So...whats for dinner?

Susan - Cute rompers!

Had a "mini-pizza" made on a small naan, with pesto, some chicken breast, a few thin slices of chicken bratwurst, mushrooms, fresh tomato and a sprinkle of cheese. DH had it ready to pop in the oven when I came home.

Am saving my appetite today for dinner out prior to seeing La Boheme. We are celebrating Father's Day a day early and also 27th anniversary on 6/30 (will be in NYC area visiting DS & DD). Looking forward to a nice evening.

lillimae - yummy!! Lucky girl.

For the very first time in my long cooking life - and even longer life as some of you know my age - I made an Italian sauce from real honest to god fresh tomatoes - not canned. I did help my Grandma & my Mother bottle fresh tomatoes, but that's not really the same thing.

I had a bunch of tomatoes that needed to be used & it was almost too late for salad, so I tackled a Rosa Sauce. It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. Compiled from 6 recipes & meatless. Hmmmm, maybe Vodka sauce next time? Served over Farfalle (no for heaven's sake, I'm not ready to try fresh pasta yet) with steamed spinach on the side. (it needed to be used too), There's enough sauce for one more meal next week.

Last night's dinner out: Split crab cake appetizer with DH, DH's main course was paella with extra shrimp, Mine was pasta w/grilled shrimp, scallops, artichoke & mushrooms and we split an order of roasted brussels with pancetta & vanilla butter. Had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It was all delicious!

Last night was leftover romaine salad (from Friday night’s softshell crab Louis) with baby arugula, rainbow cherry tomatoes & vinaigrette, followed by Atkins lasagna (which was much better and more substantial than I’d expected). Father’s Day brunch out was chicken-giardineria quiche with salad, followed by a bananas Foster bread pudding we shared (and most of which we brought home). For dinner, just gonna sit here & burp.

Might make myself a chopped liver (my heritage’s soul food) sandwich on low-carb bread, &/or a Caprese with heirloom tomatoes & homegrown basil. Or whatever Bob wants to order out—it’s still Fathers’ Day after all.

Bob went around the corner & brought back dinner from En Lai. It’s nominally Chinese, but calls itself “Asian.” (I think what it does best is Thai). Bob likes it because they serve brown rice, but I find that everything on the Chinese side of the menu has the same heavy, overly salty & sweet brown sauce; and here in the heart of one of America’s largest SE Asian communities, it seems to use only American vegetables, (broccoli, carrots, celery, onions, etc.) albeit not overcooked. It’s small-town Midwestern Chinese-American: as if they couldn’t find bok choy, bean sprouts, Chinese broccoli, choi sum, bitter melon, etc. and had to make do with what they could find at Wal-Mart or Aldi. Having been raised on Cantonese-American back in NYC (both in the neighborhoods & Chinatown), as was I, I’m surprised Bob likes it so much. Hot & sour soup, bland veggie spring roll, sesame grilled chicken with veggies, more mixed veggies, and BBQ pork satays with gloppy sweet brown sauce (like diluted hoisin mixed with Karo syrup).

But I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth—so I said “thank you, I love you,” and took some food.

Celia, your dinner out sounds yummy to me.

Eric, I know you enjoyed the early Father's Day with Sharon and DD. All your food sounds good, too.

We're having chili weather here in northern MN. I cooked a lb. of dry pinto beans earlier after doing a "quick" soak by bringing them to a boil in water and letting them sit for an hour. The meat in the chili is 8 oz grass fed ground beef and 8 oz ground pork, sautéed with finely diced onion. The two large cloves of garlic, diced, went into the beans raw. After the beans were tender, I added a small can of tomato paste, half a can of Rotel tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, s & p.

I'll grate some cheddar to sprinkle on top of each serving and make a salad. So dinner is mostly done.

Last night's dinner was store-made fresh brats, slowly steamed in beer and then browned. One side was skillet potatoes that were delicious. Russet potatoes peeled and sliced. Tossed with a little oil, s & p, garlic and onion power. Browned in a skillet and then cooked with a lid on until tender. Also salad of kale and assorted crunchies with added avocado.

I have been reading, but have been too fatigued to post. Lots of guests coming and going. And, another romper made! This one was a solid lavender color; a remnant from an outfit that I made for Lauren when she was about 2. This is Olivia's dad's favorite color. She spent today in this outfit. She played in the mister spray, in the dirt, all over the yard. She was dirty. The romper was dirty. It didn't restrict her movement at all.

Tonight we grilled some chicken thighs and wings, cooked up some potatoes in a fry pan, and made some cole slaw.

Tomorrow is Cycle 4, week 2.

*susan*

Thinking of you Susan..

Thinking of making meatloaf for dinner.

Susan, amazing that you kept a remnant that many years! What a blessing Olivia has been/is for you. I wish I could send you some energy and stamina.

Last night's chili was very tasty and satisfying. Of course there are leftovers.

Not sure what tonight's dinner will be. Depends on dh, who will heading off to Kansas City, MO, tomorrow to attend a national wood turners' gathering. I will be on my own without a vehicle until next Monday. I am stocked up on food in the refrigerator and freezer so eating definitely won't be a problem. This trip is his present for his 78th birthday on June 8. I hope he has a great time watching demonstrations by some of the country's best wood turners.

Back to dinner. We may have hot dogs with chili, with or without buns. And another good salad. I will let him decide whether we use our tee time this afternoon at 3:50.

120F degrees. That's getting close to 50C.

Note the "partly sunny"...

Imagine my horror, when arriving at Dana Farber, to discover that they had switched me to Nurse Karen again! Seriously? The poor receptionist was shocked when I said "No. I will not be having Nurse Karen." She said, "oh yes. That is your assignment." And I came right back "Nope. Really. I will NOT be having Nurse Karen." "But I will have to call the charge nurse. Your infusion might be delayed." "Fine. I have already talked with the Director of 9th Floor nursing and was told I would never get Nurse Karen again."

Off to the waiting room where I assumed I would wait for hours as punishment. Vital signs, and then straight to a chair where Nurse Stephen came to get my blood. Then I was chastised by one of the "front desk take you to your chair people" for a Nurse Lucy not knowing where I was. It was all so weird. Turns out that Stephen was the charge nurse and was passing me off to Lucy, who was clearly not a Lucy but a Chinese equivalent. Long story short, she was fine. I was pretty much on schedule. The 5:30AM wake up was the hardest part of the day. Except, I feel like crap tonight. Loads of the big D, so I haven't kept anything in my system. I didn't even try to eat dinner. Potassium went up a bit. Weight was stable. I am optimistic that tomorrow I will feel whole again.

*susan*

Sending you positive energy Susan...I wish I could do more.

No dinner tonight for me. I ate a kind of large lunch today (I don't often eat a heavy lunch) and I'm still full from that. Sharon ate some of the Chicken & Dumplings that she had cooked Saturday, so it all worked out.

It's down to 118F now at almost 8pm. This is where we pay for our 70F degree winters...still it's, I think, a good deal, even if it's not yet summer. Heat doesn't rust cars and in a few days, "the pizza oven" will have cooled to more moderate temperatures.

Tonight's dinner is going to be simple. Thinking of making some spaghetti.