So...whats for dinner?

Can't relate to any of your baseball talk - die hard Cardinals fan here lol (don't hate.) It's the only sport I'm interested in watching unless it's an Olympic year.

Tri tip on the grill, Iowa creamed corn (that's not from iowa nor does it have any cream) and a few potatoes and green beans from the garden are on the menu tonight.

Nance - OK I'm officially curious. What is Iowa creamed corn since it's not from Iowa and no cream?

http://www.marthastewart.com/331812/iowa-creamed-corn

Eric, I absolutely love that pic of your mom! But sorry for her disappointment! Know it well....


And Nance and Carole, I forgot to mention in my return post that I am really glad to learn that all these months later both of your parents are faring well. You have all been through a lot of transition.

My "stepmother" (not really that since she never raised me, but married my divorced father when I was already emancipated and 25 years old...wish there existed in English, a word for that relationship!) just turned 90, still lives in her own, and has an active life close to home with friends and her church community. She no longer travels though since having kidney cancer. She has made many new friends over the years as her "originals" have died. I admire her coping skills, given the amount of family and friend losses she has experienced in her life. My DS2 has always had an affinity for her since she was the one older relative who would converse with him about his interests. So it was sad when she had to decline his heartfelt invitation to his destination wedding this past April. Instead, he and his bride drove to CT to visit her right after their wedding with photos and stories galore. They all enjoyed that.

Yes, the corn recipe sounds tasty, Nance, tho I totally dislike cutting kernals off cobs! I had to do that a few weeks ago when, due to some nasty oral surgery, I could not open my mouth to bite into corn on the cob...during delish corn season!

Last evening our neighborhood/beach assoc here on Newfound Lake joined the rest of the beach communities around the lake in a short candlelight vigil to commemorate the life of an 11year old girl who died in July in a terrible freak boating accident while learning to water ski. It was quite a moving remembrance ...especially when one of our neighbor's daughters sang "Somewhere. Over the Rainbow".

Tonight we are on to happier times with the end of summer assoc dinner and dance beach party. DH is always the DJ for this event. However, I am guessing that it may be a short night since it is extremely cool here, and people may move to their respective homes right after dinner! We have not had summer temps here at all this August, so it feels odd to return home with barely a tan, or a memory of swimming off the boat. Carole, did you have a true summer up north?

As far as Houston donations, I am finding that Boston has so many donation sponsoring individuals and organizations now, it will be easy enough to continue the process. Those folks will need support for a very long time, sadly.

For our pot luck beach dinner, I decided to do very little this year. I often make something interesting and healthful, and end up bringing half of it home. So I am appealing to the masses today, made a large pyrex pan of mocha brownies with choc chips and walnuts, decorated with dollops of cream cheese icing! Hows that for counter healthful!? I will not be bringing any of those home. LOL

Off to get a walk in before decorating the brownies.
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

SO good to see and read about what you folks are doing.  (That creamed corn sounds delish!)  Happy Labor Day to you and yours.  Looking forward to some time with friends and southern bbq and traditional and a few non traditional sides.  Am hoping the same for you and yours.

We are still taking things pretty easy as DH continues to recover from his surgery. Friday night took him to ER to rule out a stroke or infection after he developed severe hand tremors. Cardio doctor said it was imperative that he be checked out ASAP. All was ok.... just dehydrated and UTI ( not that either of those aren't worthy of correcting...just not a stroke). Getting hone from ER at 4 am Saturday.

Tonight's dinner: rosemary and white wine chicken breasts roasted with carrots and crockpot slow cooked Brussels sprouts. I love Brussels sprouts and in the crockpot is my easy way to fix them.

Cut sprouts in half. In bowl to the sprouts add 2 T olive oil, salt, and pepper (to taste). Stir to evenly coat sprouts. Place sprouts in crock pot. Add 2 T cubed unsalted butter ( I cut into thin slices and cube each slice) and sprinkle over top of sprouts. Cover crock pot. Cook low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Tender and flavorful.

We grow Brussels sprouts in our garden but don't harvest them until after the first hard freeze. The hard freeze seems to knock out the bitterness of sprouts. When we harvest these, we use them at Thanksgiving by deep frying them for a short time. They get crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Even DH, who doesn't like green veggies, looks forward to the Thanksgiving sprouts!

Eric, I live in Cleveland for about 20 years, and I agree with your mom! Heartbreaking.

Eric, I remember all the lovely stories about your mom, and was so sorry for you when she died. If I recall correctly, she did not have a long time in decline, and that felt suitable for a woman of her life accomplishments. She never seemed to be someone who would want to linger while missing her abilities. She was a special mom, for sure. And sorry for her disappointment about those Indians!

Carole, I'm glad that you enjoyed your coolish summer, and I got a kick out of the description of the Campground LD dinner/party. Our LD food contributions are pretty varied, but basically there is a lot of carb loading going on each year. But we dance it off, so not too bad.

We head home tomorrow mid-day, and after a very rainy Sunday we were pleased to be able to catch a sunny (not hot by any means) day today, enjoying it with our neighbors at the beach. Always a bit sad saying goodbye to everyone. We would probably stay here a few more days except for my oral surgery follow up appt. scheduled for tomorrow.

Nance, I hope your pizza was delish! And of course your mention of your cherry pie had me salivating!

Speaking of pizza, while planning to bring our little granddog into Southie this Wednesday to be cared for by DS2's best friend until they return from Hawaii (belated honeymoon), DH decided that we should plan to have dinner in the Seaport area. Specifically, he reminded me that he has never been to Mario Batali's Babbo, and wanted to go there. Quite a while ago, Susan and I had lunch there, and it was really good.....pizza with an egg over top. Eating with Susan is always an expanding experience. Once I am back home, I will be in touch to see how she is doing. I have really been out of touch with so many folks during the past five months. It will be nice to be a bit more grounded at home than I have been for a while.

I am always amazed at Susan's strength with all that she endures, and the joy she experiences with that doll of a DGD.

DG, I am glad to read that your DH does not have yet another scary condition to deal with. As my mother always said, "It never rains but it pours!" Hopeyou two can hve a bit of smooth sailing for a bit.

Tonight for dinner, I used up some leftover chicken we had and made a mexican chicken salad, with lots of lettuces, carrot, grated pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, black beans, cukes, carrote, red onions and an avocado dressing. A valiant effort to use up stuff in the fridge since we are cramped for space with one car going home tomorrow. Wasn't too crazy for how the dressing tasted until it blended with the entire salad. Nice...and very filling.

Now I must get my act together packing all that I brought up here over a month ago so we can leave at a decent time tomorrow.

Bye bye summer......

I just got put on deployment alert.

eric - I hope this is not how we end up meeting, but if we do, I will try to cook you something, lol!

minus - I'm afraid of that too. DH wants me to evacuate to his sister's in N. He has to stay here as the liaison between Special Operations Command and the City of Tampa services (police, fire, etc) inside the football stadium from the pre-12 hour point. He doesn't panic easily and he's pretty worried. He grew up in Miami and has experienced many storms - but this one is scaring him.

I still remember when everyone thought Katrina would be just a Cat 1 event over s. FL. Hoping Irma misses the mainland, period--Atlantic and Gulf shores.

Spending the next few days in the Swissotel downtown with Bob while he takes a grueling cardiology-review course to keep his CME current. (Gonna get a massage tomorrow, hoping it'll help loosen up my locked lower back). We went downstairs to the Palm for dinner. Since we're 837 Club (their loyalty program) members, they had a special on lobsters. We ordered a 5-pounder to share (there's a fridge in the room), but they were out--and offered us two 3-pounders for the same price. Started with a "Gigi" salad (chunks of jumbo shrimp, bacon, hard-boiled egg, green beans, tomatoes over lettuce).

Then they brought the lobsters. "Congratulations, they're females," said our waiter. He cracked the shells for us and presented them. Bob dug right in to his--he was starving. But something was very, very wrong: yes, there were nice crunchy red lumps of roe but instead of tomalley there was this black goopy fluid along the tail (which had been split before broiling). It looked like squid ink staining the tail meat (which looked undercooked). I Googled "black stuff in lobsters" and got responses from "undercooked roe" to "raw tomalley" to "lobster poop, like the veins in shrimp." I was so rattled nearly PM'ed our own "NativeMainer" from the "Drinking" thread.

I called over our waiter, who said, "Oh, that's the roe." I replied that in the 60+ years I've been eating lobsters I'd never seen roe that wasn't red. I asked him to talk to the chef. He came back and said "Chef says that's just the tomalley." I repeated that this was the first time I'd ever seen tomalley that wasn't green & creamy instead of black & liquid, and would he please bring either the chef or the line cook on the fish station over? The manager came over, took a look, did a double-take and said, "You have a right to be upset. This is unacceptable. These lobsters are not cooked to our standards and should never have been sent out of the kitchen. The black stuff is raw roe & tomalley. And the tail meat is undercooked. We could fire up a new one, or I could have the chef steam these a bit longer." I opted for the latter.

Ten minutes later, they were returned (with fresh lemons & butter), and sure enough, the roe was red, the tomalley green, there was no black and I could no longer see through the tail meat. I methodically worked my way through the stuff in the shells, knowing it'd be impossible to eat that for breakfast without the usual implements of destruction. Good thing we had a tall booth behind a wall--I looked like the Tasmanian Devil laying waste to the legs. I asked to have the claw, knuckle & tail meat (which I extricated) packed to go. The manager brought over a container with iceberg leaves and a cup of the cilantro-lime dressing they use for their lunchtime lobster rolls, so I could make lobster lettuce wraps for breakfast tomorrow. And she deducted my lobster from the bill and knocked off another 10% from the check.

Omigosh Sandy, how did you remember all that lol? What a feast!

Off to see the MO today for six month visit. She said I could go to yearly but I don't know if I'm ready. Crazy isn't it?

auntie - I was at the MO today too! I was diagnosed about six months before you but I am not ready for annual visits either - I like to go every six months. I am still on letrozole, so there is that - plus, my MO draws a bunch of labs each time. This is easier, and closer, than going to the base to have this done, so I will keep on doing it this way. I also got my Prolia injection today, and hoping it wont make me feel weird just in case I am in the middle of evacuating, lol!

joycek - that is so crazy that you saw your own house on the news! Waiting on DH to get home from his latest briefing. I spoke to him on the phone for a minute, and he sounded ok - he did not say I needed to start getting stuff ready, so... I am hoping we can stay put. My house was built in 2001 and is cinderblock, but this a super powerful storm capable of tearing the roof off. Eeesh! I don't know if it is easier to leave and be worried from afar, or stay and be scared here. DD just called and she is now in a mandatory evacuation zone and must leave tomorrow - not surprising as she is a block off the water. My car is already full with her art, photos, some clothes. She is about 20 miles south of me, and I will return tomorrow and get more of her stuff out with her.