So...whats for dinner?
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Carole, The house smells so good when bread is baking.
More snow and ice are on the way tomorrow evening. This winter is making up for the past few milder years.
Dinner tonight was creamy Italian sausage on penne. It used up the last of the spinach.
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Yes, the aroma of baking bread is part of the reward for making a loaf. It rose nicely and tasted delicious. We each had a slice spread with butter with our dinner of leftover Rao's and linguine with Italian sausage.
Your dinner is appealing to me, Maggie.
My kitchen experience yesterday included the discovery of a sizable puddle of water on the floor near the sink and dishwasher. The dishwasher had just finished a load. Underneath the sink was flooded. My first move was to get some towels for mopping up. I turned on the faucet in the sink and water gushed out of a joint in the curved pipe. This discovery came as a relief because I was afraid the leak was hidden. DH was unable to get down on the floor so he instructed me in reattaching the pipes and tightening the joint. It eventually held.
We went to Ace Hardware and bought a replace P trap (?) but haven't installed it. Eric, is your bag packed for a trip? LOL.
For dinner tonight I will try to make the chicken, spinach, pasta leftover dish more tasty with an addition or two.
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Oh Carole, so sorry on that mess. Hate house stuff (and human body stuff).
The duck is delicious. The breasts are naturally cooked through (vs. rare/medium-rare) but so tender, they literally melted in our mouth. The leftovers tonight. Added duck liver to my lunch salad, along with the heart. The potatoes, swimming in duck-fat….heaven.
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Carole - Oh my - the idea of you morphing to plumber!!! Wally - glad the duck worked so well.
Today was fried rice - with a base of Seeds of Change Brown Rice & Quinoa. I added sauteed onions, fresh mushrooms and water chestnuts then topped off with a dash of soy sauce & green peas.
The last four Royal Comice pears in the fridge will have to be turned into "pear sauce". I sure don't want to just toss them. Anybody have any tricks to add this dish?
79 degrees today. Sadly the prediction in NW Houston for next Wednesday is 24. I've already cleared most the dead plants from the beds - shrimp plants, blue plumbago, elephant ears, asparagus fern - so the new shoots are very vulnerable. Also I have kalanchoe blooming. Not to mention all the flowers on my Red Maple tree. Sigh!!!
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Carole, It's good that you could find the source of the leak and repair it quickly. It's hard to get plumbers and other repair professionals to come in a timely manner. Someone is finally coming to look at our malfunctioning propane tank on Monday (unless they cancel because of the snow.) Since Oct it can't be filled more than 45% necessitating weekly deliveries. Replacing the leaking regulator didn't fix it. The delivery guy keeps saying that if the problem is the tank they can't do anything until the ground thaws. I keep reminding him that if it's an issue with any of the accessible components it could be fixed now. Amerigas owns the tank (a local company sold out to them) so we can't deal with anyone else. Fingers crossed.
The creamy italian sausage is easy. 1/2 lb Italian sausage out of its casing, 1/2 onion chopped (could be left out), 1 clove garlic minced, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 to 1 cup cream, 3-4 oz trimmed spinach leaves. Cook the sausage in a skillet, add onion/garlic/red pepper flakes. Add cream and then spinach. Serve over cooked penne.
Wally, Did you put the potatoes in the slow cooker with the duck?
Minus, Pear sauce with ginger, honey and cider vinegar goes well with pork as does pear sauce with chinese 5 spice, cardamom and cinnamon. Adding cranberry or apples makes a good sauce for chicken or vanilla ice cream. I hope your plants survive the cold snap.
We are getting 8-12" of snow followed by 12 hours of sleet/freezing rain. Yuck!
Dinner tonight was stir fry chicken in mango and peanut sauce on rice.
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Thanks Maggie.
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Poached pears in red wine …very French. If you make them into a sauce, you can bake a cake, similar to applesauce cake.
Maggie, I did add carrots, onions, celery and the potatoes into the crockpot. Since i know crockpots are better at cooking meat than veggies, I microwaved the potatoes part-way to ensure they'd be done. Perfection.
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Thanks for the recipe, Maggie.
The enhanced chicken, spinach, pasta dish was delicious. I added some cream and sundried tomatoes. We also had a wedge salad.
Wally, glad your crockpot duck came out so good.
Dinner tonight may be barbecued pork made with a tenderloin.
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Minus - I really like this pear ginger chutney : place star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick cardamom pods wrapped in cheesecloth in a tight bundle. Then in the pot add onion, ginger, olive oil, diced pears, currants, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar. Cook till syrupy Yummy .
Made a new recipe yesterday, a white bean “meatloaf” it was quite good, with cannellini beans, carrots, onions, celery, flavored with ketchup, soy sauce, and breadcrumbs. Baked with a ketchup glaze. Vegetarian comfort food , fun for a change.
Maggie 8-12 inches of more snow, omg.
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The white beans meatloaf sounds very different and like a food I would eat. Not sure about dh. I'm a real fan of white beans. I would probably omit the onions in the meatloaf.
I went to Sam's Club earlier, thinking other people would be going to church. WRONG. I don't know who was in church. Stocked up on berries and pineapple and yogurt which have become staples. Couldn't pass up another rotisserie chicken since the last one came in handy for lunches and a dinner casserole. I did feel guilty when I put the carcass in the garbage, knowing Eric wouldn't approve. LOL.
I always use my Sam's app to scan my items and skip the checkout. Lately the employee at the door just waves me through. I stopped today to ask why he wasn't checking my cart contents. He pointed to the archway I had walked through and said it did the checking. AI. The world today.
A sunny windy day, 58 degrees.
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Thanks Rischaller & Wally for more pear ideas.
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…lost a post….
I'm okay with plumbing, but it's not my favorite. My mom was good with plumbing and didn't mind doing it.
My current (bad pun) project is wiring a 220 volt outlet for an air compressor. I've always laughed at the standard outlet for this…reminds me of an annoyed face.
It's been cold here, but no snow, which has Sharon disappointed (she has a season ski pass). The cold has been "soup time". Last night was pumpkin soup (pumpkin from a can) and "still warm from the oven" sourdough bread. I don't think we have had "store bought bread" in many years…even when we travel with the camper, we bake bread.
After seeing the post about duck, I noticed that the local market has duck….We have a "too big for most stuff" slow cooker that looks like it would be perfect for duck.
I wonder how "duck broth" would be. :-)
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Carole, It's amazing how a small addition like sundried tomatoes can improve a recipe.
Rhonda, I had never thought about making a mashed bean meatloaf but it's a really good idea since it can be sliced rather than scooped out of a pan.
Eric, If anyone could make good duck broth it would be you. The outlet looks like it’s singing.
We got the first 8” with the snowblower but the rest is sleet so it has to be shoveled. We’re running out of space to put the white stuff. The ski resorts were planning on a bumper week with fresh snow and MA school vacation but they are now warning about winds over 50 mph closing the lifts.
Dinner tonight was corned beef and cabbage.
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Had a couple of plumbing issues—last week the powder room sink wouldn't drain, the snake got stuck in the trap, and the plumber had to remove the escutcheon and get into the wall, where he found a rusted hunk of Brillo that'd been there for at least 20 years (maybe as much as 50). Today the toilet isn't flushing fast enough, so we won't use it for awhile…we have two others that work. Bob tried to go to the gym today but it was closed again…yet another burst pipe. (Speaking of which, Friday there was a burst water main just west of the Skokie/Evanston city line; there's still a boil-water order there. Closed down Skokie Hospital and the entire Old Orchard mall. Hundreds of flooded cars & homes too).
Fortunately, the flood & boil-order didn't stretch eastward enough to affect our V-Day dinner at the Alcove in downtown Evanston. Despite the snow, which lasted till almost 9:30pm, the place was crowded and the seating before ours ran overtime. Prix fixe menu began with apps, both of us getting roasted sablefish over yuzu-avocado mousse, with a dollop of caviar (CA white sturgeon) in a ginger dashi broth. The next course was fish: Bob had pan-seared striped bass over risotto with asparagus; I had pan-roasted halibut over mashed sweet potatoes withe Brussels sprout "petals." For the meat course we both had medium-rare tenderloin with truffle souffle and roasted carrots. For dessert Bob had a fruit Pavlova and I had a triple-chocolate mousse torte.
Last night was the "Eras Tour" anniversary tasting menu at Topolobampo (Rick Bayless). Each course was a nod to an event in each decade of the restaurant's history from its opening in 1989 (we went the first month!) through the COVID pandemic (takeout only, when each guest was given a kit of the mise en place for that night's dinner and a video on how to prepare it), Amuse-bouches (while we waited in the lounge for our table) were Salish oysters (in size, between Kumamotos & Olympias) with mild salsa and caviar; tortilla soup, a blue corn chip and a mini empanada.
First course was "Mariscos en Escabeche, la Caesar,"a riff on the Caesar salad Chef Rick felt he had to include that first year because it was the one Mexican dish (yes, invented in an Italian restaurant in Tijuana) with which everyone felt comfortable—but this time Chef de Cuisine Meagan O'Connor (who put her own spin on each of Bayless' dishes) made it with Little Gem instead of romaine lettuce, plus Maine mussels & Portuguese sardines & anchovies. Next was "Fideos al Chipotle,"(1995, Beard Foundation Chef of the Year, first Michelin star) was fideos (thin toasted noodles) in a chipotle sauce with celery root slaw, rutabaga simmered in sweet spices and shaved black Burgundy truffle.
Next, not on the menu, was a DIY taco (blue corn tortillas, crispy beef threads, guacamole, elotes). Third official course (2009, winning Top Chef Masters) was wood-grilled quail in hickory BBQ sauce over mashed butterbeans and Brussels sprouts braised in cider vinegar. Fourth official course, "Codorniz en BBQ" (2012, Order of the Aztec Eagle) was the meat course: lamb chop (I had the foie gras supplement, three "coins"), pasilla red wine chile sauce, crispy lamb sweetbreads, aged cheese potato pave, chewy olives. It came with mini flour tortillas to sop up the sauce,
Fifth official course was a transition between savory & sweet: "Beso de Oaxaca" (2017, Beard Foundation Restaurant of the Year), inspired by the Oaxaca ice cream Helados Chaguita: carrot-pineapple spice cake, white cheddar-carrot salad, topped with roasted carrot/coconut/pineapple sorbet.
Last course, a true dessert, was "Pastel de Crepas con Chocolate" (2020, a nod to the pandemic DIY takeout): 25-layer chocolate mousse crepe torte, which we topped with cocoa-nib-studded whipped cream and then hibiscus-poached sweet cherries. Finally, mignardises of guava jellies and dark chocolate chile truffles. We were sent home with a caramel "concha" (brioche) and a little bag of Mexican hot chocolate mix.
We got home at midnight (dinner began at 9 with the amuse bouches). I couldn't eat a thing till 4 pm today. Five prunes and the last third of a poppyseed hamantaschen from the bakery up the street for late lunch. Dinner is a handful of mixed nuts and that truffle (which I brought home).
Tomorrow night Rocket Slice, the kosher pizzeria, does its weekly Margherita—I hope they'll deliver because it'll be below zero (air temp, not wind chill). If not, I'll drive the four blocks…assuming my car starts.
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Sandy, That "Eras Tour" menu sounds delicious. What a tasty variety of foods!
Amerigas was a no show today. They are supposedly coming on Thursday now (according to the only people you can talk to located in the Phillipines) but I won't hold my breath. After shoveling the driveway in the dark last night I spent today chipping ice on the front walk. Maybe I should go work for Amerigas in the Phillipines, lol.
Dinner tonight was corned beef hash.
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Today's meal was a leftover Barbor's Stuffed Chicken breast and leftover new potatoes with lots of butter. Desert was See's peanut brittle. I'm getting closer to eating my way through leftovers.
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Last night I used up most of the carrots, celery, potatoes (from the duck dinner) with scrambled eggs.
Tonight, I used up the rest of the broccoli with udon noodles and shrimp in a sort of terriyaki udon dish.
Maybe mac and cheese tomorrow.
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Wow, Maggie, you must be in great shape with all that shoveling and chipping ice.
I cancelled my hair appointment today because I don't feel like venturing out. My head feels at least three times its size with a case of sinus congestion. My weather app has been warning me about high pollen counts.
Dinner last night was beef, veggie, noodle soup. Really good. I also have chicken broth from a rotisserie chicken carcass to make chicken noodle soup. I'm definitely in a soup frame of mind.
We're in for another hard freeze in a day or two. I really could do without it but nobody asked me about my preference.
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OK, I know I said I would try not to disappear…. but I had a good reason. Over the weekend that DH and DD went to PA to scout a new spot for her expo I decided to tackle a project that is way overdue. I still have the many trophies from both kids and their youth sports. I also had a bunch of little jerseys and hats depending on which sport. So, I matched the hat/jersey to the trophy and photographed them. My plan is to make them into little photo books like you can make online, which is far more space economical than the current box of stuff in the garage. I pried the nameplates off the trophies to save, and then tossed the blank trophies, and either donated or tossed the hats/jerseys depending on condition. I was to the end and working on taking off the faceplate of a plaque and the screwdriver slipped, and I impaled my right thumb on the corner of the metal piece. I checked when my last tetanus booster was (2006) and was also concerned because this is my LE arm and I have already dealt with cellulitis. So, I took myself to urgent care - got a booster, they cleaned and glued the wound, and gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic. I had a follow up visit scheduled for 48 hours later, on Wednesday. I went to that appt, all seemed well until late that night when I started coughing. You can guess what comes next…. Temp spiked to almost 103 F., lots of coughing, body aches, bad headache, etc. I went back on Sunday and was tested for strep, Covid, and flu. Diagnosed with Influenza A, but too late for Tamiflu to be of much use. Took about 48 more hours and DH had it too. We have been living on soup and random stuff from the pantry, not much appetite anyway. I think we have finally turned the corner, but this has not been fun. Now I am terrified of RSV and any other respiratory and will be masking when in public for sure. My stamina is not great but I assume that will return over the next short while.
I have some cooked chicken I need to use, will probably do chicken salad or a casserole of some kind.
On the freezing mushrooms convo - I do it often. I cook them in olive oil over high heat so they have some browned edges and all the moisture is cooked out. I usually skip the step of flash freezing them and just put them in glass bowls and freeze in an amount that is usable for one recipe. Works great.
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Oh Special, that sounds dreadful. Hope you're past the worst of it. We've had all our shots including rsv, but I know that doesn't make us immune. We're laying low only going to the grocery store and necessary doctor visits. This has been a horrible February weather wise so staying in is more attractive than going out for now. We're in the path of the Arctic blast so sub zero temps and snow are in our immediate present and future. Ugh.
I found a whole chicken in the freezer while foraging so tonight is roasted chicken and potatoes. Something green for contrast will be included - probably broccoli.
The soups sound delicious! I'm a fan!
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Special - OH NO. I too took all the plaques off my son's trophies and donated/tossed the rest. Fortunately I didn't cut myself. So sorry to hear about your back to back health issues. I'm definitely back to wearing a mask in crowds or at the medical center.
Texas has an outbreak of measles. I THINK that's red measles, but hard to tell. I'm too old to have had the MMR shot, but I have had & been exposed to both red measles & mumps. I was tested & have no immunity to 'german' measles and it's been on my list to get the MMR shot for several years. Woulda Shoulda Coulda….. I've put it off since I need to get the shot in my butt or hip due to lymphadema - and most pharmacies won't do that. But boy will I feel stupid if I catch measles.
Nance - Like you - I'm mostly staying home. We are also expecting below freezing temperatures this week - maybe even 22 in the NW suburbs where I live. That's so depressing since many of my plants are blooming with the 80 degree temps we've had the last few weeks. Hopefully we won't have more snow!!!
Eric - I LOVE that you always have homemade bread on your table. I need to plan some baking while it's cold enough to turn the oven on. Especially my Mother's whole wheat no knead bread.
Trying a Trader Joe's entree tonight that I had stashed in my freezer - Shrimp Boom Bah. I'll report back tomorrow.
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TJ's Shrimp Boom Bah report. If you like foods with breading (like fried shrimp or fried chicken) this is it. I pulled all the breading off the shrimp. The sauce was quite good.
Started lymphadema PT again today after a year. Swelling is mostly breast & chest with some pain, but arm & hand have also increased in size. I wear a compression "bra" every day 24-7. I'm emotionally fighting wearing a sleeve & gauntlet daily. Tomorrow is the dermatologist. I expect to have 8-15 lesions frozen as always every 6 months.
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Carole, Sinus problems are definitely no fun. I hope the steam from the soup helps you feel less congested.
Special, What a great idea to photograph the trophies and memorabilia to declutter but preserve the memories. I'm sorry that you ended up at urgent care and got the flu on top of that. This year's vaccine doesn't seem to be as effective as past years'.
Nance, I always mask and only eat at restaurants outdoors at slack times like 3:00 PM. The summer before last I got Covid eating lunch outside but it was crowded. I never realized how much socializing with others involves eating and drinking.
Minus, Sorry to hear the LE has flared up again. Hopefully PT can keep you out of a gauntlet. Mine is confined to the breast but rads got my lung, thyroid, esophagus and nerves including those between the ribs. The latest just this week is maybe my liver. That's a new one but someone on BCO had fibrosis in her right diaphragm. The scatter isn't supposed to cause problems but I'm an outlier.
Dinner tonight was chicken with mushrooms and artichokes.
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Special, yikes on that accident!! I'm hopeful you are on the mend. My sis in WI got the flu (fever, aches, coughing, blah, blah) and she's had covid at least twice. Knock wood for DH and I so far…but we certainly visit enough medical facilities that it is bound to happen. I had a dental cleaning yesterday and hope that didn't expose me to a lot of stuff.
Allergies…blech. Yet another reason I hate spring and summer. It hit 52 today and I just dread it all…is it October yet?
I did make mac and cheese tonight and we'll have leftovers tomorrow.
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Woke up to no heat and no water yesterday, and found out We had a major water main break in my town of Hoboken. Thankfully we had water by mid morning, but with a boil advisory which is now going into tomorrow as well. Heat thankfully was back on by early evening, had to wear a down vest all day. Our landlord called the plumber who had to come out and fill the furnace, we have steam heat and gas. We have distilled water for drinking, but boiling pots of water for dishes and hand washing. What a pain. So cooking very little, as we don’t have a dishwasher. Tonight was salad , green beans and tuna sandwiches. I’ve discovered a love of mayo now that I’m expanding my diet. Lol.
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Leftover mac and cheese. Maybe something Indian tomorrow.
Gonna hit 60s by the weekend. BLECH!!
Hope all those in the storm path are safe.
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Wally, You are welcome to my weather. We are still in the deep freeze with huge piles of snow. At least there has been no new snow for two days and the 50 mph wind gusts from the past few days have died down.
Rhonda, I'm glad you got your water back even if you have to boil it. This is not the time of year to be without heat. I often cook with avocado mayo since it has half the calories and good fats.
I got one of my crowns today. The other was not quite right and has been reordered. The dentist is using the bad crown as a temporary for the next three weeks. Hopefully it will stay on better than the original temporary which had to be reglued twice.
Dinner was leftover mushroom artichoke chicken.
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Rhonda, what a pain to have to boil water for all uses. Another "glad your heat was restored." Mayo is on the list of my favorite foods.
We had leftover soup for lunch. A different leftover soup for dinner with a ANOTHER wedge salad. We're addicted to those salads.
I was thinking I would cook chili but dh has a problem with digesting the beans and would prefer a chicken and sausage gumbo when he has PT the next day. I will need to buy the chicken and sausage today. We'll have chili when he doesn't have an appointment the next day. Beans don't seem to bother me. Maybe because I grew up eating red beans and rice frequently. DH's mother and his sister both had digestive issues so maybe it's hereditary. I read recently that cooking a carrot with beans lessens the gassiness. No clue whether that's true.
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Yesterday on the way home from the dermatologist (25 precancerous spots frozen) I decided to stop at Pappadeaux and pick up a shrimp cocktail. GIANT shrimp and they also included a full loaf of bread. Because I had a gift card & a rewards card, dinner was only $6.00 with leftovers for another meal. But I too am thinking about cold weather food. It was 26 last night - in Houston!!! It's struggling to get up to 30. Sure hope the sun comes out. Tonight will either be linguini with white clam sauce or Rao's marinara with spaghetti & meatballs. I'm considering making Special K's one step chocolate cake, but I would have to move from under a blanket in my recliner.
Mae - hope you are doing OK out there in your beach house in the mountains.
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I sure wish we could choose the weather we enjoy. DH and I were watching a PBS Nature episode on killer whales in the antarctic. Magical..and I thought to myself.."hmm, this must be the feeling people get when they see a sunny beach."
Trying to figure out what to do with my cauliflower …still in limbo.
I've read that epizote can help with "bean issues." Not sure if it works. Agree, the more beans you eat, the flora in the GI changes to accept it.
Maggie, good luck with the crowns. They are expensive and a royal pain when not "just so."
Minus, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM on shrimp. Sorry on the precancers. Out here, there are no derms to "just go to…" must have referral and precancer is considered "do nothing." ugh.
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