So...whats for dinner?

Tomorrow should be lovely at the Cape, Susan. Enjoy the partial getaway! Yes, I was certainly not advocating for "refreezing" raw meat. Yikes! We always use fresh lamb for those burgers. Plus, we are less inclined to have red meat two days in a row, so freezing works better for us. I love your yogurt topping mixture and will try that next time. Easy to skip a roll with that tasty addition.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with my former school office mate and our "third";) gemini twin retired teacher friend who now lives near her grands in FL. I am soooo happy to be able to see her as she has not been able to make the trip for a few years. Sadly, her DH is not doing well, and she is bringing him to visit his family for probably the last time. Since she moved, almost ten years ago, she has had so many family illnesses to contend with including her son with blood cancer and his 8 yo DGD with thyroid cancer. Then her DH fell and sustained a brain injury. So her retirement has totally been that of stressed caretaker...and she never complains. I look forward to seeing and supporting her tomorrow.

Tomorrow evening I am accompanying DH to a dinner at the home of a woman who chairs a committee he's on. I just learned an hour ago that she would appreciate guests bringing appetizers. So since I will not be available to shop, I asked DH to find a ripe melon and prosciutto, and I'll bring those little wraps. Fingers crossed that he knows/finds a ripe melon!

Congratulations Golden State, about to be NBA champions!

Carole, my lamb burgers aren't much different -- onion, oregano, lemon, lots of garlic. I don't put feta in the burgers, I prefer it in the tzatziki type sauce. I have a new recipe I'm getting ready to try that calls for ground pine nuts in the mixture.

Tonight was chicken enchiladas using the last of a rotisserie chicken that I had frozen. Pinto beans as a side. Had to have a small serving of the cherry ice cream. At the last minute I decided to toss some bittersweet chocolate chunks in it while it was churning. Wowza!

I'm planning on making French bread tomorrow. I made some cultured butter today to go with it. So easy and delicious. My DSIL brought me some strawberry jam made with her strawberries. I could easily make a meal right there.

Rain rain and more rain here and Bill's on the way. The weather guy just said we might actually smell sea air in this rain! Enough already! Minus, stay high and dry!

Susan, your visit sounds lovely. I hope you get used to the new drug and it doesn't take such a toll on you.

I have become addicted to mangos and have been eating one or two a week, sometimes in a salsa but usually just sliced. Food and Wine just had a mad genius tip on how to peel them using just a glass. Very cool!

Lacey, I wish I could convince DH that a meal like yours is really a meal. If there's no meat, they're appetizers.

Hi to everyone I missed!

Wowsa is right, Nance!!! Cherry ice cream with chocolate bits?! I'm trembling! Do you use an ice cream maker? And that bread, butter and jam??!! Are you running a little food sin shop?? I am a customer!

I loved mangoes when I discovered them in the early seventies. Ate them a lot.....until I developed an allergy and broke out in hives whenever I even tasted one. Sadness....also reacted with hives to cashews and learned last year that they are related....thus the same allergy reaction. I have to be careful to read almond butter labels as I discovered that cashews are included in some brands....argggh. I'm about to start a new allergy treatment....no more self-administered shots, rather sub-lingual serum drops, which should build up the immune system. Fingers crossed.

Susan, I also am rooting for your body to adapt to the new drug. You are such a strong woman!!

It is interesting that DH is taking on the colors of our mammal avoiding sons...and seems to be good with us doing these odd vegetarian meals. We figure we can do a few days a week like this. Since we rarely do pasta or rice, vegetarian meals are more of a challenge for me to prepare, so we won't be going fully in that direction anytime soon.

Gotta get going......thinking of you Texas sisters and hope you stay safe.

Lacey, I have a Cusinart sorbet and ice cream maker that I love and this is the best ice cream I ever made in it. The cherry ice cream is one of the variations.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/01/dining/the-master-ice-cream-recipe.html

Thanks Special, I always forget that my phone doesn't do that automatically.

This base is very rich. I sometimes alter the ratio of milk to cream, depending on how I'm serving it. In the cherry, I used half milk and half cream. A while ago, I made a cardamom plum version that was the best ice cream I ever ate.

Lacey, the ice cream brand is Breyer's and it's black raspberry with dark chocolate, not black cherry.  I usually don't buy a fruit or berry ice cream since I'm a chocolate-a-holic but something made me pick up the carton and put it in my cart, along with a carton of Breyer's Reese's peanut butter ice cream for dh.  I eat peanut butter but do not like it in my candy or ice cream.  The Breyer's ice cream was on sale for $2.98, hence the reason for buying it instead of Ede's, our favorite, which is the same company, I believe.  Comical the way the ice cream cartons have shrunk in size except for Blue Bell, which is still off the shelves. 

Lunch was fried oysters, shrimp and catfish with a side of mac and cheese.  The other choices of a side are French fries and potato salad, so no savings in calories or fat content.  My mother, sister and I shared a so-called "plate" and had a carry-out box.  The seafood was piled on a platter and the mac and cheese comes in a serving bowl. 

The shopping trip was successful and my mother will be thrilled to have new carpet in the two bedrooms in her house.  We went to a local carpet place that has been in business for almost 40 years.

Dinner will be pizza.  I bought turkey Italian sausage today.  It was half price.  I think I won't mention to dh that it's not the usual pork Italian sausage and see if he can tell a difference.  I'll sauté the sausage, some mushrooms and colored peppers for toppings and probably add kalamata olives and mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Easy and so good. 

Minus and Luv, let us know how you're doing. 

Tonight is the soba noodle and steak stir fry. I'll marinate some tomatoes and cucumbers for a side. Carole, your lunch sounds marvelous.

I'll be making marinara tomorrow as my niece and her family will be here Friday night. Her mother is DH's sister with the heart problem. My SIL is being moved to a rehab facility Friday where they live. We are halfway between the hospital and the rehab facility so they'll spend the night here before they travel back to North Carolina. They have a 5 year old son, so I thought spaghetti and meatballs would be kid friendly. I'll have to throw some kind of dessert together too since there's not enough cherry ice cream left!

I'm just checking in here. We're staying at my wife's cousin's house in Potsdam, NY and have been driving around way upstate New York visiting all of her family. I've not done any cooking at all.

In other news, we are having to move our departure from New York to a day earlier than we had planned to accommodate travel orders. Uncle Sam wants me for two weeks.... It's for classroom based training, so I won't be practicing be uncomfortable. :-)

Oh, Carol, you are so good with your veggies

Nance, sometimes rain can be nice. I spent 4 months in Ketchikan AK last year and kind of got used to it. It is the rain capital of the US, the largest temperate rain forest in the world. It rained every single day for 3 weeks and then5/7 days for the rest of the time. They can tell tourists because they have umbrellas. Everyone else just pulls their hood down further over their face. Try camping in the living room in a tent? Very Romantic.

Eric, your travels sound wonderful. I am so jealous

For dinner I'm celebrating because my three day weekend starts on today, as I have Fridays off. I will be very busy tomorrow with errands and practicing violin as 6 of us have been asked to play on stage at the Solstice Festival on Saturday with the Real Musicians. I don't want to let my teacher down. So more shrimp cocktail, lots!! with baby greens and watermelon

Watching a PBS documentary on John Denver. I am such a dork

Have a 3d date if I can work it in this weekend. He's really nice, but I am undecided. I really like doing my own thing, and having lived with someone my whole life, am kind of enjoying living by myself, plus I am a twin, so never had my own things, we'll see.

Minus, that is such a sad story. Am hoping MDA can pull off a miracle for your cousin's daughter. Hugs to you all. Glad they have you for support, rides, home meals, etc.

I liked the sound of that salad, Carole. I wish that I loved chicken. I kind of think if it as wallpaper, and eat it often mostly to avoid having much red meat. Last evening we were at a house dinner with some of DH's colleagues and spouses. The hostess made a lovely dinner with chicken breasts roasted atop whole layers of herbs. It was very tasty along with a quinua pilaf with onions and peppers, and roasted asparagus, and I believe, a beet greens salad.

The weirdest experience happened there.....one of the other spouses was a former parent/client of mine, with a high profile child. There were many remarkable and sad events with this family, and for years I spent hours and hours with/for them. It was odd indeed to see her with her new spouse, have her hugging me as tho we were great long lost friends, and have her ask me during dinner if I had known her DH had died. Not only did I know that, I was the support person for her children through that very traumatic loss years ago. She also unsolicitedly filled me in on other traumatic "news" that I lived through about hers and other families whom I knew well. Suddenly, I felt not the least bit worried about MY memory. Yikes! It is rare that my professional and personal lives intersect. This was odd to have them do so last night with this particular person.

I should mention that our dessert was the most delectable brownie I have ever tasted with vanilla ice cream and rhubarb sauce from the hostesses farden. Oh my! I think I was really needing to dive into that sweetness!

Today I taught my last two classes. The kids are ready to run through fields and beaches at this point! They gave me a cute bag with all of their names on it and some cute drawings. I took forever making them bookmarks with "social skills tips" on them. I decided to add a bit of glitter. Ha! What work! And glitter now adorns my kitchen, my hair, clothes, etc

Not a single healthy bit of food today (unless peanut brittle can qualify). I have been running around like crazy and just grazing on bad stuff. Tomorrow is another day......back on the health wagon.

Happy for Susan that we are having gorgeous weather.

Please don't send us your rain, Nance! But do chase it away. You've had too much!

carole - so sorry that your foot is not improved - I know you like to be active, I am sure you are disappointed.  It is already so hot here in FL, I am only doing short periods outside.  It is going to be a long summer...

Thanks for the sympathy.  I played 18 holes of golf without a lot of foot pain, just some twinges.  Of course, I didn't walk.  I rode in a cart.  Afterwards I had a good lunch with the other women.  I had a shrimp remoulade salad.  One ingredient in the salad is several breaded and fried slices of green tomatoes.

Lacey, hope the back injury is very temporary.

Mango chutney sounds delightful. 

I had poached salmon last night as my entrée.  With asparagus spears and lump crabmeat and hollandaise.  Also Brabant potatoes.  The salmon was delicious.  Not at all fishy. 

Yesterday was an excessive eating day. 

Our electricity went out today about 6:30.  The power company trucks are out cruising around.  A reminder of how dependent we are on electrical power. 

Carole, I am so disappointed for you that the foot surgery didn't fix all of your issues. Can't imagine your life without daily gold excursions.

Lacey, did you wake with a pain free back? Where do the two of you head for lobster rolls? Of course, I can't eat them, and Mr. 02143 seems to have lost interest in lobster lately, but you never know when one is required.

Sula, do you grow your own mangos or buy them? We have had lots of Haitian mangos in the past two weeks. They are among my most favorite variety.

I am a curmudgeon. I do not do Mother, Father, Grandmother, Secretary, or any of these Hallmark days. The good news is, the son-in-laws family does all of them and there is absolutely no conflict for them. Off they go! But they had better not mess with my Thanksgiving. This new drug, Ibrance, is kicking my butt seriously. My poor stomach is very troubled. I made a lovely dinner last night for my friends and us and was only able to eat about 12 bites. I wish I could describe how it feels so could ask for assistance. Maybe it will become clearer. Tonight will be pill no 9, just over 1/3 of the way through this round.

Sorry not to respond to all.... *susan*

Hallmark moment - Do you think if I go the store I could find a Father's Day card for my son from his dog. No doubt it's there but not likely that I'll even consider going.

Bedo - I like the family comment. My mother would also be setting out good china & my dad would be out of town on business. Very interesting conflicts.

Susan - so sorry to hear that the new drug is not going down comfortably. So you take for a month and then off for a period of time ??? Gentle hugs.

Carole - I think maybe you're packing to leave this coming week for the cool regions?