So...whats for dinner?

Beautiful colored leaves, Moon. We saw quite a bit of color in north MN in late Sept. It's still warm here in south Louisiana, though not as hot as the worst of summer.

Dinner tonight will be Subway poboys at an informal concert at a vineyard. We're going with another couple. It's a bring-your-own-chair and sit outdoors events. The price of two tickets includes a bottle of wine.

carole - my DD is headed to Louisiana on Monday, she will be fishing in Hopewell with friends for a few days. She is excited!

I love ancient instrument concerts—I once caught the tail end of a free Handel concerto performance at The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the first time I went to London. (Now that Sir Neville Marriner is gone, I don’t know if that tradition will continue). My college chorus did Handel’s “Saul” from the original autograph score—all four hours of it. We were bussed up from Brooklyn College to the U. of NH to perform it while being recorded. Sadly, they were unable to edit out the conductor’s “buzzing” humming imitation of the bows bouncing off the strings as he conducted. (it was a live, simultaneous multi-mic, not isolatable multi-track recording).

Sounds like a lovely afternoon, Minus! And tasty supper after the very interesting sounding play. Yes, I do recall that last year at this time was our wonderful rendezvous at erbaluce with Susan and your friend, Pat. I love that you make the effort to meet folks during your travels. Hope you get to meet Eric soon! Loved all those unique names for the babies in your extended family. Our beach is loaded with little ones with never heard before names....or at least rarely used ones. It must be a mellennial thing. And those kids will not have to be called, Matthew A., Matthew G., and Matthew S. at school!

I am baking a zucchini, banana, blueberry bread. Been wanting to try it. I'm hoping it comes out well as tomorrow I am taking a loaf to my friend who is dying....really to her DH and family as she is unable to eat, and is barely responsive. So sad....one of the most energetic, healthy and fun gals I've ever known, stricken with a very aggressive uterine cancer. When my DDIL (the GYN surgeon)heard of her diagnosis, she told me that the prognosis would be grim, and I hardly believed her. My friend went through a lot of really aggresive treatment for over a year, and was in remission for several years before it metasticized with a vengeance on other essential organs. Her chemo over this past year, stopped working, and she could not get into any new drug trials, and has just been wasting away. Her kidneys are seriously compromised now so she is in hospice care at home, with family and friends keeping vigil. I was fearful that she would be gone when we returned from our trip to VT to see my sister. So I am relieved to be able to offer some comfort tomorrow. And I hope the bread is good for her family....

Tuesday I am scheduled for jury duty....at the worst court location of all those in my county. Maybe they will say I do not have to check in, when I call, as directed, tomorrow afternoon.

Then Tuesday night, we have two sequential commitments...not my style!

Wednesday night we have a Celtics pre-game, and will probably eat downtown so will need to tape the debate and see it very late....yawn!

I am hoping for a clear calendar Thursday since I am not great at constant activity these days, as you can tell by my grousing. I'll probably sleep a lot!

Friday DS2's future mil and sil fly into town, and I will meet them at the dress shop, then take them out to dinner.

Saturday, a couple who used to be neighbors invited us to see their new (downsized) home in a nearby town. Then we'll all go to a restaurant near them. She had invited us for dinner, but I know that she has a busy work schedule and suggested that we eat in one of the new restaurants that have cropped up in their town.

Yesterday we ate at the tailgate before the UMASS football game with DS2 and his cohorts. The guys cooked steak tips and ribs and all sorts of things we don't usually eat. It was all delicious!!! LOL I brought hummus and tiny pita bread rounds, and made lemon crackle cookies which the " kids" all loved and gobbled up. How do those thirty something gals stay so thin?!

Tonight we had orange teriyaki marinated grilled chicken thighs, baked sweet potato, acorn squash and salad. I completely forgot that I had a bowl of ratatouille in the fridge...but we will have that with the chicken leftovers tomorrow night after our gym classes.

Special, I'm sorry for your in-laws challenges. Very hard at their ages to deal with all of that.

Nance, I hope that your dad finds it easier to adapt over time....and geesh! How awful for you to get that hand foot and mouth disease. I was worried all week when our grands were visiting last summer after they had it, and a few blisterserupted here and there...and of course they would have to touch it to show us! I was sure we'd all get it, but relieved that we didmnot. It's good it has a time limited course....but in your case, two hours would have been more than you needed with everything on your plate! Glad you are better!

Off to find my jury duty letter so I can call in tomorrow......

Carole, the reason the vines looked so unhealthy is that harvest season is pretty much over—except for grapes that are left on the vines to rot (concentrating the sugars) to make classic dessert wines (beerenauslese rieslings and botrytised semillon/sauv. blanc a la Sauternes) or even freeze for eiswein (ice wine). But the grapes for both types of wine require a much dryer climate than the Gulf Coast (and it doesn’t get cold enough down there for grapes to freeze for ice wine)—in fact, vinifera grapes (the classic Old World wine varietals grown in CA, WA, OR and friendlier climates in other states) do very, very poorly in hot & humid climates without cool nights and relatively cool winters. I noticed that the varietals on the website are all made from grapes grown in CA’s Mendocino Valley—north part of the primary viticultural area (Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Livermore valleys) surrounding the Bay Area. The others don’t state the names of the grapes, much less where they’re grown. Safe bet that those not made from other fruits are made from either vinifera-labrusca (native N. American) grapes probably also grown further north) hybrids or labrusca (Concord, Muscadine, Scuppernong, Catawba) that do OK in the South.

Even those Southern wineries that make vinifera varietals can grow only one or two types that survive the hot and humid summers—and those tend to be in Appalachia, where the winters are fairly cold. Most wineries outside the West, MI, and parts of MA, VA and NY use mainly purchased grapes &/or grow hybrids. And the wines made from the hybrids—even the dry table wines—tend to be sweeter than those made from 100% vinifera (Chardonnay, Sauv. Blanc, Cabernet Sauv., Pinot Noir, Riesling, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Syrah, Petite Sirah, etc.).

But wineries—as opposed to vineyards and winemaking estates (winery & vineyard on the same property)—can be located anywhere. They purchase grapes from all over and make & bottle wines on-site. There’s a chain of Chicago-area restaurants called Cooper’s Hawk Winery that has wineries in their basements; and a chain of wine-centric concert hall/restaurant/wine bar venues in Chicago, NYC, Nashville, & L.A. called City Winery (featuring top nationally-touring acoustic music artists—folk, jazz, blues, etc.), that make one or two wines on-premises and serve them on a rotating basis as part of a list that includes vinifera wines from all over the U.S.

Whoops, forgot about TX hill country wines—many delicious, all vinifera. Hot dry terroir is good for many robust vinifera varietals. Hot and wet isn’t. (The best wines come from grapes that have had to “work” for their water & nutrients, and yield relatively little per vine, concentrating the sugars—and therefore, the flavor and alcohol potential; the easier it is for grapevines to get water and nutrients, the larger the yield and the more “dilute” the grapes, with duller flavors). Even in prime wine country, a spell of wet weather at the wrong time can wreck a vintage.

An Italian friend of mine (from Italy) makes her own sausage every year around this time and she gave me ten pounds (she is so sweet) and it is truly the best I have ever had. (am not a big sausage person but I love hers) She gave me 7 lbs of sweet and 3 lbs of hot. Tonight I will make my "one pan wonder" for hubby with two pounds of the sausage. He loves it. Sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic and potatoes all cooked in one pan. I serve it with some French baguette and call it a day. My husband loves this dish with a passion. I like it well enough and it is pretty easy although it involves a lot of cutting up of veggies. I use my very large electric skillet to make this and it works great.

I froze the rest of the sausage for use in spaghetti sauce and home made pizza.

Nance, how frustrating for you to serve on that jury! Coincidentally, I sent off a letter today asking to be excused from jury duty. I wouldn't mind serving on a jury but I am seldom picked because of my background as teacher and writer. Too much imagination, I was told by one lawyer who rejected me for his jury. My age (over 70) allows me to be excused but my main reason was my responsibilities to visit my mother at the nursing home. My sister and I have a schedule where I go on T, TH, and Sat. She goes on M, W, and F. Sunday is up for grabs with other siblings encouraged to visit.

I have dinner prepped. Pork tenderloin sliced into medallions, sweet potato peeled and chunked up for roasting. Salad will be tomato and cucumber and onion for dh.

April, lucky you to be gifted all that homemade sausage!

Missing Susan and updates on little Olivia.

I've done criminal jury duty once, and civil three times (twice at the Daley Center—the main courthouse in the Loop—and once out in Arlington Heights/Mt. Prospect). In IL we also have a one day/one trial system. But on any given day in any given courthouse, there are anywhere from 30-100 people in the jury waiting area. At the Daley Center there is an entire floor exclusively devoted to the jury program. At least now they have TVs and no longer confiscate cellphones unless we're actually empaneled to serve in a trial. They let us leave the premises for lunch—but at the suburban courthouse, there was nowhere to go but the crummy basement cafeteria.

For years, I was exempt because either Bob or I were actually parties to or representing a party in an active case on the trial docket. Finally, Bob got dismissed from a malpractice suit when the actually-negligent doctor’s insurer settled with the patient’s family. Bob then actually called the Jury Coordinator to tell him he was eligible again—he wanted a day off work to sit in the jury waiting room reading and have a nice lunch in the Loop. And the County obliged.

(In many malpractice cases, plaintiffs’ attys. will name everyone who ever saw the patient, even if they were not the the treating physician at the time, much less being on duty or on call. Once when I was an Asst. AG, I was assigned to defend a malpractice case against the U. of I. Hospital. There was a list of 27 defendants—including the nurses, nurses’ aides, attendings, fellows, residents, interns, medical students, everyone but the transporters who had been anywhere near the ER on the night in question. Sure enough, Bob was named—as were four of his fellow residents. Didn’t matter that none of them had ever seen nor been asked to see the patient. So I asked to be excused from the case. I found out that everyone but the hospital and the ER attendings were dropped from the suit….and the plaintiffs (the patient’s parents) ended up taking a voluntary nonsuit0.

On only one day was I actually called down to a trial courtroom for voir dire examination—twice, in fact. First time, in an auto accident personal-injury case, the plaintiff's attorney asked me if I'd ever represented a personal injury defendant. When I replied I had—years earlier as an Asst. AG defending a state motor pool driver--I was excused by the judge for cause. After lunch, I was called down for a property-damage case and this time the defendant's attorney asked me if I'd ever represented plaintiffs, and when I said I had, he challenged me for cause. The judge denied the challenge, and asked me if I could be impartial and not substitute my interpretation of the law for his jury instructions. I agreed I would. But this time the defendant’s attorney used one of his six peremptory challenges (i.e., “just because,” not challengeable, no justification need be given) and back upstairs I went and was immediately handed my $17 check (which wouldn’t have even covered my parking had I not taken the L) and sent home.

I was summoned again last year, but it would have been smack dab in the midst of radiation treatments. So my RO wrote a letter and the summons was cancelled. Just dawned on me that I never contacted them to say I was available again.

BTW - my eating is limited to perishables on hand since I'm going to Phoenix on Thursday. Today's linner was two toasted mini-bagels with cream cheese & smoked salmon and two small cookies. Tonight will be popcorn. (Yeah, I know it's midnight so popcorn will technically be tomorrow's breakfast). Tomorrow mid-day will be spiralized zucchini and tiny baby Dutch potatoes which I will boil & then maybe lightly saute w/butter & maybe garlic. Tomorrow night will be carrots, radishes & cauliflower dipped in Ranch dressing. If I'm still hungry, I'll have an English muffin with peanut butter.

Minus, I hope you have a great trip and enjoy the time with your brother. I also hope you manage to get together with Eric.

I made an impulse purchase of a carton of lump crab meat today at the Winn Dixie, my local supermarket. So instead of the dinner I had planned to prepare, we're having crab cakes.

Go, Cubs!

Hey Minus have a great trip.

Been called to jury duty 4-5 times, always eliminated. too weird, I guess.Or maybe my background and job

For dinner I actually pulled my red carrots out of the garden and roasted them with Brussels sprouts- not the best combination but I had them on hand- with olive oil rosemary from the garden,garlic, sea salt and pepper

I'm taking it to work tomorrow. I love my job but can't wait until the new employee is oriented and I can go to 4 days a week.

I want to be one of those Grandmas that I see walking with the baby stroller at 8 am on my way to work . Can't wait until May!

This afternoon, I began the countdown of my last tomatoes of the season. 11 on the windowsill, 8 still on the vine (and when the temp dips to 40, in they'll come). Tomato #19 became insalata Caprese: homegrown basil, 12-yr-old real balsamic, California olive oil, domestic mozzarella di bufala (yup, they're making it in the U.S. from buffalo milk now, albeit not water buffalo), and Breton gray sea salt…from the little grinder dispenser bottle I bought in a Tuscan supermarket. Washed it down with a cappuccino and a little square of 70% dark chocolate.

Then Bob came home and wanted to go out to B'way Cellars for dinner…sitting at the bar, of course—one eye on the Cubs and the other on the Bears. Started with a shared salad of garbanzos, asparagus and baby lobster tail atop field greens. Then I had a big bowl of mussels steamed in white wine and olive oil, with the broth finished with cream and Dijon mustard. Accompanied both courses with one flute of cava; when it ran out I switched back to ice water. Bob had an apple cider-vodka martini, a regular martini and two glasses of Zinfandel with his half of the salad and then a grilled chipotle-marinated hanger steak with BBQ sauce, over chorizo hash and green beans. Walked home as the bottom of the 5th inning started, lest my presence continue to jinx the Cubs. (I didn't watch a single pitch last night, hearing only a little of the game as I prepped veggies and shrimp for a stir-fry).

Still burping as we speak.

I'm slowly getting over what ever gripped me.... cough, sneeze, lots of tissue, a bit of a headache and not much energy. One of those "man cold" things, I guess. :-)

I've been staying away from my mom but I'm hoping I can see her Sunday..