So...whats for dinner?
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yummo wish I was in Louisiana. Must be cold out, my furnace is running.....44 this a.m.
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Thanks for the b-day wishes!
carole - asiago, romano?
Today, while discussing details of the outdoor kitchen, DH and I discussed lighting in the kitchen. We have a bunch of recessed lighting, four of which we converted to pendants. I have never liked the cord that is visible that the pendant hangs from when you convert them, so we were brainstorming and decided on some changes. We are taking the pendant down from over the cooktop and putting the downlight small iron chandelier that is currently over the kitchen table there instead. Removing the pendant from over the sink and hanging a new fixture that coordinates with the small chandelier. Moving the dining room uplight chandelier to over the kitchen table. Removing the two pendants that shine on the floor and restoring them to regular recessed lights. Ordered a new large uplight chandelier for the dining room. Voila!
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Special, we have karma!!!! An agreement, that is to my liking, has been reached. We should have the Purchase&Sale done on Thursday with the huge amount of money done on Thursday. The children are wildly happy. Life is good!
*susan*
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susan - awesome! I was telling DH about our linked real estate karma - he was amazed! Good things for all - yay!
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Yay Susan, et al.......
Had dinner with our NH/Hingham friends and both of our younger sons at the Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth. We were all reminded of "back in the day" when our older sons were off "seeking their fortunes" and these two high school guys would spend summer weekends boating with us, and enjoying annual sports competitions with their dads. We had some good laughs over dinner. And the food was good. I enjoyed a baked salmon on a bed of arugulawith an aioli caper sauce, and because I had this yen for pasta, had a side of that in lieu of mashed potatoes....weird pairing but satisfied the yen! Pistachio gelato for dessert.
Okay, I made the weird pumpkin chocolate brownies. Definitely odd in terms of texture. Not sure I will bring them to the beach event.
Then once home tonight I made some Trader Joe's pumpkin muffins with walnuts.....not bad for a package mix, which I've never used to make pumpkin bread or muffins. In a pinch this is super quick!
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Thanks, SpecialK! Romano. Were you and your dh having cocktails when you solved your lighting challenge? LOL.
Sounds like a great evening and dinner, Lacey.
You make me blush, Sunshine!
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carole - no cocktails since it was in the morning, then again it was Saturday and we could have called it brunch... Lol! Glad I could help out with the cheese!
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I'm glad for the good real estate news Susan and Special.
We've had Sharon's cousin and husband at the house this week. We were escaping the summer weather at their house in upstate NY and they're enjoying the warm weather here.
Starting next week, for two weeks, I'll be shopping at a Maryland Walmart and cooking for one in the hotel kitchenette. I'm hoping that the middle Saturday or Sunday we will do a small pot luck -- BBQ.
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Wow - gone 10 days and it's taken forever to read the pages of posts I've missed. First - thanks to Susan & Lacey for hosting us in Boston. You all saw Susan's details of the delicious dinner. There was so much to talk about we barely scratched the surface. It was such fun - my first time to meet BCO friends. So maybe we'll all meet in Florida next year and I'll stop & pick up Carole on the way? Dreams... but who knows? Maybe we'll get to see Special's new kitchen in person. Bedo - sorry you were on call & couldn't make it.
Laurie - hooray for all your updates. So glad to see you posting again. We've MISSED you. Eric - speaking of pigs, how about Lord of the Flies? Lacey - so sorry you're sick but I 2nd the recommend for NeilMed Sinus Rinse - whether a Neti Pot or by spray bottle. I'm so jealous I missed La Boheme. Susan - fantastic news about the house. It sounds great & I'm glad you got some respect this time. Special - I'm probably due for another MOHS on my face next month. Hope you're healing well. Oh yes, & happy late B-day. Redhead - sorry about your Dad's situation. I hope you'll be able to find someone to spell you at regular intervals. Hi to everyone else I missed. I'm not great about going back & forth.
Just a quick trip review (can you tell I don't want to open my mail - bills - or unpack my suitcase??) My BFF & I spent a couple of days exploring Boston. We had some rain, but it wasn't too bad. Our Royal Caribbean cruise departed last Sunday with stops in Portland/Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, St. Johns NB, and Halifax NS. We had NO rain any of the 7 days. High winds & seas a couple of times, but nice fall temperatures. The leaf colors were better in Concord & Lexington than further North. Beautiful red maples. And for those of you who have not been on a cruise - FOOD. We had to rush to eat breakfast so we could start on lunch. We only had time to turn around and it was cocktails & appetizers, leading into dinner. All this was interspersed with receptions for one thing or another with MORE food. Some good desserts and wonderful sourdough rolls, but in spite of eating being the predominant activity, the food overall was just OK. Saw some fun shows, great lighthouses, lovely old churches, and we walked a lot. Had some good "chowda" at the Maine stops and passable lobster rolls in Canada.
Guess I'd better go do something responsible. Thanks again to Susan & Lacey. What a wonderful reception!!!
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So glad to see your "I'm home" post Minus. I have been thinking about you and am so pleased that the cruise went well! I, too, totally enjoyed meeting you and your BFF, and dining at that restaurant.
So, last night I posted what we ate at our dinner out. What I did not know then was that I would be stricken a few hours later with what seemed like a case of food poisoning. WOW! I think that has happened to me one other time in my life....and I hope it never does again. I was so sick for a few hours, and as you may know when one is "poisoned" the body tries to rid itself of it if it can....and mine did. Oy! Of course the unhappy upshot of this is that I was an observer at the lobster fest in an effort to not make my situation worse. The guys who do the cooking were very sweet and made sure I had a take out pan of lobster and king crab legs, which either DH or I will eat tomorrow, depending on how I feel.
Eric, I hope your Maryland stint is painless and fast moving. I'm sure your compatriots will be happy to benefit from your culinary creativity and generosity. Safe travels!
A lobster fest scene....perfect weather and almost peak foliage tho it looks less colorful in the pic
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Welcome home, Minus. Enjoyed your description of your trip. It sounds like you enjoyed yourself despite the absence of wow factor in the food.
Lacey, what a shame (a) that you suffered the horrible effects of food poisoning (capital
you couldn't enjoy the food at the lobster fest, a dream outing for most of us. You weren't feeling good prior to the trip to NH. I wonder if your stomach wasn't harboring a virus. Next year, maybe you should have me on standby as a proxy Lacey? LOL. I saw on the news this morning that still another type of Whole Foods cheese has been pulled because of the Listeria bacteria. This is the 3rd Whole Foods cheese with that deadly bacteria. Folks, we don't have Whole Foods but I would definitely avoid their cheese that they re-portion and sell under their own name. Particularly soft cheeses.
Dinner last night was "jump ups." Somebody's name for leftovers in past pages of our thread. Anybody remember who that was? Debbie from the west coat? I had a bowl of the eggplant hot dish and enjoyed it just as much as on Fri. night.
We still have the zucchini and ground beef with rice hot dish and white bean and ham soup my mother cooked and would have dumped. Actually she cooked white beans with a lovely ham bone and didn't like the way it turned out. I added tomatoes and turned it into soup. She seldom has successful cooking ventures now partly because she has difficulty standing. It's not easy to cook sitting in a wheelchair unless you're Paul Prudhomme and have a specially designed kitchen. So more jump ups tonight.
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Minus, Welcome Home! So pleased to hear that your cruise was not during a noreaster'. Boats and waves can be a lethal mix! I so enjoyed our time together in Boston. It was a special occasion to be sure. Lacey and I are lucky to have had this time together.
Oh Lacey. You just can't win lately between colds, respiratory crap and now food poisoning? Just doesn't seem fair at all. I know you will enjoy the leftovers, but fresh is always best. Such a lovely scene for the party.
Eric, safe travels North. I bet your boss is just beside himself.
Special, are you willing to share floor plans of your new outdoor kitchen? We are planning a new kitchen for the condo [swapping rooms around even] and need all the inspiration that we can muster.
Carole, very hard to cook in a wheelchair. My Aunt never mastered it, though with some adaptive tools, she was able to get her own glasses, silverware, etc and if people [children don't always remember this kind of stuff] put the things that she liked back on the lower shelves of the fridge, she could get some things to eat. My father did build a fully assessable bathroom for her.
Beautiful day here and I have to code all day long. _sigh_ I expect that we will have another serving of the beef stew for dinner with the leftover Amish noodles. They must be very hungry people since the serving size [I weighed the noodles] was easily enough food for at least two people, and I cooked two servings!
*susan*
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Lacey, oh no, not good at all! I'm so paranoid about food borne illness after DH's experience that I rarely get salads in restaurants, especially salad bars. Chicken preparation at home is followed by gallons of bleach on every surface and I've given up my beloved raw oysters (broiled is my new fave.) I even wash the outside of melons. I know some of this is irrational but like I said, I'm paranoid. I'm so sorry about the lobster fest but I think Carole is right -- you need a stand in (ME! ME!) Feel better soon.
Minus, welcome home! Sounds like a lovely trip. We've only sailed on Carnival and for the most part, I agree about the food. But I thought they did a remarkable job considering the number of people they have to feed and there are some really good options, such as the specialty restaurants.
Susan, congrats once again on what appears to be a successful real estate adventure. Can't wait to hear about the future improvements.
Safe travels Eric!
Carole, it sounds like you've brought a little bit of Minnesota home with you in your hot dishes lol!
No idea about dinner. Last night was the lovely roast Amish chicken, rubbed with a paste of olive oil, garlic, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, cayenne and Dijon mustard. I dry brined it so no extra salt. It was so delicious, I'm afraid it has ruined me for "store bought" birds. I also discovered they do fresh turkeys but you have to order them six months in advance, so I'm too late for this year :-(
I'm craving onion rings. What to go with them that's not a hamburger?
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OK, any time at all, I would love to have stand ins of Nance and Carole!
And I too am very careful about preventing food contamination opportunities in the kitchen. Always use a separate "board" for chicken prep which goes into the dishwasher, wash every green compulsively, and melons are washed as soon as they meet the kitchen! I sometimes wonder if my stomach needs be "toughened up" to handle some of the bacteria that exists beyond my polly pure kitchen!
I always consider it a small victory to remain well after eating restaurant salads.
That Amish chicken sounds so wonderful, Nance!
Susan, I love that you get to design a new kitchen! Just think! Maybe if you play (and win!) the lottery, you can design to your heart's content!! Does anyone win that much in the daily lottery?? Anyway, I hope you have a great time planning it! And please share...share...share!
DH and our friends are off golfing...pretty day for it....70s in NH. We'll take it!
I should muster up some energy for a walk.....
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Illinois is so broke that if you win more than 20,000 on a lottery ticket, t hey give you an IOU. I am not kidding.
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Nance, your Amish chicken sounds so appetizing. You should have had some of Susan's Amish noodles to go with it! Could you tell us a little more about the Amish noodles, Susan? I, too, am delighted at the thought of your designing your own kitchen. What fun for you! Will you have cabinets?
My mother got a good report at the appointment with the nephrologist today. Dr. Brown is my most admired doctor among the many I have taken my mother to see. She talks loud enough to be heard by aging ears and she has a gift for explanation. When I complimented her today, she attributed her ability to having been a nurse before she was a doctor. She always manages to sound upbeat and she exudes energy. Today she announced some interesting information on the thinking about bp. It has been concluded that low bp is not all it was cracked up to be. For people in their 80's and above, the desired bp is 140 over 90 or a little lower. For others, it's 130 over 85. And here I have been struggling to keep/get mine no higher than 120 over 80. It seems that low bp can result in shorter life span. Isn't that something?
Now if the experts would come out with advice to be 10 to 20 lbs overweight. I would be right there in the range.
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Haha, Carole, your suggestion about the advantage of being a bit overweight reminds me of the part of "Sleeper" when people discover that all the stuff that was supposed to be bad for us is actually good! Maybe the experts will really gratify us with that some day. But I am certainly disappointed to learn that my low blood pressure buys me no points! Glad your mother's report was good! Even more happy that she has a doc who is sensitive to her communication needs
Had pasta and meatballs (friend's), salad (mine) and a local orchard's delicious apple pie for dessert at our friends'. I have really escaped any cooking so far this weekend. So, if the lobster in the fridge is still fine tomorrow, I might just do something creative with that and the king crab legs tomorrow before we head home.
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lacey - sounds like you are feeling better, hope so! Food poisoning is not fun! I have had it twice, once after a date in high school - strawberry shortcake - still can't eat it, and once after a wedding. A number of the wedding guests got it, which I am sure was embarrassing for the bride and groom - all I remember was that my husband was a member of the wedding party so I went home without him but was so ill and DD was less than a year old, she kept waking up and I had to throw up while holding her because she was crying - and this was out of town so we were not home either! The worst!
auntie - the Amish chicken sounds yum!
susan - I am very willing to share the floorplan, but it is not really a "kitchen" since it just has the grill and no stove, it is more of an outdoor grill space. We have purchased a grill that is gas on the left and charcoal on the right, and we will have a sink, and a 4 cubic foot fridge. DH is angling for a beer tap, but so far I am holding him off. His birthday will take place during the build so I might surprise him with it. The structure will be clad with stacked stone and the counters will be granite that matches my granite in the house. You can see this space while standing in the indoor kitchen so I thought it should match. It is positioned in the covered corner of the pool cage at the farthest away point. We have a sitting area between the door from the house and where this will be located. The contractor sent a rendering but I am having some trouble attaching it - will see if DD can figure it out for me.
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Special, that sounds like such a fun project and space to have. I am always impressed with how much use DS1 and his family get out of their outdoor kitchen space for entertaining by the pool. Next time I am there, I will have to notice all the appliancesAnd with your weather you will get more than six months worth of use.
Also, I was horrified reading your food poisoning experience. You feel so vulnerable and out of control when that happens, I can't imagine the added stress of needing to care for someone in the process. Lordy! In fact, this weekend, as sick as I was, I was so consciously comforted by the "other room" middle of the night presence of DH and DS2 who continued to ask what they might do to help me. I can see why you recall vividly what you endured with the poisoning after that wedding. Yikes!!
I just went thru my whole NH kitchen (now I'm glad that it is pretty small) to cull outdated foods and sort what can be safely left in the fridge in case we come up this winter (unlikely...I hate the idea of creating ice dams if there is snow on the roof, which would partially melt when we heat up the house). As annoying as this organizing job is, there is always satisfaction in having it done! And this year, I have added notes on my iphone about what I must replenish for the next time we come up, so I feel quite organized.
DH shelled "my" take out lobster and crab legs, so we will do something with that meat for early dinner. I may try some, but I'm still pampering my stomach...tho did fine with a little of my friend's non spicy spaghetti dinner last night.
Later, after cleaning, we close up and head home. Am envying folks who can just hitch the RV/living space up to a truck, and no need to keep opening and closing up. But really do love being here between work efforts! It's almost too bad to leave since we are getting closer to peak foliage now....late this year. Beautiful!
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lacey - in addition to DD being less than a year old, I also had DS who was 2 - but could at least understand. Unfortunately, DH was one of the groomsmen and had a significant amount to drink, so he was pretty useless, lol! I did make him drive home with both kids though - even though he had a hangover, as penance. I drove alone with some Sprite and saltines. I am excited about the outdoor project - we will get 12 months of use - there is no time of year here that would keep us from using it - so it seems like a good investment, but this will be a modest effort - I have seen some very deluxe ones here. I was pretty surprised about the variation in cost from company to company, but I am happy with our choice - reasonable and a super nice guy. Hitching the house to a truck would be great - have you seen any of those shows about mini houses, where you can actually do that? Both of my kids need one of those - they seem to be a bit nomadic - it would be perfect for them!
Today was a baking day - I made cupcakes and cranberry/orange muffins for the bake sale at the Women's imaging center attached to my BS office - and took some variations on Halloween pumpkin decorated cupcakes to my hairdresser. She is doing a baby reveal party for her sister on Halloween - so she wanted cupcakes that were either pink or blue in the middle and looked like pumpkins on the outside. I did six different looking ones but she liked the ones that look like this. These are not mine but looked similar except that I used a pretzel stick for the stem:
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CUBS WIN---- I knew there was a reason I had ballpark hotdogs for lunch!!!!!!
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Mr. 02143 picked me up from a long, and tiring client meeting tonight and off we went to dinner. I had forgotten to make a reservation and then wasn't sure I wanted a "special" dinner... cause today I turned 57. I made it to another year! Unlike SpecialK, at this point, I want my family to pay attention! I have never asked for much on b-days, but my outlook has changed. Now, I don't want strangers to sing. I don't want business colleagues to know. But, I do want to mark these days with those that actually matter to me.
We over ordered... I have food for at least two more meals.
*susan*
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ET (evil twin) will be excited about the Cubs win. :-)
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Susan, a very happy birthday to you! Enjoy these moments indeed. There are few holidays I personally care about (Thanksgiving being the exception, since it revolves around food and family), but birthdays require special attention in my world. So celebrate!
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SK, cute cupcakes!
Tonight wasn't exactly leftovers, more like a redux. Sunday I made chicken stock and dumplings to go along with the baked chicken. I made the stock from necks, wings and backbones from the new chickens, along with some parts I had stashed in the freezer. It was delicious -- the dumplings, not so much. So I decided to keep the stock, discard the dumplings and make new ones. These were way more successful so I added a large chicken breast to make it more of a main dish meal and we enjoyed it with some sliced tomatoes from the garden.
We are expecting temperatures in the 30s by the weekend so I expect that will do it for the tomatoes. I will be quite sad because they've been wonderful this late in the season.
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Yay, Cubs!!!!! I would not have bet 5 cents on their beating the Cardinals. DH really enjoyed those winning games. He has been a Cubs fan for many years.
Happy Birthday, Susan. 57 seems so young to me. I loved my 50's and was fortunate not to be dx'ed with bc during that decade.
Lacey, I learned this fall that not hitching up the camper involved a lot more work than hitching up the camper and towing everything home.
Dinner tonight was crappie fillets from MN. They were delicious. I heated the oven to 400 degrees and also heated a pan with butter in the oven while it was coming to temperature. I seasoned the fish and plopped the fillets into the hot butter. They were tender in a matter of minutes. The side was steamed yellow squash and a salad for dh.
I will be buying a half pig grown in MN. It will cost about $100 and be about a hundred lbs of pork. The processing will be about $75. It will be transported to TX and we will have to drive there and pick it up. The farmer is the FIL of the owner of Pine Hollow Resort. I'm not sure what breed of pig it is. That's a lot of pork for two people. I will have to cook many pork Sunday dinners!
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Susan - HAPPY B-DAY. By all means, celebrate. Make it last a week if you can. I've started treating myself to some small thing I've been wanting.
Dinner Sunday night was grilled cheese (Jarlsberg) and last night was a tuna sangy because I still hadn't made it to the store yet and the fridge was empty. But since I was catching up on sleep for 10-12 hours a day, I didn't really care. I did manage to buy produce & milk today and a rotisserie chicken, but ended up just eating some slices from the fresh loaf of Ciabatta bread. I must say, the sourdough rolls on the cruise were great and the butter was very good. I ate 3 rolls every night. And yes, I did gain 10 lbs that will have to be worked or dieted off somehow. Normally I only eat one meal a day, and a very small supper like salad or soup or apples only. Three meals a day plus appetizers and dessert was a killer.
Nance - sorry to hear about the end of the tomatoes. We didn't get many this year. Too wet and then too hot. I came back from the lovely fall temperatures up the East coast to 88 degrees & today was 92.
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As a die-hard Cardinals fan, I'm heartbroken about their loss. But even so, it's hard not to feel at least a little happy for the Cubs and their fans. They've waited a long time and deserve to enjoy the moment!
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I'm only a few days post op so hubby is cooking. Being spoiled rotten
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Susan - Happy Birthday - my October sister! I am so happy you had a nice dinner with extras for later! You are right about celebrating with the ones that matter!
Tonight was a taco salad with chicken. We have a BJ's membership club right down the street and they offered a free 60 day membership, so I took it and went the other day and bought a LOT of chicken breasts, with skin, on the rib. Roasted them and finally got around to pulling all the meat off - so used some in the taco salad for tonight. Also, made a green salad with chicken and veggies for DD to take to work, and made regular chicken salad (with onion/celery/mayo/parsley) for DH's lunch tomorrow. Chicken, chicken, chicken!
I am sad for the Tampa Bay Rays to lose coach Joe Madden, but it looks like the Ray's loss is the Cub's gain! Can't help but be happy for their success, long overdue. I always root for St. Louis because I was actually college friends with Ozzie Smith, and he was such a longtime player there, but I'm feelin' the Cubs.
smurfette - glad you have a hubs that spoils you!
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