So...whats for dinner?

Early morning dedication of a new County Park and evening meeting at the Police Dept about catalytic converter thefts. In between at various intervals - today's meals were cheerios with a banana, leftover Brussels sprouts, 2pieces of leftover Date Bread that I'd previously frozen. and a handful of Marcona almonds. I didn't even get my usual gin & tonic happy hour, so had a 'short' screwdriver at 9pm with the almonds.

Hi all

Had curried cashew and coconut chicken tonight, yum. It's cold and wet here now, we had a big thunder and lighting storm last night. I'm trying to find recipes without meat as with my bowel cancer and having chemo every fortnight certain foods effect my stomach. I like curries still as I have lost some of my taste and need something with lots of flavour. I'm watching Jamie's Ultimate Veg at the moment.

It seems that everyone is very busy doing all sorts of things. Hope that everyone is better after all the medical issues.

AuntieN, sorry about your foot, but sure glad DH didn't have Covid.

SpecialK, you on the other hand, not so lucky, or should I say DH. Hopefully he's on the mend. Ok, I see your update, glad you are still negative.

Wallycat, what do you use for your cocktail sauce. I make mine with just ketchup and horseradish.

Carole, I always finish my ribs on the grill. I start them out on indirect heat for about 3 hours in a covered tin, then over the coals for that char on them.....yummmm. I make my own BBQ sauce too.

Minus2, cheerios and brussle spouts...dinner of champs! LOL!

Eric, perfect dinner after a hot busy day/drive. I'm smelling smoke this morning and saw online there was a fire around Taylor. Are you smelling it?

Dinner for me was a burnt leftover chicken thigh (inside meat was fine). I burned it on the grill, along with some lima beans and butternut squash.

Goldie, I usually use tomato sauce as the base if it is just me; since DH would partake, I used ketchup (usually too sweet for me), horseradish, lemon juice, hot sauce, worchesterchire sauce. I have a little leftover sauce and may use it as a base for salad dressing tomorrow.

Grilled or broiled sockeye tonight, weather dependent for outdoor cooking. The winds are supposedly going to be horrible. Started out really windy but things seem calm now. Slaw from yesterday and not sure if I'll make beans or rice.

Last night I had a Caesar salad and 3 tavern-cut squares (totaling less than a wedged-shape slice of a 16" pie) of thin crust pizza I needed to purge from the freezer. It was the end of hour 18 of an intermittent fast. Dessert later on was sugar-free halvah, a square of 85% dark chocolate, a prune (how weird is it that I like prunes?) and a handful of asstd. nuts.

Today at 3pm after returning from my facial, I made eggs Benedict: Mikey's keto "muffin;" heirloom tomato, Black Forest ham, 2 poached eggs (after letting the thin whites drip through the strainer, they came out neat & perfect) and Melissa's Hollandaise sauce garnished with cayenne and a few tarragon leaves. Served it all on a bed of mixed watercress & baby arugula--no need for dressing as the egg yolks did it all. (I now have enough whites saved up to make an omelet tomorrow before heading to the ortho clinic to see why both my groin & knee hurt when i walk--probably the same iliopsoas muscle strain I had 26 years ago).

Dinner at Regalia: started with shrimp bisque; then split a Mediterranean salad (like Greek but with mesclun & frisee). Bob's entree was three filet mignon medallions over mashed potato with broccolini; I had ricotta gnudi with Italian sausage, tomstoes and broccolini. Owner comped us the chef's special dessert tonight: Napoleon with macerated strawberries & mascarpone, topped with more mascarpone and fresh blackberries & raspberries. We both took home prodigious quantities of leftovers (not the dessert, of course). Funny how 4 hrs. later I have no desire to snack (seems if I "let go" a little at a restaurant, I don't get cravings afterward; but on days I cook at home (even if I keep strict keto through dinner), it's a Herculean effort not to give in to cravings before bed--which means I have to wait till at least 1:30, if not 3pm for my first calories of the day.

The 107F isn't unusual. :-)

Made Chicken Picatta with artichoke hearts and mushrooms yesterday with a wine sauce (my first time). It was too thin, so I added some heavy cream. It was just meh! So a bit disappointed. Now I have a bunch of left over breaded chicken chunks that I don't know what to do with, not to mention more Chicken Picatta! Suggestions? I was thinking maybe a sweet and sour chicken? The chicken has lemon on it, so I think that would be ok.

Here's what I made for brunch yesterday:

Today, guacamole toast with EVOO-fried egg. Going to Jilly's Cafe tonight.

Jilly's at 7:15 on a Friday night was surprisingly uncrowded. Might have been due to threatening weather (which didn't materialize till after 10pm); that its location on Green Bay Rd. between a tailor and an auto repair shop doesn't get foot traffic; or that people have been spooked by Evanston reaching the "high-transmission" level of COVID (though it's literally a couple of blocks from Wilmette). We were the youngest people there, and the only ones wearing masks. (We kept ours on till we began eating & drinking).

Along with the bread & butter came a scoop of liver pate so smooth it was nearly a mousse. I ate it with a fork instead of on bread. My app was seared foie gras in a cassis sauce with Granny Smith apples, crispy fried strands of butternut squash, and a little glass of Sauternes (though sweet, it's the traditional pairing with foie gras). It was wonderful and worth the cheat. Bob had escargot, which were topped with little puff pastry discs. We shared a spinach salad, which came liberally laced with thick lardons and a large slab of chêvre. We each ordered the bouillabaisse (for a very slight upcharge, with lobster tail). It was slightly undersalted (I guess considering the senior sodium-averse demographic), but otherwise perfect. The portions were huge--we could easily have shared it, and so we took home half--I'll gently reheat it tonight with a bit more salt, grape tomatoes and maybe some garlic & saffron (perhaps put together a rouille). Had my leftover spinach salad today with the goat cheese spread on low-carb toast.

We may supplement the leftover bouillabaisse tonight with a tomato-basil-arugula salad and country pate (Trois Petits Cochons, on sale at Whole Foods) with Finn Crisps & a new jar of fresh Dijon. Maybe some salmon & whitefish roes as appetizers. Even considering making the leftover lobster tail into lobster rolls, and just having the broth, mussels & salmon chunks as a soup course.

Glad to see you checking back in, Monica! Mazel tov on your DD2's (additional) graduation and her kids' recital (of course the performances were stellar). Good to know that you can get lobster bisque in coastal WI!

Tonight, I tweaked the leftover bouillabaisse with: saffron threads (I'd been storing them in the fridge after having infused some hot water with them for another dish a couple of months ago); several pressed cloves of garlic; diced grape tomatoes; a little kosher salt; a couple grinds of black pepper; half a large bulb of fennel I'd sliced and blanched; parsley from my garden and some chopped fronds from the fennel. I served it to Bob over all the leftover croutons (I had mine w/o any bread). Much improved, if I do say so myself. Dessert was what I could salvage from some over-the-hill strawberries drizzled with balsamico, and a square of Alter Eco 85% dark chocolate.

Moon - so great to hear from you. Glad things are going OK there.

Yesterday I never got time to eat so my meal at 7pm was guacamole and rosemary crackers. Dinner tonight was two gin & tonics followed by 2 hot dogs on slightly stale buns with yellow French's mustard, served with some leftover 3 bean salad.

Feel better, Eric!

Last night Bob worked late, so for dinner I made a bag of Trader Joe's shrimp & veggie stir-fry. The whole bag was under 200 calories, and I didn't use the seasoning packet (in order to cut back on sodium). Instead I pressed garlic, grated ginger, and mixed a little rice vinegar with sesame oil and a few drops each of sriracha and coconut aminos.

Tonight Bob came home for a late dinner (which he told me in advance he'd do). I grilled a grass-fed ribeye, steamed some asparagus and nuked hollandaise; and sauteed ramps (did the white parts like shallots and the leaves at the end), mixing them with sliced mushrooms in butter, parsley and Madeira.

black rice with tofu, shiitake mushrooms and baby broccoli/spinach "fried rice."

Eric, hope you get well soon. DH goes in for his cortisone back procedure tomorrow. Wish us luck. If this doesn't work, they are talking the "S" word (Surgery)...at his age, it frightens me.

Sandy, thanks for the chocolate feedback. Maybe you and I are the only chocolate lovers

I don't know everyone very well here, but Moonflwr, glad your son was able to escape the feeding tube, and hopefully beat whatever cancer he has.

Minus2, you crack me up with some of your meals!

Eric, hopefully you are feeling better by now. I always fill up in Payson, they seem to be the cheapest. I had to go to Scottsdale Monday for treatment. Left here and 8:30 am and got home at 8:00 pm!

Cyathea, sorry about the gall bladder, hoping you can espcape surgery.

I pulled out some turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and corn that I had froze previously. I have several meals I do like that. Make lots and freeze meals.