So...whats for dinner?

I agree Sandy, nothing like the seafood in New England. Though my dd4 who currently lives Portland Oregon would disagree.

I've been to a Mamma Maria's in the south end of Philly. It was amazing. Wonder if they are connected? DH has been to the Mamma Maria's in Boston, when on business. He raves about it. He is not a fan of Italian food so I took note.

Dinner was pasta primavera. I had the sweetest tiny tomatoes. All colors. Added asparagus, red peppers, shallots and green beans. Delish.

AuntieNance, that cake looks delicious. It would not last a day in my house.

HappyHammer question? So you just freeze your gumbo base, without seafood? Do you use the sausage and chicken? Or add it all later?

susan - Olivia is killin' it in that hat - love her T-shirt too! I might need one.

Unfortunately, the steri-strips have struck - I am in full allergic skin reaction and my lymphedema arm is very upset - as is the rest of me. I have PT tomorrow so am curious what my PT will say. Doesn't look like an infection or cellulitis, hope it stays that way. Derm seems unconcerned, but the lymphedema doc may be, and I am currently thinking a tapering course of steroids might be a good idea. We are supposed to leave Thurs. morning for DH's 40th HS reunion, all my carefully planned cute clothing choices - off the shoulder while covering the incision - for the many different social obligations are now shot to hell, lol! Miami, in July, with long sleeves, yay!

susan - thanks for the support! ARGH is right!

Oh Susan - Olivia gets cuter ever single day. How does she feel about reading? I'll borrow her to cuddle up and read to. Or play in a sandbox (in the shade of course)

Special, and so I fume more! You so deserve better!

Tonight's dinner was sous vide pork tenderloin with a mustard, honey and soy marinade [and sauce], local green beans and sweet potato latkes. For dessert our first local peach of the season! Not a bad dinner and the suitable amount of potassium. Dessert was a local peach. Delicious.

*susan*

Sandy, my DH was just tormenting me by reading from a menu from one of his favorite restaurants back east (fresh calamari, clam chowder). When he got to the lobster roll, I thought of you and told him about your farewell breakfast at Logan.

I sure do miss the food in Boston! It's been so long since I lived there, I didn't recognize the names of any of the restaurants Susan recommended to you. Of course, when I lived there, I was a struggling 20- and 30-something who didn't dine out!

MJ

Chinese Buffet. The upside is that I got some extra Fitbit steps in while packing my plate.

Cycle 5 is done. Today was week 3 and the taxol is in me, ready to take out the rest of my feet bottoms and, we hope, tumors. Had a new nurse, well, actually she drew my blood last week, and I really like her. She appears to be my tertiary nurse and that is good. She received Nurse K's almond-orange cake. She did well! Now I get two weeks to recover.

Did I post last night;s meal? I am too tired to look back. Sous vide pork tenderloin, seared in a cast iron pan with sweet potato latkes and steamed local green beans. Of course, tonight, we should have had leftover pork, but we didn't. I really needed someone else to cook for me, so we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant. These random restaurant nights really have to go away now that I am not working, but I think for our $35.00 we will get two full meals. Meanwhile, our current guests used the kitchen to make a fried rice. They hadn't warned me that they wanted to cook, so this worked out well. Funny that my Chinese guests are the ones who scratched up my wok. Guess I have to make popcorn to get my patina back properly. I like these guests, but they have taken over my home in a way that is unusual. Next up? A thyroid surgeon from Columbia.

*susan*

We stopped for about 3 hours at Teddy Roosevelt National Park and now we are in Hardin, MT. Tomorrow we are going to spend some time at the Little Big Horn National Monument. We have been tent camping each night since we left New York last Thursday.

The Dutch oven, cast iron skillet and Coleman stove have been well used...cheese burgers, spaghetti, beef tacos (hamburger meat, Bell pepper and onion, along with some seasoning and corn tortillas) and a shrimp/rice dish......nothing that required a large cleanup effort

Yeah—take me with you!!! (Only half kidding—I have medical appointments and a block party for which to volunteer).

Tonight I told Gordy to have at the remaining ribs (8 bones, St. Louis dry rubbed, from Todd's BBQ inside Mariano’s). Actually slow wood-smoked--not baby backs boiled, baked, grilled, drowned in cheap sauce and proudly touted as “fall off the bone:" the North Side (read “white neighborhood") standard for Chicago-style ribs. Real BBQ ribs should fight back—if the meat does “fall" off the bone, it's because it "was pushed;" what “falls off" should be firm and require teeth to chew. Also, there was 2/3 of a grilled ear of corn.

As for me, I ransacked the crisper and found some baby rainbow carrots and (unintentionally) partially frozen broccolini. Because it was partially frozen, it held up well (the “brassicas," except for cabbage, tend to freeze nicely). The roasted half duckling I bought yesterday thawed overnight in the fridge. So I tossed the carrots in olive oil, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper and a little honey and roasted them in the toaster-oven with the duck. I blanched the broccolini in the microwave and then tossed it with chopped roasted garlic, truffle salt, olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.

Kathy, I spiralize zukes the old fashioned way, cranking the contraption by hand. I haven’t used my KitchenAid in years, since I stopped baking. One of Bob’s patients has a bumper crop, so we’ll be getting some tomorrow. (BTW, his cardiology practice is on the SW Side—Advocate Christ, Little Company of Mary & Holy Cross, with offices near Midway & Hickory Hills. But we live north, in Edgewater).

Walked home from my workout (BMI is down by 1, weight down by 7lbs) deciding I really didn't want to heat up the kitchen or defrost anything to grill. So I raided the crisper & the deli drawer and made a panino: ciabatta roll with peppers (poblano, green banana and red), red onion, salumi (1 thin slice ea. coppa, jamon Serrano, & bresaola), my first homegrown tomato of the season, a single thin slice of provolone and herbs (basil, holy basil, and rosemary) from my garden, with a little drizzle of olive oil on the inside surfaces of the roll. 10 minutes in the panini press was all it took. Yum.

Mine’s the Paderno World Cuisine 3-blade model with a spindle and crank. I tried the OXO cone model and scraped my knuckles on it.

I just got the Paderno 3 blade but I think Susan has the kitchen aid attachment.

Good luck with your test Mommy.

Minus - he's so so. Fighting a UTI and pneumonia, so not feeling great. Hates his room situation so he's depressed as well. Not much to be done about the room at present. I did get him on a list to be moved as soon as an opening comes up. Sadly, he's probably as good as he's going to get. I will be seeing him Sunday. Thank you for asking Minus. I hope Carole's mom is faring better.

Sous vide has gone mainstream. A man here in Pine Hollow has a machine in his camper. I was offered a slice of pork tenderloin over at a neighbor's deck a few weekends ago. Imagine my surprise when Brad (we call him Brad the Fisherman) said that he'd cooked it in his sous vide. The pork was tender and tasty except for being too salty.

DH and I went to the gym this morning. I was up 3 lbs when I weighed on the scale that is like the scales in doctors' offices. DH is also up quite a bit.

Dinner will feature a boneless chicken breast. Also some fresh green and yellow "snap" beans I picked off the neighbor's bean bushes. I will slice the chicken and saute it. Cook some pasta. Combine the chicken and beans with the pasta in a sauce of chicken broth thickened with corn starch. Then for the addition of deliciousness, some fresh-grated romano. A fairly healthy hot dish. Side will be salad.

FINALLY, there should be home grown tomatoes available this month. For a price, of course, but I will pay.

Nance, my mother seems to be content with her life. She is very critical of the food but keeps her weight up by consuming snacks full of sugar and calories. She has been overweight much of her life, and the extra bulk makes it harder on her caregivers. I hope your father's health and state of mind improve.