So...whats for dinner?
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What a gorgeous garden! Wow!
Dinner tonight was, well, perhaps odd. The core was blueberry muffins. My best friend during high school came for brunch yesterday brought us local Rhode Island blueberries, so muffins was a given. Mr. SMT looked nostalgic and said "fried pork chops" and that was the deal. Center cut pork chops were actually on sale and I bought a package with just two. A simple cucumber salad, and tomatoes with garlic and basil, and of course olive oil, also brought from RI was the rest of the realm. I was able to eat half a thin cut chop, 1.5 muffins, cucumbers and one slice of the tomato.
Poor Mr. SMT is digging footings for the porch and this is his dinner. Poor man!
I start cycle 5 tomorrow and will get a copy of the scan report. My food is already packed. Plain yogurt with raspberries from my garden, granola to top in a separate bag, boiled egg, and a big bag of little fishes. I also have a small V8 and some seltzer. I am ready!
Current guests, checked in today, are from Florida and have wasted half a day of Boston time hanging in their rooms. I just don't get this. They have been here since 2PM and all they have done is eat some Thai and hang in their rooms with the A/C on.There is a garden with lovely ocean breezes. There is a city waiting to be explored.
*susan*
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susan - I would be pretty happy with your dinner! Sorry about more Florida misfits - hopefully they won't stain anything.....
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At least these FL guests aren’t trashing the place. In their defense, travel is much more grueling than it used to be. Anywhere in FL to Boston is a long flight, and there’s the trip to the airport, TSA & boarding hassle at one end and baggage claim and the trip to Somerville at the other. If they drove up the coast instead, they’re probably exhausted as well. So they probably welcomed the chance to eat and cool off.
Here’s my food porn for tonight:
Sugar snap peas sliced on the bias, sauteed in garlic-ginger oil with toasted sesame seeds; pan-seared fresh wild sockeye salmon; and some reheated take-out saffron rice (if you look closely to the right of the fork handle, you can see a thread of saffron). The salmon was very easy to do, per the America’s Test Kitchen recipe. Unlike thicker Atlantic salmon fillets (or Pacific king if you can find it), these don’t need a five-minute brining. Liberally sprinkle a nonstick skillet with kosher salt. Pat the fish dry on both sides, and season only the top with kosher salt & a few grinds of pepper. Put it skin side down in the pan, and only then turn on the heat, to medium-low. Flip the fish when it’s white (cooked fat rendered from the skin plus the moisture in the salmon itself) a little less than halfway up the side. Watch carefully—as soon as it’s just about opaque, take its temp. with an instant-read thermometer—should be between 120-125. Remove to the plate (where it’ll continue to cook) and sprinkle with scallion tops.
Until I learned this method, I always either undercooked sockeye or coho salmon and had to give it a final zap in the microwave, or overcooked it to where the skin would shrink and the flesh would “seize up” and be dry, flaky & chewy—needing a knife as well as a fork. The cold-pan method produces barely-opaque silky slabs that cleave off along the grain when nudged with a fork. Oh—and did I forget to mention oil? That’s because you don’t even use any!
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Beautiful garden, Nance. To look at the pictures is a pleasure. Must be hard work planting and tending it.
I am sitting in the airport in St. Louis waiting for connecting flight to NO. Just consumed a Whopper meal and a chocolate covered doughnut. Burger King and Dunking Donuts conveniently located beside each other. I was ravenous.
Last night was Outback, also conveniently located in one corner of our motel near the MN airport. I had a quesadilla with slivers of prime rib suspended in a tasty gooey filling, details of which are forgotten. Dh had a yummy looking burger
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We are eating lunch at the rest area on I-24 near Chattanooga,TN. It's, as always, beautiful.
We bring an ice chest and fix a lunch at the picnic tables. It's much easier and we don't over eat.
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BRAT sandwich for brunch: avocado with just enough mayo to mash, Nueske’s uncured cherrywood bacon, organic beefsteak tomato, basil from my garden, and red-leaf Little Gem lettuce on low-carb multi-grain toast. Coffee was an Aeropress of Metropolis’ Mocha Java blend (may do one of their Ethiopia Sidamo next). Dinner tonight may be the Lazy Woman’s Special: nuked shelf-stable packets of Tasty Bite palak paneer, channa daal, Punjabi eggplant and some more of that saffron rice. Maybe a pappadum or two.
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Cycle 5 has begun. Had a wonderful FN for the blood draw. We got to chatting since I mentioned that my infusion snack was yogurt with raspberries from the garden. So then, she wanted to know what else was in my garden. Now, she wanted to know about my herbs. Turns out she grows tarragon since there is always fresh tarragon on her table and you just grab some as you eat the meal Well, I had to ask her what cuisine. Persian! Well, my lovely Persian guests from last year– well the two daughters have called and want to come see me on Friday. So, I was able to ask about what food I serve with the tea in addition to the little Almond-Orange mini bundt cakes. She suggests a famous appetizer dish of feta, mint, walnuts and flatbread. I have found fancier versions on the web, but I like her simplicity. I will also serve their mother's Persian tea. Daughter Nº 1 has finished her first year of medical school and just loves it all.
Doctor's appointment was just odd. She was off her game. THE COMPUTER wouldn't boot up. No scan report to review. No blood work to discuss. Nothing. So we chatted. She listened to my heart, worried about my separating toe nails, and catalogued my fatigue factor. But, not in the computer.
In the waiting room, there were 10 patients waiting to go back to a chair. 4 of them were male. [And one was ONLY 31 years old!] The other three it appears are on a study that is taking place primarily on Tuesdays which explains why such a large percentage of the patients are male when I am in the waiting room. From what I overheard, the study is of a Pfizer drug.
My infusion snack was delicious. The raspberries this year are very special and pair well with the yogurt and granola. I also had a hard-cooked egg. Dinner will be a grilled burger, cole slaw and potato. More potato. My potassium is clinging to the bottom of normal. Can't let up. My sodium is still too low. I don't think I can eat much more salt though.
*susan*
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M0mmy you crack me up. Sounds good and a smart conservation of energy
Nance I love your veggies. I have so many in my garden and I am donating them to the church, I am working in a university that was nominated top 5% in the country for dining services and it is good. Swordfish last night, cream of fresh broccoli soup today etc. I stay over every other night, as I live 30 minutes away and they have given me a furnished apt there Yum, I haven't bought groceries since mid June.
Susan Happy for your good news.
sorry for anyone I've forgotten, I am working 24on, 24off, now off, and soon to sleep.
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Bedo - we're just so glad that you are checking in. 24/24 is a rough schedule. Glad they've provided an apartment.
Susan - interesting to contemplate what will get recorded in your chart once the computer works again. At one point the docs recommended "jubila" for my toenails. The nurse said it might be a bit pricey. No joke - $400 for 1/3 oz. I declined.
I was going to have potato salad & coleslaw for dinner, but the husband of my friend who died just called and wants to drive a bunch of neighbors out for pizza. Since it's a place that has an excellent salad in addition to great pizza by the slice, I'm headed out.
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Susan, Persian food is fascinating. Some of it—the kebabs, rices & salads—seems simple; but things like the pomegranate sauce for fessenjan, stews and especially the pastries is amazingly intricate and complex. We’re lucky to have a great Persian restaurant nearby that even delivers.
Minus, no wonder they advertise Jublia so heavily—it’s like spam or junk-mail marketing. If only a fraction of patients can afford it or their insurances will cover it, the insanely high price makes up for it. If even one of 1000 strands of spaghetti sticks to the wall when thrown, it’s a win. Speaking of drug prices, my letrozole refill—same brand, same pharmacy, still Phase 1 of my Part D plan—went down to $4.50 from $9, $29 before the pharmacist’s daughter caught his mistake (he kept submitting it to my United PPO, which covered only the first month before I went on Medicare, even though my Part D card was on file).
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Sorry, Ive been hit and run on these boards so much. Been so busy and my kidneys have been acting up. stones and loss of function. Then I had my onco appt and he set me up for an ultra sound. Hopefully scar tissue. They took me off my BP medz, my Metformin, and my anti inflammatory. I"m not moving well. Getting a BMP on Thursday, to see if kidney is better or worse. Sigh. Life is grand. LOL.
Made a small meatloaf with boiled potato and carrot today. It was really good. Ate it all! But it was the size of a hamburger, don"t get excited. LOL. Hope all is well with everyone, I'll be reading up the whole month i missed. Sorry.
PS: the Dandelion Jelly makes me feel like a bee, because it tastes like honey!
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Moon I agree - good to hear from you. Sorry to hear about the kidney issues. Yes, please keep us posted.
Edited to ask - are you still getting the delivered dinners? I don't think it was Blue Apron but I can't remember the name.
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yes, minus, i get Home Chef. If they deliver in your area, ive got a couple of freebies to give away if anyone wants to try. You do sign up to use the coupon, but its easy to cancel, and you can keep it open and just ordet as you wish.
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Thanks Moon. I have a freezer full of stuff that never seems to go down so I'll pass for now. And my new regime for the summer is one meal a day and one snack. It seems to be working to lose about one pound every 15 days. I've kept the weight the off as long as I do medium to heavy exercise classes at least 5 times a week. Interesting experiment.
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Moon, hoping your kidney issues can be resolved soon.
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BBQ chicken, salad and a veggie
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Last night was defrosted & steamed har gow, hum bao, and shu mai with a salad. Might have more of the same tonight (or heck, a bagel & lox or pastrami on rye). Or if Bob gets home early enough, we’ll go out. This next sentence belongs on the How About Drinking thread: whatever we eat, we will pop some bubbly because he won’t have to skip a paycheck, file a lapsed appropriation claim to get reimbursed for his Medicaid patients—and has been hired part-time to do cardiology & primary care for a union-benefits pre-paid medical services company.
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Monica, great to hear from you but not the kidney issues. Really hope you can get that fixed.
Love the food pics! Wish I was that motivated to make such pretty meals. Third day of 90+ temps. Had a trip to trader Joe's and fresh thyme today so dinner is fish sandwiches and TJ's hatch chili mac and cheese. Added a few tomato slices for contrast.
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Carole, the garden really is not difficult to plant or maintain with the raised beds. The most work is adding amendments in the spring. Weeds are easily dispatched as the soil is not the least compacted. The beds are also good about retaining moisture while also draining well during heavy rains. The deer keep the flower beds in check. We saw a mom with her baby out there this week. She was showing it all the best things to eat. (First on the list was every daylily bud 😕.)
So far this week, I've used the pressure cooker to make quarts of chicken stock and tomato sauce. For the first time, I made stock with, among other parts, chicken feet. While they are a bit disgusting to look at, they made a lovely stock.
Tomorrow I will be buying two dozen ears of local corn for freezing. It's been quite good and I like it better than the later very sweet stuff. The earlier tastes more like corn and less like candy.
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I made an IKEA run this morning and for some reason, we didn't eat there. Mostly, I didn't see that it was almost lunch time. So, instead we stopped at Rincon Mexicano for our main meal of the day. I ordered his appetizer flauta. Two slender fried bits which he cuts on the bias and serves on a bed of lettuce with tons of red and green salsa and crumbly cheese. And a side of black beans. He ordered a HUGE carnitas burrito. Massive! As you can imagine, dinner was of little interest. But around 7:45 tonight either we were having a meal or not, so I started some biscuits and fried three eggs. That was dinner, with the strawberry jam I made of course!
They came out well today.
*susan*
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Had some more dim sum and jasmine tea about 6 pm. Will make a tomato-basil-arugula salad in a few minutes. Will make Gordy that bagel & lox (got a day-old poppyseed bagel and some bialys at the pharmacy-deli where I picked up my letrozole yesterday—they’ll toast up nicely). Maybe have half a pastrami or tuna sandwich on rye, with orange seltzer.
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I had half a turkey & Havarti sandwich on seeded rye on the way home from the Medical Center after getting my 3rd Prolia shot. When I got home from Water Aerobics at 8:30pm - I had a gin & tonic and two deviled egg halves. Probably won't bother with anything else, although some of Susan's biscuits with the strawberry jam would be delicious. Obviously shrinking your stomach does work - as long as I continue to exercise for an hour at least 5 days a week. Wish I could pass the pounds on to Susan.
Nance - your garden pictures more than make up for the finished meal pictures. I know you say it's easy, but it's amazing.
Hooray - Bedo's back. Moon's back. And Joyce it's great that you're a regular again. Whoo hoo. Sorry if I forgot anyone.
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I made a crab/shrimp/spinach quiche. It was perfect with a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes. Our heat index for today could reach the low 100's.
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Just back from the dermatologist who prescribed a steroid cream for the itchy rash around my waistline that has driven me crazy for going on three weeks. Apparently I caught something from the wild lilacs that I helped my neighbor cut away during the period that dh was in KC at the wood turners' symposium. I'm glad to know the rash isn't shingles although I suspected as much since the itching is so bad. I've always heard that shingles is painful, not itchy.
I bought bags of chopped kale salad while I was at Sam's Club picking up prescriptions. Otherwise, my freezer is stocked with frozen low-cal dinners and a couple of veggie/cheese pizzas. I won't be doing much cooking during these two weeks. My "middle" sister will be visiting for a couple of days. We will take my mother out for lunch at her favorite seafood restaurant on Friday. My younger sister will join us and my mother will be in heaven pigging out on shrimp and oysters with her three daughters.
Next week I hope to get back to the gym.
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Moon- glad to hear from you- sending healing mercies your way for the kidney issues. Meatloaf sounds good! Havent made it since last fall- surely too hot now.
Susan- the biscuits, my, my, my! They look delicious but doubly so as I am not eating breads...trying not to drool on the keyboard.
Carole- hope that steroid cream helps and soon! Itching can be unbearable.
Val- when you get a chance, would you mind sharing your quiche recipe? My DH would fall all over that!
Nance- I just cannot get past the chicken feet....haha! Glad the stock turned out well.
Supper tonight is chicken salad with a side of heirloom tomato slices and fridge dill pickles I made last week. Perfect for such a hot and humid evening!
Hope you all stay cool!
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Frogmore stew with cornbread tonight. We have strawberry jam too compliments of my DSIL and her strawberry bed. I've been missing cornbread lately.
Carole, we're planning a trip to the gulf coast in late August when I plan to relish all the things your mom loves to eat and more.
In the meantime, DS and DDIL are coming Saturday to bring the grand-dog Olivia to stay with us for a couple of weeks while they're on a trip. Because they will miss my birthday (next Thursday) DSIL is bringing and fixing dinner Saturday right down to dessert. I don't have to do a thing. Sounds good to me.
It's hot and dry here and we need rain.
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auntie - I will mail you some rain straightaway! We have a bit too much!
moon - HI!!!!!! Sorry about the kidney thing - eeesh!
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Bob brought home margherita pizza from Calo (a neighborhood Italian restaurant that has been the nerve center of Andersonville/Edgewater for two generations, and only gets better with age). I have long believed that a well-executed pizza is Nature’s Most Perfect Food—hitting three or even four food groups (grain, veggies, dairy, animal protein--if it has sausage, pepperoni or anchovies) in a single slice. We did crack that Paumanok Brut Blanc de Blancs—hoo boy, is it ever bone-dry! (100% Chardonnay). Doesn’t go with the pizza, but we don’t keep oysters or caviar on hand.
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Last night was grinders from Subway. I loaded mine with veggies.
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Vending machine fare for last night.
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