So...whats for dinner?

Carole - I'm planning Raos this week with "flame broiled" Meat Balls from Trader Joes on some kind of pasta.

I did get my 6 mile walk in the morning since it's supposed to rain bucket the rest of the week. This afternoon was two eggs scrambled with fresh mushrooms. Then evening snack of homemade guacamole w/fresh tomatoes and Triscuits.

Last night was baby back ribs finished on the grill and boiled new potatoes with butter. I pre-cooked the ribs in the slow cooker, the first time I used this method. It worked fine.

Tonight is meatloaf Monday at Clancy's. If we go there, it will be broasted chicken or some other choice for me. I like meatloaf ok when I make it but it's not a favorite.

eric - is your MIL coming to stay with you? I hope she is doing well, and improving.

lacey - have you ever eaten at Bonefish Grill? If so, have you had their citrus vinaigrette? It is an interesting dressing - tasty, but unique in that you microwave the dressing and then chill it. My DD worked there as a hostess when she was a senior in high school and the first couple of years of college and got this recipe. It has a number of ingredients but they are all pretty much regular pantry items. The second dressing tastes more sweet than the citrus one - I think the juice negates the sugar in terms of taste. What I like about this dressing is that it doesn't seem to separate after you cook it.

Combine in a microwaveable bowl or large glass measuring cup: 2/3 c. EVOO, 1/4 c. sugar, 3 T. water, 2 T. white wine vinegar, 4 t. minced garlic, 1 T. Dijon mustard, 2 t. lime juice, 2 t. lemon juice, 2 t. minced fresh parsley, 1/2 t. dried basil, 1/4 t. dried oregano, 1/4 t. salt, 1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together and microwave on high for one minute, or until mixture boils rapidly. Whisk for one minute, cover and chill for a minimum of one hour before serving.

I have used all lemon juice as I rarely have limes, and have also used dried parsley instead of fresh.

Another nice dressing is one that I use often with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving with field greens (or lettuces of choice), sliced turkey (or chicken), chopped hazelnuts, crumbled cooked bacon, and dried cranberries. Whisk together 1/4 c. cider vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable or mild olive oil, 1/4 c. dark brown sugar (I have used lt brown too), 1/2 t. paprika, 1/2 t. dry mustard, and 1/2 t. Dijon mustard.

I have also used this dressing substituting mandarin oranges for the dried cranberries, and sliced almonds for the hazelnuts.

Tonight is grilled ham and cheese on sourdough and French onion soup. I am going to pretend the rain currently falling is making it cold outside... DD brought over two dozen eggs today from the backyard farm but had to slam on her brakes when someone cut her off about a mile from the house. She was also bringing a self-contained rechargeable battery that accepts a 3-prong plug so we can make coffee in the car on our trip, and it fell off the seat and on the eggs! So she called me in a panic and said "prepare the cleaning products, I have an emergency!" so we spent an hour de-egging the car floor/door/dash, the battery thing, the mail she brought, and her - what a mess. And now I still don't have any eggs, lol!

Lacey - If you don't mind sharing, I'd love the link for your on-line Silvers Sneakers. I miss the stretching & the weights and I'm definitely not ready to go back to the gym where NO ONE wears masks. (well, our governor said....)

Special - All of those dressings sound delicious. I'm more a sour cream/mayo dressing person.

Eric - do you know if your MIL will be going to rehab? Will she be able to go back home 'alone' eventually?

Lunch was cheerios with a banana. I was going to make spaghetti & meatballs for dinner but I'm not really hungry and have a ton of reports to finish. I may end up just eating watermelon.

Oh yum - thanks. No calories there, right!!!

Thanks, Special! I will definitely try three of those four delicious sounding dressings. Would also love that last one, butt (get it?) can’t afford the yummy calories after a summer laced with higher fat foods, than we usually eat. Am guessing that my lean friend, Minus, will enjoy that creamy bit of deliciousness a lot! I like garlic zing in most of my dressings…and have resorted to using the convenient kind that comes in a plastic bottle rather than pressing cloves for every dressing I make. Also, I love the dressing bottles that are available on Amazon (and probably other sites).
Sorry to hear about the egg crash. Ugh to that kind of clean up!

Extra bonus from DH’s Trader’s trip today…He wisely bought several boxes of their Pumpkin Bread mix available each “pumpkin season”. Sometimes, they run out!! It is the easiest mix that makes such tasty breads and muffins to bring to friends and relatives. Of course if we get closer to quarantining, we will just have to enjoy the “easy bake” treats ourselves…and probably bring some to local DS2’s family.

Eric, I hope the transition planning is going well. Certainly better to be in a home setting now.

Eric, glad your MIL is home and recovering.

Tonight was another hungry root meal, this one was a brown rice/quinoa blend with a basil/white bean mix and cucumbers topped with a Cesar dressing. DH really enjoyed it, so we’ll recreate for vegan nights.

NW Houston is OK. I only had a total of 3-4" rain & never lost power. Some tree branches down, but nothing major on my street (granted I didn't go out driving around). I think Mae is OK too from what she posted on another thread.

I'm worried about Carole's place & family in Louisiana. There's still the possibility of 20" of rain - mostly because the darn storm is only moving forward 6 mph. And tonight I saw it's likely to impact Special K too....

Mae - that looks delicious to me. I have some zucchini I need to use tomorrow so I may try it with those. I always have brown rice w/Quinoa around - and beans (although they may be Anasazi not white). Hmmm - but I also set out a bag of French green lentils. Wonder how those would work instead of beans?

We have also had a late summer of rain daily after an early summer of none. I am thankful we have not been impacted by any damaging storms so far, we have been lucky. We have decided to take a more northerly tack on our way to Colorado on Saturday so as not to add to any traffic woes along the Gulf Coast. Hoping no storm activity happens while we are gone - I don't see anything on the horizon at this point, and I hope it stays that way - don't want the angst of being away from home and worrying. I am trying to pack clothes and food (am taking pantry items for the rental in CO) while also have crown molding installed this week, lol! Things are looking good on both fronts - I think they will finish the crown today - it is mostly up except for a few pieces, now they have to caulk seams and cover the nails. I have also learned just how uneven both the ceiling and walls are even though this is a relatively new house and the crown is made of a somewhat flexible material! A few days after we get back the new doors will be installed - yay!

Dinner last night was taco salad - I am trying to use up things in the fridge and that fit the bill. Tonight will be using the rest of the ground beef with jarred marinara and penne, topped with cheese and baked. Leftovers will become DH's lunch. I am making a grocery store run to grab the last few things for the recipes we will cook in the rental. Would rather spend a little time here doing that than there when we could be hiking or doing fun stuff. I think we will eat all breakfasts and dinners at home, and maybe a few lunches out in situations where there is outdoor dining. It will be too cold to do that at night.

Today's meal was sauteed onions & zucchini w/garlic. YUM. On the side, I ate the three small meatballs that I hadn't added to my spaghetti sauce earlier this week. Desert was 1/2 a cup of cashew nuts.

Made it to the dentist today to fix a surface filling that had popped out over Labor Day. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for my Pfizer # 3 booster shot. TomorrowI plan to do Lemon Pepper Quinoa with leftover artichoke hearts - maybe served on steamed spinach?

Special - will you be headquartered in Denver? I really miss the mountains - but not quite as much as the Pacific Ocean.

Eric - did you get your MIL settled back home? I expect this may change your timetable for moving.

illimae - your Hungry Root food is looking good! I am more intrigued by their offerings than I have been by any of the other services.

minus - we are staying in Silverthorne, in an AirBnb townhouse. We decided on that location because we could spoke out from there in several directions to go do fun stuff without too terrible of a drive. DS will be working some of the time we are there, but will be able to see us in Denver (he lives in Lakewood) for dinner on the day we arrive, will come up to the townhouse for several days, then we will see him for lunch on the last day before we go to the airport to drop my BFF (also his godmother) and head out of town. I have the benefit of being near the ocean here - even if it is the wrong one, lol! Definitely no mountains in FL though! There is barely a hill anywhere. I grew up camping and fishing in the mountains, and camping at the beach near Santa Barbara - it is in my blood, as it is yours!

Dinner tonight - not sure yet. There is leftover penne from last night, but may portion and freeze that. My frozen food guy brought chicken breasts yesterday, so I cooked the last of the previous bag so might do something with those. I am down to the dregs of stuff in the fridge. The dog and cat will be packed up tomorrow and delivered to DD with all of their paraphernalia - I predict a 15 minute howlfest in the car. The cat is not a fan of car travel, but is good when you get where you're going. Packing for this trip is weird - it will be hot as blazes all the way across the country, then cool to cold in the CO mountains. I am packing two bags each - one with clothes for the driving trip with shorts and light clothes, then the CO bag with down jackets and pants and long sleeve shirts, lol! Will wash the travel clothes when we arrive and then not wear them again until we head back home most likely.

Last night by the time Kol Nidre service began, I was not hungry enough to have had dinner (had 1/2 c. of cottage cheese with scallions around 6 pm, which had filled me up). I'm technically not really supposed to fast, so after the service I "split the difference:" 1/4 can of corned beef hash (opened the can earlier for Gordy) sauteed with chopped sweet onion, poblano pepper and tomatoes.

Speaking of services, I had to attend Yom Kippur online again this year. Had planned to walk to temple as I did for Rosh Hashonah--but on Mon. as I was tending to my tomato plants I threw out my back. No way I could handle the 1/2 mi. walk; the parking lot was occupied mostly by outdoor seating for services; and the remote parking lot at St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox church was also a no-go, as the shuttles were school buses with steep stairs. So online it had to be. Only this year, the livestream was truly live, in real time--unlike last year, which was prerecorded and edited together. I was surprised at how satifying it was, and fasting (after a cup of black coffee to keep my lungs clear and caffeine-withdrawal headache at bay) felt easier than either staying home and reading meditations or having to spend all day in temple sitting & standing repeatedly. (I allowed Happy to sit on my lap most of the time, so long as I could see the laptop screen).

Broke the fast with the last 1/4 can of hash + veggies, with a fried egg on top. Bob got home late, so we went to the Fireside for a late al fresco dinner. Pre-pandemic, it used to be open till 3 am (the bar still is), but the kitchen is now open till 1 am. We had chicken veg. soup that was practically a stew. Bob had a Cajun meatloaf sandwich; I had prime rib and broccoli (most of which of both i took home). We sat on the sidewalk patio, looking out across the street at the forested railroad embankment, under the moon & stars.

Can anyone recommend a good PROTEIN POWDER?

My DR said whey , but I avoid soy.

Many Thanks!

purple - I use Plant Fusion vanilla - it is dairy and soy free, has no sugar and is made from pea protein with other superfood proteins, is kosher, vegan, non-GMO, has 21g of protein per serving. I make a shake with unsweetened vanilla milk, the vanilla flavor of the powder, and frozen strawberries, because the strawberries are frozen I don't need ice. The strawberries make it sweet enough for me without having to add any other type of sweetener, and I often use organic strawberries I buy , cut up, and freeze myself. My husband has tried the chocolate flavor and added peanut or almond butter, a banana, and vanilla unsweetened almond milk. He is a fan. If you use almond butter the brand I use (Barney's) adds another 6 g of protein per 2 Tbsp.

I met my vegan nephew for lunch at the Hare Krishna Temple restaurant. It's always been vegetarian with vegan options & always been good. Now they are vegan only on Wed/Fri/Sun. Staff wears masks. You have to sanitize your hands as you enter. Customers must wear masks unless actively eating. It used to be a 'serve yourself' steam table buffet. Now they have everything behind plexiglass screens and there is a server to dish what you want. And yes, you have to wear a mask going through the line. Tables were widely spaced. In addition, they have also switched to all sturdy disposable plates, glasses & tableware. VERY clean & I felt very safe - a rarity in Texas.

Everything was absolutely delicious. Lots of salad ingredients (including shredded beets & zucchini) w/a choice of Tahini or avocado dressing. Dal, rice, spinach dish, lentil dish, soup, penne pasta, chapati, and a vegan banana muffin for dessert. We could have ordered vegan cheesecake, but were both way too full to eat any more. When I used to serve myself, I ate much less.

I was trying again to find Tarragon vinegar on the way home. Much to my disappointment, many stores have stopped carrying it. Apparently there is a shortage of tarragon due to harvest affected by climate change. I used to buy the Kroger brand & like Heinz because it is a combo of white & malt vinegars. I found some Reeses across town, but they add sulfites to preserve color. I called several other stores, but none available. Sigh - another thing I'll have to get from Amazon instead of supporting my local merchants.

Eric - hope things are going OK with your MIL.