So...whats for dinner?
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Look for Olathe corn. It's like eating straight heaven. In Houston, some of the Kroger's have it - but apparently the crop was seriously curtailed by drought this year. Olathe sweet corn season began mid-July and will continue through September, or until the first freeze occurs. I was only able to find a few ears at my Kroger this week. They were kind of ratty looking but I snapped them up & cut the kernels off the cobs to freeze. You're close to Colorado so hopefully one of your stores will carry that.
Looking forward to Central Market's Hatch Chili festival. They started last week in Austin & San Antonio, but won't start until Monday in Houston. My very favorite, available only there, Hatch Chili Scones.
Eric - my favorite cousin has lived in Taylor for 50 years where her husband was a school teacher/principal until he retired. If you need a recommend for anything - let me know.
Dinner was (finally) Braised Korean Potatoes. Oh my goodness they are SOOOOO good. And the house smelled like heaven for hours afterwards. I'm going to try the same ingredients & method with Brussels Sprouts to see how close they come to Eddie V's delightful treatment of that vegetable.
Also made a new Spicy Chinese Cucumber recipe which is marinating until tomorrow. Along with a three bean salad - also marinating.
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My singing partner & I used to play a "French market" in the suburbs, which in the Chicago area is a summer Saturday morning farmers & craft market series set up at commuter rail stations. One year, someone came over with samples of bi-color corn on the cob so sweet you could eat it raw! Another year we played the Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie, WI (just n. of Madison). We got paid $400 and all the corn we could haul home at the end of the day. His wife's allergic, so I ended up with 24 ears--i had to go up & down the block giving them away to neighbors.
Last night we went to L. Woods Lodge & Tap, a Chicago reimagining of a WI north woods "supper club" (knotty pine paneling, chandeliers made of antlers, trophy fish mounted on the walls, huge portions of very plain food, etc.). Not quite authentic, as there was no relish tray--a real supper club puts out next to the bread basket a little appetizer tray of cubes of Swiss cheese, pitted black olives (canned, of course), celery & carrot sticks, radishes and cottage cheese. And most supper clubs always had prime rib on the menu--L. Woods does it only on Sat. nights. We split a spinach/avocado/romaine salad. Bob's entree was a BBQ chicken & baby back rib combo with creamed spinach; I had "simply broiled" whitefish with homemade tartar sauce & steamed broccoli. Wanted walleye, but theirs was "almond-crusted:" when I pressed the waiter, he admitted it was breaded ahead of time. (Likely frozen, too). The whitefish was delicious. I had not planned to enjoy, merely endure, dinner so I was pleasantly surprised.
Today was our block party. For the brunch, I made my usual Caprese over arugula, with 2 storebought heirloom tomatoes and 2 homegrown beefsteaks, mozzarella, and homegrown basil. Dressed it with a drizzle of DOP Balsamico, blood orange EVOO, and Sicilian orange sea salt. Walked it over to the middle of our double block, went back home to get my chair and a couple bottles of bubbly--and by the time I got back there was ONE slice of tomato & mozz. left! I snagged it. Fortunately, there were three kinds of deviled eggs, prosciutto & melon, berries, and even a frittata instead of the usual quiche. So I didn't have to feel deprived or even look at the yummy baked goods on the table. At dinner time they grilled veggie burgers, cheeseburgers, & hot dogs--I brought my last two keto buns and had a cheeseburger and a hot dog. Skipped the "make-your-own-sundae" bar (and even Bob decided he'd had enough calories from the bubbly we'd brought). When we got home to feed the cats (didn't want to stay for the movie, which was some direct-to-video animated kid-friendly flick), I nuked my leftover broccoli, thereby feeling somewhat virtuous. Dessert was a couple handfuls of nuts.
Bob's working tomorrow, and it's gonna storm. Think I'll sleep in till it's time to feed the kitties.
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Eric, you have to have the Safeway app to get the corn. The app gives you deals that aren't run in the weekly ads. Also Snowflake will have their sweetcorn soon. They used to have a sweetcorn festival every year, looks like it's been canceled. But you can also go right to the farm for the corn. Hatch Farm, 700 E Love Lake rd Taylor, AZ 85939. Be careful if you are getting corn from a corner vendor. Some bring in corn from other places and say it's Taylor sweet corn, and it's not. That's why I only go to the farm. They have other stuff you can buy too.
As for gardening, you can pretty much grow anything. It's getting the soil good that can be the problem. Lots of amending, no nutrients in the dirt up here!
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carole - your comment about being uninspired made me laugh, as did the observation about struggling to read the WAPO article about how to get inspired!
On that note, I will say that dinners here have been convenience based rather than haute cuisine lately. DH has had late in the day taskers and has been getting home late. When he is busy he sometimes brings his lunch home and eats it for dinner, so I usually don't start something until I have determined that status - or whether he is hungry. He also sometimes eats his lunch at 3pm, because that has been his first opportunity and isn't super hungry when he gets home. Those end up being salad nights! Last week I did make him a romaine salad with large shrimp and a Louie dressing - echoes of the Crab Louie convo! That is an easy quick meal since I always have frozen cooked tail-on large shrimp - I just thaw them and pinch the tails off. DH had smoked a Boston Butt for pulled pork - it was a huge one so I had frozen quite a bit of that meat. Easy to serve it over a baked potato with BBQ sauce and Ranch drizzled over last week too. DD's birthday was Tuesday, but she had quite a fiasco on her way home from work that evening - she was almost home, driving her brand new Tesla, and she was t-boned by a guy who ran the light. He hit and ran, but she chased him. That is just who she is - are any of us surprised? She followed him long enough to relay his tag to the 911 operator, who then admonished her to go back to the scene of the accident immediately and stop chasing him. The guy stopped at one point and came to her window, but when he saw the damage he caused to both of their cars he got back in his car and took off again. His tag was a temp, and was expired, who knows if he has insurance, his car was trashed, but hers did pretty well because he hit her wheel rather than the car's body. The police know who he is though, and she is going to have to be able to identify him in a line-up. The good news is neither was injured, and she has uninsured motorist coverage. Ugh. She was so upset, she just got the car in July. In the bright spot of the day I did surprise her at work earlier in the day with a box of fancy cupcakes and got to meet all her co-workers. We had her b-day dinner the following night - pork chops, broccoli with caramelized onion cheddar cheese on top, and fried rice made with riced cauliflower and red peppers, bacon, and green onions. I made her a keto cake - the cake layer was actually very good, but the frosting had the Swerve aftertaste. I think if I made it again, I would just dust it with powdered sugar since it was densely chocolate like a flourless cake. I used almond flour instead of regular AP flour. I could also try a ganache frosting that is chilled and then whipped. Things to consider for next time. Last night we had Caulipower linguine with meat sauce that I added sauteed baby bella mushrooms to, and a small green salad with creamy Italian dressing. I have some chicken breasts thawing now, DH and DD are paddle-boarding and boating up at Rainbow River with DH's former boss who stayed local after retiring. DD has spent quite a bit of time with his family as she is friends with his daughters, so the three of them will have fun today. They always go to the same restaurant (DD can tie up the boat there) and today I think they will have patty melts and the restaurant's legendary sweet potato fries, so depending on what time they do that dinner may not happen at all, lol!
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The Snowflake Chamber of Commerce shows the Sweet Corn Festival as being on Sept 3, 2022. I'll have to call them to check if it's really happening. As for the soil, I was guessing that would be an issue.
Special. I'm glad DD was not hurt. Still, that is upsetting, especially a hit & run where the "runner" knew what happened. Hopefully they get "nailed".
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Leftovers tonight but instead of carrots, corn on the cob.
RIP Olivia Newton-John. Stupid cancer.
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Wallycat, I loved your post about Catherine Deneuve. I’m with you and her—it’s not good to be too thin.
I was sorry to hear about Olivia Newton-John as well. She didn’t want to be considered a victim. I think that’s a healthy perspective.
Tonight, I made small portions of a Costco steak (pan seared and then finished in the oven), nothing fancy, just salt and pepper with a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses, but so good!I used the Basmati rice that I made over the weekend with onion, garlic, cardamom, a pinch of turmeric, and a cinnamon stick as a side dish along with a salad.
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To put Olivia Newton-John's death into perspective, she was a 30-yr. bc survivor, going 25 years before recurrence. I don't know what kind she had (likely ER+ IDC, but not sure of HER2 status, nodes, stage or grade at first diagnosis). The real tragedy was that she was diagnosed so young, which indicates her cancer likely had a more aggressive prognosis and that she defied the odds for so long.
We also lost historian David McCullough; and for those of us who came of age in the dawn of the folk-rock era, Judith Durham of the Seekers died today of COPD & emphysema at 79. To paraphrase the hook of her biggest hit, we know we'll never find another her.
Back on topic. Dinner was leftover chicken & a riblet, supplemented with veggies (green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccolini).
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We went to Clancy's last night for meatloaf Monday. DH enjoyed his meatloaf dinner and I enjoyed a brisket grilled cheese sandwich that comes with fried onions and barbecue sauce on the sandwich. I omitted the onions and had the barbecue sauce on the side. I would definitely order this sandwich again. Brisket is one of my favorite meats.
Tonight's dinner will be a pork roast stuffed with chopped green onions and garlic and cooked in the small slow cooker. Side will be carrots a veggie vendor at the farmers market gave me. She said, "These are to die for."
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Hi all
Yes it's been a sad few days here with Judith Durham and Olivia Newton- John both passing away. Just watching Grease now as they have it on TV tonight. I went to the bank yesterday to sort out my accounts and the lady that served me also has had breast cancer and still goes to the hospital that I go to for treatments. It seems to be everywhere !!!
The weather was freezing today so had soup and chicken and vegies for tea.
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No perspective necessary on a breast cancer (or any cancer) death. Cancer is indiscriminate, unfair and cruel. Period.
Have a small piece of venison left; DH is thinking we should dice it up, add BBQ sauce and make "sloppy joes" of sorts.
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wally - my MIL & FIL ate venison often - FIL was a deputized game warden and would cull the resident deer on the island where they lived in SC. Prior to his moving there in '89 and requesting the deputization, they had an annual deer shoot - which consisted of a lot of drinking amongst the folks with the guns. As more houses were built on the island that became a lot more dangerous! Because he managed the herd in a responsible way, they almost always had venison in their deep freeze. For smaller pieces my MIL often ground it and made chili or sweet and sour meatballs. I made copies of all of my MIL's recipes for her five children, and I just went and counted - she had 17 deifferent recipes using venison, lol!
Last night was supposed to be chicken breast with green chilies and cheese, but DH was not hungry due to a late lunch. I made it anyway because the thawed chicken needed to be cooked. Will reheat tonight with brown rice and creamed spinach as sides.
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Last night was grilled cheese sandwiches and (boiled for 1 minute) corn on the cob. About 30 minutes before we started dinner, the storm started and soon the electrical service failed. Power was out for 8 hours. This was the second 6+ hour outage in the past 7 days and the third 6+ hour outage in the past two weeks...so we are used to it.
We're seriously considering a whole house solar system. :-)
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Eric, do you have a generator? I'm totally off grid, so no power outages for me. I hope you were able to stay cool at least.
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We have a small generator up here that can run the refrigerator, the microwave oven and some lights. It won't run the well pump. I have a larger generator that will run most of the house, including the well pump. It will eventually get up here.
It was cool enough that we didn't need the A/C.
As I mentioned, I'm considering getting my propeller hat out and setting up enough solar setup to run all but the water heater and stove....after the garage construction is complete...one project at a time. :-)
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Yes, one thing at a time! I also have a generator, just in case. It comes on every Sat. for 15 minutes, just to keep it going. My hot water is "on demand". No AC, just a swamp cooler. Good luck with all of it.
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This is the second time I've heard "swamp cooler." What is that?
The sloppy-joe tweak to the last of the venison was great.
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Wallycat, it's also called "evaporative cooler". It has a large pad in it, water runs over it to get it wet and then it blows air from outside through that wet pad, creating cool air. I can get my house in the low 70's when it's 90 out. Does not work as well if it's humid, hence they won't work in "humid" states, such as Florida. It also uses much less electricity than an AC, which is good since I'm on solar. No power grid where I live.
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I started to answer, but saw that Goldie already answered.....
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Thanks!
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I doubt Special would be using a swamp cooler! :-)
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We visited an aunt in Lake Havasu who had a swamp cooler. That was the first time I had heard of them. Quite a few years ago. The aunt is now deceased.
The stuffed pork roast cooked in the slow cooker was/is so tender that it broke apart as I removed it. I warmed up a little bowl of barbecue sauce for dh since we had to toss the jar of applesauce. The side of carrots was tasty. I steamed the "coins" until almost cooked and then added butter and browned the coins slightly.
I will remove the fat layer from the pork drippings and use it as gravy with the pork leftovers.
The oven does a better job cooking a pork roast but in the absence of a house oven, the slow cooker is convenient.
We had solar panels installed on our house a few years ago (I would have to look up the date, maybe 6 years). Our electricity bill has been zero since. We get credit for any unused electricity generated.
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Definitely no swamp cooler in FL! I grew up with one in Los Angeles though - in the house my parents built in 1959. After I left for college they put in central AC. They had a typical mid-mod house with no ceiling space for ducts so it was a project. The next-door neighbor - one of the only originals still living on the cul-de-sac - still doesn't have AC! They could use the ductless Mitsubishi type, it would be so much easier - but they are kind of unattractive up on the wall... The solar panel salespeople call me every week, and come knock on the door periodically. With way my house is positioned on the property and the roof shape there is nowhere to place the panels that I won't see them, I live on a corner lot and the house is L-shaped. I have been unwilling, so far, to mess with the aesthetic, but DH will retire next year and we will have to see how the funds shake out - it would be nice not to have an electric bill. We run AC more than six months out of the year and my solution has been to use the electric company budget plan that makes the bill the same amount each month instead of low bills in the winter and sky high ones in the summer.
Dinner tonight may be a pork tenderloin with sweet potatoes, and probably roasted broccoli so I can do a sheet pan dinner.
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The house next to us has solar panels and I often wondered how expensive it was to install to offset the PUD/electric bill. Maybe something to think about with the new inflation reduction/climate change bill that will be signed, if there's a decent rebate. I personally do not care if they are curb-appeal worthy or eye sores, I care about saving money and the environment/climate stuff. DH, not so much.
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My singing partner & his wife live along a creek on the outskirts of Madison, WI. His BIL is a contractor and installed solar panels on the roof and a mini-turbine in the yard. They, too, pay no electric bills and sell their excess energy back to the power company. But in those cold WI winters they have a small gas furnace because they wouldn't be able to generate enough electricity to both power & heat their home.
Tonight Bob went to a drug co. talk (about Jardiance) at Ditka's steakhouse--and brought back a boneless NY strip dinner (as well as his own leftover steak). There were several no-shows, so all the doctors got to bring home dinners if they wanted to. It came with mashed potatoes & green beans, so I had just the veg with 1/3 of the steak. Tomorrow night I will reheat everything, as well as pan-sear some fresh NJ bay scallops (smaller than sea, but larger than the tiny Asian scallops most places sell). I'd meant to make some ceviche last night when they were fresh (flown in that morning) but I didn't have any jalapeños or serranos and didn't feel like doing it just for myself, so I grilled a grass-fed kosher hot dog on a keto bun with sauerkraut, along with four shishito peppers--all of which turned out to be quite hot. (Only 1 in 10 is supposed to have heat). I will also reheat some more green beans & Brussels sprouts from Whole Foods, as well as make a tomato-basil salad (plenty of protein so no need for mozzarella) from one of my nice ripe homegrown Big Boy beefsteaks. For brunch tomorrow, make guac from half an avocado that needs mashing, and put it on low-carb toast topped with an egg.
I've settled into a 16/8 intermittent fast pattern, no carb-cheating, but no results either. At least I've stopped regaining, though. Maybe that's the best I can hope for.
Good grilling & patio eating weather through Sat. night. Flip side is that we need to water the lawn & plants daily.
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There are some incentive programs here in FL for solar, and quite a few homes in my development have the panels. Not sure if there is also a federal tax credit since it is something - like new windows - that make your home more energy efficient. If we purchase property large enough in CO we have discussed doing a solar "farm" behind the residential structure(s).
Dinner last night did not turn out to be the tenderloin and sweet potatoes. I had a single NY strip that had been in the freezer for a while, so I took it out and cooked it in a hot pan on the stovetop, then sliced it. DH had black bean soup with the sliced steak on top, some goat cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and scallion. I used half the steak for his dinner last night, the other half is a repeat of the dinner for his lunch today. I ended up just having a green salad.
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Sandy, not gaining IS a result and congrats to you on the progress and finding a "groove' that works for you. I am also sort of not gaining but not losing, either. With fishing season, our meal plans are all over the map. I sometimes bring a large snack to the beach and skip dinner if fishing is in the evening. It is frustrating, I know; for me as well.
Made nachos last night. Tonight will be some sort of vegetarian Indian dish. I have cauliflower to use up.
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We've been on solar for over 20 years. Back in the day, when we got ours, there were no "incentives" and I can't sell back to the power company, since we are off grid. And it was quite expensive. I think we paid like $50K. DH just bought new batteries before he passed, 4 new ones, about $10K ea., replacing the 24 we had previously. Heating the house is a pellet stove. We have a propane fireplace in the bedroom for if we need it, but that is not very often. Stove and dryer are propane as well. The dryer rarely gets used, as I hang most stuff. We have our own well, water is pumped up to cisterns on a hill, so it's gravity fed. You should have seen DH and I rolling these HUGE things up a steep hill!
I had to use up the hamburger I bought, so I made goulash and ate that last night and night before. Still lots left, I may freeze it and hope that it freezes well!
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Arizona also has some tax incentives for solar. Since I can do most of that kind of work myself, the total cost would be quite a bit lower than a "professionally installed" system.
Last night I baked another whole chicken. I'm slowly getting close to the "good as is" category for brining a chicken. Fortunately the chicken prices are coming back down. For awhile they were high enough that I wasn't bothering to buy any until the red "manager's special -- 1/2 off" stickers appeared on the package. It only gave me a day to cook them, but that was OK.
I must have not refreshed the display of this thread before I posted. To put the house on solar here, I would either need to do a lot of gas and vent line plumbing (the stove, water heater and clothes dryer are electric) and replace some very new appliances or do a hybrid system where the "big stuff" stays on grid while the rest of the stuff goes to solar. Around here, if we hung clothes up on the line, everything would be rust colored.
My initial goal is to get the well pump, some lighting and the refrigerator onto something more reliable than the utility power......
This isn't much different than when I grew up. Back then, we were always having power outages...but most happened on payday night when power poles would jump out in front of unsuspecting marines driving home from the bar/tavern.
The story behind the above....I was in the car with my dad and we saw a car crash into a power pole. Dad stopped and he, using the tone of voice developed over 30 years in the marines, told the person (a young marine) to stay in the car until the power lines had been pulled off of his car. The young marine, in a not quite completely sober voice, "Sir. I don't know what happened. It just jumped out in front of me."
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Obviously we don't have swamp coolers in Houston either - but both of my houses in Albuquerque had them. The pork sounds good. I'm trying to eat what's in the fridge before I dig into the freezer - where I have a pork loin and a tenderloin. I have no plans to go to the store this week so it could get interesting. And yes Special, I have 3 NY steaks from Costco.
Dinner tonight was sauteed asparagus, 2 little Baby Bell cheese 'balls' and leftover 3 Bean salad. Tomorrow I MUST eat a green salad. As soon as I clear some of the fresh stuff, I'll make Lacey's cod recipe with Raos. And then Naan pizzas with more of the Raos.
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