So...whats for dinner?

We have arrived in MN and are partially settled in. Last night's dinner was nothing. We stopped at a Pizza Ranch in Park Rapids for a heavy lunch. It's an awful place and I won't go back there. We joined Happy Hour on Mary and Lyman's deck with our martinis in hand, vodka for me, gin for dh.

I made a list when I got up this morning and will soon venture off to Walmart's. I shop at the other two supermarkets, too, but Walmart's has the best prices for the basic supplies and it is well located.

I will also stop at Eagle View Golf Course and pay for a membership and will probably go to Any Time Fitness and pay for a summer membership. It will be an expensive day!

Wally - oh there are LOTS of chocolate fiends here. I was raised in CA so my favorite candy is Sees. Hard to get in Houston in the summer when most companies won't ship chocolates in the heat. But I have at least two pieces of chocolate every day. (and sometimes a variety of chocolate dipped cookies of covered pretzels in addition). Current selection is usually Godiva's Dark Chocolate Ganache Hearts. Or Sanders' Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. I like Sweet's Dark Chocolate Orange Sticks (and Cherry Sticks) - but that's related to the fact that my Grandmother always had those in her candy dish when we visited. I also like Utah Mint Truffles, which my brother sent me for Christmas last year. They are milk chocolate, but still very good. (just had to eat one of my few remaining pieces to make sure - and yup!!) In an emergency, I usually have some variety of Dove dark chocolates around.

Dinner was a mixed plate. The last of the three bean salad in the center, English cucumber slices, radishes, a sliced avocado and two Hawaiian rolls with packaged salmon drained & mixed w/sour cream, mayo & dill.

Carole - glad you arrived safely. Who cares about food when you can sit on the dock & watch the lake!!! I expect it's going to be strange with your friend John gone. Did you get signed up at the gym & the golf course? You are so much more ambitious than I am.

Goldie - so glad you're making it a habit to join us at the table. Sorry the pests ate all the beans you planted. I always cook for 5 or 6 and package leftovers individually for the freezer. Even a jar of Raos gets divided into 3 or 4 different containers & frozen.

Nance - love your Trader Joe's meals or embellishments. I don't think I've had the 'windmills'. I found some new cookies I really like - Cooper Street 'Twice Baked'. Several flavors but I'm enjoying lemon & fresh blueberries.

Eric - hope you're feeling better and Sharon didn't pick up the bug.

Last of the fried rice with a side salad.

Our day was not how we wanted. Got up super early to get DH going for the procedure. We were 1/2 mile or so from the Hood Canal bridge (have to cross it to get to silverdale) and there was back up. Radio announcement said the bridge was opening for boat passing; 1/2 hour later...someone was indicating the holdup was not only that but a 4 car pile-up 1/2 block or so from the bridge (I may not have my distances precise) and fatalities. 4 ambulance, 2 fire engines, 2 fire support, 2 or 3 squad cars and then we heard the helicopter was coming. We were lucky to be able to turn around and get home (hence the hodge-podge for dinner). No way we were going to make the cross in time for his appointment, poor guy. So we rescheduled for next week...and it is later. Not sure if that is good or bad.

I'm having wine. Hopefully, lots of it. Didn't sleep well and this day is most unwelcome. Then I got a call that medicare effed up my insurance with supplemental. Hope that is fixed. Like we don't pay enough for that. RANT.

Minus, love your chocolate share!

Eric, post back to let us know how you are doing.

Moon, so glad your son is doing well.

Wally. I hope DH's back procedure works.

Carole, glad you're getting settled.

Not Covid, but probably flu. The fever peaked to 102.F (sounds like an FM radio station) but "broke", more or less, about two hours ago. I sort of slept most of the day.

Hi everyone!

I am popping in after what feels like a year, but has likely been several months….trying things again after frustrations I have not felt like dealing with in the technology. Today I got in with little problem….and I wanted to just share with some of our old time posters that today is our “founder”, Laurie’s birthday! I will be sending Happy Birthday wishes to her on Facebook. She seems to be doing well, and her boys are happily and entertainingly enjoying their tween and teen years.

Things have been busy here….never did have Covid several months ago when I had all those miserable viral symptoms. BUT…..DH managed to contract it during one of our TD Garden trips for Celtics playoffs. Three days later I joined him in virus! We were both prescribed Paxlovid, which did what it was supposed to, stopping the cells in their tracks while our immune systems killed them off. DH was fine in six days. I thought I was fine right after I stopped Paxlovid…then three days later WHOMP!!! I spent a few days sick in bed, and felt pretty good a week later, except for post Covid fatigue, which is still pretty bad some days. Hopefully, I will get past this over the next two months.

Glad to hear that you have arrived in your summer happy place, Carole!
And much fun hearing about your afternoon treat of the almond windmill cookies Nance! I also recently found them, and have always been fond of those.

Minus, I always think of you when my Stepmother send us Sees candies! And they have recently been featured in our local grocery store. Yay!

Moon, I am relieved for you and your family that your son is responding so well to his chemo treatment!

Tonight I am making hake puttanesca which I think we’ll have with quinoa since we do not need any more pasta this week! Even hake is ridiculously expensive but the local cod was priced higher than I can count given my lack of brain food!

We are heading to the lake to open up tomorrow, returning Sat since GDG is coming for an overnite visit from Sun to Mon to give her Covid recovering parents a break. They need it!

Will try to not be such a stranger….Have a goodMemorial Day weekend!

I’m too far behind to catch up, so jumping in here.

Brain mets have been unruly and are too risky to zap this time, so after many additional tests, they are not lepto yet (3rd lepto scare) and a change in treatment is all that we’re doing now. This is actually preferred and my first infusion with Enhertu was uneventful 🙂.

Dinner was my favorite pasta from Giacomo’s ciba e vino, tagliatelle with chicken and so many veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, red peppers, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms).

We’re in a hotel in Houston since we moved a couple weeks ago and will make the long drive home on Saturday but I happy to get back to finishing the cabin build.

I hope everyone is doing well and eating delicious food.

Illimae, you and my DH are my heroes. Best wishes for outstanding results. I had to google Lepto.

Spent 1-1/2 hours weeding this morning/afternoon (came in when someone started power washing their driveway...OY on the noise).

Tonight will be crab omelet with a side of steamed spinach and the leftover roasted purple potatoes.

Thurs night we walked to Regalia—I had the special bone marrow & arugula app, we shared spaghetti cacio e Pepe, and my entree was the tuna carpaccio app. Today wa the Flight Delay From Hell: 10 am flight to Toronto didn’t take off till after 3pm. Stuck in Midway since 8 am. Oy. Then waiting on the tarmac in Toronto while earlier delayed flights got their gates and went through passport control/customs. Checked into our hotel around 7pm—and here wee were worrying about how to kill time before a 9:15 dinner. Had just enough time to unpack, change, & freshen up.

So dinner was the tasting menu at Canoe atop the TD Tower. Started with a PEI oyster cooked with truffle, squid ink,pancetta & pea purée. Then a “seviche” of swordfish, Wagyu & smoked mussel. Next up were sweetbreads with a chicken-mousse-stuffed morel, Mac & cheese, chicharonnes, & hazelnuts. Then halibut with crispy chicken skin, braised lettuce, and lobster-tomalley mousse; smoked veal strip loin stuttfed with foie gras & smoky bacon; a semi-dessert of a white asparagus/miso custard, with dessert being wild strawberries, vanilla Bavarian cream gelato, and strawberry-filled croquettes. Finally, petits-fours—-but seeing as how long we’d been up & how sleepy we were, we packed the petits fours to gp

Thurs night we walked to Regalia—I had the special bone marrow & arugula app, we shared spaghetti cacio e Pepe, and my entree was the tuna carpaccio app. Today wa the Flight Delay From Hell: 10 am flight to Toronto didn't take off till after 3pm. Stuck in Midway since 8 am. Oy. Then waiting on the tarmac in Toronto while earlier delayed flights got their gates and went through passport control/customs. Checked into our hotel around 7pm—and here wee were worrying about how to kill time before a 9:15 dinner. Had just enough time to unpack, change, & freshen up.

So dinner was the tasting menu at Canoe atop the TD Tower. Started with a PEI oyster cooked with truffle, squid ink, pancetta & pea purée. Then a “seviche" of swordfish, Wagyu & smoked mussel. Next up were sweetbreads with a chicken-mousse-stuffed morel, Mac & cheese, chicharonnes, & hazelnuts. Then halibut with crispy chicken skin, braised lettuce, and lobster tomalley mousse; smoked veal strip loin stuffed with foie gras & smoky bacon; a semi-dessert of a white asparagus/miso custard, with dessert being wild strawberries, vanilla Bavarian cream gelato, and strawberry-filled croquettes. Finally, petits-fours—-but seeing as how long we'd been up & how sleepy we were, we packed the petits fours to go—they'll make a great snack. Still haven’t touched them—the previous guests left their Doubletree walnut chocolate-chip cookies in the fridge.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel was scrambled egg, Asian veggies, bacon, and melon chunks. Dim sum brunch at Treasure Palace: hot & sour soup, spareribs in black bean sauce, shrimp siu mai & spring rolls, BBQ pork fun rolls, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce, and sesame balls stuffed with lotus paste (in Chicago, they usually come with red bean paste). Dinner at Adega (Portuguese seafood): bread service came with EVOO and oil-marinated black olives; next came their version of antipasto—peri-peri shrimp, chorizo, wood-grilled sardines with sautéed peppers & portobello, squid with grilled pineapple; and cheese very reminiscent of fresh mozzarella. Main course was a cataplana (like a bouillabaisse or cioppino): shrimp, mussels, cherrystone clams, Atlantic salmon, cod, squid, carrots, green beans, potatoes in a tomato broth—served in the hinged metal bowl in which it was cooked

Tomorrow night, Lai Wah Heen in our hotel (Doubletree—small, more of a 3-star than 4-star). Was wondering what a AAA 4-Diamond restaurant was doing in a modest hotel—but a walk around the ‘hood revealed we are smack-dab in the middle of Asian restaurant heaven: Japanese, Korean, every version of Chinese. Were we to stay here a week, we could have a different meal at every restaurant within a 3-block radius and never hit the same place twice. Haven’t made a Tim Horton’s pilgrimage, but I am rationing my carbs & sugar appropriately.

Thurs night we walked to Regalia—I had the special bone marrow & arugula app, we shared spaghetti cacio e Pepe, and my entree was the tuna carpaccio app. Today wa the Flight Delay From Hell: 10 am flight to Toronto didn't take off till after 3pm. Stuck in Midway since 8 am. Oy. Then waiting on the tarmac in Toronto while earlier delayed flights got their gates and went through passport control/customs. Checked into our hotel around 7pm—and here wee were worrying about how to kill time before a 9:15 dinner. Had just enough time to unpack, change, & freshen up.

So dinner was the tasting menu at Canoe atop the TD Tower. Started with a PEI oyster cooked with truffle, squid ink, pancetta & pea purée. Then a "seviche" of swordfish, Wagyu & smoked mussel. Next up were sweetbreads with a chicken-mousse-stuffed morel, Mac & cheese, chicharonnes, & hazelnuts. Then halibut with crispy chicken skin, braised lettuce, and lobster tomalley mousse; smoked veal strip loin stuffed with foie gras & smoky bacon; a semi-dessert of a white asparagus/miso custard, with dessert being wild strawberries, vanilla Bavarian cream gelato, and strawberry-filled croquettes. Finally, petits-fours—-but seeing as how long we'd been up & how sleepy we were, we packed the petits fours to go—they'll make a great snack. Still haven't touched them—the previous guests left their Doubletree walnut chocolate-chip cookies in the fridge.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel was scrambled egg, Asian veggies, bacon, and melon chunks. Dim sum brunch at Treasure Palace: hot & sour soup, spareribs in black bean sauce, shrimp siu mai & spring rolls, BBQ pork fun rolls, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce, and sesame balls stuffed with lotus paste (in Chicago, they usually come with red bean paste). Dinner at Adega (Portuguese seafood): bread service came with EVOO and oil-marinated black olives; next came their version of antipasto—peri-peri shrimp, chorizo, wood-grilled sardines with sautéed peppers & portobello, squid with grilled pineapple; and cheese very reminiscent of fresh mozzarella. Main course was a cataplana (like a bouillabaisse or cioppino): shrimp, mussels, cherrystone clams, Atlantic salmon, cod, squid, carrots, green beans, potatoes in a tomato broth—served in the hinged metal bowl in which it was cooked.

Tomorrow night, Lai Wah Heen in our hotel (Doubletree—small, more of a 3-star than 4-star). Was wondering what a AAA 4-Diamond restaurant was doing in a modest hotel—but a walk around the 'hood revealed we are smack-dab in the middle of Asian restaurant heaven: Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, every version of Chinese. Were we to stay here a week, we could have a different meal at every restaurant within a 3-block radius and never hit the same place twice. Haven't made a Tim Horton's pilgrimage, but I am rationing my carbs & sugar appropriately.

Eric, you and Sharon are on a similar schedule as myself. I've gone to bed when the sun was still shining! Good thing I have room darkening shades, as my bedroom windows face NW! How are you liking these winds???

Comfort food yesterday, meatloaf, mashed taters and corn.

Leftovers (Italian sausage, baked beans and slaw).

Carole, lol dreading to post after Sandy! Surprising that the WalMart corn was good. Most fresh fruits/veggies around here (AZ) have no taste, especially fruits, such as strawberries, canteloupe, watermelon, peaches, etc.

Eric, funny you say that about the cardboard. I have cardboard in 5 of my living room windows, that are 5' tall and in front of the patio door! Amazing how much heat it blocks.

I made sweet/sour chicken with fried rice. Fried my rice a little long, as I had crunchy bits in there.

But ladies & gents - all of you are actually cooking meals - and those sound very good to me.

My dinner was tuna w/mayo, fresh tomatoes and sauteed asparagus - served with one Hawaiian roll. Desert was Ms. Thinster's coconut cookies dipped in chocolate.

Tarragon was not great on the steamed yellow summer squash. Oh well. What spices would you all use in an attempt to cut back on salt?

I saw an idea the other day for pizzas made with flattened Pillsbury jumbo biscuits and TJ's frozen meatballs cut in half. Wonder if that would be as good as Naan bread?

Minus, I love tuna and mayo. I've convinced DH that tuna melts are a good thing since canned tuna never appealed to him. I've got a convert.

Garlic powder is my go-to spice when I have no idea how to season something. That, and onion powder.

If it is plain zucchini (grilled, steamed, etc.) I don't do much to it...if I saute it, I add some canned corn, diced onion and make it "mexican" spiced...cumin, oregano and a little cayenne. If I have an open jar of salsa, I'll add some of that to the mix.