So...whats for dinner?
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Heritage red rice as the bed for a "poached" cod in cream/soy sauce along with wilted baby spinach and mushrooms (just canned buttons--didn't think far enough to use some of my dried beauties). New technique I used, mainly to prevent smell of fish since we are having guests in a few days but also, my cod didn't thaw completely. I set the pieces on a plate and added 2 or 3 TBS of sake over them and let them sit in that for 1/2 hour or so. NO smell. And the fish...like butter...the creamiest, tenderest fish I've ever made at home. I'll have to try this again to see if it was the sake or the cream as a poaching medium.
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Mada a choucroute instead--had to use up some kraut. Right now we're between storms and under tornado watch till 10 pm. (Sorry about the Cubs game, Serendipity). We are also under a water-dept. "overflow protocol," being asked to delay washing dishes, laundry, showering and even flushing lest the sewers get overwhelmed. Oh, joy--the only "safe space" (interior, away from glass) in our house is a tiny patch of basement...which has a 50-50 chance of flooding before this is over. And it starts all over again Tuesday.
As to temps? Here by the lake Tues. & Wed. will be in the 40s, due to winds blowing in off the lake and our being at the edge of the polar jet stream. Thanks to climate change, this pattern has happened here every spring & summer since 2020, and is likely to continue, just as local health authorities are urging people in the 'burbs to eat outdoors as much as possible because they've transitioned into "medium transmission" for COVID. Chicago is still "low," but not for long. So much for patio dining season--and once again, eating inside a restaurant will be a gamble. I don't mind wearing a mask to go shopping (never stopped), but the thought of having to go back to ordering delivery or curbside pickup enrages me. And once again, plans for our next vacation (and the kids' delayed honeymoon) are on hold.
The ONLY reason the new variant is increasing is because there are still enough anti-vaxers and anti-maskers to form a pool of walking Petri dishes. We dropped mandates too soon, and nobody will comply if the authorities try and reinstate them.
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I had too much going on today to cook before a friend came over at 6pm for a G&T to get away from her husband for a bit. He is NOT recuperating gracefully from his torn meniscus surgery. So late afternoon I downed a bowl of cottage cheese & canned peaches. Then I had a snack as I watched a Mercury play a Mozart string Quartet & a Mozart Clarinet Quintet - radishes, 1/2 an English cucumber & a handful of black olives. I'm so grateful that while the orchestra is performing in person again (this concert was set in the Museum of Fine Arts), they are still live streaming all the concerts. Probably 150 people sitting right on top of each other and only 3 or 4 wearing masks.
Tomorrow I'll make the shrimp fried rice I had to skip today.
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We went to a church fair in Ponchatoula (20 miles drive) yesterday afternoon and sat for an hour in the hot sun to watch and hear a great niece perform. Not sure of her age, maybe 11 or 12 but she looks like a mini 20 year-old. Plays the guitar and sings. On the way home we stopped at a Popeye's and bought fried chicken and mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The meal was our "dunch," to use Minus's word.
This was our Popeye's "fix," which we enjoy at least once a year.
There are enough leftovers in the refrigerator for dinner along with a salad.
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Leftovers tonight.
DH's brothers are flying in tomorrow for a few days. I was so excited until I saw the covid rates going up again. They are all getting up there in years and with DH's condition, wanted to see each other..well...in case...so no idea what the meal plans will be for next week.
As an aside, I'm re-doing my labs tomorrow and having some meltdowns. Oh to be brave, like some of you ladies.
Carole, I don't know if there are any Popeye out here; I'll keep my eyes peeled. I think Anthony Bourdain said it was his fav mac and cheese from there.
Sandy, hope no tornado touchdowns or floods. I remember the midwest summer storms.
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We sign the sales paperwork tomorrow, so tonight is the last night at the house...but we are sleeping in the camper that is parked in the driveway.
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Eric, best wishes to you and Sharon as you begin a new chapter. I look forward to your sharing some of your future experiences.
I had Popeye's leftovers for lunch yesterday and wasn't hungry for dinner. DH fended for himself and enjoyed pasta leftovers.
Tonight's dinner will be a frozen eggplant lasagna and a tossed salad.
I need to inventory the much-reduced contents of the freezer as May 19 gets very close.
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Frozen burgers, frozen sweet potato fries and a can of green beans. And we are off to pick up DH's brothers.
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Oh Eric - I hope everything went smoothly. We're all waiting to hear about your new excitement.
And Mae - are you settled in the mountains?
I heated up the rest of the large cold boiled shrimp tonight with pasta & butter. Dessert was an apple. Thanks for the tip that leftover pasta freezes beautifully. Can't remember if that gem was from Carole or Special K. I'm still looking forward to Naan pizza. I actually took the Raos out of the freezer a couple of days ago, but I still have to finish the leftover shrimp fried rice tomorrow.
Avocados on sale today for $0.67. Of course they're very small specimens. What really blew my mind was greeting cards. Trying to find Mother's Day cards for my nieces and there was not one under $6.99. WOW.
Meeting a friend for lunch Thursday that I haven't seen in a year. Her choice was P.F. Changs. They're OK, but last time I went I thought the quality had gone down hill. In any case, it will be great to see my friend.
And to round out this rambling missive - I HATE the new hearing aids. Hard to get in. Fall out easily. Impossible with a mask & not great with glasses. The fit has already been 'tweaked' once and I go again next week - and that's before we even talk about sound or volume. URGH. I would like to just flush them down the toilet.
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Carole, great minds think alike: last night's dinner was also CauilFlour brand frozen lasagna. Pretty good. Had part of a spinach salad Bob brought home Fri. night.
Brunch today was a French omelette with herbs & Boursin, plus a salad of arugula, sunflower greens (weird--some of the leaves still had shells clinging to them), mushrooms & tomato dressed with a few drops of 12-yr-old "tradizionale" DOP Emilia-Romagna balsamico (Acetaia Dodi orange label) that I got for my birthday in 2019. I have roughly half a tsp. remaining in the bottle (the bottom of which I run under hot water to thin it out enough to sprinkle). More about that stuff in a minute.
Bob's working late and eating at the office, so I cooked for myself: asparagus seared in EVOO and supermarket (Lucini) balsamic vinegar; and a branzino filet steamed (nuked) in parchment 90 sec., with julienned red & yellow peppers and herbs (thyme, lemon thyme, dill, parsley, tarragon & windowsill scallion).
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Now, back to the balsamico. I always keep a bottle of the supermarket stuff (Lucini is better than the Pompeiian or Alessi "industriale" fake balsamic dreck, the "balsamic glaze" is thick because it's mostly a tart sugar syrup, and the IGP stuff is okay if I didn't have the DOP) for cooking & grilling, but I like to dole out the occasional droplets of real DOP tradizionale balsamico on a Caprese, strawberries, Gorgonzola or a few chunks of Parm-Regg. IGP is aged only up to a few years and can have up to 6% acidity--and it's made in Modena. DOP tradizionale is made only in Emilia-Romagna (inverted tulip-shaped bottle) and Modena (round bottle with a square or rectangular base). Both types of DOP are sold in bottles no bigger than 3 oz. The Emilia-Romagna stuff is aged 12 yrs (orange label), 16 yrs (silver) or 25 (gold); the DOP from Modena is either 12 yrs old (vecchio) or 25 (extravecchio, gold cap). Bob said it was okay after 3 yrs. to get a new bottle, so this time I went with the Modena version, 25 yrs old. (If I'm gonna spend and dole it out like caviar or fresh truffles, I get the best I can afford--and unlike caviar or truffles, it keeps for years if you store it away from heat & light).
One thing about my soon-to-be-empty Emilia-Romagna bottle has always puzzled me. The similar 12-yr-old bottle I had before that (for >25 years), was so thick it was basically crystallized sludge. I didn't know about heating the bottle in hot water, so like an idiot I diluted the sludge instead. When I got the Acetaia Dodi bottle in Jan. 2019, it came with not only a glass-topped pouring cork with a tiny cork plug, but a strange glass bulb-shaped thing that fit over the top but didn't seal--it just sat there loosely, in danger of falling off & shattering in case I were to carelessly nudge it. Its capacity is scarcely bigger than a tablespoon, but I had no idea what it's for--never saw another before or since. My new Modena bottle came with the same pouring-cork and tiny plug, but not the glass bulb.
I went deep into the Internet rabbit hole looking for answers but came up dry. I deduced that maybe it's s "tasting" glass--it is slightly pointy on top so you can't set it down until you've knocked back what you poured into it. A couple of Italian sites featured ceramic tasting spoons (like for caviar, metal other than vermeil is a no-no); it's called "balsamico" because it was traditionally sipped as a health tonic. So maybe I'll try tasting it that way--though to me it's too costly to try to sip straight. One thing I won't do is cook with it--you should never heat tradizionale balsamico lest you ruin the unique taste.
Why is it "tradizionale?" Well, the way it's made (from unfermented cooked grape must) is akin to a sherry or Madeira solera system: decanted over the years into ever-smaller barrels of different woods, the set of which is called a "batteria" which used to be part of a 19th century N. Italian bride's dowry. (The stuff was not produced for commercial sale till the 20th century). Every year the largest barrel gets topped up with that year's batch, and so on down the line. There's a lot of evaporation through the wood's pores, called the "angel's share" (much like when aging Cognac or Scotch), so the contents get thicker as they age. It must have less than 3% acidity to be sold as a tradizionale DOP A 25-yr extravecchio requires a much larger batteria than does a 12-yr old; there's an intermediate product from Modena called "saba" which is usually aged up to 10 years but is understandably less viscous. The cheaper but still decent-quality IGP-designation gets aged but not progressively decanted. The supermarket stuff can be diluted with red wine vinegar; and the cheapest "industriale" stuff is essentially sweetened red wine vinegar.
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The eggplant lasagna was delicious. And so easy. I wish I had another dish in the freezer to take out for tonight. I will probably get out a package of veal thin fillets to go with asparagus and/or yellow squash.
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We signed the paperwork yesterday.Technically the house is ours until the sales deed is recorded, but we left as soon as the real estate agent checked to make sure we had not accidentally left anything.
We spent last night at Fools Hollow State Park (near Showlow, AZ) and we will be at the park until Thursday morning.
Dinner was ham and cheese sandwiches.
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Congrats, Eric, may your new home bring you lots of joy.
Made black cod with broccoli and emperial black (forbidden) rice.
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Wally - I bought some black rice a couple of weeks ago but haven't cooked it yet. Thanks for reminding me.
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eric - very exciting! Keep us posted! When can you move to the new digs?
wally and minus - I too have black rice - I should make some tonight! I have some boneless pork chops and was considering making shaved Brussels Sprouts slaw with Dijon mustard dressing - the black rice would add some contrast to the plate. Brown rice would make for a beige looking situation.
Dinner on Mon. was kale and napa cabbage salad with chicken, yellow pepper, scallion, and cashews with Ken's Steakhouse Asian Sesame dressing. It has more sugar than I was happy with and the ginger in it was pretty strong - I am thinking I can combine it with another dressing with almost no sugar and not lose flavor. Dinner last night was chicken and black bean quesadillas for DH and nothing for me, I did have some GF toast later. Tummy was not happy yesterday. Tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn, I am having some remediation surgery on my tooth implant. For whatever reason - nobody is sure why - I have lost bone just under the gum surface and now have a significant hollow on the side of the gum and the implant screw is exposed. This procedure is an implantoplasty with another bone graft. Should be interesting. This is the same doc that did the implant initially, selected by my dentist because he is a maxillofacial surgeon and I had six years of Prolia. The doc does not think this is related to Prolia, and neither was the initial bone loss problem - I had a very old crown (had since high school!!!) that should have been replaced earlier, and the bone loss occurred slowly and was not detectable on x-ray, until there was a visible issue which was only corroborated by cone beam CT. He is great, super competent and forward thinking, and I trust him completely. I am thinking dinner tomorrow night may be oatmeal. Dinner may be oatmeal for a while since I have to be on antibiotics for a week afterward and this particular one does not do my stomach any favors. I should figure something out that I can make ahead for DH because I am thinking I may not be in the mood for dinner making.
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specialk, sorry to hear of your dental/bone issues. I hope you don’t have too much pain.
Last night was baked salmon, roasted cauliflower, asparagus, and scallion mashed potatoes. Tonight will likely be leftovers with tilapia instead of salmon. I have a lot of leftover roasted cauliflower that I’ll probably modify with some crumbled feta and parsley. Last night I parboiled the entire head and then basted the head with a Dijon, honey, garlic and olive oil dressing before roasting. The recipe called for balsamic vinegar but I forgot to add it since my cooking was derailed by a tornado watch that ended up just being a thunderstorm. Another option for the leftover cauliflower might be to purée it into a soup. We’ll see what strikes my fancy come dinner time
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Since Bob wasn't able to get home in time for dinner, I didn't make either of the fishes I bought from Hooked on Fish (Arctic char & walleye). Didn’t want to stink up the kitchen for just myself. I made a choucroute again, and this afternoon I'm living to regret it. Not sure whether the problem was the sauerkraut itself (from an unopened pack of Boar's Head), a pork kielbasa (past pull-date but unopened package, and it was neither slimy, smelly or off-tasting), or the little bit of bacon grease from the drippings can. I know it's foodborne—my temp is on the low side of normal and I have no other symptoms. It simply came out of nowhere—maybe suddenly upping my water intake could be overstimulating my gut? (I'm sipping constantly—as I do an acrostic puzzle, I sip after filling in each clue or word on the grid). The water itself is fine (filtered, from my fridge); perhaps it's time to discard the drippings can
Brunch was 2 slices of bacon (freshly-opened pack), a heritage egg (still good—it didn’t float)fried in avocado oil, and a couple of low-carb (1pm net each) tortillas sprinkled with olive oil. Not sure about tonight—will depend on how well my gut behaves itself.
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Special, I hope your dental stuff goes well. I absolutely hate teeth. Especially when there is an issue. It's only happened once, but it was within the last 5 years and my heart goes out to you.
The guys are out driving around while I am in the kitchen. I bought 4 duck breasts and 2 legs. I've got the pot of beans cooking and the leg skin browning in the oven. It will be a sort of cassoulet, quick style. The duck breasts, I will make per Nigella Lawson's recipe (super easy and never failed me yet, even if it may set off the smoke alarm) and a big salad. Debating if I should cook up the brussels sprouts.
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chisandy - I feel ya, that was me yesterday - felt like crap (pun intended...) hope things improve asap.
wally - thanks for the good wishes for tomorrow. I am kind of glad they were able to schedule this quickly, partly because it took a month to be seen, and it is scaring me that the implant screw is exposed, and also because I don't have extra time to dwell on having it done! Funny duck story - my mom had a Farberware countertop rotisserie and she would cook whole duck on it. The cats would sit on the floor below looking up at the rotisserie spinning away - for hours on end. I have a very cheeky and naughty cat who would have jumped up to check things out, but those cats never did.
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SpecialK, I hope your dental procedure is successful and as not stressful as possible.
We went out to eat at a nearby seafood restaurant last night and ordered a seafood platter for two with catfish, shrimp and oysters. I especially enjoyed the crunchy catfish. There was enough food for one more person. We brought it home but are not known for eating restaurant leftovers, especially fried seafood.
I awoke with a stroke of genius realization this morning. Stir fry does not have to be Asian. DH can add his soy sauce and I could add my lemon juice and grated romano. I don't hate soy sauce but I don't love it either. Tonight's dinner will likely test out the stir fry theory with veggies in the refrigerator and a half pork tenderloin in the freezer.
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Carole - I've gotten REALLY creative with stir fries this last year. Many are not Asian. Now I can make them work with whatever leftovers I have. I've even been known to pick the breading off the fried shrimp/fish and add those to the pan. I will be interested to hear how your meal goes.
Lunch at PF Changs today with a friend who's almost 90. I hadn't seen her in almost a year. The food was just OK - that means definitely not great. But the waiter was fantastic. He brought our wine & pretty much left us alone to visit. It must have been 30-45 minutes before we even looked at the menus.
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Last night we went out to Jaleo, Jose Andres' tapas bar. We started with goat-cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers, then pisto Manchego (like a ratatouille but topped with a fried egg instead of Manchego cheese). Then we had shrimp sauteed in garlic and chorizo napped with pureed potatoes. Main dish was a paella Valenciana (chicken, rabbit, gigante beans, and haricots verts). Unlike at Ba-Ba-Ree-Ba, this paella did have crunchy soccarat on the bottom. They were pushing the "Paella in Space" (served on the Int'l Space Station, chicken with seasonal wild mushrooms) but nobody else in town is doing Valenciana. (We took home most of my half, after I ate the chicken wings and rabbit). Dessert was flan with whipped cream--probably the best flan I've had (I took a large spoonful and left the rest for Bob).
Brunch today was "egg in the hole." Bob came home early enough for dinner. The weather sucked too badly to walk to a restaurant and I spent enough time driving around Evanston grocery-shopping in the cold rain, so once in we wanted to stay in. Our HK is off tomorrow and we have fresh fish that needs cooking. She hates the way the kitchen smells the next day, so that's not a factor this time. Bob says he preferred walleye to Arctic char, so I adapted Geoffrey Zakarian's quasi-Puttanesca to it (he used chicken breasts, so why not firm white fish?). Seared the fillets in a cold pan sprinkled with salt, pepper & EVOO, encircled with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced mixed Greek olives. After the fish was nearly done, I removed it to a platter and tented it to carry-over cook. To the tomatoes & olives I added more EVOO, garlic, capers, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar (not balsamic) and Sicilian caper sea salt. I spooned it over the fish. On the side, I sauteed sliced fennel in butter, EVOO and flat champagne, with kosher salt, pepper and chopped fennel fronds. For Bob's starch, I reheated my leftover paella.
Next time I make it I may add onions & green peppers, if not eggplant.
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The builder invited is to stay on the property that we eventually will own. He is glad to have someone around at night so he doesn't need to lock up his tools so securely.
Dinner tonight was bean burgers.
It is "awesomely" quiet. :-)
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Great news Eric. So you're semi-settled for awhile. West of Flagstaff, right? Hope you don't have residual smoke from the wildfires. I bet you have a great view of the stars.
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East of Flagstaff.....
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Oh sorry, yes...That's what I meant.
Mae - saw on the drinking thread that you're stuck waiting for MDA again. Fingers crossed that the treatment decisions will not be too onerous.
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Brunch today was a guacamole BLT on high-fiber bread. Not sure about tonight--will depend on when Bob gets home and if he wants to go out.
I decided to trash the bacon grease, wash & dry the can, and start over.
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The leftover duck cassoulet-style.
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Dinner was homemade potato salad & two hot dogs. Yup - just the plain bun length Oscar Meyer kind. On squishy, cheap, white buns. With original Frenches bright yellow mustard. No redeeming value except the eggs & celery in the potato salad.
Tomorrow will be Raos with TJ's Italian flame broiled meatballs - served on Rummo Egg Nest Fettuccine.
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