So...whats for dinner?

Tonight I let Chef José make our dinner. I had a modest bowl of tortilla soup and ordered the guacamole. What a mistake. This was at least two avocados, so there was absolutely no way I could even begin to eat this much. Mr. 02143 ordered the carnitas plate which was huge tonight. He brought a chunk of the pork home, at least 4"x4"x4". I will turn that into something delicious tomorrow.

It rained hard here today starting at around 2pm. On and off since then. Must be Fall.

*susan*

p.s. Sellers are trying to contact a plumber about part of our inspection report. Won't know anything more until tomorrow.

I have not been cooking for the last several days. On Thurs I had a MOHS procedure done on my right shin for a recurrent skin cancer and was instructed not to stand. So, I stopped on the way home and picked up take-out for all of us. Last night we went out for my birthday - I was not hungry but the fam was, and we went to a burger/brews place which was cute, but freezing and loud inside. DH and DD had good looking burgers, I had a side salad that was absolutely missable. DD mentioned to the server that it was my birthday and this is one of those places where they sing, clap and bring you a flaming brownie. Um, no - not happening, so I made sure to reiterate to the server that she should cancel the knowledge that it was my birthday, lol! The outdoor kitchen plan is coming together, we have found the contractor, he came up with some awesome ideas and we like his price and it is ending up in a different, but better, configuration that we originally planned. He will be ready to start soon, and it will take a week or so. Thanks to Susan's real estate karma it is looking like we have a solid offer on the condo, with an all cash closing on Nov. 2 - yay! It has been for sale for over a year, so we are hopeful that we can see the light at the end of this long tunnel.

More birthday wishes to you, Special. and I promuse not to sing or clap....or bring you one of those pumpkin brownies I am threatening to make! . Hope you are taking it easy and healing well from the procedure.

May the current real estate karma continue!

More belated birthday good wishes to SpecialK! Can't wait to see the outdoor kitchen.

Went to the Covington Farmers' Market today. Bought a long skinny loaf of whole wheat ciabatta, green beans and a bundle of kale. This farmers' mkt has really expanded and is well attended. A lot of the venders are selling their own ready-to-eat food like hummus and goodness knows what else. Some people go there to eat and drink and socialize..

Not on subject, I stopped at Hobby Lobby for a spool of thread. $4.54 for thread!!!

Carole, it is interesting how the farmer's markets are featuring more vendors with home made products....we bought a vegan dip at a local fm (mostly chopped veggies with considerable spice as I recall) that the vendor said was a recipe his mother developed to help him during his cancer treatment. I can't for the life of me recall the name of it... but have one in my freezer at home. Then at our town farmer's market, a nearby restaurant has started to sell lobster rolls, which sell out in a matter of minutes! We have never made it there early enough to buy any...and keep hearing how wonderful they are.

Susan, there are clear skies here now, but the temp is pretty chilly....tomorrow we are supposed to be in the sixties...perfect for the event! I see on Facebook that Laurie and crew are cooking a turkey (or large chicken) in a trash can. Never saw that method before, I guess since I am not a true camper
I am thinking about your real estate angst as I sit here listening to our thirty something son and his childhood friend (lake friend who drove up with him and enjoyed a round of golf on the way) trying to figure out where they can afford to buy their respective condos/houses in this ridiculous market. DS2 even made a comment that he might be driven to move to the suburbs. Oh the horror!

Well, I've had enough football for the moment, so I am going to make those pumpkin brownies....and then I will give the feedback!

Eggplant hot dish for dinner. My usual eggplant casserole with slices of eggplant brushed with olive oil and browned in a nonstick griddle. Layered with home-made tomato sauce with green onion sausage and grated Italian cheese. Not parmesan. The name will come to me.

No fresh garlic to cook with the kale! Diced up a shallot and sautéed with pepper flakes in olive oil. Sprinkled in some balsamic flavored rice vinegar after the kale had wilted. .

Salad will be cucumber, tomato and avocado.

yummo wish I was in Louisiana. Must be cold out, my furnace is running.....44 this a.m.

Special, we have karma!!!! An agreement, that is to my liking, has been reached. We should have the Purchase&Sale done on Thursday with the huge amount of money done on Thursday. The children are wildly happy. Life is good!

*susan*

Yay Susan, et al.......

Had dinner with our NH/Hingham friends and both of our younger sons at the Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth. We were all reminded of "back in the day" when our older sons were off "seeking their fortunes" and these two high school guys would spend summer weekends boating with us, and enjoying annual sports competitions with their dads. We had some good laughs over dinner. And the food was good. I enjoyed a baked salmon on a bed of arugulawith an aioli caper sauce, and because I had this yen for pasta, had a side of that in lieu of mashed potatoes....weird pairing but satisfied the yen! Pistachio gelato for dessert.

Okay, I made the weird pumpkin chocolate brownies. Definitely odd in terms of texture. Not sure I will bring them to the beach event.

Then once home tonight I made some Trader Joe's pumpkin muffins with walnuts.....not bad for a package mix, which I've never used to make pumpkin bread or muffins. In a pinch this is super quick!

carole - no cocktails since it was in the morning, then again it was Saturday and we could have called it brunch... Lol! Glad I could help out with the cheese!

Wow - gone 10 days and it's taken forever to read the pages of posts I've missed. First - thanks to Susan & Lacey for hosting us in Boston. You all saw Susan's details of the delicious dinner. There was so much to talk about we barely scratched the surface. It was such fun - my first time to meet BCO friends. So maybe we'll all meet in Florida next year and I'll stop & pick up Carole on the way? Dreams... but who knows? Maybe we'll get to see Special's new kitchen in person. Bedo - sorry you were on call & couldn't make it.

Laurie - hooray for all your updates. So glad to see you posting again. We've MISSED you. Eric - speaking of pigs, how about Lord of the Flies? Lacey - so sorry you're sick but I 2nd the recommend for NeilMed Sinus Rinse - whether a Neti Pot or by spray bottle. I'm so jealous I missed La Boheme. Susan - fantastic news about the house. It sounds great & I'm glad you got some respect this time. Special - I'm probably due for another MOHS on my face next month. Hope you're healing well. Oh yes, & happy late B-day. Redhead - sorry about your Dad's situation. I hope you'll be able to find someone to spell you at regular intervals. Hi to everyone else I missed. I'm not great about going back & forth.

Just a quick trip review (can you tell I don't want to open my mail - bills - or unpack my suitcase??) My BFF & I spent a couple of days exploring Boston. We had some rain, but it wasn't too bad. Our Royal Caribbean cruise departed last Sunday with stops in Portland/Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, St. Johns NB, and Halifax NS. We had NO rain any of the 7 days. High winds & seas a couple of times, but nice fall temperatures. The leaf colors were better in Concord & Lexington than further North. Beautiful red maples. And for those of you who have not been on a cruise - FOOD. We had to rush to eat breakfast so we could start on lunch. We only had time to turn around and it was cocktails & appetizers, leading into dinner. All this was interspersed with receptions for one thing or another with MORE food. Some good desserts and wonderful sourdough rolls, but in spite of eating being the predominant activity, the food overall was just OK. Saw some fun shows, great lighthouses, lovely old churches, and we walked a lot. Had some good "chowda" at the Maine stops and passable lobster rolls in Canada.

Guess I'd better go do something responsible. Thanks again to Susan & Lacey. What a wonderful reception!!!

Welcome home, Minus. Enjoyed your description of your trip. It sounds like you enjoyed yourself despite the absence of wow factor in the food.

Lacey, what a shame (a) that you suffered the horrible effects of food poisoning (capital you couldn't enjoy the food at the lobster fest, a dream outing for most of us. You weren't feeling good prior to the trip to NH. I wonder if your stomach wasn't harboring a virus. Next year, maybe you should have me on standby as a proxy Lacey? LOL.

I saw on the news this morning that still another type of Whole Foods cheese has been pulled because of the Listeria bacteria. This is the 3rd Whole Foods cheese with that deadly bacteria. Folks, we don't have Whole Foods but I would definitely avoid their cheese that they re-portion and sell under their own name. Particularly soft cheeses.

Dinner last night was "jump ups." Somebody's name for leftovers in past pages of our thread. Anybody remember who that was? Debbie from the west coat? I had a bowl of the eggplant hot dish and enjoyed it just as much as on Fri. night.

We still have the zucchini and ground beef with rice hot dish and white bean and ham soup my mother cooked and would have dumped. Actually she cooked white beans with a lovely ham bone and didn't like the way it turned out. I added tomatoes and turned it into soup. She seldom has successful cooking ventures now partly because she has difficulty standing. It's not easy to cook sitting in a wheelchair unless you're Paul Prudhomme and have a specially designed kitchen. So more jump ups tonight.

Lacey, oh no, not good at all! I'm so paranoid about food borne illness after DH's experience that I rarely get salads in restaurants, especially salad bars. Chicken preparation at home is followed by gallons of bleach on every surface and I've given up my beloved raw oysters (broiled is my new fave.) I even wash the outside of melons. I know some of this is irrational but like I said, I'm paranoid. I'm so sorry about the lobster fest but I think Carole is right -- you need a stand in (ME! ME!) Feel better soon.

Minus, welcome home! Sounds like a lovely trip. We've only sailed on Carnival and for the most part, I agree about the food. But I thought they did a remarkable job considering the number of people they have to feed and there are some really good options, such as the specialty restaurants.

Susan, congrats once again on what appears to be a successful real estate adventure. Can't wait to hear about the future improvements.

Safe travels Eric!

Carole, it sounds like you've brought a little bit of Minnesota home with you in your hot dishes lol!

No idea about dinner. Last night was the lovely roast Amish chicken, rubbed with a paste of olive oil, garlic, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, cayenne and Dijon mustard. I dry brined it so no extra salt. It was so delicious, I'm afraid it has ruined me for "store bought" birds. I also discovered they do fresh turkeys but you have to order them six months in advance, so I'm too late for this year :-(

I'm craving onion rings. What to go with them that's not a hamburger?

Illinois is so broke that if you win more than 20,000 on a lottery ticket, t hey give you an IOU. I am not kidding.

Haha, Carole, your suggestion about the advantage of being a bit overweight reminds me of the part of "Sleeper" when people discover that all the stuff that was supposed to be bad for us is actually good! Maybe the experts will really gratify us with that some day. But I am certainly disappointed to learn that my low blood pressure buys me no points! Glad your mother's report was good! Even more happy that she has a doc who is sensitive to her communication needs

Had pasta and meatballs (friend's), salad (mine) and a local orchard's delicious apple pie for dessert at our friends'. I have really escaped any cooking so far this weekend. So, if the lobster in the fridge is still fine tomorrow, I might just do something creative with that and the king crab legs tomorrow before we head home.