.

At the "old" house, the neighbor had a bug zapper that killed lots of bugs.  A toad would sit under the zapper and "snag" the freshly cooked bugs as they fell to the ground.  The toad was HUGE!!!

While I'm thinking about it....The hamburger soup recipe. 

2 pounds ground beef.

2 table spoons of olive oil.

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 packet of onion soup mix.

6 cups boiling water.

1 eight ounce (by weight) can of tomato sauce.

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 cup celery, sliced in lage chunks.

1/4 cup of celery leaves

1 cup carrots sliced in large chunks.

1/3 cup dried split peas

1 cup elbow macaroni

   Parmesan cheese.

For what it's worth, my dutch oven handles this recipe with ease and makes for a low cleanup meal.

Brown the hamburger in the olive oil.  Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, seasoning salt onion soup mix, boiling water, tomato sauce and soy sauce.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Add celery, celery leaves, carrots, dried split peas and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.  Add macaroni and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the soup.

If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll make some cornbread to go with this.

My mom gave this to me..it was one of my dad's favorites.  Sharon and DD like it too.