So...whats for dinner?

April - welcome. We'd love to hear what you're cooking or eating.

, what beautiful children those are just lying around the house on the new rug for brunch iced coffee and egg and cheese bagel from Dunkin Donuts the heat index is 100 degrees here so instead of taking the ferry to Newport to hear my teacher play or doing something useful I'm lying around the rug

My pasta machine has a thick spaghetti plate that I may try. It also exudes a tubular ridged noodle that could be cut to whatever size you want. Might be similar to what you're seeking. I'm not sure you could cut it small enough without mashing it though.

Utterly ashamed of myself. Laced up my cushiest sneakers and walked to Mas Alla Del Sol. Had resolved to stay low-carb, but.....

The infamous basket of chips, too addictive, overpowered both of us. I had a flute of cava, Bob a Margarita and a Bohemia. For the app, we split a grilled prawn Caesar salad; then we shared chicken mole and calabacitas (cheese-stuffed zucchini with mache, onion & pickled radish salad). Dessert was coconut flan for me and cognac for Bob. Despite walking nearly 1/2 mi. each way I barely scored 2900 steps for the day. And it’s all I can do to resist reaching for the biscotti to follow the espresso I just had.

Goodness, Lacey--how are you pan-searing the salmon? I never do salmon steaks, only filets. I always use a nonstick skillet and no more than 1/2 tsp. of oil (olive or grapeseed). Sometimes even just a spritz of grapeseed oil spray. Season both sides of the fish with kosher salt and black pepper (or if you are using a marinade, reduce salt accordingly). Turn on range vent and heat the pan till oil or spray starts to shimmer. Start fliets skin side down on med-high, and after 30 sec. reduce the heat to medium. Flip when opacity begins to creep halfway up the side (usu, no longer than 2 more min.). Continue cooking until there is no more raw-looking flesh--usu. no longer than 90 sec.-2 min. Remove from pan and let sit--it will continue to cook internally. You’ll know it’s done right if the flesh cleaves off in large glistening slabs. Dry appearance or finer flakes means it’s overcooked.

As for pasta, I like to play with my food, so I’m not a big fan of the non-noodle varieties. I want to be able to twirl my pasta on my fork. Guess I’m still a kid at heart.

When it's hot, I poach the salmon in the microwave w/just a bit of water or wine along with the seasonings. No spatter & very good if you don't over cook.

Today was 'jump-ups'. Breakfast was the last piece of strawberry cream pie. For early dinner, I had 1/2 a can of black beans hanging around so I sauteed some minced onion, added some garlic & celery, dumped in the beans and finished off with some of my nice Malbec. While that was simmering I nuked two ears of sweet Olathe corn and cut it off the cob. It melded nicely with the beans and I still have one ear left.

Hmmmm, notsure why I didn't think to prepare the salmon either of those ways, ladies. Especially since I do enjoy poached salmon. Good ideas.....thanks!

Kitchen parchment is probably the most unsung valuable culinary tools. It’s much cheaper than it used to be (no need to get the more expensive bleached white version), terrific for doing anything “en papillote” whether nuked or in the oven; preventing splatter over dishes in the microwave (without worries about plasticizers getting into the food); great for lining cake pans (especially tube and springform) without worrying about wax melting; and fantastic for storing cheeses--keeps them fresher than plastic wrap and is far, far cheaper than the special coated “cheese bags” and “cheese paper” touted by Cook’s Illustrated. (So what if you have to cut it to size yourself and it doesn’t have those cute little sheep, goat, and cow icons)?

Eric - I believe they're still up north but I hope she'll check in soon and let us know about her family.

How was the "launch"? (I love what lacey called the move)

Wow, HH, I don't envy you with the temps and humidity you must be having. On the other hand, your weekend sounded like you made the best of cruel weather!! Yum! Good luck with getting back on track!

Last night, I delivered on some pasta for DH for dinner. I made a chicken, orzo, portobello, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, toss with white balsamic vinegar, mozzarella, and a bit of parmesan added at the end. It was really tasty....and he was happy to get his carb fix.

I have a watermelon on the counter that may be converted into watermelon gazpacho if I get to the market for tomatoes.

Bedo - yup & I do use old eggs, but I'll try the baking soda tip. Thanks.

Orthopedic doc today said he would like me to try several more months of PT before considering surgery (eeek). I'm so glad. That's not to say that I enjoy going to PT twice a week, nor do I like doing the exercises at home every day. But...

To celebrate that I don't have to consider surgery yet, (which I probably wouldn't have done but certainly would have done some crying) I'm going to Fuzzy's Pizza for dinner with some neighbors. I'll have the #1 - two huge pieces of pizza and a salad. I'll eat the salad there and bring the pizza home for tomorrow.

Got to Trader Joe's finally today. Unfortunately they've discontinued the dark chocolate orange sticks. I understand they're not available at our Costco anymore either. Guess I'll have to contact the Sweet's factory to see if they're cheaper there than at Vermont Country Store. Also made it to Central Market - Luv will appreciate this visit since their stores are absolutely amazing. They have 15 kinds of bagels, 15-20 kinds of potatoes, 15 kinds of melons, fresh flowers, fresh fish, etc. It's Hatch Chili festival time and they make lots of special things when these chilies are in. I went to get Hatch Chili Scones. Delicious.

Grilled a Filet Mignon and sautéed fresh mushrooms and shallots in a red wine reduction AND home made risotto with baby spinach and fresh parmigiano reggiano. Also made a beautiful salad with the greens I bought at Farm Stand and tomatoes from my garden. Ate that before remembering to take a photo.

Tonight we grilled a swordfish, and served it with a mango salsa [with a habanero from the garden, blazing hot!] and some steamed jasmine rice. We waited for the storms to pass by before lighting the grill.

I spent the day with my kid and Olivia. Oh, I should have taken a picture. She spent tremendous amount of energies flirting and charming the Great Sergio who stopped by to help us measure for a new window. He was properly enraptured with her. She is so close to crawling. We are going to be in for it soon! She has stretched out, and it is clear that at least one tooth is starting to work its way into her mouth. She has figured out that she can play a sort of peek a poo with the cloth that is generally in her car seat.

Minus, make sure you get on the Vermont Country Store mailing list. They do free shipping every once in a while, but only announce it via email. Every year from T-day until about December 15th is a given; then there are few times throughout the year.

*susan*

Haha, Eric, you and I both got those extra hunger pangs...

And Susan, what a fun day you spent with O! The development just gets better and better from here. Sweet!

So Bob surprised me and made it home for dinner by 8 pm (took him almost 2 hrs, what with beach and Cubs traffic on Lake Shore Dr.). By then the steak (a 10-oz’er) had yet to fully defrost, so my carb debauch continued: we walked around the corner to Ethiopian Diamond (been a year since we last ate there). We had the “Ethiopian Tour:” lentil & chicken sambusas (like samosas, but lighter, crisper and not as doughy), salad, yellow lentils, collards, beef tibs (slightly spicy stew) and mild lamb alitcha (with onions, peppers and zucchini). Except for the sambusas it doesn’t sound too carby, but......no cutlery: instead, you tear off a piece of a spongy pancake called injera (made from a fermented batter with flour of a grain called teff). The teff is itself fairly low-glycemic, though, and the acid from the fermentation also eases the glycemic load. It serves as a scoop. The platter itself was lined with more injera. We accompanied it with a Pinotage (red varietal with high acidity but fairly full body) from S. Africa. Too stuffed for dessert, we had traditional Ethiopian coffee (Yirgacheffe beans roasted very dark over a charcoal brazier, ground by hand, and brewed). Three hours later I’m still burping........and speeding.