So...whats for dinner?

Carole, for that, the two most promising are in my cookbook collection are:

Silver palate, Poppy-seed dressing, page 222, and Joy of Cooking 1997 Poppy seed honey dressing.

It's been a long time since I've belonged to a gym. DH and I joined up after we quit smoking and kept at it for a couple years or so then it got to be a burden, so quit. I'll get back to walking now that the weather is trying to improve. Patch loves to go for walks and we've been doing short ones since I'm a tad out of shape after this winter. When it gets warmer yet then we'll walk our park. It's good exercise. There are different length circuits in it, all with hills. We generally do about a half mile plus extra blocks getting there and back. That works for us.

Sandy, I think you're right on the approach to dieting - from what I've read. What a different idea - figuring out dinner around the wine. Not me. I drink whatever moves me and is in the fridge - doesn't matter what I'm eating. But you know your wines and I sure don't.

My DIL's mother stopped by today. I'd already called her earlier and we have a date for lunch next week. She lost her hubby New Year's Eve and is still coping with all the paperwork etc but is doing well. Since we both had years of caregiving our husbands, I was able to assure her that the feeling relieved of that burden is very normal. We had a great talk. It's good to like this extended family. And why isn't there a "name" for daughter-in-law's mother? Or son's mother-in-law? English doesn't do very well on names for relatives.

The rain has arrived.

HUGS!

Peggy - interesting that I originally started going to a gym when I stopped smoking. I started with Curves and graduated to Bally then dropped out for awhile when they sold to LA Fitness & became less user friendly. Now that I'm more or less retired, I can take the classes in the middle of the day.

My approach to diet and wines and exercise and life in general is MODERATION. I refuse to completely give up anything that I enjoy (except smoking and that was 10 years ago). I never gave up butter, and the circle turned so now it's good again. Life's too short to be unhappy all the time, and for sure BC reminded all of us of that fact. The only thing where I don't employ moderation is reading. Another benefit of retirement - I can read all day if I get hooked on a book.

That said, I agree with Carole that I do better with some structure, and with Lacey that I feel better when I don't overindulge & slip out of form. Hmmm. Saturday at 4:45 and a dreary, rainy day. The sun is well over the yard arm where some of you live so I think I'll open a bottle of red wine.

Hope that Bedo is OK. We haven't heard a thing since she trekked off to the wilds of Iowa.

p.s. - Susan - so good to have you posting.

The best gyms to which I ever belonged were Lakeshore A.C. and Galter Life Center—and eventually, parking problems made them untenable for me, due to their distance and difficulty using public transit to get to them. Lakeshore was great—massages, a snack bar, full pool & spa, classes & meetings, child care, lots of Nautilus machines (and free guidance in using them). But scoring a parking spot was difficult—and part of the lot had freight train tracks running through it, with trains coming through maybe twice a week but unscheduled, on only 15 minutes’ notice before the tow trucks came. Pretty hard to get out of the pool, dry off, get dressed (two floors down) and out to the car in time to move it, so I was towed twice at great expense. I realized it was time to surrender my membership when I found myself having to walk three blocks in the ice & snow to get there after parking. I joined Galter, which was almost as nice and attached to Swedish Covenant Hospital, but it too suffered from inadequate (and pay) parking and even more difficulty (3 buses) getting there. Nonetheless, I tried…until I tore my ACL on vacation and had to let my membership lapse; I reactivated a year later, only to suffer a badly broken leg at the hands of a spaced-out driver. They let me out of my contract.

Just to let you all know that I will be going on vacation to the Pacific Northwest next week. I expect to spend two weeks in Sequim, Washington & Newport, Oregon - both on the water - eating Dungeness crab and every cold water fish that I can find. I won't have access to the internet, so I'll have to catch up with your culinary delights the end of the month. Not to mention posting how much weight I've gained. (ugh)

Crab in Sequim, fresh oysters in Newport, great salmon everywhere you’re going. Yum!!!! (Lived in Seattle ’71-78, haven’t been back since ’99, miss it so much).

Minus,

Have a brilliant time! Enjoy every crustacean and bi-valve delight, and do make sure to have salmon about 27 different ways!

*susan*

Morning bagels:

*susan*

And Minus if you had been, I would have sliced some red onion very thinly, added some capers, and even found a ripe tomato. Feeling weak today, so I took those shortcuts.

Bagels look yummy! I generally make my bagels-and-lox (actually, the guys get the real sesame & poppy bagels and I get the lo-carb/hi-fiber bread or a mini whole-wheat bagel) with red onions, sliced tomato, capers and fresh dill. Interestingly, today’s bagels are twice or even three times the size of the bagels I grew up with half a century ago back in Brooklyn. On the original WW plan, on “maintenance" one bagel counted as two servings of bread (and later on, 2 grain exchanges). Today the average bagel would be at least four. The mini bagels they sell at NY Bagel & Bialy would have been considered standard ones back in the day.

Last night we went to Big Jones, a Southern “low country” restaurant in the trendy neighborhood a mile south of us. They’re doing a “salute to crawfish” through the beginning of April. (Unfortunately for my diet, the crawfish boil is offered only on Thursday nights). I had house-made ginger beer instead of wine (acknowledging of course that I was exchanging alcohol for sugar, but it was oh, so tasty). Bob had gumbo, and we shared fried green tomatoes on Bibb lettuce as an app. For our entrees we both had crawfish pie (more crawfish and less sauce than I recall down in NOLA, and hand-pie/empanada rather than pot-pie style) with fresh herb (mostly mint & cilantro) salad—which with the lime dressing tasted like a mojito on a plate. We shared a side of roasted shaved brussels sprouts & pecans. I could get through only half my pie & veg, so I brought it home and had it for a late breakfast today. (Bob is still asleep). I am too stuffed to think of dinner. Tonight, if we can still eat, I will probably defrost a steak and sear it in cast iron, and scrounge up whatever veggies in the crisper are still fresh.

Gorgeous Susan! I can see I'm going to have to make bagels now. I have to make 2 or 2.5 ounce ones because of the heavy carb load. I like red onion and tomato with mine. Don't seem to ever bother with the capers unless the kids are here.

Carole, I admire your dedication to the gym. I continue to pay our membership fee in spite of not having been there since before Christmas. I'm afraid if I don't I'll never go back. Even though I love working with weights. It's the one form of exercise I actually enjoy. Well I enjoy bike riding too but I can do weights more often without getting bored..

Making corned beef and cabbage today for my dad. He has another doctor's appointment tomorrow - one of the many reasons I can't seem to get to the gym.

I charged my training sessions in advance too, though I’m paying $30/mo for the membership via a BCBS Medicare discount. (Used to be $25/mo, for a much wider variety of chains—including JCCs—with interchangeable visits. Had it for only 5 mos. but never used it).

KB, you and me both. One glass of wine is all I can manage. And I definitely don't drive. Two and I'm loopy.

MinusTwo, Too bad you aren't coming further east to Spokane - you could visit me! Have fun!

Sandy, paying for parking for the gym would be a non-starter but then I don't live in the inner city like you do. And train tracks with tickets. Just swell.

HUGS!

Peggy - I've already found at least 15 things I want to do that won't happen because of time constraints and the weather. Look like I'll have to come back again.

We are going to get pounded in CT with this storm. We are expecting between 15 and 24 inches where I live. Winds up to 60 mph gusts and sustained of 25-30. Blizzard conditions. No work tomorrow for sure. They are having me call all of my appointments and reschedule them for tomorrow as well as Wed. morning as they expect we will open late. Ugh...I want SPRING! Damn groundhog...LOL

Laid in "supplies" for the storm. Will make French Onion soup with gruyere and crouton and Roast Beef sammies to go with. I will buy some nice club rolls for the sandwiches on the way home from work tonight as well as thinly sliced roast beef made fresh at the Italian deli. So good. Also, tonight will be linguini with meatballs and sausage as I made that on Saturday. Is anything we are having lately not fattening? NO! I have to get on the stick. Also making home baked chocolate chip cookies (hubby request for the past few weeks and since he is recovering from knee surgery, I guess I will make them)

Going to be really tough to dig out of the snow with hubby recovering from surgery and me using a cane and the snow blower is too big to handle for me personally (am 4'11" tall...LOL) so hopefully my son can come over to do it. He has 4 wheel drive and lives about half an hour from me. He better do it or he will be grounded! HA!

Have a great day ladies (and Eric). If you are in the path of the storm, stay safe!