So...whats for dinner?

Sandy - Re: Eggs - I usually buy the Vital Farms brand, but recently bought some of the pasture raised organic ones TJs carries. You may be disappointed in the ones from TJs as the yolk is not as orange as the Vital Farms. Will only pick up the TJs in a pinch. Even though they are less $, prefer the Vital Farms brand over most others I have tried.

Dinner tonight will be a salad - chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken breast, avocado, shrooms. Lunch was last night's dinner leftovers - TJs Cheese Filled Fiocchetti w/Pink Sauce and added sauteed baby bellas + chicken sausage along with some steamed broccoli & cauli for veg. It was easier to eat dinner for lunch today as I have Silver Sneakers exercise classes (via Zoom) starting at 4:30.

Thanks for the heads-up, Celia. My go-to is also Vital Farms (the only pasture-raised jumbos I can find). For regular (large) I get the Happy Eggs Heritage when they're on sale--the blue shells have darker yolks than the brown ones. 365's pasture-raised eggs have paler yolks than the Vital Farms ones, I bought a dozen "Helpful Hens" large pasture-raised eggs--haven't tried them yet but might crack one tomorrow. Today I fried a Vital Farms jumbo--and it had a double yolk (albeit the extra yolk being "pullet" sized). I put it over (what else?) avocado toast. (Homemade guac over arugula, topped with cilantro, shallot & tomato). As an early dinner/late lunch, the other half container of TJ's chicken soup (I added some chopped dill). Bob says he'll want tamales when he gets home--I will steam them and perhaps "gut" the filling from mine and stuff it into red & white Belgian endive leaves with more avocado, pico de gallo & a little sour cream.

I always have Frank's - it is a pantry staple for us. I have also used Crystal over the years, I find them to be fairly similar. I also have sambal oelek, regular taco sauce, tabasco - which I usually just cook with but don't use as sauce. I also have a variety of salsa on hand most of the time - green, red, pico, etc. There is a salsa with green olives I particularly like by Nuevo Tex Mex Salpica - made with green olives, cilantro and hatch green chilies. I like most sriracha sauces, but like the smoothness of Ninja Squirrel, which I have only seen at Whole Foods. I had used Cholula over the years but bought a small bottle from Cost Plus to take to Colorado in Sept, purchased specifically because of the small size. I found I really liked it on things as a sauce so have now purchased the regular large size.

DD's chickens stopped laying eggs when the daylight savings time changed. Apparently, this is common? She just got a new much larger coop with a dedicated nesting box which is separate from the perching/sleeping box. The chickens have started to lay eggs again, but the two that lay green/blue eggs are producing smaller eggs than the other four that make eggs that are shades of beige. These eggs are super fresh, often are used within a couple of days of laying and the yolks are definitely a gold/orange color. I have not needed eggs lately - which coincided nicely with the lack of them from her chickens - since we eliminated them from cooking and eating. I did use some to make some oatmeal flour waffles for DH the other day - he is interested in trying them to see if he can add eggs back in. I am not craving eggs, and have tested allergic to whites, so I doubt I will add them. I am not eating anything yet where I need them as an ingredient either so, for now, I am good without them.

Got a negative Covid test last night (yay!) in prep for my MOHS tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I had to go about 30 miles away to get the combination of rapid result and 48 hours prior to the procedure, but it was a controlled environment - which was excellent. I was the only one there and the person administering the test was totally behind a plexi shield. I held up my ID, and insurance card, and reservation number on the outside of the shield - the only thing that crossed to me was the test swab and tube to drop it into when done. I also get my stitches out from the wrist MOHS two weeks ago. Stitch removal will sting since it is a running type the whole 3cm length. They cut the end knot and pull! Hoping I will again be the only one in the MOHS holding pen waiting room since tomorrow is not a usual MOHS day. They accommodated me on the stitch removal day since they neglected to mention that I needed a Covid test for the facial spot. I will be getting up early - I want to wash my hair before since I can't get that area wet for 48 hours afterward! I am thinking I may want to plan dinner today for tomorrow since I may not feel like cooking tomorrow evening. It has been chilly here the last couple of days - for Florida - so maybe a beef stew situation in the crockpot would be a good idea.

Dinner tonight is TBD - DH grabbed some TJ's GF hamburger buns - so maybe cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries. Funny about the hot sauce convo - when we have sweet potato fries I always make spicy sauce out of sriracha and vegan mayo. I might do a chicken and potato chowder - will decide later.

minus - yes, although I think they will do the initial excision for the MOHS, and start on the pathology, then do the unstitch while I’m waiting on that first pass. The unstitch is pretty quick, has that been your experience too? I’m hoping this can stay smallish, it’s right on the middle of my cheek equidistant between nose and ear - not a great spot for camouflaging.

Also, I wanted to ask you - what labs do you have done in advance of Prolia? My BFF in CA who is osteoporotic started Prolia yesterday. Her endo is doing some labs beforehand but I wondered if they were the same as yours and how the choices pertained

Dinner tonight was pork chops (cooked in the air fryer as they were still frozen after 48 hours in the fridge!), asparagus with brown butter sauce, baked sweet potato, and tossed salad. In the high 70s today, forecast to stay in the 30s tomorrow plan is for a pot of chili and possibly lasagna on Friday...

Carole - saw your comment about 5 gallon buckets to cover the Knock Out roses. Good idea & I have a couple. Probably also available at paint stores like Sherwin Williams. I'll need bricks to hold them down. I usually use old blankets but I'm concerned about the wind. Two nights at freezing & below in my neck of the woods - oooo eeee.

Tonight's dinner will be at the music jam. One couple is bringing homemade chili, we are bringing the garlic-cheese biscuits (by request of the hosts) and the hosts are providing cheese and crackers as well as the place to jam.

Special, I hope the MOHS (that is also a unit used in electrical engineering) goes well, as does the "unzipping".

At the store, we picked up TWO large (23 fluid ounce) bottles of the Frank's. We go through it quite quickly and don't want to run out. The bottle that we had was close to empty and it almost caused a panic.

Senendipity, I'm sure the cupcakes will be appreciated by all. I just can't imagine anyone not liking cupcakes! :-)

Today's meal was the last leftover Naan pizza and 6 strawberries dipped in sour cream & rolled in brown sugar. I had popcorn as I raced through a Harlan Coben novel I couldn't put down. Beef is thawing for meatloaf tomorrow.

Used udon noodles and made a chicken broth based asian noodle "egg drop" soup with carrots, red onions and broccoli.

I made the potato leek soup yesterday. Dinner was the soup and a tossed salad. The soup is a bit bland for me. No doubt cream and butter would make it richer but I am battling the wicked bathroom scale.

The temperature just went up to 28 degrees from 27 degrees! According to my laptop. We ran a dribble of water in the kitchen sink last night and it's still dribbling. The sun is out and we're supposed to warm up to 50 degrees today.

Special - I remember my Mother making similar 'stew'. And I love Seeds of Change. Always have several in my cupboard. Glad the MOHS is done. Sorry it's larger than you hoped but at least with MOHS, you know the bad stuff is gone.

I'm staying away from the scale and even the tape measure. As long as my size M/Chico's size 1 tops fit (and the buttons on the blouses don't pop at boob level) and my size 1.5/M jeans & leggings fit, I'm ok. Gotta focus on behaviors, not results. Of course, the time to get fitted for my outfit for Gordy's wedding is drawing closer, so I'd hate to find myself "busting out all over."

Tues. night Bob brought home frozen "Tom Tom" tamales (the owner of the factory is a patient). They are classic "Chicago style" tamales--just beef-filled masa extruded into paper wrappers and tied off like sausages. 21 gm carb, 0 fiber, 190 cal apiece. Not worth it. They form the foundation of a Chicago (and Portillo's) staple, the "Mother-in-Law" sandwich: essentially a Chicago chili dog "dragged through the garden" and topped with cheese but with the tamale substituted for the hot dog. Bob nuked a couple as a late night snack last night and confirmed that if I'm looking for a tasty carb cheat, this ain't it. If I'm gonna blow my carbs & calories on a tamale, it's gotta be handmade and steamed in corn husks or banana leaves, with the proper sauce to match the filling.

Wed. night we went to L. Woods (because we could, despite the subzero wind chill). We split a wedge salad, a side of creamed spinach; and I had beef ribs (dry rub) that came with over-steamed broccoli. Took home leftovers, which I had last night (put Hollandaise on the broccoli). Thurs. night we went to Calo and split "linguine frutta di mare:" we split the seafood, I gave Bob the linguine and ate sauteed spinach instead. Tonight we're going to Regalia for an early birthday dinner (tomorrow is the actual day but the restaurant is closed Sundays and Gordy will be working). Carb cheat will be part of a portion of cacio e pepe, and probably whatever dessert they flambé or into which they stick a candle (and of course it will be shared). Their focaccia is wonderful but not worth filling up on.

wally - she is not really a supplement person, other than a standard multi vitamin. Her elevated values remain a mystery, and she was thoroughly worked up by her gastroenterologist. They just check with a CMP regularly but are not pursuing any answers at this point. I asked my BIL (also a GI doc) and his opinion was that some people "run hot" and it is their normal. Her elevated A1C - not super high, but higher than normal - is accompanied by fasting normal to low-ish blood glucose - which seems like a conundrum. She just started seeing an endo as her primary care doc doesn't do Prolia in his office so he referred her, and the new doc is a bit mystified by the blood sugar deal - and is continuing to monitor. She is a very healthy eater - gluten free, almost no sugar or fat, no alcohol, low body weight, and super fit. I have wondered if her elevated values are from all the muscle strain - some Ironman competitors have this too. She road bikes and mountain bikes every week, and plays on indoor and outdoor soccer teams each week - which are World Master's Games caliber. On the days she does not do those things she plays pickleball or walks five miles. On the osteoporosis front I shudder to think what that would look like without all of her weightbearing exercise! Conversely, she is also at risk because of all of the activity, and has broken both wrists over the years with soccer falls, one requiring surgery with pins and screws, and also fractured and dislocated her shoulder in a road bike fall years ago.

chisandy - those tamales sound wild, and the tamale dog arrangement - have never heard of them! I too am a tamale fan and have not made them because of the labor intensive aspect and the fact that I am the only one who likes them. I try to order them in restaurants that have good ones. I think DH might like them, but hasn't eaten them, so thinks he doesn't like them. One of those things...

Dinner last night ended up being take-out Chinese for DH - he always gets roast pork fried rice (brown rice this time) and the special BBQ pork from our fave place. It comes with cucumbers, which he doesn't like, so I eat them. They are in a slightly sweet and creamy dressing. I had just a little of the fried rice - was not really hungry. So, tonight will be chicken and bean tostadas, cilantro lime rice, and the leftovers from last night will be his lunch tomorrow at work.

minus - you are right - there is comfort in the MOHS removing known skin cancers. Unfortunately, my tempo has picked up lately and I am having a MOHS or two or a wide excision or two every six months. That is a lot of carving - I am kind of over it, but it doesn't seem to be over me. Bleh. Yay for Seeds of Change - love it - I also always have it in the pantry.

minus - yes, I have been fortunate so far to only have basal cells - although they have been different kinds. I had one infiltrating that was recurrent, which was the one I was most nervous about. It was originally a wide excision removal, but then needed a MOHS. This was on the shoulder of my worse LE arm. This recurrent one on my wrist is as well, and my arm was initially a bit angry, seems to be ok now. Can’t drag a compression sleeve over just yet, it is still tender and about 3cm across. Same length as the one on my face. I have two smaller facial MOHS in less noticeable locations. I have larger ones on my upper and middle back - five of them. Lots of other smaller ones scattered around. I don’t seem to have the AK lesions initially - within six month intervals at the derm they go from nothing to obvious basal cells. Mine present as a very pink spot. Over maybe 30 years I have only had one or two AKs frozen - wish I could catch them before they need a surgical removal. On a side note - your dinner sounds awesome!

Last night's dinner was the home-made pizza out of the freezer. It was delicious.

Tonight's dinner will be the pasta primavera we were supposed to have last night.