So...whats for dinner?
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Greetings all and happy Independence Day! We have survived the move which proved to be a nightmare, beginning with the movers showing up three hours late In a truck way to small for the job. There were many other misadventures but eventually it got done. I am now faced with the stress inducing task of trying to fit the even winnowed down contents of a large house into an apartment half its size. The kitchen and its storage Is totally inadequate. I am having to ruthlessly discard that which cannot be stored (I’m looking at you spice cabinet.) Pepcid and aleve are my current best friends
We only yesterday found the flatware and cooking utensils so meals other than breakfast and lunch have been via door dash. We were fortunate that my old neighbor provided us with a lovely meal complete with disposable utensils the day of the move. We have been using those utensils until yesterday. Today I’ll be cooking for the first time in the tiny kitchen - grilled hamburgers and brats, local sweet corn, a smashed cucumber salad and a fruit salad
We’ve had to venture out for some supplies a couple of times and I’ve been quite gratified to see how many are wearing masks here - even kids it makes me feel a bit better about being in close proximity to people
Living in the country, we haven’t seen fireworks displays for many years. Last night we were treated to several all around us without having to leave our balcony deck. The apartment complex is filled with dogs. I’m sure it was not enjoyable for them.
Have a safe and happy fourth everyone
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OMG Lacey - Mercury retrograde! That explains everything!
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Gordy is coming over tonight to eat grilled steaks & veggie skewers. WF was completely out of corn of any kind! May forage through the freezer & pantry to see if I can find any Niblets to turn into elotes. Leslie doesn't like being out in the heat too long, and wants to be able to comfort their pooch in the inevitable event there are pyrotechnics.
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Sandy - isn't Leslie from Houston? I would have thought she'd be used to the heat. We're having our 2nd day of 98 degrees before 3pm. Ugh. I did walk early (at 85 degrees), then like a fool stayed out in the yard (full disclosure - full sun) digging weeds while I moved the water around until after noon. I see a nap in my immediate future.
Nance - soooo glad you at least have a place to sleep. You can always stack the boxes in the corner and drape a table cloth over them. The "new" house my son recently moved to (think 1959) has a 4 burner electric stove but only one burner works - and they both cook. One of many projects to come once a new gas line is laid under the house. And they had to leave the spice rack he custom built on the wall for her - over 75 different spices.
Lacey - good to hear from you. We've had 'sit & sip' in neighbor's front yards, but wow - a musical production sounds great. Love the sound of the herb pasta.
Special - I'm with you about not cooking. I think I'll have popcorn for dinner, instead of the fried rice I'd planned.
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Leslie is most recently from Houston but has lived all over, even in Indonesia. There could be another factor for her not feeling up to socializing this weekend, given her youth (TMI, but we've all had it to some degree or another).
Gonna give the cats their 3:30 feeding, then nap for a bit, shower, dress and get cookin' (at least cleaning the grill and speeding up defrosting the steaks). Should be down below 80F by dinner time.
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Yes, Nance!!! That’s why I was so concerned about you and your move!
I sort of wish I’d never checked to see when “mercury retrograde” was happening next, and almost died when it indicated that It started exactly when three people I knew were undertaking significant moves.As you have experienced, DS2 has had his excitement bubble burst with Sooo many issues in their “new“ home (1942 vintage), including a really moldy looking basement that we have been bugging him to deal with FIRST, with a good wall scrubbing and applications of a special epoxy finish that will prevent moisture entering. I hoped he’d get to this before putting ANYTHING in that space. Tho there are so many other needs that have surfaced that I’m not sure if he is following our advice, and I decided to let it be. Not our house (which fortunately has an amazingly dry basement....a top priority for me since I grew up with parents always listening for the sump pump when it rained!). They were on a tight time schedule and there are soooo many things that needed doing before moving in. And the movers were also a problem as was the Moving day full of serious, work stopping thunderstorms.
And more surprises will ensue as they live there... they had been living in condos that had been newly renovated, so this is a shock to their systems. I honestly do not recall either of the houses we have purchased, or the lake house, having so many issues, (Electric, plumbing updates, total painting needs, new refrig, bathroom changes, etc. etc. but maybe we were less demanding life-style wise. The young ‘ens are heavily influenced by HGTV! Am guessing that in two years their house will approximate something like that, but what stress! Hopefully they will both stay employed so they can afford to accomplish their plans. And I have come to appreciate how well built our 100 year old house is!So all that said, Nance, I hope you can find space to keep some of your cherished kitchen “stuff”!
And Minus, how sad indeed, to have to leave a custom made spice rack!We are spending a very quiet day at home, and are about to grill steaks to have with salad and some of that leftover pasta we enjoyed last evening...a very unusual 4th for us! But also kind of pleasant actually enjoying our house and screened porch in the summer for a change.
Hope everyone has a good 4th and the pups are spared too many fireworks! What is with the firework craze I keep hearing aboutin every city since the quarantine ?
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Our dogs are busy barking at the fireworks.
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Gordy came over for dinner (his girlfriend was home doing website maintenance for her new job). He brought along flowers from her and a wicked good fudge cake for dessert (I take the 5th as to whether I indulged). We grilled ribeyes and veggie skewers. Our conversation was punctuated all evening by neighbors setting off fireworks (and dogs voicing their objectiona)--in fact, the city actually closed our block to traffic so that the fireworks could be set off in the middle of the street rather than in front of people's homes or in the alleys, risking fire damage. Seems to have begun to quiet down about midnight, with the occasional pyromaniac insomniac (in fact, just now, at 1:45) setting off the exploders rather than the stuff you can actually look at.
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Nance - Glad the move is over. Good luck on the organizing. There seem to be a lot of helpful organizer items for kitchen cabinets that might help you as you conquer the storage challenges. We use "risers" that allow us to store items under & on top so as to stabilize & take advantage of vertical storage. We find these particularly useful for glasses, mugs, dishes.
Lacey - Herb pasta sounds delish.
Sandy - Glad you had a nice dinner with your son and that your house made it through the "explosive" 4th unscathed. Agree that the exploders are the most bothersome.
We had fewer fireworks in our neighborhood than anticipated. Someone in a neighboring street put on a lovely show of professional looking fireworks. DH and I stepped outside to watch them through the trees. By midnight, all was quiet.
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Dinner last evening was grilled salmon, air fryer baked sweet potatoes and skillet browned brussels sprouts with a dash of balsamic. Followed by an evening with a dog on my lap covered by a lap quilt. The fireworks were finally done about 1am, not certain how long the neighbor's noisy party went on. We watched fireworks on tv, the safe and sane way!
Happy Day after the 4th!
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Beaverntx - Your dinner sounds like something I would really like. Alas, no grill or air fryer.
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Tonight will be my leftover salmon, plus a frisee salad with lardons, heirloom tomato, Dijon vinaigrette and sunny-side-up duck eggs. If Bob is really hungry, maybe pan-sear a halibut filet too. Not sure what to do with that fudge cake--I had a sliver last night, the guys had a bit more, but most of it is still sitting in the fridge. My HK is a health-conscious eater, and her DH is diabetic, so maybe I'll just have to try and freeze it.
Brunch at Cellars today was broccoli-cheddar quiche and mesclun salad. I left all the crust over this time--got a weigh-in coming up on 7/22.
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Made a delicious fried rice for dinner w/the bits & pieces from the legs & wings & thighs of a rotisserie chicken. My son hates peas, so in his honor (even though he's in another state) I used the leftover broccoli. Also sauteed 1015 onions since I didn't have green onions, and added a can of mushrooms since I didn't have fresh of those either. It was really good and I have at least two more full meals with this as the main dish & no sides. Good thing I like cold fried rice for breakfast. This rice with chicken was better than the rice with frozen baby cocktail shrimp two weeks ago. Probably the quality of the shrimp.
Celia - I have one of those stainless, smokeless grills for the kitchen counter. You put water in a pan under the grill. No charcoal taste, but I never have smoke or spatters on the wall or counter or anywhere. That's how I grill my salmon - and for that matter my occasional steaks too. But I just as often poach my salmon with dill. Oh my- I can see that I'll have to pull some salmon steaks out of the freezer.
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Texas 1015s are delicious even raw, like Vidalias or Walla Wallas.
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Yup - I look for all three and those are about the only onions I buy anymore. And with the other half of the 1015, I made cucumber & onion slices marinated in sour cream with lots of dill weed.
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Dunch was the aforementioned cucumbers & onions marinated in sour cream & dill. The main course was left over chicken fried rice. And that will likely be true for two more days. By the time I finished adding all the veggies, it was a HUGE amount. Not sure of the results if you freeze fried rice, but I think I'll try a small scoop or two.
My 'go to seasoning envelope has always been NOH Chinese Fried Rice Seasoning Mix. NOH is a Hawaiian company that makes several delicious seasoning blends & spices & marinades. I'm having a hard time finding it in Houston right now. Since I know several stores carry it, I'm guessing freight issues with Covid-19? Or problems with HI pretty much shutting down. Oh well, maybe I'll just have to go to Hawaii in a couple of months to re-stock. (much more fun than Amazon). And I might have to quarantine for 14 days....Oh no, quarantine in HI. Be still my heart.
The other thing I'm having trouble finding locally is Seeds of Change Simmer sauces. Mushroom simmer sauce, Sesame ginger teryaki sauce, Sweet & sour simmer sauce, Taco Roasted Chipotle simmer sauce, and several others. They are certified organic, non-GMO, w/no preservatives and quite good for quick meals. AND they donate 1% of all their sales to support & develop sustainable community based gardening and farming programs.
The wine with the meal was a Kirkland Signature (Costco) Sauvignon Blanc from the Ti Point Vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand. Really quite good for a screw top wine at $6.99. I've had good luck with most of Costco's Signature wines. The Old Vine Zinfandel is another one I like.
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Bob is eating dinner in his office tonight, so I'll likely make myself that frisee salad. Brunch was leftover ribeye & veg skewer from Sat. night's cookout. Will likely freeze the halibut.
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Macaroni and cheese for me tonight. I had a tooth with a cavity below the gum line and the dentist had to cut away the gum to fix it. She said she had never seen a cavity below the gum line like that and went to say I was lucky that the tooth could be saved.
The procedure was completely painless (!) but right now it feels like a wasp stung me in the mouth. She said "it would sting tonight, ache a bit tomorrow and be fine by Wednesday, but don't run until next week.
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Eric - ouch. Hope the prediction for no pain by Wednesday turns out true.
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Eric - Wishing you a speedy recovery from dental procedure.
On 7/15, I will be having a root canal & dreading the pain in the gums caused by numbing injections more than the actual procedure. Will probably also be eating mac-n-cheese and/or mashed cauliflower for dinner that night.
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"My" dentist takes her time with the local anesthetic stuff and I never feel "the needle", nor the procedure. She said she had a lot of dental work done when she was a kid and hated the numbing shots. I think this makes her a bit more sensitive to the plight of the patient. :-)
She uses a lot of the nasty tasting topical anesthetic and waits a few minutes for that to numb the gum, then she takes a lot longer than other dentists to infuse the local anesthetic and finally she waits about 20 minutes before starting the work. I never notice anything other than the weird feeling that happens as the tissue transitions from normal to numb and back to normal.
So far, she's right on how things are going. Today it's just a slight "almost ache" and I'm expecting that things will feel back to normal by tomorrow. She did say to not run until next week because of mouth breathing drying out the gums, so I'm anxiously waiting until next week so I can get back to running.
Dinner tonight was a very late lunch.
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Eric, when I was recovering from my root canals a couple of years ago, the perio and endodontist recommended 2 extra-strength Tylenol and 3 or 4 ibuprofen every 6-8 hrs. Worked as well as Norco, but w/o the dopiness or constipation. And I was able to stop taking the combo by the fourth day,
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Today, other than when I ate a tortilla chip and accidentally ground it against "the spot", everything feels back to normal. My tongue is still getting used to the new (temporary) gum line. :-)
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Eric, and our tongues do exaggerate any change!
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Eric, whenever I've chipped a tooth (or when last year I "sequestered" a superfluous chunk of bone) my tongue always wants to "play" with it. It's a universal thing--sort of like wanting to peel a sunburn or nail polish (well, the latter not for you).
Dinner was black sesame-crusted seared ahi with Asian slaw.
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My tongue always seems to be on patrol to check out unfamiliar things. :-)
Dinner tonight was eggplant parmesan using some more of the garden eggplant.
I've also got 2 more loaves of sourdough bread in the warm oven for the second rise. It should be ready to start baking in about 20 minutes. I am so very glad to have the familiar flour back!
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Splurged and bought a package of 8 Wagyu burger patties at Costco. Seven in the freezer - one for dinner tonight. It's American Wagyu, but still pasture raised. The side will be Kroger Private Selection petite potatoes with Hatch Green Chile Ranch artisan seasoning blend.
Also splurged at Total Wine. The Carson Ridge Cab from Paso Robles that I like was on sale for $9.99 - and an additional 10% off if you bought six. Well of course I did.
Today was 100 straight days of walking 3-1/2 to 4 brisk miles every morning. Unfortunately at 7am in Houston, that means it's still 85 degrees when I start. I missed 3 days or it would be 103 days - one for a dentist appointment, one because of thunder & lightening and one meeting a contractor to schedule the painting of my house. Anyway, I celebrated by cutting back to walking only 3 miles today. And I'll likely goof off the rest of the day & just read a book.
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Used to get American Wagyu beef (steaks, tri-tip, burgers, hot dogs) on quarterly subscription from Snake River Farms. Yum!
Dinner tonight will be leftover seared ahi (even better cold--might dig up a tube of wasabi) & Asian slaw. (Bob will have leftover rigatoni Barese).
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Dinner will be butternut squash risotto (Alexis brand makes one that has a nice "sauce" to it) with sauteed shrooms & leftover rotisserie chicken breast. I usually cook up some frozen organic spinach to add in, but ran out. Waiting for a Whole Foods delivery order, so may hold off dining until then.
Eric - Homemade sourdough bread - yum!
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Yeast is still almost impossible to get here, so the sourdough helps me with that. I make 2 to 4 loaves of bread per week and about the only time I use yeast is for dinner rolls. It is not easy to wait until the loaves cool down before grabbing the bread knife!
No offense intended Minus, but I think Houston's summer weather is nasty! I'll run in the late evening when it's 100F, but the dew point is still around 40F degrees and the sweat has a chance to dry/do some good. When I was deployed southeast of Houston and was unloading a semi-trailer parked in the sun....when we were done, we were so sweaty that even the mosquitos stayed away.
Today we bought a 2016 F-350 truck from test daughter's "uncle in law"....long bed, crew cab, 4 wheel drive, heavy duty suspension, 22,000 miles on the odometer. Sharon and I both have commercial driver licenses, so this isn't "that big" compared to what we have driven. :-) Even so, it's not "tiny". We're going to put a 4-season truck camper in the back of it and use that for vacationing as well as when we're looking around at "not hot and not city" places to live.
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