So...whats for dinner?

We are in Goshen County, Wyoming..heading toward Denver in about an hour.

Dinner was pulled pork at a horse trainer show. In about 1-1/2 hour, the trainer very gently took a 2 year old "yearling" that had never even seen any tack to being (mostly) tolerant of being ridden. The horse was still very green, but the quick progress was amazing.

eric - the horse training thing sounds interesting, did you happen upon it?

chisandy - how was the shopping? I'm vicariously excited about your anniv celebration this weekend! Congrats in advance!

Dinner here has been all over the map - the last two nights have been kale steak Caesar for DH with homemade croutons from some ciabatta I had stashed in the freezer. I have been eating dribs and drabs, but did have a nice salad last night. Tonight will be some Aidell's sausage cut into slices and cooked with peppers, scallions, and pineapple with sweet and sour sauce over brown rice. We are still subsisting on the grocery shop I did prior to surgery on the 8th, but running low on produce. My post-op is not until Monday, so not cleared to drive, but I may be able to accompany DH to the grocery store over the weekend for a restock.

minus - how are the house things going?

I was so happy to take one of my healthy, pre-prepped frozen meals out of the freezer for dinner tonight. Popped it in the oven for 50 minutes, and it was done! Unfortunately, I didn't notice the smell of burning plastic until I got close to the oven. *headdesk*.

Yup, took it out of the freezer and popped it in the oven -- without taking the plastic container off the top. It is now cooling on the side porch.

I ate a gross spinach spring mix-based salad with some cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Unfortunately, none of the delicious add-ins covered up the spinachy taste. My inner 4 y.o. is miserable.

Special - house is on hold for the contractor to come back & finish the 2% plus the punch list. Actually I'll thrilled to have my space again and not be tripping over crews of workers. And to be able to leave the house to run errands that I've been putting off. So far I've unpacked two boxes. (that's two out of 75). Since I've managed w/o the stuff for 2-1/2 months, I may just let it sit.

So glad to hear you're coming up on post opp. You do know to not overdo!!! (yes mom)

Eric - welcome back to the heat - slowly but surely. I'm sure you're monitoring the fire & forest closures around Flag.

Dinner was Hawaiian Sweet roll sliders - adjusted to use the leftovers I had. So they were made with sliced rotisserie chicken breast and Monterrey Jack cheese instead of ham & swiss. The "sauce" could have used a bit more Dijon mustard with the melted butter & Worcestershire & onion.

Clothes shopping (blazer for him last night, dress for me tonight) was suboptimal. At Men's Wearhouse, we had to wait an hour after signing in for our "appointment." And he had to go up a size in "classic fit" because the "executive fit" doesn't come any smaller than 48L. He used to wear 41L, slim fit, back in the day. His current suits & sport coats (which he hadn't worn since way before the pandemic) are so old that they all have labels proclaiming "Made in the USA with Union Labor." BTW, gotta love menswear shops' euphemisms for "big & tall." Besides Men's Wearhouse's "Executive" fit, Brooks Bros. calls it "Prominent." Men have such fragile egos--if we wear anything larger than 14 or "XL," we must make do with "Plus Size" or "Women's Plus."

Tonight, I went to Nordstrom. Their selection was extremely limited--except for four-figure-priced items by St. John, they basically had nothing between formal evening gowns and ultra-casual sundresses & baby-doll minis. Unless you're an ultra-wealthy octogenarian or a teen-to-twentysomething, forget it. I snagged the one size 10 reasonably-priced dress (a navy & dark olive green floral on white midi-length shirtwaist) that didn't either drag on the floor or fail to even reach the top of my knees. And it has sleeves--this time of year, tough to find. Sleeves are a must, what with my flabby "bat wing" hanging upper-arm skin. The only weird thing about the dress is that the buttons are on the wrong side, like a men's shirt. Were I shopping for a beach vacation or cruise I'd have had more options. I did also get an Eileen Fisher unconstructed linen jacket in the same dark olive to go over it. (Cost twice the price of the dress). Otherwise, I'd have had to go with what's already in my closet. Naturally, my search for a pair of navy flats or pumps came up dry--everything now is gladiator-sandals, stilettos, Crocs, UGGs, Birkenstocks or sneakers. (Really tacky hideous sneakers, at that). Will have to go with black dress flats in my closet--walking in the rain wearing sandals? Nope.

Thanks to the pandemic shutting down in-person shopping for almost a year, they no longer have a Petites (nor my old plus-size standby "Encore") department--for that you have to go online. And I've learned that unless I'm ordering separates from Chico's, Old Navy or Land's End, buying clothes online without trying them on is a slo-mo fustercluck. Buy, wait, wait some more, open package (assuming you can retrieve it before the porch-pirates do), try on--and if it doesn't fit, go back online and apply for a return authorization, print out label, re-pack and ship it back. Lather, rinse, repeat.

We aren't going to the hospital dinner--none of the honorees canceled, so the waiting list is S.O.L. Sort of unfair, because physician staff dues pay for that annual free dinner--but this year we got cheated out of it. Oh, well, it was bland SW Side country club food anyway, and the country club is an hour-long rush-hour drive partly through a dangerous neighborhood (gang territory) before crossing the city line into that suburb. So we're going to Wildfire downtown instead.

Tonight I pan-seared halibut on the grill, with cilantro-lime seasoning, sea salt & pepper, and olive oil. Steamed a red knob onion in foil, grilled asparagus with lemon-butter, and grilled an ear of corn for Bob.

This is taking forever to type because Happy is sitting between me & the laptop, obscuring my vision, occasionally hitting the trackpad, and purring. But he's 14, and has IBD, so we need to cherish every moment we have with him.

illimae,

Indeed that is their loss! Your plate is so beautiful! My mouth is watering just thinking of the combination of flavors. It looks like most of those can be reheated for tomorrow. Our heat wave has started again in N CA so we are having a salad tonight. I don't want to heat up the kitchen.

Jane

Illi, that pork chop is incredibly well-marbled!

We went to Wildfire downtown tonight. After two straight nights of fish, Bob was jonesing for steak--and for him, "steak" means filet mignon. They had prime rib tonight, and we need to be home tomorrow night for our "aliyah" at online temple services in honor of our anniversary, so I got the "king cut" to reheat tomorrow night for dinner afterward. App was a spinach-kale salad. Sides were mushrooms, creamed spinach, & balsamic-roasted veggies (peppers, zuccchini, onions & Brussels sprouts). We were given a free dessert in honor of our anniversary, so we chose to share a slice of Door County tart cherry pie with whipped cream (I had about 1/3 of the filling, with some of the cream, and gave Bob the rest). We were very lucky--the rain stopped as we left the house and isn't coming back till well past midnight. But it'll be back with a vengeance, for days on end.

D'OH! Forgot that pork is "the other white meat."

Took two weeks to feel fully human again and to be able to move with pain.

Tonight was Hambuger Helper

Your dinners are all so impressive! I am done harvesting lettuce from my garden and have moved on to sugar snap peas. I went to a cookout a few days ago and brought Beyond Beef Hot Italian Sausage. Everyone said it tasted just like meat. Then I made Impossible burger stuffed cabbage (from my garden) which was really good. I also found Oat Milk vanilla creamer which was excellent. No, I'm not vegan, or even vegetarian as I eat shellfish, and fish maybe 2-3x per year. So glad they have improved these things. Still cancer free and working although I am really cutting down. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th.

I wish I could be vegan and low-carb, and able to enjoy restaurant meals. But my metaboliam wants animal protein, alas. I looked up the nutrition labels for Beyond & Impossible, and they're listed as "dirty keto" (containing seed oils and higher-carb vegetable proteins). And knowing how much water it takes to grow one almond (during a drought in CA, no less), I would vastly prefer Oatly for my cappuccinos...but it's carb-ier than even unfiltered whole milk. Sticking with FairLife and Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, with a dash of cream. BTW, at Wrigley Field last week, all sundaes & cones were Oatly soft-serve.

So dinner tonight was leftovers from last night's Wildfire dinner: filet mignon and leftover veggies for Bob (plus some of my prime rib); 'shrooms, kale salad, a tablespoon of creamed spinach, and prime rib for me. Still have leftover prime rib. SoDelicious sugar-free dark-chocolate-coated vanilla frozen coconut milk bar. (Dead ringer for a Dove Bar, only smaller and guilt-free). Midnight snack was grilled cheddar on keto white bread. Trying to eschew non-keto-friendly carbs because of tomorrow night's dinner...and Cajun/Creole lunch Sunday with my sis & niece (if the weather gods allow their plane to take off from Dulles tomorrow). I will also message my weight mgmt. NP on Mon. to request we move the next appt. back to Aug. to keep to the original every-3-mo schedule. No way by July 6 can I get down to what I weighed in May, much less lose anything more.

Am checking in w/o doing my usual catch up on reading since I’m supposed to be off screens. Lord, is that hard! My concussion became markedly worse several days after the fainting event, and between the lightheadedness and headaches, I have been rather useless. DH is now the chauffeur, shopper, errand runner for everything (!) and still managing to keep up his good natured demeanor. I am very appreciative! My PCP referred me to PT for the concussion symptoms, so just started and will do that thru July. After reading online how much rest I am supposed to be getting, I learned from the PT that concussions are helped heal by aerobic exercise! Why should I expect to hear anything else at a PT session?!

I have at least been doing some cooking, and this week we departed from our non-mammal diet to enjoy some grilled pork tenderloin (marinated in a balsamic mix), with sautéed veggies, a cuke salad, and crusty bread with avocado spread. That was a filling meal.

Minus, hoping that you mostly have your house back!

Special, hope you are feeling better, but will have to return when I can be liberal with my screen use again to learn of your recent post-surgery journey.

Carole, hope the bowl sales are going well, and that the process of selling is fun for you both.

Hope all else are well, and avoiding the extreme weather events I’ve been hearing about.

Hoping this brain bump heals in the next few weeks so I can really catch up and enjoy Illimae’s pix!

Actually, Lacey, it's "advance" anniversary, as the actual date is tomorrow. We scheduled the party for tonight because most guests have to work on Monday. Sadly, my sister's flight was canceled due to the line of storms "training" up from the SW-NE across the area. Nothing is flying into Midway, and almost nothing (except short-hauls) into O'Hare. It's sunny now, but there's a flash flood watch till 6:45 and tornado watch till 7pm (we had a warning late this morning, but our basement "safe space" took on some water coming up from the storm drain--just enough that we really shouldn't be in there without waterproof boots. Our safest available space is the tiny hallway between the basement stairs & first floor bathroom--with doors to the basement & bath closed to avoid exposure to windows. Our house is 8 stairs up from the street. So we'd have to sit on the stairs--we have no windowless rooms. Our housekeeper may not make it because not only is her basement flooded, but so is her alley, which is her car's only access to the street.

Tonight is leftovers, I'm having salad, the houseguests have finished their balsamic pork plates and DH is making banana bread as the bunch had only a day or so left. One houseguest got a bunch of stuff from a food pantry place as he'd fallen on hard times lately, so the next few days I'll be trying to figure out what to do with all this stuff I don't usually buy. A bonus though is that his haul included white asparagus, several bunches of red grapes and pre-made meatballs.

Happy anniversary Sandy!

chisandy - Happy Anniversary, hope your party last night was fun! Sorry about the weather.