So...whats for dinner?

Well, Carole, don't be too envious. We are forecasted to have rain practically all of this week. I always figure that whatever you are experiencing will eventually head this way. But no heat nor humidity, which I guess is a plus. We were spoiled most of this past week. I should not complain since the raindrops chase some of my pollen enemies.

Eric, it sounds like older folks may need to enjoy something like a five year country dream before checking back into the healthcare meccas....if they can even afford to. Folks who move away from here often find it prohibitive to move back, so I won't be budging.

Nance, I wish your dad had a "good buddy" at the new facility so that he could at least have something to look forward to. My mother was also a bingo fan, but her passion for it would pale in comparison to your mother's! She mainly played at her church, many cards but fairly tame and minor winnings.

I'm trying to continue some clearing out and organizing professional materials that I still use today. DH is on a tear getting things out of the garage....including our bikes, which realistically we will not be using (I would still bike, but my racing bike tires would not be too good for me at this age). So there is a gal coming to buy them right now! And possibly a canoe buyer later today.....

Exciting news.....next time Susan and her DH goto Sarma, this couple will be joining them!

Lemonaise sounds good. You can't miss with lemon and mayo.

Carrie, mussels aren't southern. I first ate them on PEI at an rv park. One of our rv neighbors was a mussels farmer. He brought over a large bowl he had cooked in wine. We tried them and found them delicious. I have never cooked them. They're usually served as an appetizer. I've seen the bags of mussels in supermarkets but have not bought them.

I had three, yes, THREE doughnuts today. A Boston cream (chocolate covered), a chocolate covered, and a glazed. Other nourishment was a pack of peanut butter crackers and 4 oz of chocolate protein shake. With thunderstorm warnings crawling across the top of the tv screen, I set out to visit my mother, taking a travel cup of coffee for her the way she likes it: real cream and three large spoons of sugar. I made a stop at the doughnut shop which is just minutes from the nursing home and bought a dozen doughnuts so there would be extra to share. I brought two glazed cake doughnuts home for dh and he promptly ate them. Doughnuts are a rare treat and I triple-treated.

Dinner will be a bowl of leftover soup or a boiled egg. Or maybe cottage cheese and strawberries.

One of these days, I will probably start cooking again. Grazing is actually kind of nice.

Tonight dinner is going to be some USDA Prime steaks. DD will be home from work in about an hour, so I will start them then. Currently they are in the microwave oven--protection against counter surfing dogs. :-) I haven't quite figured out what to have for side dishes. I do have some sourdough rolls ready to pop into the oven, so that will be one. My leanings are toward a fruit salad and maybe even some bacon wrapped asparagus. Saturday would be a better day to cook, but DD works until 9 or 10pm. So, Sunday is "the day".

Today when I walked in to see mom, "Bruce. Why are you here?", while speaking to me. Bruce is my brother. He's in China.

Nance, it just shouldn't be so hard, right? I hope that he finds a way to be happy with whatever choice has to be made.

Eric, very hard... I have told you about my mother-in-law haven't I? She had Alzheimers; a slow and painful descent. (The same rate that I see with my husband.) Anyhow, I won't bore you with this long story again if I have told the story before. Dinner sounds like it has a mighty delicious anchor. Hope it meets expectations.

Lacey, Sarma reservation is now for four. Evidently, I am now in the "regular" category since Brad knew who I was immediately. No one should be jealous of this weather. Gosh was it cold and damp. Don't you have a cabin in NH? That can be your "country retirement" home, rent out where you live now, and move back if you need the medical attention. Is the cabin a year-round one with heat or not?

Minus, Houston doesn't have any public transport for those with mobility challenges? In this 'gig' economy, I bet it will be possible to arrange a driver to come to get you with an app on your phone and take you to the market or hospital for appointments. We have something called "The Ride" which is run by the MBTA. It is not particularly good, but it is something. I think there are many people who prefer to age in place and don't have great dreams of moving elsewhere. Man does a pork chop sound good!

Carberry, ah yes. Accounting. I worked my way through college as an auditor, working for hotels balancing their front desks and restaurants nightly. I then used those skills to run two non-profits and even booked myself out as a bookkeeper when the economy slumped. My Dad was adamant that I know how to balance the books, read a financial statement and file my own taxes. He also felt I needed to know how to use an electric drill and know how to make scrambled eggs. He was not your average man at all.

Carole, can your mother not get coffee the way she likes it at her home now? What part of the magic formula don't they have?

Dinner tonight was grilled bone-in chicken thighs that had a 32 hr dry brine, sweet potato wedge oven fries with garlic, rosemary and thyme, steamed green beans with lemon zest, and a salad. My body has been back to 'normal' which should last about four days, so I want to eat as many colors of the rainbow as possible while I can.

*susan*

I had picked up some "riced" cauliflower at Trader's a few days ago so decided to make cauliflower pancakes with it tonight to gomwith our leftover Sweet Basil chicken dish and multi greens salad. Since I didn't think I would find the pancakes that appetizing without a topping of some sort, I mixed some siracha in sour cream and it was a nice accompaniment. DH had suggested apple sauce, but these are really not that close to latkes....good though.

Eric, I am sorry for your mom's cognitive decline and inability to recognize you. Very sad. Smart of you to protect those steaks from the counter surfers! LOL I hope you all enjoyed your Sunday supper!

Carole.....three doughnuts?! Be still my heart! DH and I were just talking about how we used to buy them for breakfast on Saturdays after the kids' soccer games. They are so easy to scarf down....but have not had one in years. My favorites are glazed and jelly....but I could easily be convinced to substitute a Boston cream for either ofthose two!

eric - I have a very well behaved dog, who wouldn't dream of stealing off the counter, but definitely a counter surfing 6 month old kitten/cat/catten (new word for teenaged kitten/cat). I either put stuff in the pan it will be cooked in and top with a glass lid, or the oven or microwave for protection. He is a total marauder, without any conscience. The dog would be happy, but beside himself with guilt, lol!

Now I want doughnuts.

The meat was absolutely wonderful. At $16 a pound, I would be disappointed if it wasn't good. I don't do steak that often, but when I do (que up the Dos Equis beer ad), I get the Prime grade beef from the meat market.

Chi.....It sounds like you like capsaicin....me too.. :-)

Carole, that does not seem like a good way to lose weight!

Lacey, I've never heard of cauliflower pancakes. I'm not a huge fan of plain cauliflower (too bland), so I don't know how I would like them. Siracha, or any spicy topping would certainly help.

Special, our dogs would look at us and pretend there was never any meat on the counter. :-) I think the meat would be perfectly safe with the cat. I put a piece of trout in the cat's bowl with some dry food and he ate the dry food but left the trout. I've done this with hamburger with the same result. He's a strange cat.

Susan, any dementia (including Alzheimer's) is a sad and horrible thing--both for the person and their family. But, you already know that.

Two pork chops for lunch is livin' large!!!

We had a couple of meetings at the condo this morning. Our realtor says we did a fabulous job and did not over improve. She would love this as a listing, but of course, she won't get it. She furthermore hasn't done a redo on her own kitchen since she hasn't had time to select the materials and colors. She has asked that I send her a list of everything we used in both the kitchen and family bathroom, and then she doesn't have to do all that legwork! She wants to buy our leftover tile to get started. Isn't that funny?

Since Mr. 02143 and I were out together, we headed to East Cambridge where we bought some chicken parts for stock and eggs, then down the street to our fish monger where we bought a lovely swordfish steak, a quick stop at the nut wholesale shop where I had an order waiting, and a final stop at Whole Foods for milk and a bit of lettuce. Dinner will be the swordfish with the Ottoman spice blend I brought back from Turkye, a lemon-chicken stock bulgar with onions and almonds, a tomato salad, and a green salad. Today is my last chemo-free night for 21 days so I am going to enjoy some raw vegetables.

*susan*

DH is making a pasta dish for dinner. He saw Pasta for Every Palate on Cook's Country recently and it appealed to him. A variation of olive oil and garlic sauce with the addition of arugula and chopped toasted walnuts. The recipe calls for 50 garlic cloves!

I will make the house salad with romaine, tomato, cucumber, avocado and blue cheese.

Interesting, Minus. I might check into that, but I have to admit that I rarely buy frozen veggies of any sort since I am notorious for letting them languish in the freezer to the point of burn. I was just so happy to discover already "riced" cauliflower since I hate the mess of all that "dry white stuff" when I do it myself in the food processor. It was easy to just pour the riced mix into a bowl with the onion, eggs and cheese, etc. to make the pancakes. Besides garlic powder, I added tarragon for a bit of flavor....but still wanted that siracha/sour cream topping.

Tonight we grilled some (faux, I'm sure) kobe beef hamburgers that were featured at our local supermarket. They were actually really good, but maybe because we soooo rarely make hamburgers. The store had no ground lamb available. Really!! Anyway, I think that we unconsciously needed to chow down on some red meat before the doc vegans show up! We piled up tasty items on these burgers...red leaf lettuce, red onion, tomato slices, avacado slices. Messy but good! And beyond that, I decided to make an arugula salad, but realized that the greens bag actually contained baby kale. So I made a sliced baby kale salad with scallions, shaved carrots, red cabbage, sliced almonds, raisins and a balsamic dressing. It was delicious! I must write it down so I can make it again.

Am I the only one who is not really amused by the opportunism of a realtor who is too busy making money to do the hard work that we all witnessed you slave over, Susan? Maybe a consult fee (since you are a consultant afterall) might be in order to give away the benefits of all of your research....unless, of course she is a good friend.

Carole, once again I am impressed that your DH gets inspired to make dinner! And it sounds delicious!

In the process of finding a particular cleaning spray under the kitchen sink this afternoon, I discovered evidence of a slow leak. Any containers I had things like sponges in, also served as receptacles for over an inch of water. Glad I saw it...call will be going to the plumber in the morning...which means we will make a quick list of all the other minor items that can use plumbing attention to make it worth paying for the visit.

This morning as I was getting out of bed, I heard several thunderous booms, coming from the direction of our driveway. It was a huge hauling vehicle delivering a piece of excavating equipment, I assume, for the property across the street where a house is to be built. Yikes! We might want to go somewhere else for six months! Or get protective ear dear! Then we just learned that our next door neighbors are putting an addition on their house....on our side! Double yikes! Being at home, retired, rather than out working all day can have its drawbacks! Apologies for the rant......:/.

Nance, oh no. I can't imagine how that must feel. My heart goes out to you.... how hard.

Lacey, the realtor actually did offer to pay for this information. And when I refused, she said she would send me a gift certificate to my restaurant of choice. She has my number, eh? She is the first realtor that i have ever met who is smart, like Master in a hard science smart, and ethical. If my husband needs to sell this house and I am no longer around, he needs someone who will not take advantage of his Alzheimers. She wouldn't. And unlike most realtors, she doesn't make my skin crawl constantly. I took this as an opportunity to document what we did; the colors; the name of the tiles. And maybe I will get a decent meal out of it! Could you spend the summer at the lake? Construction on two sides doesn't sound like a lovely summer. But a lake does! Is that a valid thought?

Carole, funny how those cooking shows can spark a craving isn't it? Happens to the best of us! We had some of my magic-freezer mushroom raviolis that I made back in February, and it was all because of a show I saw.

My good friends have a dog who is fearless when it comes to counter grazing. They have a kitchen cabinet whose sole job in life is to keep the dog away from balls, meat, kibble, treats, and squeaky toys.

*susan*

Minus, I'm an only child, so he's stuck with me, for better or worse.

And he's lucky he has you, Nance! Not every adult child is so devoted as you are....

I've been trying to consistently have my main meal before 4pm. Something Special has called "linner" or maybe "dunch"? I seem to sleep better at night and also have more energy. Today was baked cod (wild caught, flash frozen fillets from Costco) dipped in melted butter & lemon & Panko crumbs & spices, with a side of Brussels sprouts. Hope to get doughnuts on Friday.

Going to give grain-free pizza one more try. Cauliflower crust mini-pizzas from the health food store were a bust, as it never got crisp and stuck to the pan no matter how well-greased; but Whole Foods had some “gluten-free. grain-free” full-sized pizzas on sale. The crust is made from arrowroot and almond flour. A bit too big for the toaster oven, so will clear out the regular oven, pizza stone or pan, & peel. We shall see if it works.