So...whats for dinner?

How my garden grows:

There was a hummingbird in the coneflower pic the instant before I snapped it.

Spent the night in Pecos, TX

We took a detour and stopped at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.

After my workout tonight, it’ll be pan-seared sockeye fillet, sauteed sugar snap peas, and some leftover saffron rice from Gordy’s Indian take-out last night.

Was feeling like crud so hubby brought home dinner. Would have heated up what was left of the chili but hubby didn't want me to cook tonight. Told him tomorrow night is the leftover chili.

What a gorgeous garden! Wow!

Dinner tonight was, well, perhaps odd. The core was blueberry muffins. My best friend during high school came for brunch yesterday brought us local Rhode Island blueberries, so muffins was a given. Mr. SMT looked nostalgic and said "fried pork chops" and that was the deal. Center cut pork chops were actually on sale and I bought a package with just two. A simple cucumber salad, and tomatoes with garlic and basil, and of course olive oil, also brought from RI was the rest of the realm. I was able to eat half a thin cut chop, 1.5 muffins, cucumbers and one slice of the tomato.

Poor Mr. SMT is digging footings for the porch and this is his dinner. Poor man!

I start cycle 5 tomorrow and will get a copy of the scan report. My food is already packed. Plain yogurt with raspberries from my garden, granola to top in a separate bag, boiled egg, and a big bag of little fishes. I also have a small V8 and some seltzer. I am ready!

Current guests, checked in today, are from Florida and have wasted half a day of Boston time hanging in their rooms. I just don't get this. They have been here since 2PM and all they have done is eat some Thai and hang in their rooms with the A/C on.There is a garden with lovely ocean breezes. There is a city waiting to be explored.

*susan*

At least these FL guests aren’t trashing the place. In their defense, travel is much more grueling than it used to be. Anywhere in FL to Boston is a long flight, and there’s the trip to the airport, TSA & boarding hassle at one end and baggage claim and the trip to Somerville at the other. If they drove up the coast instead, they’re probably exhausted as well. So they probably welcomed the chance to eat and cool off.

Here’s my food porn for tonight:

Sugar snap peas sliced on the bias, sauteed in garlic-ginger oil with toasted sesame seeds; pan-seared fresh wild sockeye salmon; and some reheated take-out saffron rice (if you look closely to the right of the fork handle, you can see a thread of saffron). The salmon was very easy to do, per the America’s Test Kitchen recipe. Unlike thicker Atlantic salmon fillets (or Pacific king if you can find it), these don’t need a five-minute brining. Liberally sprinkle a nonstick skillet with kosher salt. Pat the fish dry on both sides, and season only the top with kosher salt & a few grinds of pepper. Put it skin side down in the pan, and only then turn on the heat, to medium-low. Flip the fish when it’s white (cooked fat rendered from the skin plus the moisture in the salmon itself) a little less than halfway up the side. Watch carefully—as soon as it’s just about opaque, take its temp. with an instant-read thermometer—should be between 120-125. Remove to the plate (where it’ll continue to cook) and sprinkle with scallion tops.

Until I learned this method, I always either undercooked sockeye or coho salmon and had to give it a final zap in the microwave, or overcooked it to where the skin would shrink and the flesh would “seize up” and be dry, flaky & chewy—needing a knife as well as a fork. The cold-pan method produces barely-opaque silky slabs that cleave off along the grain when nudged with a fork. Oh—and did I forget to mention oil? That’s because you don’t even use any!

We are eating lunch at the rest area on I-24 near Chattanooga,TN. It's, as always, beautiful.

We bring an ice chest and fix a lunch at the picnic tables. It's much easier and we don't over eat.

Cycle 5 has begun. Had a wonderful FN for the blood draw. We got to chatting since I mentioned that my infusion snack was yogurt with raspberries from the garden. So then, she wanted to know what else was in my garden. Now, she wanted to know about my herbs. Turns out she grows tarragon since there is always fresh tarragon on her table and you just grab some as you eat the meal Well, I had to ask her what cuisine. Persian! Well, my lovely Persian guests from last year– well the two daughters have called and want to come see me on Friday. So, I was able to ask about what food I serve with the tea in addition to the little Almond-Orange mini bundt cakes. She suggests a famous appetizer dish of feta, mint, walnuts and flatbread. I have found fancier versions on the web, but I like her simplicity. I will also serve their mother's Persian tea. Daughter Nº 1 has finished her first year of medical school and just loves it all.

Doctor's appointment was just odd. She was off her game. THE COMPUTER wouldn't boot up. No scan report to review. No blood work to discuss. Nothing. So we chatted. She listened to my heart, worried about my separating toe nails, and catalogued my fatigue factor. But, not in the computer.

In the waiting room, there were 10 patients waiting to go back to a chair. 4 of them were male. [And one was ONLY 31 years old!] The other three it appears are on a study that is taking place primarily on Tuesdays which explains why such a large percentage of the patients are male when I am in the waiting room. From what I overheard, the study is of a Pfizer drug.

My infusion snack was delicious. The raspberries this year are very special and pair well with the yogurt and granola. I also had a hard-cooked egg. Dinner will be a grilled burger, cole slaw and potato. More potato. My potassium is clinging to the bottom of normal. Can't let up. My sodium is still too low. I don't think I can eat much more salt though.

*susan*

Bedo - we're just so glad that you are checking in. 24/24 is a rough schedule. Glad they've provided an apartment.

Susan - interesting to contemplate what will get recorded in your chart once the computer works again. At one point the docs recommended "jubila" for my toenails. The nurse said it might be a bit pricey. No joke - $400 for 1/3 oz. I declined.

I was going to have potato salad & coleslaw for dinner, but the husband of my friend who died just called and wants to drive a bunch of neighbors out for pizza. Since it's a place that has an excellent salad in addition to great pizza by the slice, I'm headed out.

Sorry, Ive been hit and run on these boards so much. Been so busy and my kidneys have been acting up. stones and loss of function. Then I had my onco appt and he set me up for an ultra sound. Hopefully scar tissue. They took me off my BP medz, my Metformin, and my anti inflammatory. I"m not moving well. Getting a BMP on Thursday, to see if kidney is better or worse. Sigh. Life is grand. LOL.

Made a small meatloaf with boiled potato and carrot today. It was really good. Ate it all! But it was the size of a hamburger, don"t get excited. LOL. Hope all is well with everyone, I'll be reading up the whole month i missed. Sorry.

PS: the Dandelion Jelly makes me feel like a bee, because it tastes like honey!

yes, minus, i get Home Chef. If they deliver in your area, ive got a couple of freebies to give away if anyone wants to try. You do sign up to use the coupon, but its easy to cancel, and you can keep it open and just ordet as you wish.

Moon, hoping your kidney issues can be resolved soon.

Last night was defrosted & steamed har gow, hum bao, and shu mai with a salad. Might have more of the same tonight (or heck, a bagel & lox or pastrami on rye). Or if Bob gets home early enough, we’ll go out. This next sentence belongs on the How About Drinking thread: whatever we eat, we will pop some bubbly because he won’t have to skip a paycheck, file a lapsed appropriation claim to get reimbursed for his Medicaid patients—and has been hired part-time to do cardiology & primary care for a union-benefits pre-paid medical services company.