So...whats for dinner?
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auntie - I also have to do the whole T-Giv dinner even if we go to our friends - which involves me making several things to take there anyway. Kind of nice to really only do it once.
I can't go with my new "natural" color yet, which is all gray. I got a good look at it after chemo and I am not ready.
Funny about the coffee - that is indeed hard core, but I just did the same thing at an HEB store in Austin, TX as we passed through town - grabbed a look at the capitol, ate some very delicious brisket tacos, and bought some coffee. A friend who used to live in San Antonio introduced me to HEB Texas Pecan coffee - and I love it. I was in the store for all of five mins from start to finish, which consisted me of doing an arm clear of every bag of that coffee they had. I only felt a little bad for anyone looking for a bag of it after I was there, lol! Now I am rationing it. I can order it from Amazon but it is a LOT more expensive.
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The only pumpkin drink I like is beer. Did not think I would like it; and I'm just *meh* on beer, but pumpkin beer....I can't keep it in the house.
Yesterday we had the sockeye leftovers.
Tonight I made a dry lamb curry Kerala style. Served with sweet potatoes and green beans (DH's choices and not Indian in any sense).
I've let myself go gray. If I didn't have sensitive skin and have to worry about an allergic reaction, I'd color in a heart beat but not worth the hassle in my case. My onco is a few years older than me and still has black hair (natural), just like her mom had. I got crappy genes all the way around, LOL. (sorry if I've posted that before; it's a pet peeve).0 -
I'm not sure if I have enough hair to color! :-)
I don't like all the pumpkin spice drinks, nor pumpkin bread. Just the soup and a couple versions of pumpkin pie.
As for my version of "hard core" pumpkin spice...the grocery store sells pumpkin spice (COVID) face masks. ???!!!??? I just can't see myself buying one.
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My brother, who's made pumpkin pie since there were pumpkins, announced this year that he's decided Costco's pumpkin pies are better than home made. Well but they are HUGE. He says his wife has a small slice and he eats the rest in a couple of days.
Dinner was nibbles. Guacamole with wheat crackers, then leftover tuna with mayo from the bowl with a fork. This followed my afternoon nosh of cottage cheese with tomatoes. I bought a container of mini chocolate chip cookies at Costco yesterday so 6 of those provided dessert. I'm trying to finish up the leftovers so I can have a grilled cheese sandwich with Gouda cheese while the sourdough bread is still fresh enough. Any body ever try making fried with with Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild rice? I'll let you know.
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minus - I’m going through the annual editions of Southern Living from the ‘90’s before I donate them and just came across a recipe for Chicken Fried Wild Rice. Interestingly, the rice is fried immediately after regular cooking without salt. I usually use leftover rice so it is less moist.Otherwise the recipe is pretty straightforward fried rice technique.
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Dinner tonight was stir fry veggies with the addition of 1/2 chicken breast, shredded; about 1/2 cup leftover rice blend; and a couple of eggs, scrambled. Didn't quite clear out the fridge but it helped. Served with a choice of stir fry sauces.
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Tonight was McDonalds on the road. I’m saddened to see what became of the filet o fish, which is now more of a nugget. Fries were ok but not very fresh. On the bright side, I have a buccees fudge sampler to enjoy.
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The "run a while stop running" shenanigans of our refrigerator are driving us crazy. Today I'll move all the spoilables to the outdoor refrigerator in an outbuilding not too far from our carport. We'll get our exercise during the week (fingers crossed) before the new refrigerator arrives.
Count me among those who aren't tempted by pumpkin soup and coffee, etc. I like sweet potato pie better than pumpkin pie. I have no idea what pumpkin tastes like because the spices overwhelm any natural flavor.
I have used the whole wheat tortillas. Wheat/corn combo sounds interesting.
We're having a few days of delightful cool low humidity weather. I plan to make navy bean soup today, seasoned with slices of ham hock.
I always enjoy my appointments with my hair stylist here in Louisiana. She has her shop in her house in a somewhat rural setting in the same neighborhood where I grew up. She is from a blue collar background and enjoys her work. In the past she has tried to take at least one course a year but with Covid, she is able to take seminars online. The salon where I go in MN is a complete contrast. More upscale and pricier and impersonal. But I enjoy the communication with MN women.
I'm happy with the color transformation.
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Always great when a salon experience turns out well. I've been cutting my own hair for so long that I don't know if I'll ever return to one, LOL.
And to Eric, we women also get thinning hair, so I feel your pain. Society seems unfazed by bald guys, so you have that, LOL.
I'm having leftover lamb curry tonight.
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Food food food! I'm at the very beginning of an elimination diet for fructose malabsorption (aka intolerance). I'm trying to figure out what I can and can't eat for the next few weeks. We usually think of a fruit and veg heavy diet as being healthy, but now I'm told to limit myself to 3 or fewer small servings per day. Also wheat products are out because wheat apparently breaks down to fructose. Onions and garlic are out, and chocolate needs to be limited and only dark. Okay, dark is the only kind I eat, so that will be okay.
Right now I'm making a pot of quinoa and will season it will olive oil, lemon juice, salt/pepper, basil, and some feta. So that will feel like a bit of heft in a meal.
Oatmeal, Cheerios, or eggs for breakfasts. A lot of meat and cheese through the rest of the day.
It's confusing. I think I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm thinking about food MORE THAN EVER!
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Special - LOVE HEB. So wish we had one here. Fortunately I have two nieces who live in Texas who have been known to send me things from there if needed lol.
I'm a big pumpkin pie fan, really about the only pumpkin thing I do like (except for a pumpkin roll my DDIL made last year that was AWESOME) but I'm pretty picky about it. I tend to like mine on the spicy side, heavy on the cloves, so I usually end up making my own. I've got a great recipe using heavy cream instead of evaporated milk and maple syrup and it's really special. I've heard from several sources that the Costco pumpkin pie is great so I'm tempted to try it. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in our family who REALLY likes it so after they all have one small piece, guess who ends up eating the rest? I don't mind that with a small one but the Costco giant pies would be excessive. Last year a local grocery chain who carries Tippin's pies offered 7" pumpkin and pecan pies. I bought one of each and they were just perfect for our small gathering. (I'm also the only one who cares for pecan pie.)
Illimae - my DH never passes up and opportunity to eat a hamburger, good or bad, so he frequently patronizes MdDonalds. Often I will pass all together but occasionally or when we're travelling, I'll order their fish sandwich, even though I think it's the weakest fish offering of all the chains. Lately, I've taken to ordering it as a double - two filets with one piece of that peculiarly orange cheese and the "tartar sauce" that only seems to be on half the bun.
Tonight we're finishing off a Costco rotisserie chicken, this time in a pot pie.
Carole - I think you would like the tortillas. They're a good combination I think. Glad you got your color back. My hair is so short that I could never bring myself to pay someone to dye it. I never even used a whole bottle of solution and it only took a few minutes. If I had been paying for the service, I probably would still be doing it.
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To All: and Potheads out there? By that, I don't mean weed. If you are one of those -- Hi. Peace. What I mean is, do any of you love love love having an Instant Pot? Best chili ever! Great pot roasts. The lamb shanks are divine. All of it done in half or less the time than normal slow cooking etc.
I love pumpkin. Sweet. Savoury. Doesn't matter. I have a recipe for pumpkin brule and pumpkin ice cream but I also have a recipe for a pasta sauce made with coconut cream and pumpkin puree. Our local Japanese restaurant makes pumpkin cakes - basically a flattened out fritter. I love them!
McDonald's fish burgers. I used to sort of like them way back but the last one I tried after not having had one for decades tasted like a fish flavoured soggy paper towel.
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Love the pumpkin pancakes from IHOP that you can only get at this time of year. We missed getting them today because they closed earlier than expected most likely to staffing issues so we will try to get there earlier during the week.
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Instant Pot fan here! Can't say I'm a fan of all things pumpkin (partly because I have not tried all of them) but love pumpkin date bread and our Thanksgiving favorite, pumpkin walnut pie.
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Speaking of hair... My hair was quite grey before chemo. After chemo it came back in very dark. Weird because it has always been blond or light brown with reddish highlights. Lots of grey again now, but I don't mind that as much as the brown/black. No way could I color because no way would I ever keep up with it. But Tuesday I am scheduled to get sun highlights. I'm a little concerned what that will do to the grey hairs & hope it won't turn orange. But since I have refused cut it for a year, it's time to at least try to mitigate the 'mousy' color.
Dinner was leftover chicken w/mushrooms in brandy cream sauce - served on noodles today. Special - thanks for the wild rice comments. I'll be trying that repurposed as fried rice tomorrow.
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So far I have resisted both the Instant Pot and air fryer - but don’t have a very good reason. Or really any reason. I have also resisted seeing the movie Titanic and using cruise control in the car. No reason other than I am occasionally obstinate, and decided to dig in my heels on those two items, lol
Dinner tonight was chili, accompanied by broccoli salad for DH.
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I’m an instant pot aficionado, currently on my second one. I probably use it weekly. Wouldn’t cook beans in anything else.
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I'm resisting both because I don't want something else sitting on my counter. And really don't have a cupboard for storage. As it is, my large 12" frying pan has to stay on the stove top and my electric grill has to live in the garage.
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I have a multi-use pot that lives in a cabinet. I made the mistake of buying an 8 qt. size and it is huge. I may donate it and try a smaller Insta Pot. This summer I made use of a moderate sized slow cooker but left it in MN. I have a larger one here that is seldom used. At home the stove top and the oven are my favorite cooking methods.
The navy bean soup I cooked yesterday was good. Lots of leftover. I wasn't very hungry because we had Subway sandwiches for lunch.
I'm having lunch with friends today at Half Shell Oyster House and am hoping to have some good oysters.
Dinner will probably be leftover meatloaf.
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Carole- your navy bean soup sounds good. I have some Anasazi beans I need to cook soon. And a small piece of Cure 81 ham in the freezer.
So the tried rice answer... Started with leftover Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice from a box that was old enough to still have Uncle Ben's picture on the package. It already had lots of seasoning, so I added only a bit of soy sauce. Sauteed 1015 sweet onions & mushrooms - then added the leftover rice. This was a 'clean the fridge' exercise and I didn't have any celery. I didn't want to open a can of water chestnuts or bean sprouts and have half left over - but I wanted some crunch. Decided an apple would change the taste too much so I added 1/2+ a cup of sunflower seeds. That made a very unique flavor - quite good. Added 1/2 a bag of spinach that was starting to wilt and mixed in one scrambled egg. The result was a lovely meal. Served with Marlborough Ti Point savignon blanc - $6.99 at Costco.
Maybe tomorrow for more protein, I'll open a can of shrimp or crab that I keep for hurricane emergencies (& dips) and mix that with the leftovers. Or, hmmm, I have a little package of rotisserie chicken "scrap" pieces in the freezer. That would probably match better with this rice & save the seafood for white rice.
In the mean time as I was cleaning, I made a lemon jello & set it in the fridge to get semi hard. Then whipped with 2 Tbls mayo and added grated apple & fresh tiny mandarin orange pieces. Another experiment. Taste test tomorrow.
Unfortunately Costco was still out of Pine Nuts - something I really like to keep on hand. Oh well, I was raised to buy by the case and rotate stock so I always have plenty of staples, as well as TP and paper towels..
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For me, it's more about the "spice," as in seasonings for pumpkin pie. I have some sugar-free Torani Pumpkin Spice syrup, which I bought for DIY lattes so I could avoid *$. (It's a rebus). Tried it the other day, but after nearly 2 years of being low-carb found it so sweet as to be cloying. For me, pumpkin itself belongs on the table--pie, mashed, soup, etc. I've tried two different pumpkin beers: Great Lakes Beer Co. Pumpkin Lager (at its downtown Cleveland brewpub), which just smelled & tasted gross, like the odor of raw pumpkin guts during a mass-Jack-O'Lantern-carving fest; and Lost Duck Pumpkin Ale, at the tavern of the same name along the riverfront in Ft. Madison, IA--brewed onsite, it was delightful. (It gets its name from the fact that the Mississippi R. flows E-W there rather than the usual N-S direction. Migrating waterfowl follow the river each spring & fall---until they hit that little stretch at Ft. Madison/Nauvoo, where they roost and go "WTF???").
Been laying low of late, what with HK out for 2 weeks, my back repeatedly going out, various cat-ailment woes, etc. Saturday night we went to Terra & Vine in Evanston--all I could eat there was chopped antipasto salad, grilled salmon and steamed broccoli. Last night, we went to the Rosemont (suburb next to O'Hare) location of Fogo de Chao churrascaria. Bit longer drive, but free parking and less boisterous clientele than their River North location. We like the chain because Bob can load up his plate and I can eat only what I'm allowed and as much or little of it as I want. My salad bar plate was mesclun and grilled veggies, with a bit of chickpea-black bean salad. The meats I had from the roving "gauchos" were slices of beef rib, top & bottom sirloin, seared cheese (no honey), lamb steak and a chunk of garlic beef. I had to spurn the mashed spuds, fried polenta, and cheese rolls.
Then this morning I got up and promptly threw my back out again (fourth time in as many weeks), but this one is the worst I'd had in years. I'm getting around (inching & shuffling) with a Rollator, cane and reachers. Even so, I barely could get anything together to eat--an Atkins bar for breakfast, string cheese and the end slice of a loaf of whole-grain bread for lunch. Had a pound piece of Norwegian Fjord trout (steelhead) already defrosted, so I had to (painfully & tremulously) cook it for dinner. Bob brought home some linguine & clams, plus spinach. We'll make our own plates--I hurt too much to try to clear and set the table and he doesn't know how; I'll put my plate on the Rollator seat and take it into the front room. There will be leftovers.
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Sounds like a lot of soup going on. I love my slow cooker. Not huge but big enough to keep on the counter. I made chicken white chili as I had rotisserie chicken I needed to use. Simple. I wish DH liked chicken chili as much as I do. ( He asked "Is this chili?" *sigh*) I'm back on my version of weight watchers so I need to make more of a variety than he would prefer. Thankfully he does eat it.
I have been quieter even than usual as DH and I just got over breakthrough covid. Me Pfizer, he Moderna. Vaccinated in March. So very glad we were as it could have been a lot worse.
Keep well all and Sandy feel better soon.
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I mentioned my fructose elimination diet. It requires 3 or fewer small servings of fruit and veg (combined) per day, and no wheat products, onion or garlic. I'm starting to figure out how to eat around that. Today for lunch I had a dish of quinoa (cooked up earlier this week) with turkey (deli meat). Both of those are free. I also cut up and cooked 1/4 cup of carrots and a 1/4 cup of broccoli to add up to 1 whole serving of veg. I added the cooked veggies to the quinoa and turkey, splashed on a few drops of soy sauce, and heated it a few seconds in the microwave. Yummy! And I had some Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of mixed berries (a whole serving of fruit). And because I was really indulging myself, I put a few corn tortilla chips on a small plate, covered with grated cheddar and a sprinkle of cayenne, and melted it in the microwave.
Then dinner was grilled chicken breast with a few more bites of cooked broccoli and a few bites of mashed potato, to make up my 3rd serving of the day.
So it's coming around and I'm starting to feel like I can eat around this for the required time. But it will be great when it's loosened up, too.
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Mia, remind me again what your fructose elimination diet is for, and why of all things fruit is allowed but not onion or garlic.
I'm having trouble avoiding carbs during this awful back pain. The one saving grace is that putting together a snack or meal is taking forever now, and requires getting up (painfully) from my chair so I'm at least controlling portions.
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Last night was the leftover bean soup and a tossed salad. DH said the soup was even better the second time.
Hurrah! The new refrigerator is scheduled to be delivered today. Even a few days of no refrigerator in the house has made us grateful at the thought of not having to walk to an outbuilding for anything requiring refrigeration. Hoping for a successful delivery and an undamaged refrigerator.
Not sure what's for dinner tonight.
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Sandy, the elimination diet is because I was diagnosed with fructose malabsorption, which creates digestive issues including bloating and discomfort, diarrhea and/or constipation, cramping... the range. So the intention is to largely eliminate the classes of food that might cause that, and once my system is settled down to a "normal" feeling, start reintroducing things to find out if particular items are troublemakers.
Fruits vs onions and garlic: actually I have a very short list of fruits that are okay for this phase. Okay to eat in very small portions are avocado, lime, lemon, unsweetened cranberries, cantaloupe, strawberries, and most other berries. Vegetables also have an "avoid" list.
The wheat, onions, and garlic have something called "fructans," which by my understanding are more complex carbohydrate molecules made up mostly of fructose molecules, and they break down into fructose. So while we don't think of wheat as being especially sweet, its structure is still apparently a problem.
None of it is life-threatening, but creates quality of life issues if I don't get it sorted.
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Sounds like they put you on a low-FODMAP diet. Wheat (and most starches) are converted to sugar (mostly glucose) fairly quickly--even before you swallow it. Back in kindergarten (after we returned from our field trip to the A&P for cream and saltines to churn butter), our teacher had us chew a cracker and notice how sweet it quickly tasted--she said it was our saliva that did that. (We were too young to understand what an "enzyme" was, so she didn't explain further).
Just out of curiosity, who (i.e., what kind of practitioner) diagnosed your fructose malabsorption?
This a.m., I felt limber enough (albeit still stiff & painful) to make coffee and avocado toast (ready-made guac, a diced homegrown tomato, minced shallot & cilantro) with a fried egg for brunch. Tonight, Bob's bringing home wings & spinach salad.for dinner. Might add another tomato if a ripe one on the sill is getting soft. A couple more on the vine are beginning to ripen--so tomorrow when it gets a bit chillier & wet I will pick them to complete their ripening on the sill.
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The lamb curry lasted us another night. Improved with time, as most of those types of meals do.
Yesterday I made a bean/spinach shakshuka of sorts. Tonight I used the leftover bean/spinach as a side and heated up a pre-cooked hamburger from Costco.
We drove to Sequim for our monthly costco/walmart run. It is always stressful...people in line without masks, hauling a freezer-bag full of frozen/refrigerated stuff, hopeful nothing thaws before we get home (it's about an hour one way) and OY on the unloading! I'll be clearing my counters tomorrow.
Sandy, I hope your back improves soon. Homeopathic stuff is a love-hate for me, but have you tried Arnica Montana? Just a thought...can't hurt.
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Arnica gel helps me with bruising, as well as sore small joints like knuckles or elbows. It does nothing for my back strains--or any muscle strains, for that matter. The topicals I use in rotation (a different one every few hours) are menthol (Bio-Freeze), Voltaren, lidocaine roll-on, and a 1:1 CBD:THC massage-in balm. Might try going to bed with a Flector (prescription diclofenac) patch.
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Last night was an old faithful on the meal rotation. Pork piccata made with tenderloin medallions. Side was steamed yellow squash, an unexpected find when I stopped at Rouse's supermarket on the way home from the gym. I also found two eggplants that looked fresh.
The atmosphere at dinner was downcast because we still have no inside refrigerator that works. The new refrigerator was damaged with a dent near the water connection. DH was afraid that unseen damage might have cause a leak over time. So he refused delivery.
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