So...whats for dinner?

Chi. Hoping that it's a case of "positive test, no symptoms" for Bob...and that you don't catch it.

I like the tamale dog nickname. I must be lucky as my MIL as never given me heartburn. :-)

Sharon made a personal sized pizza last night and I had...nothing... I don't mind the few "nothing for dinner" nights. I don't want to have to go to a CAT truck scale to weight myself!

Eric - the thought of weighing on a truck scale has me chuckling. I don't do regular 'fasting' but I generally only eat one meal a day. Well, amended to say that if I want a coke during the day I drink one. And I usually do have two or three cookies in the late evening, or two pieces of candy. Now that I'm only walking one day a week, the weight's likely to creep up.

Today's meal - left over 1/2 a bowl of Ivar's clam chowder and 1/2 a meatloaf sandwich on pumpernickel bread. This evening - two gin & tonics as I tried to resolve Civlc Club/HOA issues on the phone before our ZOOM meeting tomorrow.

Bob spiked a temp of 101 early Sunday evening but Tylenol knocked it back down to 99.4. This a.m. it was 99.2. He feels much better--and it's a good thing, because the infusion center is not returning his messages so it doesn't look like he'll get that monoclonal antibody treatment--I think they may not have the one that works for Omicron. He's at 98.8 today sans Tylenol. Coughing a little--but he has a smoker's cough anyway. Meanwhile, he's feeling well enough to go out on the deck and sneak a smoke, plus make a drink or two. He's angry that I won't let him go to the Popeye's or Mickey D's drive-through, and in this cold I'm not about to venture out for that either--maybe only put the trash out on the deck instead of walking to the alley dumpster. We have a full freezer and I'm not afraid to use it.

Last night we had my Regalia leftovers (a large lamb chop apiece plus assorted veggies). I'm about to make him some Kodiak whole wheat waffles with smoked maple syrup & bacon; I'm gonna make mine with Birch Benders and Lakanto fake maple syrup (the best sugar-free I've found, bar none). Lunch for him later will be corned beef hash with peppers, onions, and an over-easy egg. (No lunch for me, as my waffles will be brunch). Dinner will be salmon burgers with snap peas (and a packet of Seeds of Change for him). I don't care if the fish stinks up the house--I'm not gonna attempt to grill.

He's given himself the run of the house (except to sleep in the guest room)--so much for isolating. So we're basically co-quarantining. If I re-test negative this afternoon, it'll be a testament to that full-strength Moderna booster. (He did Pfizer). Once he's over this, he will get his fourth shot at Little Co. of Mary (critical-care health workers are being offered it). I will hold off until either a fourth shot is recommended for non-immunocompromised seniors (which my MO & PCP say I basically am), or the Pfizer adapted vaccine trials are over (or I can get into one) and FDA issues an EUA.

Get well soon, Bob!

Interesting Wally that you still miss smoking. I gave it up 7/11/07 - for osteoporosis and not breast cancer. But I agree, there are times I still miss it or want to smoke. But I know I can not or I'm off to the races.

Most of the time it turns out doctors are just people (no longer the gods of our childhood - just humans with clay feet). So yes, they have the many of the same foibles we all do. Think "Physician heal thyself"?

I was on the computer from 6am to 5pm prepping for a meeting tonight - pretty much non-stop except for peeing. At 5pm I re-heated the roast potatoes from earlier this week and made a 3 egg omlette with Muenster cheese and ate quickly so I could be back in front of my desk top for the Zoom meeting at 7pm. That lasted until 9:15p. Whew..... My eyes feel like slot machines. Time for a tall gin & tonic.

The beef veggie noodle soup was/is very tasty. Lots of it left over. Side was one of our delicious romaine salads with a whole perfect avocado and blue cheese.

I thawed a package of two cornish hens to cook for dinner tonight. I always think they're so cute.

I quit smoking cigarettes when I was forty and we went to Europe for a three-week trip. DH left his pipe at home and I didn't pack any cigarettes. I was never a heavy smoker and the only time I missed smoking after that was in social situations, especially parties.

A neighbor made sweet potato pizza crust and brought it over this morning so I'll add some bbq sauce, red onions and chicken sausage. I'm hopeful this tastes as good as it sounds the sweet potato crust is intriguing.

It's been -0 here so I've been staying in and cooking whatever is in the freezer as well. Day before yesterday I made spicy Korean pork, my first attempt and it came out very good. Leftovers yesterday were even better.

This is the recipe that was given to me, I made my own adjustments

8 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

1 2" piece ginger, peeled, sliced

½ cup dry sake (I used savignon blanc as I didn't have sake)

½ cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

½ cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

¼ cup vegetable oil, (I used sesame oil and about half of this amount)

1.5 lb pork loin cut into thin strips (I sliced in half lengthwise and then did thin slices)

I also cut up 5/6 green onions into 2" pieces and added that to that marinade

Purée garlic, ginger, sake, gochujang, mirin, and oil in a blender. Set ¼ cup marinade aside; chill. Transfer remaining marinade to a large dish. Add pork; turn to coat. Chill, turning occasionally, at least 2 hours.

I cooked on the stove in a pan maybe 8 minutes until my desired tenderness then added the rest of the marinade until it thickens up.

It really was. You are very welcome!

I've never used sugar to make cornbread, because I always spread honey & butter on it when I ate it. Tangentially, I hear from friends in Queens that Dunkin' Donuts is charging 25 cents for butter on their corn muffins. I remember at the cafeteria at Chenonceaux chateau in the Loire valley, a pat of butter cost the equivalent in francs (pre-euro, 1994) of about a nickel--but the price was posted on the tray of pats. But for French butter, it was worth it.

I never entertained the slightest thought of smoking, because my mom chain-smoked and often put her cigarettes out on her dinner plate and then put the plate into the dirty-dish water. When it was my turn to do the dishes, I was revulsed (in NYC back then, in-sink garbage disposals were illegal) by that. Finally, one night I'd had enough and said, "I'll make a deal with you--you don't put your cigs out on your dinner plate and I won't eat out of your ashtrays." She was furious, but didn't punish me. From then on, she'd scrape her own plate into the garbage can before putting it in the sink. I also remember how many times when I was a kid we had to stop on road trips for smoke breaks and even got late starts because she insisted on detouring to buy a carton or two before hitting the road. When my parents took their first & only cruise, my dad would bribe the steward to hide her cigarettes; but Mom would bribe him to get them back. Dad (who neither smoked nor drank) predeceased her, at 72. The day after his funeral, their cardiologist tearfully pleaded with her to quit. She was 65--went to a hypnotist and quit cold turkey. She had smoked since she was 15--working her way up to nearly 3 packs a day till she quit. Her lungs healed a bit over the next decade, but then went downhill till she got first chronic bronchitis and then COPD. She died at 85 of cor pulmonale, right-sided congestive heart failure (CHF) caused by damaged lungs. (And she had a 6cm lung lesion that was likely malignant but she refused a biopsy because she didn't want treatment).

For brunch, I made a slice of avocado toast (with homemade guac on a bed of arugula), topped with cilantro, shallot, tomato and an egg. For Bob, a large lemon-dill tuna salad sandwich (lettuce, tomato, onion, Duke's mayo), and a side of broccoli florets & grapes; later, a big mug of chicken broth with dill, garlic & parsley.

Dinner tonight was golden tilefish (like a cross between halibut & monkfish) seared with grapeseed oil, salt & pepper and topped with lemon. The usual snap peas sauteed with garlic, ginger & toasted sesame seeds; and for Bob, half a packet of Lundberg turmeric rice. Dessert was mixed nuts and a couple of small pieces of Lily's stevia-sweetened dark chocolate.

Tonight will be sablefish with the same sides as last night (unless Bob wants me to order out for pizza, and if so I will just eat the toppings). Today I treated myself (because he requested it) to "Irish porridge" oatmeal, made on the stovetop with McCann's steel-cut oat groats. I gave him brown sugar & maple syrup so he could sweeten to taste (he didn't use the brown sugar packets), and sweetened mine with Lakanto maple-flavor syrup & brown Swerve. Felt decadent breaking my intermittent fast after only 13 hours...but it was there. (And that was my one allowed starch-of-the-day--if I have tuna salad later I'll stuff it into Belgian endive leaves).

Even after running the exhaust fan and burning a couple of scented candles, the kitchen still smells like fish. (But Bob I I like fish--just won't pollute anyone else's microwave with it nor eat it on a plane).

Just re-tested (per my health system's newsletter which says to wait till at least Day 4 post-exposure). Bob says he was exposed Thursday and I was exposed no later than Saturday or even Friday, since we ate together both nights. So today is either Day 4 or 5. This time I used OnGo, which is a PITA since you have to download and use their app (even though there's a step-by-step instruction sheet, which I followed). Once again, at 10 (earliest) and 15 (latest) minutes, no line next to the "T." I even used a lighted magnifying glass. While my own timer was running, at about 6 minutes I tapped my phone's screen, which showed the app thought I hadn't started yet! I blew threw the next steps on the phone till it said "start timer." It warned not to stop the app's timer. So when it beeped and I took the requisite photo of the test cassette (w/in the 5 min. window specified in the app), which was a huge pain to get it into the narrow vertical window and in focus to boot. The app said "negative result, test invalid because test expired." Baloney--Bob & I both agree it's negative.

Bob is feeling fine. He got word from his hospitals, colleague & and Union Health: he can officially break quarantine (albeit in an N95 mask for the next 5 days). Colleague said to stay home this weekend and enjoy football, then come to work on Mon. and do two "hospital Hell weekends" in a row. Looking forward to having my HK back and the plumber in Monday. (Fingers crossed she and her DH remain negative),

I made the chocolate pie with the heavy cream & Tia Maria last night. This morning I decided to actually whip real cream w/vanilla instead of using 'quip'. Taste was delicious but filling didn't solidify as much as usual so it was a pain cutting & taking 1/2 to a friend in the neighborhood.Edited to add - a definite 'food body wiggle' - courtesy of Illimae

Today's meal will be fried rice w/rotisserie chicken leftovers, onions, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, celery, and whatever else is in the fridge. And of course I've already eaten desert.

I'm probably going to make something with shrimp. I think that's the fastest and easiest thing I can put together. I have a bag of shrimp in the freezer. My son is coming over for our weekly anime and dinner night, don't want to do alfredo twice in a row. haha I wish I was more comfortable with the InstantPot. I have a tenderloin I could cook up quickly in there, but last time something went wrong, it didn't cook enough and I haven't tried again. One day I will!