So...whats for dinner?

had my annual GYN appointment today mid morning. Since I missed breakfast, I stopped at Katz Deli and had their version of a patty melt. Hard to even open my mouth wide enough to bite this delight - which included complementary grilled onions & mushrooms. Very drippy. Needless to say I am still full & won't need any dinner.

PP - there are several of us who live alone & cook for one. And a fair number who cook for only two. Actually I've gotten some really creative recipes here. Also I use my freezer. For example - the last time pork loin was on sale, I cut it in three parts. Immediately froze one part raw. Cooked the other two parts with different rubs/seasonings. Then froze one of the cooked sections to use for stir fry or pork w/brandy cream sauce later.

It has really been wonderful to share recipes with everyone. I'm not the most inventive person, but I've adapted lots of stuff. The one thing I don't do is bake unless I'm going out for an afternoon of cards or dominoes. I could eat bread every single meal, but my weight gain won't support that. Luckily I prefer salty things to sweet things, so I don't usually miss making cookies or cake or pies. But oh boy, am I itching to make a lemon meringue pie. Maybe in February if I've lost enough of the holiday weight.

We have great debates about pressure cookers, crock pots & spiralizers - not to mention Kitchen Aids and bread hooks - and including table settings & kitchen/dining room design. Basically everything related to food.

My housekeeper cleaned enough of the kitchen, and the HEPA filter is working well enough, for me to nuke a turkey sausage patty and fry an egg (turned out to be a double-yolker). As to the cats, naturally the vet called back when nobody was home. I don’t think there is anything further to be done (except bloodwork and chest x-rays?) and that would probably traumatize the kitties no end. But you can bet I will sequester them safely upstairs (even if it means we humans need to vacate the bedrooms so they can self-containedly feed, drink and use their litterboxes without chancing their escape) before the restoration starts.

Got my hair trimmed, washed & blow-dried today, and went to my bc support group meeting. We will have a new Survivorship Nurse facilitating future meetings, and there will be special presentations based on our suggestions. Bob called toward the end of the meeting, and we went out to Calo for dinner. We shared baked clams over romaine with lemon & olive oil; and I had grilled baby octopus over sauteed spinach. Bob had pasta e fagioli soup and ziti with tomatoes and anchovies. We brought home leftovers for Gordy.

Stir fry tonight. Easy and I love it. Just deciding between pork (I would use tenderloin) or chicken. Lots of veggies and some rice. Temps are crazy here in the Northeast! Today may hit 60 and it was MINUS two just over the weekend and into Monday. Typical though. Wild swings in our temps come every year. We have been known to have a blizzard in April so not thinking spring anytime soon.

Sandy, sounds like a nightmare!

Carole, happy to hear your Mom is improving.

Enjoy your day ladies!

tonight will be stir fry cabbage with chicken sausage, onions and garlic. I'm a lurker, been on this thread for months.

I cook for my dh and my 86 year old mother. My dd3 drops by and gets leftovers so I cook for her too. I'm in NC. Talk about a swing in temps. It was 10 degrees Sunday, will be 70 today.

We got thunderstorms all day yesterday which turned to ice by morning. We then got just enough snow for traction. Not enough ice to snap power lines or bring down tree limbs; and by the time both Bob & my housekeeper left for work the streets had been salted. Might walk to B’way Cellars or maybe even around the corner for Ethiopian tonight—not enough of my kitchen is usable yet for me to cook a full meal (nuked a frozen BBQ pork bao for breakfast today). Tomorrow when they remove the heavy equipment, put up a sturdier temporary ceiling cover and mop up after themselves, I can finally cook again. Still sticking with the Keurig for coffee and the Nespresso/Aeroccino for espresso/cappuccino. Will wait until I have a timeline for the duration of the next round of kitchen dust & debris before I call Cora Italian Specialties to pick up my prosumer espresso machine for its routine servicing and my grinder for deep-cleaning & new burrs. Today my housekeeper tackled most of the rest of the kitchen and did the crystal, china closet and wine bottles in the dining room; she’ll then do a full wet-dusting of the living room, foyer and whatever needs it in the front room.

Yesterday, at the bottom of a pile of frozen leaves that had fallen since our lawn service had gone into hibernation, my friend found a leather glove I’d dropped a week ago after paying a cabdriver and wrestling my suitcases up my stairs after a week’s vacation. I remember having immediately seen its mate on the grass just before dragging my bags upstairs, stuffed it in my pocket, and when I realized the other pocket was empty I simply assumed the glove had been left in the cab; and since it was a pleasure trip I didn’t ask for a receipt and I had to pay cash because (as happens all too often) the credit card reader “doesn’t work”* so I couldn’t call the cabbie or his company. (Made me wish I’d waited for an Uber at Midway).

*although it’s the law that all Chicago & NYC taxis accept credit cards, I’ve often encountered Chicago cabbies who tell me their card readers have broken, or maybe they intentionally disconnected them—so they could be paid and tipped in cash, with no record of the tip—which goes straight into their pockets (the fare is stored in the meter) and their fleet owners are none the wiser. The taxi lobby here has much more clout with the City Council than in other cities in which I use both cabs & Uber, and due to increased regs & fees to bring it closer to parity with taxis, Uber isn’t as much cheaper than cabs here than it is in, say, DC.

Minue2, I actually do cook. I just have done very little of it since I arrived in Spokane in June. All my energy has been turned on getting moved in, getting the house to my liking, some remodeling, and then the holidays. I moved to be near my youngest DS and DIL and my oldest DS and DIL came for Christmas - first time in 22 years we've been together. It's too bad that DH couldn't experience it (he died Sept '15). Now I can see where things may assume some normalcy so I can start cooking again. I also have bought pork loins and divied them up. I have crockpot pot roast in the freezer (amazingly my house came with a freezer in the garage!). I love my crockpot and want to cook more using it. I have a ton of recipes I've collected so I'm set. I gave away most of my cookbooks since I knew I wouldn't have room for them all (along with the 500+ books I gave away). Downsizing is such fun...NOT!

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

HUGS!

Gonna order out (or nuke a frozen dinner) again. When my son went outside to deliver some mail next door that our dyslexic substitute mailman delivered to us, he took one step on to the sidewalk…and walked back upstairs and inside. I know whereof he speaks: ice is the one weather phenomenon that terrifies me, upon which to either drive or walk. Especially now, with my post-op/pre-treatment baseline DexaScan indicating osteopenia, having now had a year on the drug, and a friend severely disabled for life by a broken hip.

Anyone else here frustrated that we have to wait 2 years after our previous (pre-treatment) DexaScan for another one to see how an AI is deteriorating our bones, or how well bone drugs are ameliorating the situation, for our insurance or Medicare to cover the scan? Not to mention not getting our estrogen levels tested to see how well the AI is working (for its intended purpose)?

Got lazy and cheap: nuked some hot wings from the freezer, knocked back some diet ginger ale, followed it up with a couple slices of salami and one of provolone, and finished with a decaf espresso and a couple of almond windmill cookies (from the only sealed box in the pantry, so I know there was no dust on them.

I think I will file a claim, because the more I read the more I fear that living here until ALL dust is eliminated—which might mean discarding all food in all cabinets, deep steam-cleaning first floor furniture and maybe even trashing some older small electric appliances—might cost us (including the cats) our lives. That ceiling was last painted in 1985 when the prior owner remodeled the kitchen, and again in 1989 after a toilet leak. But who knows if the pre-1985 paint beneath was lead, or if the plaster contained asbestos? We will need to find pet-friendly temporary housing, for heaven knows how long—and if it’s too far from public transit for Gordy to get to his theater, he might have to move in with a friend.

This is a nightmare. We might already have started down the road to lead poisoning, irreversible lung damage or even worse. Please talk me down off the ledge.

Well, we’re using a water & fire restoration company rated A+ on Angie’s List. At this point, I’m mostly concerned about the possibility of there having been lead paint dust in the plaster dust. The crew said they had originally planned to sand the bubbled & stained paint & run hoses to suck out the water before drying out the ceiling, but when they called when they were ready to start, the project manager said that there was too much water for that and to demolish down to the studs. Wish I’d known that and talked to the project manager before they swung the first sledgehammer, so I could delay enough to tarp and tape over everything in the kitchen. We can finally run the dishwasher now (the heavy equipment was blocking it and we were afraid to blow our circuits), so every dish & glass in the cabinets that can go into the dishwasher is in there now; the other stuff has to be hand washed. Inside the kitchen cabinets there’s so much dust that you can see where the dishes were. We are throwing out all open packages of food in the pantry cabinet and everything that can’t be washed off. We will replace these staples with the bare minimum until we find out what the next phase will entail and how long it’ll take.

Sandy, Please quit looking at all the worse case scenarios. Just move out, assume you, DH, DS and the kitties will be fine. Think positive! You must be feeling terribly overwhelmed (nothing like stating the obvious) to be so negative, that just isn't you. Find the extended stay that's pet friendly. Get the house repaired and while you're twiddling your thumbs waiting for it all to be fixed, decide if you want to stay in the house or sell it and move somewhere else. That will definitely keep your mind busy. I seem to recall that you have been halfway thinking about moving "eventually." Maybe this is eventually. From what you are saying, I get the feeling you may never feel safe in your home again. If so, definitely move. Mull it over and see what feels right for you and then do it. And as with BC, once you make your decision, don't look back! Good luck!

HUGS!

Selling at this point is not an option—we’ve accumulated so much stuff that winnowing & packing would be a nightmare. Bob loves to sit out on the deck at night, unless it’s snowing, storming or subzero. He also intends to keep working till 70. (he turned 67 last fall). If we were to move into anything cheaper than either a small urban condo or a smaller newer house or townhome in a far suburb, we’d likely need to take out a mortgage. Assuming the dust abates, it’s livable for us in the meantime but probably worth at least $150K less than if we repaired all the other stuff that would make it solid enough and look nice enough to be salable.

I will see what the reconstruction inspector says Tues. about the extent & duration of what needs to be done to restore the kitchen ceiling, how to prepare for it, and whether to file a claim. If we do, State Farm would put us up for as long as it takes. Gordy would probably be able to stay with our best friends (whose son just moved into his fiancee’s apt.) in their condo (they already have 3 cats in a 2-BR/1-bath apt) while we could stay up the street in the hotel and board the kitties (or my housekeeper might take them in—they adore her and the feeling is mutual; we have a cat-loving friend who has a large apt., is down to just one senior kitty and might be willing—but he collects Carnival Glass and displays most of it out in the open. Not sure if our two would steer clear of it. And he smokes). There is a pet-friendly older apt. hotel (above a hair salon) in trendy south Andersonville (abt. 2 mi. south of us) for twice the price of the Hampton Inn, but boarding the cats could be just as pricey.

Oh Sandy, there just doesn't seen to be any easy answers. But here's a ((hug)) anyway. I really hope your life can get back to some kind of normal soon.

Today I dragged out the pressure cooker, the pasta maker and the turkey carcass and made turkey noodle soup. It was pretty satisfying -- the pressure cooker makes such a rich stock.

Not as much sleet and ice here as St. Louis has, we may get hit harder later.

Btw, where is Lacey?

Love weekends! Gives me time to try new recipes. I am going to try this savory no yeast, no knead bread recipe that I found in one of the many food blogs I am drawn to these days.

Sandy, an extra squishy hug for your nightmare of a problem!

http://www.recipetineats.com/cheese-herb-garlic-quick-bread/comment-page-2/#comments

No Yeast Cheese, Garlic and Herb Bread

10 mins

40 mins

50 mins

A bread made without yeast with swirls of herb and pockets of cheese throughout. Slices well and especially great toasted!

Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 8

Cheese and Herbs

• 4 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used a mix of dill, rosemary, parsley and thyme) (Note 1)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 oz / 150g block cheese (cheddar or tasty), cut into 2mm / 0.1" thick slices (about 10 to 12 slices) (Note 2)
• Butter for greasing

Dry Ingredients

• 2¼ cups plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1¼ cups buttermilk (See Note 3 for substitute)
• 2 eggs
• 2 small garlic cloves, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Grease a bread tin (21 x 11 cm / 8" x 4") or small cake tin with butter.
3. Mix the herbs and olive oil in a small bowl.
4. Sift the Dry Ingredients into a bowl.
5. Combine the Wet Ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
6. Make a well in the centre of the Dry Ingredients. Pour the Wet Ingredients in and mix until just combined.
7. Pour ⅓ of the batter into the bread tin. Dollop half the herbs across the top then use a knife to "swirl" it into the batter up and down, and also turning the batter over (refer photo below).
8. Use half the cheese slices and push them randomly into the batter. Push some all the way in and leave some poking out of the batter.
9. Pour the remaining batter over the top. Dollop and swirl the remaining herbs, then randomly wedge in the remaining cheese, pushing most of it below the surface of the batter. Even out the surface.
10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Remove from oven and cover with foil, then bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes (total baking time of 45 to 50 minutes). Check to make sure the centre is cooked by inserting a skewer - it should come out clean.
11. Turn the bread out onto a cooking rack. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

1. You can substitute the fresh herbs with 2 tbsp dried herbs.

2. You can substitute with pre sliced cheese but I found it did not work as well because they are slightly thinner so they sort of disappear when baked. Cutting it yourself means you can cut them slightly thicker so you will end up with some ribbons of melted cheese in the bread.

You can also substitute with grated cheese. If you do this, mix it straight into the batter just before pouring it in the tin.

Tasty cheese is a common type of cheese here in Australia. A great all rounder and very good value. You can use any type of melting cheese with flavour / salt that you wish. Colby, Monterey Jack, cheddar, gruyere are all great! I don't recommend Mozzarella - it does not have enough salt or flavour for this particular recipe.

3. You can substitute this with 1 cup + 3 tbsp milk at room temperature +
1 tbsp vinegar. Set aside for 10 minutes until the surface of the milk curdles. Then use the milk, including the curdled bits, as the buttermilk in this recipe.

4. Store in an airtight container for 3 days (4+ days, keep it in the fridge and toast to freshen up).

3.4.3177

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