So...whats for dinner?
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Carole - HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Hope you're doing something fun that YOU want to do.
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Well - sorry - the picture didn't work. Tried a couple of times but you'll just have to imagine a big bunch of red roses. Virtual bouquet!!! Happy Day.
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DH and I went to an early bird showing of the movie Emma. Very enjoyable - scenery & costumes lovely. Afterward, went out for brunch. DH had a lobster roll & fries, I had Lobster Eggs Benedict (minus the english muffin) & sauteed spinach. They had endless Bellinis or Mimosas for $10, but I managed to restrain myself.
Hope everyone is doing OK & washing their hands!
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Brunch was at PelePele - a local South African restaurant. I decided to go easy on my stomach and just had an omelette with mushrooms, spinach & Gouda cheese and a side of VERY spicy potato chunks. My friend had a 'cauliflower steak', with fried onion strings on the top and several South African sauces on the side.
I met a lady who is taking my Lenox china (as a gift) - and my BFF's Fostoria Crystal - both with gold rims. I had tried to sell, then put on consignment, then.... Nobody wants it (particularly kids) because it won't go in the dishwasher or the microwave. Well, maybe people with a maid might want it, but that's out of my league. Replacement's Inc. got to be WAY too much hassle. Anyway - this lady was thrilled to get it. I'm glad someone wants to use it and happy to have one more thing resolved & gone. The goal is to get rid of most of the "stuff" so my son doesn't have to deal with it. In January I got rid of all the silver plate items - two pitchers, 4 trays, a number of bowls & serving pieces, etc. Again stuff that no one wants - not even on consignment & not really even Good Will. But I discovered that coin dealers or metal dealers are now buying these items to get the base metal under the silver plate. The money was not much, but it paid for my gas and lunch. And it's gone!!!
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Carole, how did I miss it's your birthday? Happy birthday! Hope it's been a great one!
Tonight is a regular menu item here, Swiss steak with mashed potatoes and green beans.
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Bob's version of Lenten observance, coupled with his unpredictable work hours, is making it a challenge for me to plan dinners. I never know what he'll have had for lunch (and he won't know till lunchtime) so I have to be prepared to make meat/poultry or fish/vegetarian every night--and also the possibility of having to discard what I defrosted if I'd done so more than a day or two earlier, should he want to go out for dinner. And even then, the choice of restaurant is always a question. Last Sat., he told me he had bacon on his lunchtime Caesar salad so we had to go out for seafood. I said "fine, how about sharing a lobster at the Palm?" and he agreed. I was drooling all afternoon over the prospect of lobster. Halfway there he said that he really didn't eat the bacon bits in his salad (and God would forgive him if one made it to his fork) so he wanted steak instead. The portions at the Palm are gargantuan, so we had to share a ribeye. I know it sounds like a First World Problem, but getting the rug pulled out from under me is a regular occurrence. I've planned travel for gigs to coincide with his nights on duty, and events to attend together for nights he swears he's off--invariably, he will trade call with a colleague at the last minute, and there's a lot of "ships passing in the night." (A reason why I've pretty much stopped touring to perform).
Last night, he didn't make it home till 2am, and no way was I going to pan-sear the cod I'd bought earlier in the day. (Fri. night he came home at midnight and wanted fish so I had to flash-defrost and pan-sear salmon, because I had to eat his leftover steak from Wed. night's lecture-dinner so it wouldn't spoil and he insists on meatless Fridays till Easter). He had a salad for lunch and a cheeseburger for early supper, but since it was already Sunday he could have meat all day--so I made him a chopped liver sandwich on pumpernickel bread. My own much earlier dinner was Greek salad, sauteed spring veggie mix and carnitas from the hot bar at Cermak Market. Tonight he's (probably) staying over in Oak Lawn to get a jump on early-morning echocardiogram readings, so I will finish the carnitas, moistening them with a little jarred mole sauce.
Creative use of leftovers, planning two different dinners a night, coupled with second-guessing, is starting to drive me nuts. And with his partner being recently dx'ed with bc--she hasn't mentioned what kind nor the stage--his hours are going to be even longer.
At least we had a real spring day: it reached 66F, with sunshine and at 7pm it's just now approaching sunset.
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I made purple potato gnocchi with corn/butternut squash purée. While I was making it, my DH said are you making purple &orange for the Laker's game tonight? I said no. Then he went out and saw a lot of women wearing purple and said, “I know why you're making purple gnocchi, it's International Women's Day!" I looked it up and sure enough, it is International Women's Day and the theme is purple. Cooking is therapeutic for me and I make weird things. Here is my purple gnocchi with corn/butternut squash purée, butternut squash, asparagus and Mexican street corn. MinusTwo - if I lived closer to you, I would come over to get all your lovely precious plates.
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I miss all things corn--but it's a dietary "forever-never" for me.
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ChiSandy - What kind of diet are you doing?
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Carole, Happy Birthday!!!
Took a month off of Tamoxifen and stepped back here. Back on both.
Tonight's dinner was our version of 6 way Skyline chili (influence of our years at the University of Cincinnati).
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I'm on a low-carb diet that started as near-keto. As I approach goal (just can't seem to shed those last 8 lbs--which my primary thinks are mostly loose skin), I can have some occasional (3-5x/wk) very complex carbs (berries, melon, citrus, low-carb hi-fiber breads, Atkins or Quest bars, Quest cauliflower-crust pizza, keto muffins or pancakes, sweet potato, peas, carrots, and very very occasional steel-cut oats for breakfast). When I hit goal, the portion sizes and frequency of red meat, dark poultry and sat fat will decrease and that daily carb serving can include whole wheat pasta and real whole wheat bread. (Sort of low-carb Mediterranean). But never corn or regular (white, yellow, red-skin, blue) potatoes. And never sugar (not even honey or maple). The rule of thumb for each meal is that 2/3 of the plate should consist of veggies, and 1/3 protein.
I didn't get this from a website, diet book or program like Atkins, Mark Hyman or the like--it was prescribed for me by Skokie Hospital's non-surgical bariatric clinic (to which I was forced to go by my MO when she was alarmed at my a1c as well as my weight). I was given the choice of a prefab meal-replacement (shakes, bars, frozen meals), full keto or the near-keto I chose. I've been able to follow it dining out and even while traveling abroad (although airline food does pose a challenge--have to eat around the starches, skip the dessert, and beg the crew to sneak me some cheese & berries from the first class galley). I am allowed to have exactly the amount & type of alcohol (except beer) as any ER+ breast cancer patient. I have a Coravin at home, so I can enjoy an ounce or two of a really good wine at night. (Not a spirits fancier anyway). When dining out, it's gotta be a wine I absolutely love or else I stick to water--and if I do indulge, when the food with which it's paired is done so is the wine. (Bob doesn't mind drinking my leftovers).
Neighbors are raving about Noom, but the paywall is a dealbreaker for me, as is the psychological emphasis (which I find condescending anyway--I've never been an occasion-or-portion-inappropriate, stress, or reward-eater). If I'm going to pay for a diet, I want in-person, not online, accountability. I keep a diary and check in with the clinic's NP periodically (and all my doctors--except the dentist--weigh me, even the one at Urgent Care who evaluated my finger for a suspected splinter).
I started in early April at 211 lbs. and a size 2X (Chico's 3 or 4). I'm at 158 now, size M (Chico's 1). My bra band has gone from 40 to 36 or even 34, but the cup designation is still freak-of-nature size (I or even J). And I bought a cute bronze puffer jacket at Target....size S!
I do get a dispensation for Passover: the Talmudic daily matzo minimum is a piece the "size of an olive" (whether Niçoise, Kalamata or Castelvetrano they don't say) which for me is also the maximum, and it has to be 100% whole wheat. I love matzo--especially the handmade crispy Israeli "shmura" stuff (which now is made in whole wheat, though not bran). It was part of my undoing in my pre-diet days (along with chocolate egg cream sodas and Cantonese flash-fried shrimp chips).
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ChiSandy - That is amazing. Congratulations. Very impressive. You go girl in a bronze jacket!!!! Love that!!!
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Mimi - beautiful gnocci. Seriously great colors.
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I missed your birthday too, Carole. Happy Birthday!!!!!
Chi, that is awesome!!!!!!!!!! :-)
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I had a good birthday, my 77th. That's a lotsa birthdays! Thanks for the birthday wishes.
DH and I had dinner at my favorite north shore restaurant, Sal & Judy's. It has been in existence for at least 40 years in the village of Lacombe. The original building was a small pink house. It's very popular so a reservation is almost a must. Last night's early dinner started with cup of oyster and artichoke soup, which was delicious, as good as the same soup at Mandina's on Canal Street in NO.
The caesar salad is simple but delicious because of the dressing, which Sal bottles and sells in regional supermarkets. The salad is served with a small basket of home-made croutons and a small dish of blue cheese crumbles. Hot French bread comes with the first course.
For a main I had a trout special. Panfried trout topped with lump crab meat and shrimp and mushrooms in a lemon butter sauce. I brought half of it home with some of the green beans served on the side. DH had the eggplant Louie special, fried eggplant slices with red sauce and lump crabmeat. He didn't bring any of that home but most of the pasta side with olive oil and garlic sauce.
I am having a birthday lunch today with several women friends.
Tonight's dinner will be last night's leftovers with the pasta enhanced with Italian sausage.
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Happy b-day carole, and belated anniversary wishes to auntie and eric! I have fallen behind on everything lately!
I finally cooked this weekend as I have now realized that if I am at DD's new house I am working and she isn't. If I am not there she gets more done - old behavior pattern for sure. She was here the last two nights to pick up her boat for a wet test with a potential buyer on Sat (she is a rep for the boat manufacturer - gets a wholesale price on her own boat in exchange for wet testing it for prospective buyers of new boats) and last night she and DH put the boat back in the garage after washing it, etc. She also was returning from the sheriff's posse annual party. It was at the race track and she saw her first in-person horse racing. She predicted a winner (based on the horse's name - she is her mother's daughter...) and realized with the odds she would have won a LOT of money had she bet, lol! I made naughty meatloaf and a broccoli salad, and mashed potato casserole with French's fried onion pieces on top.
I had my annual MO apt, which has never actually made it to annual due to unforeseen or pop-up issues. I am hoping I don't actually have to go again for a year, I had some unusual lab results on multiple occasions last year, including a quite high ALP, as well as continually high calcium (age adjusted) and low D (usually parathyroid - which I need to get worked up), and some weird kidney function, which may have been an anomaly as it was normal again a few weeks later. I had invasive dental work done and was pinning my hopes on that skewing the ALP result, but my oral surgeon felt it was not the cause. I had the re-test two weeks ago and it is finally in the normal range after being outside of the high end of the range for six months. Oral surgeon clearly doesn't know me well...I will commonly be the outlier on this stuff, but I am certainly relieved as continued high ALP is not a great indicator.
I had an interesting appointment with my primary care on Friday. They called and requested the appt to take place after my annual MO - that had never happened before! Military treatment facilities are not usually known for their proactive approach, but I liked that they seemed to be on top of this. I had a good meet up with the provider - it changes regularly as they are usually active duty docs who leave right as I get to know them... I don't often need routine care, most of my issues are handled by off-base civilian providers since there is not a base hospital, just a clinic without specialists for the most part. I had a lipid panel, TSH, and an order for a tetanus booster. I have a heart murmur and have never had a cardiac appt other than the echocardiograms during the year of Herceptin, so that combined with my age made them feel I should have a routine look. I tried to do this last year after this same appt and struggled with finding a provider. I wanted to go to Moffitt so that I would have a cardiologist familiar with Herceptin use, but they require a referral with the specific provider's name before they will make the appt, and it has to be faxed over ahead. The provider on the original referral was random, I changed it to the name on the Moffitt roster but when I called they said he is not seeing patients there, and gave me a name for another provider. It turned into a tail chasing situation so I just gave up in the absence of an acute need. So, I will start that process again.
Tonight is cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries - yay!
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Senior moment here--forgot to wish you happy birthday, Carole!
So here comes some homemade food porn:
This is America's Test Kitchen's recipe for pan-seared butter-basted cod. I used a wild fillet I got in the kosher section at Jewel (I cut off two other portions and froze them). Instead of lemon, I used some dead CA champagne and reduced it to make a beurre noisette. But what you see pooled at the base of the plate is the Meyer Lemon oil mixing with the juice from the tomato. (Basil was from the pot on my windowsill). The green stuff is sugar snap peas cut on the bias and sauteed in Tsang stir-fry (garlic/ginger) oil with toasted sesame seeds.
Bob didn't get home till 4 am last night--he saw 65 patients. I asked him if any showed symptoms of COVID-19, and he just shrugged. He's resigned to eventually getting exposed, unless they manage to come up with enough N95 masks for doctors--highly unlikely given the price gouging & shortages. At 70, he is feeling fatalistic--at our age people die from all sorts of stuff. I wasn't scared till now. We have tickets to see Audra McDonald at a local university's concert hall on Sat. night. Thus far, the concert is still on, but I'm not sure it's entirely safe for us to attend. (Tickets are non-refundable). At least I keep a little canister of Lysol spray in my purse--will treat our seats.
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I've seen two folks wearing N95 masks and neither was wearing it correctly. One person. a lady, had only her mouth covered and the other, a man, was wearing his with a full beard. I'm sure they bought a ton of the things even though they likely don't need them....and will waste them by wearing them incorrectly...sigh....
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Dinner was 1/2 of a cucumber, 5 radishes, 1/4 or a cold rotisserie chicken breast - all dipped in the last of a lovely ranch dressing from my restaurant that closed. Desert was 6 small star shaped short bread cookies encased in dark chocolate from TJs - served with 4 oz of San Gregorio old vines Garnacha.
I actually ate two meals today. Brunch was five 1/4 - 1/2" slices of California Roll sushi with a dot of Lemon-Wasabi on each one.
I didn't follow the new recommendations to buy canned & preserved foods this week. I actually bought a bag of Dole Pomegranate salad mix (delicious BTW, as is the Sunflower Crunch & the Asian Sesame), bok choy, spinach, mushrooms and cucumbers. It remains to be seen what I'll do with this bounty in the week to come, but plenty of meat, chicken & fish in the freezer. Nor did I buy toilet paper, water, etc - since I always keep a month's supply on hand. One neighbor who shopped this week said there's not even any bottled water in the stores. I generally use my Brita pitcher at home, but do keep some bottled water for the gym.
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My brunch was a Belgian waffle made from Birch Benders Chocolate Chip keto pancake mix (recommended by my weight-mgmt. NP who has celiac). Because it's grain-free (only almond & coconut flours), the texture is on the moist & delicate side so I have to put it in the toaster-oven after removing it from the waffle iron. It was extremely filling, though. I think for waffles I will use the plain keto mix and save this one for pancakes.
Dessert tonight was a pour-over decaf, a handful of mixed nuts, and a small piece (1/32 of a bar) of Lily's Sugar-Free 70% dark chocolate.
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Why the bottled water? Are water supplies expected to be disrupted?
Dinner was tikka masala with brown rice and naan.
I'm scared too Sandy and reluctant to go anywhere much. Our area has one small hospital that I can't imagine is equipped to handle such a crisis.
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Chi, I'm keeping Bob and you in my thoughts.
Minus, it sounds like we are doing similar things for "the big prep".
Auntie, I'm guessing the bottled water is being sought after for the same reason as for the toilet paper. I do keep several gallons of deionized water in bottles in the pantry. I keep them for the iron, for car batteries in my old Jeeps and when we go on a long trip, I'll put a couple of gallons of water into the car...it's happened that a stretch of freeway will be closed most of a day because of a fatal wreck and it will be in a place where the terrain makes it impossible to turn vehicles around...so one just has to wait.
Oh, I approached the lady with N95 mask just over her mouth and asked why she didn't cover her nose as well..."Oh, it's too hot if I do that. I'm breathing through my mouth, so it's OK". I'm afraid my opinion of her intelligence was not charitable. :-)
DD spent the weekend over here and all of us cooked...and we ate well. We had a very late lunch of vegan tacos (spiced and baked tofu with cabbage) that I doubt many would realize was not beef. It was quite good. Tofu is one of those "blank slates" that takes the flavor of whatever spices are used when it's cooked and when it's baked, it takes on the slight crunchiness of fried hamburger.
Last night was a cashew sauce on macaroni noodles. It comes close to a cheese flavor, but doesn't quite "make it". That's OK though. To me, trying to make vegan dishes taste like meat/cheese dishes is sort of like trying to make French cooking taste like Chinese cooking...it's a totally different style, so just go with it.
The day before that was a chickpea salad that is quite good...several people have tried it and thought it was a tuna salad.
I've also been scanning pictures. I've found several pictures of my mom at age 3, which dates them to 1921. I also have some images where my grandmother's maiden name is on the envelope and the store was in the town where she lived right before she was married. "Gram and Gramp" were married in 1916, so those are older than 1916. I've got almost 200 images scanned and, if I do them all, another 12-15 thousand to go. It is quite amazing that the negatives and slides are, in most cases, perfect condition and it's even more amazing to be able to look back into time like that. Unfortunately my grandmother didn't start listing the photographs in her diary until after she was married, so the early ones are somewhat of a mystery. After that, her record keeping is impeccable, so I can quickly cross reference pictures to "who, what, when, where, why".
I haven't done them yet as I've got to figure out how to do them, but there are two tin-type images with men in Civil War uniforms...one USA and one CSA and they look like relatives. My family was "split" during the Civil War, so it's likely they are related, but I haven't yet figured out who they are...perhaps in my mom's extensive genealogy records there will be an answer.
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Wish I could trace my roots that far back, Eric--it's a miracle that a French genealogist (hired by the estate of a dead relative in Paris I never knew I had) was able to trace my dad's side back to 1880s Poland & Austria. Diaspora Jews weren't able to keep many records in the Pale of Settlement due to so many pogroms destroying homes, and that local gov'ts never bothered to count non-Christians. (And of course so much of who and what remained behind was lost in the Holocaust). When they were able to emigrate, Jews living in the Pale of Settlement often had to leave in a hurry, taking only necessities and a few heirlooms they could stash in their bundles. "Family Bibles" (in which Christian families recorded important life cycle dates) weren't a "thing" for most Diaspora Jews because the Bibles & Torah scrolls were located in synagogues and the libraries of yeshivas (religious academies). Ironically, my childhood family's Bible was a KJV, because that's what bookstores carried in English. (My Reform Jewish family was not literate in Hebrew).
My neighborhood Whole Foods is fairly well-stocked, but those at other groceries (especially Jewel & Target) look like S. FL in the days ahead of an impending hurricane. It's not so much to hoard against expected shortages, but to minimize near-future trips to the store (which they fear will be virus incubators). We have a water filter, plenty of canned fish & veggies, wine cellar, and a couple of full freezers (I dread having to resort to rice, beans, and pasta which would pack the pounds right back on).
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Not sure what tonight's dinner will be. Maybe pork tenderloin from the freezer. I may make a piccata dish. I need to use up the freezer contents. May is fast approaching.
Sandy, I am concerned about you and Bob because of his exposure to ill patients. It's ridiculous that physicians wouldn't have masks. Several of the employees at my primary care physician's office always wear masks because they don't get the flu shot. Same is true in the local hospital.
Eric, I agree with you that it seems silly for vegans to try to make dishes taste like "something else." Enjoy the flavor for what it is. Says a meat eater!!! I can tell you how to raise children, too, having never raised one!
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I'm not sure if I can say I'm vegan or not. DD talked Sharon into trying it and I'm going along to make it easy for meals. If I'm out alone, I'll eat meat, eggs and milk without hesitation. :-)
It's resulting in a very slow (and welcome) weight loss for both of us...and it's an opportunity to try some different cooking styles.
Edited to fix typos
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Dinner is Ma Po Tofu 2 versions - 1 vegan, 1 with ground chicken; rice; stir fry vegetables.
Scheduled to go to the East Coast to visit colleges at the end of the month with DD but some colleges have already banned people from State of Emergency states to come on campus or cancelled the tours to all. Ugh. Amherst is sending students home after spring break to continue studying on-line. Getting really nervous about this trip. Not sure if I can cancel since I bought non refundable air tickets.
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Just got airline tickets and hotel reservations for later today...so, it looks like I'll be gone for awhile..... "See" you all when I get back.
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Again, be safe Eric!
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Eric - good luck with your deployment. Nice that you have a hotel and won't be in a tent. Again & again - thanks for your service. Take care.
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eric - thanks for what you do, stay well!
chisandy - I too am worried about your DH, and you. Will be sending positive thoughts for you both - hang in there.
On a similar note - my DS is a paramedic at an Army base in Virginia, and they have a diagnosed case, a Marine. He sent me a selfie in his hazmat suit, which looks ridiculous of course, they must have been doing a drill. He is actually going on leave in a few days for some snowboarding in Colorado (location of his new squeeze also) so I hope he has fun, but I’m a bit worried about him traveling.
The whole thing is unnerving.
No idea what is for dinner. I realized that I took meatballs out of the freezer so they need to be used. Thought I had sauce but it turns out it is at DD’s house. So.... now I have meatballs, no sauce, no canned tomatoes, no tomato sauce. Hmmm..
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