So...whats for dinner?
Comments
-
I’m getting hammered here by this storm. Got about a foot so far and more to come!
0 -
Special, my ex-law partner developed multiple chemical sensitivities aka "MCS" (not true allergies because not immune-mediated and no histamine released); before he retired to rural MN off the grid, he began practicing only from home and specializing in representing clients with MCS. As bad as those reactions would be, they would be manageable (immediately reversible with steroid & epinephrine shots) and far preferable to COVID (especially if you have Type A, especially RH-pos, blood). Life in a bubble, waiting for the world to achieve herd immunity, would not be practicable--with the current pandemic-hoaxer/science-denier mentality so prevalent, it could be decades before that is achievable.
Bob went "hunting-gathering" on foot at Whole Foods this afternoon (he was going stir-crazy with no sports worth watching on TV) and brought home an inch-thick grass-fed NY Strip. I will do the ATK method of pan-searing; will also roast broccolini with lemon & garlic and nuke a garnet yam. Appetizer will be salmon and wasabi-infused whitefish roes on blini (cucumber slices for me).
NYC seems to be getting harder-hit than we were. M0mmy, stay warm (& indoors if you can).
Nancy, I'm not looking forward to Chiberia Weekend. But this time I have my inherited mink to wear. (Last time we had that kind of ultra-deep-freeze, my shearling coat and fake mink did the trick). My first year in the Midwest was Chicago's Blizzard of '79--including the all-time-low of -26F. In 1982, my first band's first gig took place on a -23F night (the high that day was -10F). Can't wear my shearling--even with the buttons moved it's way too big. My packable down coat worked fine during Christmas Eve's single-digit temps, though. Maybe with a down vest beneath it?
0 -
Tonight was pizzas. My first attempt at a deep dish (mozzarella, Italian sausage, ricotta, pepperoni, sauce and Parmesan), which turned out pretty good. The remaining was two thin crusts, one with alfredo, spinach, red onion, garlic, mozzarella and parm. The other was sauce, garlic, mushrooms, sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella and parm. All were delicious.
0 -
DH did a veggie stir fry last night using the veggies on hand. This was entirely his idea.
I made a salad of cucumber, avocado, kalamata olives and pickled yellow peppers out of a jar.
A different kind of dinner but he did most of the work.
0 -
Pizza last night.
And, Sharon tried her hand a pressure canning and put up a batch of southwest vegetable soup from the Ball Blue Book.
And I had a huge laugh, courtesy of a very unusual source.....the state motor vehicle department. According to the letter they sent with a new license plate for Sharon's 1964 Jeep, they were fixing an error where they accidentally issued the same license plate letters and numbers to a trailer, our 1964 Jeep with the historical vehicle license plate, and a car with a vanity license plate. The new license plate is BAG70 -
Eric - LOL Really... BAG7?
Dinner was delicious left-over. Ancient Grains - + mushrooms, onions,water chestnuts - prepared as fried rice with a full bag of Spinach not -washed). Delicious.
0 -
Eric my mother was a canner. We ate her pickles and peaches for almost 2 years after she passed.
Minus you are adventuresome with the ancient grains. I should try them. Do they taste like rices?
Tonight was crockpot beef chili con carne and cornbread. An old stand by chili recipe from a 70s era "crockery cookbook" when the pots were orange and hip.
0 -
Leftover chicken, green beans & salad for dinner. Brunch was one of those Jimmy Dean microwave "sausage scrambles" (has cheese but no spuds), no worse than a motel breakfast-bar microwave omelet. Edible, but will save it for if I run out of real eggs. Lunch was tuna salad Little Gem lettuce wraps.
0 -
Last night was beef stew with potato chunks, carrots, and a quartered and toothpicked onion for dh.
I had my 2nd Phizer shot yesterday and am feeling achy. But I plan to follow through with a dermatologist appointment to excise a skin cancer on my right (protected) arm. No plans for dinner at this moment. Maybe Subway. Guess which is our favorite Subway meat? Yep. Tuna. I'm interested in the outcome of the lawsuit charging that there is no tuna in the Subway tuna.
The counter top installers are scheduled for Friday. I have already emptied about half of the bottom cabinets. Good time to get rid of things not used in years.
0 -
Swiss steak and mashed potatoes last night. Not sure about tonight. Chicken is due for the menu but no ideas for it as yet. Maybe cacciatore since I have all the ingredients.
Envy for those of you getting shots. Still nothing for us.
Backsplash guy came to measure yesterday. Said they won’t be able to do it for three weeks. I’m not happy about that but I guess it’s better than three months like the counters
And today, we have SUN! Yay! Hope Lacey is faring ok after the big storm.
0 -
Reader - what I like about the Ancient Grains is the combination. More "robust" then plain rice.
Carole - sorry about the derm excision. Are they saying squamous cell? Are you having MOHS surgery?
And new counter tops - woo hoo. and new backsplash for Nance!! Send us pictures when your done ladies. Guess I'd better start choosing paint colors & backsplash. April is coming soon. I could use new counter tops, but mine are OK so I'm going to spend that money on bathrooms.
All of the dinners sound perfect for cold winter. I haven't thought about Swiss Steak in a long time. I took a pork loin out of the freezer last night, so that may be dinner.
A neighbor gave me a jar of sauce made by a nurse from Belize. He said it's hot, but not Creole or Hatch Chili hot. He marinates meat before cooking, but also puts on vegetables and says it's good enough to just spoon out of the jar. No idea what's in it.
0 -
Decided on chicken piccata with some angel hair pasta and broccoli for contrast. I did roast the golden beets o we may or may not have those too.
Nice to see a full day of sun today. Definitely affects my mood.
0 -
Pork roast with leftover potatoes & frozen broccoli.
You'd think I'd finally learn. I have written on 4 or 5 or 8 sticky notes & pasted in my Better Homes & Garden cookbook how long to roast full size pork loins. They are even dated with notes like "25 minutes/lb is too short/30 minutes is too long - turn off at 25 & leave in oven a bit" (at 350). So what did I do? Cut into the meat at at 25/min/lb and decided it was not done enough. Left it in to the 30 - AND,no surprise - it was more done than it needed to be. Still good but I hope by writing this I can break the mental habit of olden days when pork that was not 'cremated' would cause trichinosis.
Dinner prep accompanied by Bach Brandenberg Concertos. Meal was accompanied by Telemann Trumpet Concertos (so clear & bright). Both on HIGH volume. So I missed some phone calls. Who cares.
0 -
Minus, I like that you "go for Baroque!"
Our snow guy came around and cleared the snow/ice "berm" at the entrance to our garage, so will be able to get to & from the nail salon tomorrow after all. So dinner tonight will be messy, sloppy Buffalo wings--who cares if I get orange cuticles and mess up my mani? Bob went shopping on foot (with no sports on TV he was getting antsy sitting around) and brought home a gorgeous, picture-perfect head of romaine on Mon. (the kind you see in photos illustrating "healthy" diet articles), so besides the usual celery sticks I might throw together a Caesar, with a tomato that's just ripe enough to need eating.
Carole, my fave at Subway (at least back when I could eat most breads) was tuna salad--precisely because it tasted like tuna, not (ugh) sweet Miracle Whip. Pretty hard to "fake" fish--were that possible, Whole Foods' freezer cases would be full of vegan tuna instead of "Chick'n," veggie loaf or "Beyond" burgers. The only "fake" seafood I encounter is "crab stick," aka surimi (which actually does have some fish in the form of pollock); but Japanese cuisine has been using it without pretending it is anything but itself, for generations.
Take it easy after that second Pfizer shot--it's okay to take acetaminophen for the aches & fever once they appear. My NP advises exercising that arm as soon as possible after injection to diffuse the vaccine throughout the muscle. Is your derm surgery on the same arm? (If so, then rest & ice the arm instead).
0 -
Minus, missed phone calks, who cares-- I would only care if it was a call to set an appointment for the Civic vaccine! Love your choices of dinner music.
0 -
Sandy - my doc and the nurses said do not take pain relievers if you can help it. Certainly not before but even after. Any kind - Advil, Tylanol or even Aspirin. Apparently & logically it fights the work the vaccine is doing and tells it to calm down & back off.
0 -
Tonight is chicken paprikash with nokedli.
0 -
Several of you are following the Prolia protocal. Here's an update.
I saw a bone endocrinologist who specializes in osteoporosis, bone drugs & esoteric things like ballet dancer's legs & runners bones. Basically he told me Prolia is now rated safe for 10 years. I just completed year 5. You should NOT miss your 6 month shot by more than a few weeks. If you contemplate a drug holiday, there isn't enough information yet to say a Reclast shot would work, although there are ongoing trials with results maybe in the next year. His recommendation was Fosamax in the interim if you have to stop Prolia, which you can now take once a week.
If you have to have dental work done on Prolia, schedule the last 4 weeks before the next shot is due (5 months). But do NOT skip a dose.
0 -
Hmmm....my onc only had me do 3 years of semiannual Prolia shots (6 in all).
Not all pain relievers work the same way, and therefore not all of them are contraindicated for the relief of post-inoculation aches & fever. While NSAIDs (including aspirin) do reduce inflammation (and the immune response is a form of inflammation), acetaminophen does not. It does not affect the immune system, but rather partly blocks reduces pain signals sent by nerve impulses to the brain. Its relief is symptomatic. That's why when pain is associated with inflammation (especially swelling), NSAIDs are usually prescribed instead of acetaminophen.
The reason to avoid taking analgesics of any kind BEFORE or just after a vaccination to prevent or suppress the side effects, is precisely because NSAIDs lower immune response, and acetaminophen masks the true extent of the immune response. The aches, fatigue & fever are manifestations of the intended immune response--and the whole idea is to gauge the extent of that response. You don't want to try & prevent it because you won't know how well it's working. However, once that reaction sets in and becomes too uncomfortable to bear, it's okay to relieve the symptoms because they've made themselves known and thus confirm that the vaccine is working as intended. By the time those symptoms have appeared and become very uncomfortable, the immune response is already apparent and would not be impaired going forward.
That's also why it's advisable to discontinue antihistamines, oral steroids, and leukotriene inhibitors (e.g., Singulair) a couple of nights before being vaccinated. Those anti-allergy meds work by suppressing immune-mediated reactions (i.e., degranulation of mast cells and release of histamine), so that not only can the vax's immune response seem blunted, but they also mask--or delay past the 30-min. observation period--any symptoms of a possible serious allergic reaction. Again, by the time you feel generally lousy from the shot, it's safe to resume the meds. (I went from using a rescue inhaler less than once every couple of months before discontinuing my Zyrtec & montelukast 2 days pre-vax, to using it 3 or 4 times the evening after the day of the shot. Not to mention sneezing and itchy eyes). Last thing I needed was to end up in urgent care (much less the ER) having to get a nebulizer treatment. So well past midnight, I got the OK to resume my Zyrtec & Singulair. Took a couple of days to rebuild sufficient blood levels to calm down my allergy & asthma symptoms.
0 -
Sandy,
This is, once again, making me feel much better about that stupidity of my taking the one Xtra strength Tylenol before first Pfizer. You did explain earlier the difference between the way NSAIDs and acetaminophen work but I didn’t quite catch it. I never take NSAIDs because the aspirin affects my platelet count. But this sounds like your saying I might have masked an immune response, sore arm not withstanding, but not prevented one. Ardently hope so. Will look forward to pain after second shot on 17th, and roll with it. Want that response. Want to go to Key West for a week or so, eat in a restaurant, explore Andersonville once again with son, eat with him, as we used to, every Monday nightThe dining rooms are opening here at the Mather next week. Friends are calling for dinner dates, but Gil and I are going nowhere til two weeks after second shot.
0 -
Bob is down at the Oak Lawn Hilton overnight, since tomorrow is an early stress-test/echo-reading day at Advocate Christ. This time, though, he'll be able to eat in the hotel's restaurant rather than having to get food delivered (or worse, stop at a drive-thru en route from the hospital). The VIP lounge is still closed, though--it used to have buffet hot happy-hour snacks & breakfasts, but buffets are not coming back any time soon (if ever). He did take the Fusion, and had no trouble getting out of the garage. Our snow guy will make sure he can get back into it tomorrow.
No breakfast; lunch was a low-carb BLT. On the way home from my mani, stopped to pick up my letrozole refill at the little pharmacy/kosher deli. It'll be the last refill I buy there: so few people are filling prescriptions there that they're closing down the tiny pharmacy. They're doing great business in the deli, though, and are gearing up for indoor seating again. Will have to transfer my 'script to CVS, which I hope won't cost an arm and a leg. (My current co-pay is less than nine bucks). Took advantage of the deli to get some cold cuts and a marble rye for Bob.
Dinner tonight will be a cheeseburger on a keto bun, with lettuce, tomato & onion--will let you know how it turns out.
0 -
No dinner tonight. DH and I decided to get drunk and play music. It’s party time, lol
0 -
Cheers illimae!
Spanish tortilla and a simple salad with vinaigrette. Very satisfying but sadly, no leftovers since I made it in an 8inch skillet.
0 -
illimae - what is your drink?
Dinner tonight was Hawaiian flatbread pizza - I made two, DH and I ate one, gave the other to DD - she came over to borrow a battery charger and we also filmed a video giving a 60th b-day toast to DH’s old boss, who has become a good friend. His wife texted to ask for b-day videos from all their friends and she will put them together and play them on their tv during the Super Bowl. It was pretty hilarious, but we finally got it right
0 -
Strawberry daiquiri and margaritas! And music by the skatalites.
0 -
Wow! Illimae...good looking drink!
Minus, your dinner concert “sounded" wonderful! We should do that more.Nance, yay for your counters, and glad you don't have to wait too terribly long for the backsplash. Carole, excited for you, too, to get your new counters. Yes...all of you home improvement folks need to share some photos, please!
We fared okay with the storm...about a foot after the heavy snow compacted given the combo of snow and sleet. Fortunately we didn't need to be anywhere, and the plow guy came mid day and cleared the driveway and front walk, so us geezers didn't have to any heavy lifting. DH misses snow blowing, but we are really beyond that age for all the storms we get. We lost power for a few hours during the night, and was happy it returned before we arose. Apparently more to come this Sunday...ugh. I was hoping to return to some walking outside...to clear my head. But certainly not going to go balancing on the ice. I have finally had my fill of being a hermit, and dysphoria is seeping in.
My good news is that DH came running into the kitchen today to let me know that when he logged onto the state sight for Covid shots for the umpteenth time, (for me....I think he was feeling badly that I still had not received my “invitation" to set up a time from MGH when he had been invited a week ago) he reached a new vaccine appt calendar offering tons of dates for next week. We signed me up for next Friday so I won't have any soreness for my Thursday PT appt. DH then said...I bet you hear from MGH (our healthsystem) now. Sure enough, a few hours later, they emailed me offering a ton of date options...starting TOMORROW! So I will do that and release my other date. I do feel more secure having it administered at a health facility than going to Gillette Stadium given my allergy history. My shot tomorrow is being given at the new Dana Farber site about 5 miles from here...really convenient. Some friends in FL just got theirs after driving 2 hours to Miami and waiting four hours in line in their car. Then drove home for another two hours. Yikes! Unfortunately, I just read Sandy's advice about stopping allergy meds two days before the shot, and I took my Allegra yesterday. Oh well. Will not do any pain relief if I can soldier through. After all of this, I want the damn vaccine to work! It seems that our state must have received a lot more vaccine suddenly, so I hope that is also true for all of yours, and we can get out of this stalemated position or at least feel less vulnerable. I've been wearing two masks if I need to go anywhere.
Tonight I made pesto specifically for a chicken recipe that we liked a lot. It was pounded chicken breasts tossed in pesto with a bit of balsamic, then pan seared before being baked at 400 for 25 minutes, taken out, graced with a dollop of pesto on top of each piece along with fresh mozzarella and baked for 5 more mins until the cheese melted. A side “sauce" is diced tomato with some garlic, basil, evoo, and I added crushed red pepper. We enjoyed it and have enough for another meal. Yay! While it was fun to make, it took a long time, given the pesto and several steps and the rest of the meal...salad, and avocado spread for crusty bread. My back was screaming at me by the time we sat to eat. With some pesto in the freezer now, that step can be avoided.
Special, as much as I am not into football anymore (due to the inherent concussion issues), we will be rooting for your town's team so Tom Terrific can get another ring. Seems that there is more love than resentment here for him...or at least it sounds that way on all the sports' broadcasts. I am tempted to watchjyst to see this quarterback duel.
0 -
I don't have dry mustard to make Cheddar/Broccoli muffins in the morning. That famous expert - "DrGoogle" - gives conflicting answers. Some sites say Dijon is the closest substitute. Others say must use yellow. Has anybody experimented?
Lacey - love all your news. Dinner sounds great, although I'm sorry to hear about the wear on your back. Are you still in PT? Do report after you get your shot.
Mae - love your drink. How did you feel in the morning? One night last week after a "horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day" I indulged in two gin & tonics and then 2 glasses of red wine. WAY too much for my metabolism anymore.
I was horrified to read that 1 in 5 people in Houston don't plan on getting vaccinated. That's a large number for this big a city. I'll be wearing masks until I die of something else. And I may never get to see my niece's family in rural Texas again.
0 -
So my trip to the local DF site (which is brand new, beautiful, and staffed with lovely in-house nurses giving shots) was easy. The whole environment and atmosphere reminded me so much of the supportive experience I had during my active treatment. Anyway, I was surprised (and probably should not have been) to learn that the reason I got this “invite” for the shot was because I am a DF patient, (not just connected to MGH) and as such, if I have any concerning SE’s, I need to call my med onc. Feels weird since I see her once a year...but okay, it’s not not like she would not know me, and I will see her again in three weeks for my annual. And then when I got home, I received an email inviting me to sign up for the vaccine from MGH since I am a patient of our local hospital, which is part of MGH. But as I went to open it, it disappeared! I think the computers synced at that moment and the second one learned that I was already accounted for. Nice to have had three opportunities for the vaccine this week, but such an uncoordinated process. I also cancelled my Gillette stadium appointment for next week.
The other serendipity of this visit was that in the elevator DH noticed a sign stating that our son’s company owned and managed this building. So while I was at my appt he texted DS2 and learned about the build out and transition for DF to that lovely suburban space. I’m glad that so many of DS2’s assets are science and health focused. And now we have gotten to see one that is quite the cool building that will serve a lot of people. Unfortunately, my med onc is still based in the DF downtown.
All in all, it was a successful trip, and I had no allergic reactions after the shot, remaining for observation for 30 minutes.However, now, nine hours later, my arm feels like it is about to fall off. I’m holding the recommended cold compresses on it, so I can try to keep it moving, but lots of wincing going on. I’ll be happy if this is the only painful side effect. I received the Pfizer vaccine. My second appt is Feb 26th. Tomorrow DH gets his, and I doubt he will even have this much of a reaction.
On our way home, we stopped at a small Stop and Shop that DH likes for the fresh bread loaves they bake. So we enjoyed shopping for produce and some protein items. Picked up salmon for dinner and made it with a teriyaki glaze, to go with Brussels sprouts, salad, and a sweet potato we split. We also bought some little cherry pies and split one for dessert, but now a few hours later, I’m eating popcorn while watching the Celtics!
Tomorrow will be leftovers of the pesto chicken and a cuke salad since that’s easy on the prep lady. No menu plan yet for Sunday, but haveeasy options after our shopping trip today.
0 -
Well, I got my shot. Sore arm. But the day after, i got nauseous. Didn't vomit, but was certainly prepared to do that. Was in the bathroom, waiting. Was wondering if I should get my zofran out, and then it passed. Just went away. I always have a cup if tea next to me, and about 15 min after I sat back down in the family room, took an accidental sip. No problem. I at first thought maybe food poison, but that lasts longer and you really throw up a lot, because I did have that in the past, so not that. And no other reason for the N&V. Then, while sitting down, my nose just started running like crazy. For about an hour. Then, gone. Just weird! Feel fine today, no problems. After reading up on the shots, The runny nose is in the info for Pfizer, not the Moderna I got. The N&V is in both shots info. But, of course, I'm weird. Special, I have many, many allergies, to ABX, and Tegaderm, and the heart monitor tapes, but they told me as long as I didn't have allergies to other vaccines, it was ok. I get the Flu vaccine every year with no problems. So I decided to do it.
We are all snowblowed out here. Probably got 6 or 7 inches, not that much, but its getting very cold. Its only 5 degrees here now. Brrr.
Saw my Onc. Everything checks out, but a slight reduction in bone density in femurs, but stable everywhere else. Still osteopenia, so don't need bone builders yet. Still on Anastrozole, and he recommends at least 10 years for me. Good news is Im on year 9. Bad news is "at least"
Yesterday supper was Chili. Made 6 quarts, kept enough for 2 meals here, and sent the rest with DD2 for her family.
Supper tonight I made a kind of seafood lasagna. Because after making my DD2s family, I had only 1 layer of noodles for my 5x7 pan. LOL. So I put it on the bottom, and topped it with a lot of shrimp, fake crab, Alfredo sauce, and ricotta and cheese. It worked. Yum.
Minus, i use drued mustard a lot, because I dont like mustard. So I use dried when I must. If I don't have that I do use a bit of yellow, because I dont want that big punch other mustards have. Hope that helps.
Sandy, thanks for the explanation of painkillers and vaccines! That really helped me understand.
Carol and Lacey, (at least I think that's who's redecorating) i want to see pictures too!
Illimae, that looks delish. Yum
Much love to all! Stay warm
0 -
(Typed last night, but didn't post till now because I was interrupted by hungry cats)
Today I am experiencing a second injection-site reaction: the arm soreness & stiffness disappeared after 3 days, but yesterday morning I noticed a small bruise just above the deltoid and saw & felt a little pink "knot." Last night at bedtime I felt a painless swelling on the delt. By today, the swelling was down but there's a reddish patch similar to (but smaller than) the one I got from my first Shingrix shot. Consulted Dr. Google, who referred me to WebMD. Learned that such a delayed reaction to the Moderna vax is pretty common....and a sign that my immune system is doing a good job of mounting a response. Seeing as how it's the dead of winter (and HOW!) I'm not running around in tank tops, so my sleeves (2 layers, even indoors here in Chiberia) are covering it up.
Bob had wanted to go out tonight, but the various restaurants' outdoor "igloos" are now actual igloos. And I wanted Bob to get home, safely into the garage, without the risk of getting stuck in the alley. Craved BBQ, but neither of the places we like would deliver tonight (and no way was I going to bundle up & drive). So we ordered out from an upscale Mexican restaurant (to which we usually walk): ceviche, nopales/jicama/avocado salad, grilled veggies, and shared an order of sopa de mariscos (Mexican bouillabaisse, but more broth). Bob had his with rice & frijoles, I had mine plain, which kept things totally keto.
Not going anywhere if I can help it, even if things are a bit safer viral-wise and starting to reopen--I'm not "into" frostbite, nor icy sidewalks.
0
