So...whats for dinner?

Eric-- best wishes in your retirement!!!

Eric - hope you're going to do something to celebrate. It will be fun to see what all you'll be getting up to with the 'free' time.

Eric, congrats on your new life as a gentleman of leisure!

Cherry, we are very fortunate to have several excellent Persian restaurants within a few miles of us (we order out from one of them). My favorite dish is fessenjahn (they do the pomegranate sauce over Cornish hen, quail and the falafel-like croquettes). There doesn't seem to be anything in that herb blend that would be contraindicated for a chemo patient (nor for anyone with ER+ bc).

Chi Sandy, I have no doubts there are much more Iranians in the US than in Sweden and being in Chicago I am sure your choice of Persian restaurants is actually way better than ours. Fessenjun is a bit heavy for me but I do like it too, my daughter orders it frequently. My absolute favorite is gheimeh bademdjan, a stew with eggplants, and even if the portions are usually giagantic I will still go on and order kashkeh bademdjan while waiting for the main course. It i another eggplant dish that is served with bread, it is a spread with goat yoghurt, walnuts, fried onions and dried mynthe, delicious. I am always having a doggy bag with me when I am going home. Cherry

My sentiment exactly! I have a friend who likes Persian food, when they come with her order she asks for a doggy bag at once and puts half of the portion into it for her son, she says there is no way a normal adult can eat it all up, just look at the size of their plates

I have found gumbo file online) and annatto seeds and achiote paste, so waiting for my delivery now, excited

Ham hock & navy beans simmering on the stove. This batch will have more veggies than beans since I only had 1/2 a package of beans once I got started. My mother only used onion & celery & beans & hocks. I added carrots since they needed to be used. Sure smells good.

Yup! We were rooting for them not just because of Harvey and that they'd never won a Series before, but because Gordy's girlfriend is from there (and her family still lives there). But it turns out that she wasn't all that excited because she isn't much of a sports fan. Wow--Gordy must have fallen hard for her, because he falls asleep to the soothing sounds of ESPN and runs a fantasy basketball league; and her taste in pop music is much softer than his.

Bob & I were watching from our neighborhood Italian restaurant, where we met for dinner (and so I could bring him his phone, which he'd inadvertently left at home this morning). Dinner was mesclun salad with old-school red wine vinegar & olive oil; then rolatine di melanzane--thin slices of eggplant rolled around ricotta, Parm. Regg., basil & garlic, then lightly breaded and baked in marinara sauce, topped with mozzarella. Three rolls per portion, and I couldn't even finish one! Bob's entree was rigatoni alla Barese (the owner is from Bari): with sausage, arugula, pine nuts and tomatoes. Gordy will eat well for several days (of course, when we returned we smelled the telltale scent of freshly reheated pizza).

I might use some of that marinara, add a little za'atar, break an egg over it and make shakshuka for breakfast.

Special - welcome back. Did you stay on the East Coast? I know you have a friend in No Cal.

Congrats Eric!

Thanks Auntienance, would you believe that Houston's biggest school district is closing tomorrow, so kids can go to the parade, lol

I made a flatbread alfredo pizza tonight with spinach, red onion, garlic, mozzarella, ricotta and a side salad. It was so good, I only had 1/4 left when I thought to post it.

Thanks Dodgersgirl, I grew up in Huntington Beach so my loyalty was questioned during this series but truth be told I only care about hockey and for me no one beats the Ducks! I did attend the 2nd to last game Gretzky played for the Kings though, that was really something

My deepest regret is that I never got to see a game at Ebbets Field before my beloved "Bums" left for L.A.. My uncle eventually ran a drycleaning business across the street from the co-op building that replaced it.

DD bleeds blue. To see what would happen, Sharon sent DD a text message, "I missed the game. Who won?" DD replied with an obscene "emoticon". :-) Sharon laughed.

Chi, I like hot food. I've joked about combining Wasabi with Habanero peppers.

Sharon was surprised with dinner tonight. I shopped, mostly, from the magic freezer and made yet another chicken recipe. It's chicken cooked in/with caramelized shallots, red wine vinegar, orange juice, a bit of sugar to reduce the "sour" a bit, mustard and golden raisins.

I wasn't sure what else to do for dinner, so I cooked up some brown rice and served the chicken on that...and made a salad.

I don't need to cook enough to last for a week anymore, so the biggest thing for me is to figure out how much is enough for one meal. The recipe I used said "serves 4 to 6", but should have said "more than sufficient to serve 4 to 6 teenagers after a hard sports team practice". I cut the recipe to 1/3 of what was listed and there are still left overs.

carole - I understand your sadness at your mom's decline. My MIL was diagnosed with MDS a few months ago and has now become fully leukemic. So bizarre, as this is what my FIL passed away from a year ago, after a 6 month acute phase. I have spent the last two days cooking, portioning, and freezing food for my DH to take to SC on Sat. to feed my MIL and himself. He is going for a week to spell his sisters in care of my MIL. Hospice was started last weekend, and she is almost completely lacking mobility, and needs someone there 24/7 at home. She has a daily RN check for meds and vitals, and an aide comes daily for bathing. She can transfer from bed to wheelchair to recliner - only with a lot of help - it takes both SIL's - and one is a nurse, so very experienced. DH will be able to do it by himself. My mom used a hydraulic Hoyer lift for the last three years of her life due to a progressive degenerative neuromuscular disease. She was 100% mentally but 0% physically. She too was taken out by CHF and renal failure - treating one exacerbated the other and she finally reached the Catch-22.

I'm just jumping in here, so forgive me if someone else has said this - but get an electric pressure cooker!! I got an instant pot this summer (and no this is not paid advertising lol) - and it has changed my life!! I have been so brain foggy, whether it be from being in menopause, the tamoxifen or my Hashimoto's thyroid issues, and if I turn my back on the stove, it's burned to the point of smoke alarms going off. We've had perfect dinners with this pot - no burning and they're delicious!! So easy too. I figure, time is too precious, and this gadget spares my time, and makes incredible meals besides. There's a fb forum I got on - they're full of recipes and tips. It's seriously one of the best investments I've made