So...whats for dinner?
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eric - pretty hilarious, lol! "Steel boils at that temperature, don't even bother looting..."
We have the hot and rainy temps Joyce alluded to earlier - hope its not a sign of the summer to come... mid 80's and rain, ugh.
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Carole - drive carefully & let us know when you've landed.
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Tonight was spaghetti and meatballs, yum!
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It's been a pretty blustery day here, with a high of 61 that felt more like 55. Tonight I'm making chicken cutlets with shallot/lemon/white wine pan sauce and ultra crispy roasted potatoes with fresh thyme.
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Sat. night Bob came home after a big lunch and I had leftover mac & cheese (Annie's mini-shells & cheddar, not bad); by 9:30 we were hungry again so he brought home soft taco platters (chicken & ground beef) from the Mexican joint that recently moved around the corner from us.
I know I promised you food porn tonight, but we got lost in conversation (and my phone's battery had only enough juice to call a Lyft home and Bob's kept ringing off the hook from his paging service app). So here's the description of tonight's menu at North Pond Cafe (a Frank Lloyd-Wright-influenced building that began in 1912 as a warming house for ice skaters inside Lincoln Park).
(edited after consulting online menu--I typed the original post still "under the influence")
Amuse-bouche: lamb gyro slices in a yogurt sauce with minced cucumber & rhubarb.
App #1: charcuterie plate for two consisting of pork rillons (chunkier than rillettes), veal chorizo, pork bologna, saucisson Napoletano, thin slices of beef heart, bresaola, pickled fiddleheads, English pea puree, arugula with balsamic vinaigrette, olives, candied hazelnuts and black olive/saucisson toast.
App #2: for me, sauteed soft shell crab on a bed of peas and spring carrots with watercress & pea tendrils on the side. For Bob, a Maine lobster almond-purple-top-turnip veloute with green olive, snap pea gribiche, caper, Meyer lemon, rhubarb. (We split both dishes down the middle).
Entrees: For me: prosciutto-wrapped saddle of rabbit, nasturtium-apricot rabbit chorizo verde; sweet pea-nasturtium puree, Japanese turnips, pickled baby red onions, flax chips. For Bob, shallot-crusted hake (the menu lists it as "Merluza," but we kept hearing the expediters calling "fire up a hake..." instead), gulf shrimp; glazed snap peas (I made those Fri. night), parmesan-creamed arugula (their riff on steakhouse creamed spinach, charred Vidalia onion, strawberry, granola
Dessert: pistachio semifreddo, rhubarb "clouds" (sort of like a cross between marshmallow & whipped gelatin), candied pistachios, raspberry meringues, raspberry coulis, raspberry geleé and...fresh raspberries. Mignardises were salt-caramel-filled dark chocolate bonbons and coconut macaroons (light as a feather).
Burp.
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Minus, I agree with Carole that your subdivision is fortunate to have you as such an active, involved neighbor. And yes, it must be fun to catch up with family milestones as you process pool registrations. I had a Minusesque dinner tonight.....a piece of rosemary bread, salad, and a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. DH had the leftover seafood risotto I’d ordered while at another graduation dinner last night, and ate about a third of. He enjoyed the risotto and I enjoyed my oatmeal!
Carole, was it last year that you left for MN earlier than you had in previous years? It sounds like you have lots of fun activities lined up to keep you busy....and good luck with the WW effort! I too find packing an onerous task, so empathize with yourtrying to pack for a whole season. But atbleast you do it once and it’s done. We tend to bop around to many spots all summer so I spend an inordinate amount of time and energy packing and unpacking.
Sounds like everyone is experiencing weather variations and mini-challenges. Tonight we have a warm and humid atmosphere after a cold (50 degrees) and rainy day yesterday. I had to dig into my heavy winter sweaters to find something toasty enough to wear to dinner last night...on May 19th! No need for outdoor ovens here! I had never even heard of those before.
Fortunately, it looks like the temp will hold in this relatively warm pattern through this week and supposedly over the long weekend. We head to the lake to open up the house on Friday, so warm and dry will be appreciated if the forecast stays that way.....one never knows, living here. And never knowing always keeps that packing job interesting.
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Chi, I like the ending of the food description.... :-)
Lacey, it was quite a nice accident that I ended up with the 2nd stove-oven.
The neighbor's stove quit working and I offered to fix it for them, but they had already bought a new one. He said the recycling places charge to accept large appliances, so he was going to put it out on the street with a "Free--needs fixing" sign on it and if it were still there the next day, he would haul it to the recycling place.
Stoves and ovens are simple to fix, so I brought it over to my back porch, fixed it and hooked it up.
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I'm currently going nuts trying to change light bulbs in my range hood. They're halogen and burned out a couple of years ago (and the knob fell off the switch), but I decided I needed to stop trying to cook in the semi-dark. Those suckers are a bear (was about to use a stronger b-word) to replace: they have perfectly flat lenses, there is practically no clearance between their edges and the recessed mounts (surrounded by a decorative non-removable flange), they use a two-pin click-and-turn rather than a normal screw-in socket method, and the flat lenses give no "purchase" whatsoever. It was a miracle I was able to pop the first one out, but it took half an hour, rubber gloves, and the saltiest words in my vocabulary before I could press & turn the replacement bulb so it wouldn't fall out. I couldn't budge the second one.
Called the merchant--they wanted $179 and a week before they'd send a tech over. (How many aging boomers does it take to change a light bulb? Damned if I'm gonna have to pay three figures to find out). E-mailed Broan, which sent me a diagram which I'd already figured out, and suggested I use their dedicated suction-cup removal tool, which I ordered from Amazon. The tool arrived: it didn't work, but now I have a wrenched shoulder and a sore R wrist to match my injured L one. I'm gonna scrounge up some rough-surfaced duct tape as a last resort (as others have suggested). Went to my neighborhood blog, where one guy touted an app where you name your price and get bids. First of all, my phone has so many apps I had to put them into folders; second, to use the app you need to start an account (divulging bank or cc# info) and use their own proprietary payment app (no, they don't take cash, check, plastic, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle--at least it isn't Bitcoin). Not gonna happen. Then a couple of teens messaged me that they'd do it for ten bucks. Now we're talkin'! (And the replacement knob arrived, and fits).
The bulbs are $33 each and the tool $17. Just like with anything else these days, they get you by the consumables.
The guy who designed this lighting system is--like Frank Lloyd Wright before him--a brilliant draftsman but a lousy builder. Either that or he flunked kitchen design or hates home cooks.
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Eric - sorry, now I've lost the recipe for Rye bread. When I come across it again I'll send you a PM.
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There is no hurry Minus.
Tonight I made a big salad with salmon on it. That was all we ate...no side dishes--nothing else.....
Sharon was pretty tired today and while she was hungry, wanted something light and fast...and after running 3 miles in the heat, I wasn't in the mood for a large meal.
Chi, when I would interview for a product design job, I would always stress that my design knowledge combined with my product repair experience would make a powerful combination....the manufacturers were never interested. One place said that if it increased the manufacturing costs, then it was "not possible". Another place was worried that if they made a product maintainable and someone did a bungled repair that caused a safety issue, then the company might be liable "because they did not take steps to prevent bungled repairs"...... I could almost understand the first, but the 2nd one always mystified me.
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I don't understand it either, Eric, and I studied product liability law--which is "strict" liability regardless of intervening human behavior.
Gordy & I shared last night's leftovers. I added grilled asparagus and pan-seared scallops in brown butter; for him, jasmine rice and for me, roast red and golden beets.
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I had to pick my Sister-in-Law up after some medical tests today since she couldn't drive. On the way to the med center, I was able to get by the Battered Women's donation area and take 7 boxes of clothes. I also save all the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. that come for free with most hotel rooms. When these women have to leave - maybe in the middle of the nignt - they have nothing.
So my SIL was NPO after midnight & needless say STARVING by 2pm. Except because of some of the contrast they used, she was not supposed to sit up very long (or lie down flat either for that matter), so it had to be fast. We went to Avalon Diner. This used to be a part of the Avalon Drug Store from the 1940s. When the pharmacy was sold, two separate things were formed: a stationery & gift store and the old diner. They have breakfast all day, plate lunch specials, and are only open until 4p. I had a patty melt AND (you've never heard me say this since it's been 20 years or more since I've indulged) A CHOCOLATE SHAKE - that came in the original, old time, metal mixing container. It was enough to serve three. Yum, yum. No dinner for me. Probably no breakfast tomorrow either.
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Treatment scheduled late = Infusion room eats.
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Wow Illimae. I need to change my provider if I need more infusions. I was at Baylor. We had free coffee and for awhile there were free sodas. Now I believe the fridge is gone. I used to take my own lunch. Occasionally patients brought in trays of goodies. Sometimes if the nurses were going to order out for delivery, we could piggy-back on those orders. But this is amazing. Where do you go?
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MD Anderson and I work for the State, so insurance is pretty good. Private room and free lunch or dinner. I don’t mind really, I usually watch American pickers or a movie while the drugs do their thing.
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That does look pretty good for a hospital meal....
Tonight was a salmon, brussells sprouts, mushroom and salmon....covered with a honey-rice vinegar-Teriyaki-garlic-ginger marinade. The recipe idea came out of a year old magazine.
Sharon says this is one I should make again.
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Hi everyone,
Tonight I am making sauteed sea scallops (they were on sale at our local fish market for 12.99 a pound and they are gorgeous!) and I am hoping to get just the right crust on them in my cast iron pan. I will make a white wine lemon sauce and asparagus and jasmine rice or couscous, not sure which grain. I rarely buy sea scallops because they are 20 bucks a pound around here (more costly than even lobster by far) so this will be such a treat!
Tomorrow, I will make a pot roast in the crock pot and let it go all day while I am in work. Likely Friday we will have pizza and this weekend making a veggie lasagna. Sunday, I will make roast chicken. That rounds out the week and we will likely have leftovers from many of these meals to eat later.
Hope all of you are well. Things are finally breaking weather wise here in CT. Today it will be 80 degrees with low humidity! I am so sick of all of this rain. Finally!
Have a great day everyone!
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Last night was stuffed shells with marinara for DH, I am trying to return to a more restrictive diet - I have been a bit lax lately, so I had pulled chicken over Horiatiki salad. Not sure what I will make tonight. DD is currently in Bali, after stops in Tokyo and Singapore - she Facetimed me last night - gotta love technology! I have been at her apartment packing and loading my car each evening. I have packed enough that DH stops by (he passes her place on his way home) and we load his car and then stop at the storage facility on the way to our house. So far this is working well, we aren't overwhelmed or exhausted by trying to do this in one day. Only drawback has been rain - every day. Today I need to go to the storage unit and organize it since it is now basically full except for furniture too big to fit in the car. Almost everything else is already there. We have a dinner party here on Sat with 6 of us - not sure what I will be making. I think I will do peach cobbler and a raspberry cheesecake for desserts, and I got the cutest deviled egg plate last month so I will make loaded deviled eggs, but still formulating my plan for the rest! My initial thought is roast pork, oven roasted potatoes and green beans with almonds and parmesan, all pretty low effort with not much scrambling around while the guests are here.
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Hi All! Been busy helping my DD2 with my DGD1. My daughter changed jobs, and had sinus sx. Now shes had strep 2x since. Uhg. She needs her tonsils out (DD2). But shell have to wait. Oh well.
Look! 2018 Dandelion Jelly Batch!
Yum! It tastes like honey. Have a Great week everyone
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DGD1 helping pick them!
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moon - sorry to hear about your DD and the need for tonsillectomy. My DD had that surgery at 23 and it was pretty unpleasant for her - much harder as an adult. Can't believe how big your DGD is! So cute!
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Bummer about the tonsillectomy, Monica. I had mine out, along with adenoids, when I was six; but there was residual tissue which grew back and I had no idea until I was dx'ed with strep tonsillitis at age 40. When you're a kid, the unlimited vanilla ice cream is a plus, but it's no picnic for adults. Haven't had the vestigial tonsils removed, though.
Last night I made an insalata Caprese with buffalo milk burrata, tomato, homegrown basil & scallions over arugula. Dressing was aged balsamic and basil olive oil, finished with black pepper & Sicilian orange sea salt. Too lazy to Photoshop out the balsamic splotch:
Main course was grilled lamb shoulder chop marinated in olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, garlic, fresh mint & oregano; grilled spring onion; and leftover roasted beets from WH's salad bar, with Penzey's "Pico Frutta" seasoning. Yes, after taking the pic I put away half the meat for later:
What's driving me crazy right about now is a plague of ants on our breakfast nook table, to which I came home today after my mani. I have emptied all bowls & baskets of stuff that isn't sealed, and cleaned them and vinyl placemats in hot water & dish detergent, and zapped ants dead repeatedly (5 x now) with Lysol all-purpose cleaner spray (don't want to use insecticide because of our cats). They even got into my thermal shopping tote, which I filled with soapy hot water and dumped several times. My housekeeper did the same several times too before she left for Alabama last night for her DGD's h.s. graduation. Of course, when the exterminator comes on the first of the month there's no sign of six-legged critters. I don't know where they're coming from--I don't see a nest or a trail of them. But every time I go back to the table they're swarming. I might buy some ant traps and supposedly pet-friendly bug spray, but if that doesn't work I'm gonna have to call the exterminator & sequester the cats.
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Special - BALI??? Your daughter is in Bali and you are packing her apartment? Why aren't you in Bali with her? I sure hope she 's on a work trip. Eeek.
Dinner was cold boiled shrimp & a big salad - including broccoli, avocado & English cucumber.
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Dinner tonight was a tossed salad of red & green Little Gem romaine and red oak leaf lettuces and arugula, topped with a can of Spanish line-caught bonito in olive oil. Dressing was the oil from the tuna, Meyer lemon juice, black pepper and Sicilian caper sea salt. Might have some mixed berries, pineapple, red papaya and pomegranate seeds over angel food cake (perhaps topped with crème frâiche or mascarpone and sweetened with a dollop of raw honey or pinch of stevia). Will save the leftover lamb from last night for breakfast tomorrow.
Gonna scrounge up a spare spray bottle and fill it with a 50-50 mix of vinegar & water and zap the inevitable next wave of ants. Some suggest borax, but several people reported their cats died from it. Might put the kibble dishes inside metal pie plates and create a "moat" so ants would drown but cats could reach the food.
Speaking of cats & food, Happy (my orange patch tabby "puppy-cat") has decided he likes Rachel Ray Nutrish (wet & kibble) as well as Fancy Feast & Crave paté food. (Till recently, he'd spurn anything other than Friskies loaf-style). Heidi (my little black princess who had kidney-stone surgery in late 2016) is restricted to prescription Royal Canin reduced-calorie kidney-diet canned chicken/rice "meaty bits in gravy" and kibble. She still prefers "gooshy-food" (per LOLCATS.com) so I have to mash it for her to keep her away from Happy's. Happy will gladly clean up her leftovers. She has a habit of wolfing down her kibble, walking over to Happy while he's still nibbling, whomping him in the head with her paw, and finishing his kibble. If she tries it while I'm watching, a stern "Heidi...NO!" usually works. I used to free-feed them both regular indoor-cat "mature" kibble, but the vet put her foot down and insisted they both lose weight. They get half a small can (Happy, alternatively, gets 1/4 of a 6-oz can, one Nutrish or one "pan" of Crave) every 12 hrs, alternating with 1/4 c. of their respective kibbles twice a day.
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minus - I know, right? What's wrong with this picture? She is not on a work trip, she is with her BFF the flight attendant for Delta - they took a series of free flights to Tokyo, Singapore and Bali. She just called me to tell me they are going to see monkeys, the rice terraces, something else and then on to another town. On the flip side, I am that weirdo who likes to pack and organize, and she's a hot mess when it comes to that - so this is actually less stressful than trying to involve her. Plus it eliminates the "mommmm, do you know where the ________ is?" Don't know if you remember that I flew to California to help my BFF clean out her garage for the first time in 30 years... DD will be back to hoist the heavy furniture - can't do that, so that will be her contribution.
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I hate packing so much (my mom would stress out and start packing a week before a trip, right up to the last minute) that I have a travel wardrobe (mostly Chicos, Magellan's and TravelSmith) in three color schemes that I can roll up and throw in a suitcase the night before, or even the morning of if it's an afternoon flight. I have a separate first aid kit and zipper pouches with trial & travel sizes of tooth, hair & skin care all prepacked in a rollaboard spinner. I keep master packing lists in my Notes app: short, medium, and long trips. The biggest PITA is packing meds & supplements.
One of my recurring nightmares: it's a half-hour before I have to leave for the airport (usually on a return trip) and I have yet to pack; I get there barely in time to check in but there's always some physical obstacle to getting to the gate.
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chisandy - for travel I do something similar - I generally pack black and white basic clothing and bring accessories to add color, like scarves and jewelry - although sometimes I just wear the same necklace, tank watch, band ring, and a pair of diamond studs the whole time - goes with everything. I bring Lindsay Phillips Meredith sandals which have changeable snap-on jewels, one flat shoe and/or sneaker, and one pair of heels or boots depending on weather. I have a dedicated cosmetic bag that always stays packed. I need to do the master list thing - DD's BFF the flight attendant does that too - she sent her list to my DD and that was super helpful in her deciding what to bring - they have small day packs and a larger backpack only.
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I love packing! For my recent 6 day trip to Florida, I packed 4 shirts, shorts, jeans, a sundress, boat shoes, flip flops, a swimsuit, swimsuit cover up, pajamas, a toiletries bag and 3 pairs of sunglasses in a regular sized backpack.
Dinner was made by a friend living with us for a while. It’s a pork stew with purple cabbage, onion, potatoes, carrots, apple and various spices, he calls it “purple pig”. It was pretty good.
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What about dusting food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) around the table? It's non-toxic but very irritating to insects.
When ants were stealing Pest's cat food, her vet sent me to his brother (a beer brewer) to get some food grade DE and lightly dust it a foot or so around Pest's dish. He said it's completely non-toxic to animals/humans, but deadly to insects. He went on to say that it wouldn't kill the colony, but that the ants would quickly learn to avoid the area....he was right.
I'm having ant problems in my kitchen. Jessiecat is too old to jump up on counters, so I don't need to worry about him getting into anything on the counters...These ants prefer oil over sugar so I've mixed a tiny bit of boric acid USP (from mom's house) with a tiny bit of oil and put it in a bottle cap on the counter and the ants are swarming around the stuff.
Boric acid and Borax are both boron compounds so either would likely work...since I already have boric acid..that's what I'm trying.
Hopefully it's strong enough to kill the ants, but no so strong that it kills them before they "get home with the takeout dinner".
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illimae - I may have missed it but at part of Florida did you visit? I knew you were on a trip - and saw the waterside restaurant pic.
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