So...whats for dinner?

Nancy, the only pork I buy any more is Berkshire/Mangalitsa or another heritage breed. It’s almost always pasture-raised, humanely slaughtered, and far more flavorful than that pale supermarket stuff that’s bred to be (and taste) leaner and drier than chicken breast. And I always keep sour cherries in the freezer. Their season is so short and the harvest so small that the fresh ones never make it down here southwest of “the Mitten.” (Heck, even in Traverse City in June, most restaurants serve frozen or canned). Only time I ever got to taste them fresh was in the Nahe region of Germany in early June 25 yrs ago, when we were invited to dinner at the home of a vintner who had trees on his property. WOW.

Tonight will be grilled salmon (indoors, since it’s too dang cold out to fire up the grill--wind-chills of -25, and last night the air temp got down to -4 here at the lakefront, which is the warmest part of Chicagoland). Will brush with a miso-teriyaki glaze, make a shaved-fennel salad with citrus vinaigrette, and saute some sugar-snap peas; for Gordy, I’ll add some brown rice. Dessert will probably be Greek yogurt with berries, walnuts and paleo “granola” (e.g., grain-free). Or maybe I’ll bake an apple with cinnamon & stevia.

It was so cold today that the UPS driver (not our regular guy) lied--he claimed he’d tried to deliver a package that required a signature, but we have a brass door-knocker (with a sign that says “no bell-use knocker” that can be heard all the way upstairs and in the back of the house. Three of us heard nothing. I think he just figured. “hell, it’s too damn cold to get out of the truck for one stinkin’ little package, so I’ll let the regular guy do it when he comes back tomorrow.” (Said package contained argon capsules for the Coravin). I meant to go out to Luna Medical to get my LE glove (sadly, it looks like despite doing MLD, my cording has definitely become LE, because my skin hurts to touch in places and when I stretch), but they never answered my phone message asking if they were open despite the holiday, so I said the heck with it. I have an LE therapy session early tomorrow morning, so I’ll ask if I need to start wearing compression on a regular basis. (Hope not--but if it’ll help....).

Thanks for the welcome, all! MinusTwo, we're in the slow process of moving from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, so I sort of live both places for now. Out Meyer lemon tree is currently producing what seems like thousands of lemons--they're wonderful but we can't give them away fast enough! My husband says the neighbors don't answer their doors when they see him with lemons.

Second the remarks about Berkshire pork--it's wonderful, so much more flavorful, and definitelyjuicier. I fixed pork chops recently that were so tender even though they were only cooked on the stove top. For years it seemed my only option was smothered pork chops because otherwise they were dry, tough and tasteless.

My roast chicken is in the oven, and I roasted white sweet potatoes yesterday (I thought they were the garnet ones, which I prefer--oops, but these are still good). Can't wait!

Cannot imagine cold that is that cold. We'll get down to almost freezing tonight. It stayed in the 50's today or maybe climbed up to 60. DH opens the big front doors on his workshop and lets the sun provide some warmth. The rays are slanted that way in the winter. It would be good sunny cool golf weather if we didn't stay so darned wet. Every time the golf courses dry out a little it pours down rain again.

I did kitchen stuff today. Blackened some red and yellow bell peppers under the broiler. Sliced up some leeks and have them in a container ready to wash and use in some dish. Boiled a batch of eggs. Hmm. Must have done more before my feet gave out.

Dinner tonight was pizza. It was very good and there are two slices left. But I am taking a former neighbor out to lunch tomorrow to express sympathy. Her father died about a week ago. Now both her parents are deceased and I know she's feeling the loss.

Susan, your lamb meal sounds most appetizing. The only lamb that's affordable here is ground lamb when it's available. I looked at lamb chops today at the supermarket and they were $21 a lb. I looked but did not buy.

Red, your pot roast failure is surprising. Usually beef roast with fat gets tender.

Bedo, this was a bit "fly by the seat of pants" soup, but it is reproducible. I used chicken stock, but it works with vegetable stock as well. I use two pots, which is not required, but I like to warm my stock in a separate pot with some dried or fresh thyme and a chunk of parmesan rind. Meanwhile, I wash my leeks having cut them into smaller pieces. I cut up some shallots or onion. In a second pan, I melt some butter with olive oil and add the leeks and onion. At this point, I add some salt, but I use non-salted homemade stock. If you are using bought stock, I might skip it on the vegetables. I then throw in some frozen spinach and cook until the spinach is thawed and has dried out. I then "deglaze" the veggie pan with some Vermouth or white wine and reduce by half. Throw in the stock and let it simmer until you like the flavor. I put the soup through a food mill though you could certainly whizz it in a blender or serve it chunky. I serve in a wide bowl, and float the goat cheese. If I have chives thriving, I top the goat cheese coin with some finely cut chives.

Personally, I think you can do some much to personalize this soup. You could melt some anchovy fillets in the butter/olive oil to add some depth to the flavor. You could add some potatoes to make it an entree soup. And, I think you could add cauliflower or broccoli or anything else that you have aging in your fridge bin. I love soup..... all soup!

*susan*

red, i keep hearing "Like a Red Rubber Roast" playing in my head....

Nance I so admire you getting a half hog. Heck I can't even get through a half chicken most days! LOL

Do you guys remember right before I went on my Colorado trip i was so sick with the flu? I just noticed my nails have a line on them just like during my chemo. Guess I really was sick. LOL

What brought that up was that I tried the other sausage I bought. Definitely NOT as good as the first fresh polish. The first one was so good, like my uncle used to make. The second one made me ill. I was up all night and no, I wasn't partying..... yuck. Guess I know where to get the good ones. I threw out the 2nd sausage batch. I don't eat a lot of sausage but sometimes you just gotta. LOL

Much ove to all.

We’ll be in San Antonio first week in April (I get back from Europe and have just enough time to unpack, do laundry & re-pack). First time, back in 1991, we stayed at Mansion del RIo during Fiesta del Rio weekend. This time we’ll be at the Marriott (echocardiography course). Loved Boudro’s back in ’91--still there? Also had really good rustic Mexican food (cabrito al horno, posole, etc.) at a little hole-in-the-wall near the Mercado. Any suggestions for stuff to do (besides the Alamo, the IMAX film about the Alamo, strolling the Paseo and the local historical museum)? Yeah, I know. a Spurs game.....

Gotta take my night meds, lay out my morning ones, and shower before hitting the sack--got a 9:15 LE therapy session tomorrow.

Sandy - you will not recognize the river walk or the town. I haven't been myself in 6 or 8 years but I was astounded. You can actually walk quite a ways south beside the river to the Pioneer Flour Mill (1859) and the family original house is now a museum. Interesting food history site. Also one of my favorite art museums is there - the McNay. Marion Koogler McNay start collecting in 1926. The core of the museum is her Spanish style house & 23 acres of grounds. She hand painted the tiles in the courtyard. The San Antonio Botanical Garden is lovely and the azaleas should be in bloom. And there is a Japanese Tea Garden that I haven't seen yet.

Nance, the roast was a chuck roast---I took the veggies and a small portion to my dad and we put it in his "chopper" that I got him for Christmas and I made gravy and after he drenched it in it he said it was good, so I am taking the rest to him tomorrow. I guess grinding it up for his false teeth and old gums made a total difference in the texture. Any how, he was happy with it and how quick he got a hot meal on the table. We had to go to the store, the hearing aid clinic and the barbershop today. I was trying to get his errands ran before the snow comes tonight. I just want a long soak in a hot tub and some shut eye.

Susan, that doesn't sound sappy at all! How wonderful that you had the opportunity to spend such quality time with her.

Red, I've occasionally had chuck roast that had that stubborn fat vein. Sounds like you managed to get the best of it. You must be getting the snow that started here early this afternoon.

The sour cherries that I currently have in the freezer are from a local Amish store and they are wonderful. Just talking about them makes me want to bake.

Well I finally found something the new pressure cooker didn't do perfectly. Serious Eats had a recipe for caramelized onions and onion soup in the pc. Since it was snowing it seemed like a great day for onion soup especially since I was baking baguettes today as well. As it turns out, the onions didn't cook down or caramelize nearly as easily or completely as the recipe claims. I've had much better results in the slow cooker. Anyway, I finished the soup on the stove and it turned out fine. But this has been the point of all this experimentation, finding out what the thing does and doesn't do well. Caramelizing is on the does not list. I then cooked something that it does do well -- artichokes. Yum!

I love the San Antonio Riverwalk, especially in the spring.

Still snowing, sigh!

(shyly) Auntienance, interesting about the pressure cooker's failure to caramelize. I'll keep that in mind about slow cookers--I love French onion soup, but the smell of onions lingers. Good. But pervasive.

Joyce, I like using the oven when it's cold, too. You must be colder in FL than we are here in south Louisiana. Our temp. this morning is in the 50's but I see that it rained last night. Darn El Nino.

Caramelizing onions is not something I do.

I'm thawing the rump roast I bought a couple of weeks ago and will try out a recipe from the NYT food newsletter. It's probably too tough a cut of meat for the recipe so I may be like you, Red, searching for Step 2.

To answer a question up thread: yes, Boudro's is still there, though I haven't eaten there in a long time. On the Riverwalk I LOVE Biga on the Banks--expensive, but worth it. Luke is a John Besh restaurant we also love. They make the best French 75s and the food is great, though portion sizes are way too big for me.

I think I will hit the Whole Foods salad bar for lunch. I start four rounds of TC on Friday and this will be my last chance in the next few months to eat salad that I haven't personally washed! As for dinner, I will likely just heat up the cauliflower-cheddar soup I got at Central Market--so good, but I love anything cauliflower

My appetite is so odd on this chemo drug! I bounce from no appetite to I WANT THIS NOW! And, I don't have much in the fridge right now, so I have to restrict my cravings to available foods. We have decided that the best plan is to stock the fridge. Whole Foods today for some organic dried beans so I can make a split pea soup. Tomorrow, the Market Basket and Costco for real food. Tonight, I want beef and the only beef in the house are some burgers in the freezer, so that is dinner. I will make some cole slaw and potato strings. I am looking forward to restocking the freezer with interesting soups, already cooked beans, chili [for Mr 02143], and chicken stock.

A well-seasoned cast iron pan is a joy isn't it? I recently inherited by great-Grandmother's collection. They are all high quality, and her cook [yes, I understand that she had a cook] seasoned these pans beautifully. Over a hundred years later and they are pristine. I will use one of them to make the burgers tonight actually.

I have not been to San Antonio since 1980. I understand that the river walk is much longer now, and includes some areas that are natural. We were there for about three days on a concert tour, so not a whole lot of exploring.

*susan*

Hello DaisyQ -- I see you're in my neck of the woods. I actually am north of St. Louis, where are you?

I have been slothful all the day. At least 4 inches of snow yesterday and during the night -- maybe more. At least the sun is shining and someone actually plowed our street. A guy that does yard work for us came and used his giant snowblower on the driveway. I'm not even making dinner tonight. I want Chinese food but don't have all of the ingredients so it sounds like carryout.

Ah, I hear the pressure cooker has finished making my yogurt.

Lots. :-) My mom gave me her collection, which includes stuff from her mom and grandmother. So, like Susan's cast iron, some of the stuff is well over 100 years old.

Then there is the stuff I've been given by others and a even a few items I bought new.