So...whats for dinner?
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auntie - good to see you, glad your dad is hanging in, but so sorry about your struggle to get off Effexor - you should definitely have been warned about the difficulty. My SIL was on it and she had a really hard time too. Other SIL was considering it for menopausal issues and she was warned off by that SIL. I can't take Aleve at all, I seem to be better on the enteric aspirin but I also made sure to eat when I took it. I'm ok on Advil if I eat, and fine on Tylenol.
susan - looks great! Thanks for the pic
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Nance - thanks for checking in. Glad your Dad is OK. Sorry for your withdrawal struggles.
Susan - gorgeous spread. Of course we would have expected nothing less. Did you family at least visit at the church?
I need to email Lacey again to see if she can check in. Perhaps they are up at the lake already?
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Susan, your spread looked (and doubtless tasted) better than the buffet at Bob's 50th HS reunion last night: pretty much generic green salad, white dinner rolls, green beans, roast spuds, chicken piccata (which looked as if it had been cut into slabs from the world's largest chicken and was disconcertingly tender to the point of mushy), and soggy tortilla-crusted tilapia. Dessert was a plain yellow sheet cake with "Happy 50th Reunion, Van Buren HS" in red icing on white frosting, with--I kid you not--chocolate pudding between the layers. Yup: not mousse, pudding!
Went out for forgettable brunch (blah omelets, so-so BLT that was mostly iceberg, unripe tomato and chopped bacon) at a quintessential suburban NY diner, because it was there and everyone felt sentimental about it. Then we visited everyone's parents' graves (mine, Bob's, and his two friends') in three cemeteries--two here in Pinelawn (Suffolk County) and two all the way west in Flushing. After we said our goodbyes (one of Bob's friends was dropping the other off at home and then taking his 102-yr-old mom out for Armenian food--which is probably how she got to be 102), It was way too late to drive all the way east to the North Fork and get to any of the wineries before closing time. Bob & I didn't want to go into the city or Brooklyn to try to park near something hip & trendy; we didn't want another steakhouse, nor a chain (at least not one we have back home). But we don't have Legal Sea Foods in the Midwest, so we started back east toward Roosevelt Field mall to eat there--and then Bob remembered our favorite Belgian restaurant, Waterzooi, in Garden City. So we went there instead. Started by sharing "Duck, Duck, Goose" (seared foie gras with duck confit and gooseberry gelato) and then the Sunday prix fixe of a salad (bleu d'Auvergne, candied pecans, & pears on greens) and our choice of mussels preparations--we picked farmhouse ale & bacon. Dessert was chocolate mousse and a shared bottle of cherry lambic.
Nance, I hear you about the Effexor. 20 yrs. ago after they released me from rehab for surgery for a shattered tibia, they switched me from Redux which was just pulled from the market to Prozac, which no longer had the weight-loss effect for which I'd started taking it 10 yrs after weaning off my antidepressant as I recovered from PPD. Effexor did nothing for depression, but plunged me into nausea & jitters--and withdrawal from it gave me anorexia. When I went back on Prozac and could finish a Filet-o-Fish sandwich, it was a red-letter day. Between the Effexor and having to use a non-wheeled walker (basically bench-pressing my body weight in order to get from room to room) I had dropped four dress sizes. I would kill to be that weight again. My appetite got robust again, so I was switched to Wellbutrin, which I take to this day. Without it, what little self-control I do have would be gone.
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minus - I hope all is ok with lacey, and am a bit worried about her DDIL's dad with the lung cancer. If you message her, please let us know how she is.
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Last night I made an Indian food meal. Same ole' same ole'. Samosa meat with lamb, red lentils with garlic and some basmati rice. But last night, I added a sweet potato masala which was pretty darn good! I found this recipe on an ex-pat [Indian, obviously] website and I suspect though sweet potato is not very traditional in India, those who have moved to the US find it to be an affordable option. There is enough leftover for at least 2 more meals. We are only committing to one additional meal so far.
Weather couldn't be more nasty here. Poor folks from Australia who just arrived might never leave the house today! I know that I won't.
*susan*
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Going to cook up some chicken tonight. If there is any left I will add it to what is left of the stir fry from the other night.
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Nance, so good to have you check in. Glad your dad is adjusting to the nursing home. It sounds much like the one my mother is in. Why did you decide you had to wean off the Effexor? I take 75 mg. and it apparently makes me a nicer person than I am without it. When I mentioned weaning off it, my husband and sister and mother all reacted with slight alarm. I don't know if I am tough enough to withstand all the reactions you are experiencing. I was down to one dose every third day during my attempt to stop taking it. Then my mother had a stroke and I decided I could use some medication support to deal with worries.
Lovely table, Susan. I like your serving dishes arranged at an angle.
I cooked a pork roast in the crockpot yesterday. I cut deep slits and stuffed them with garlic and short lengths of green onion. When the roast was cooked, I took it out, shredded the meat with two forks and returned it to the crockpot to keep warm. I heated some bottled barbecue sauce in a small pyrex dish. Mary, my next door neighbor, cooked cheesy potatoes and made a coleslaw. We combined foods for a buffet dinner for six on her deck, which is larger than ours and furnished for entertaining. I had bought some brioche buns at a supermarket.
I have to tell you about the cheesy potatoes. Mary buys dehydrated hash browns in little cartons at Costco. You pour liquid in the carton to hydrate the potatoes. She puts the hydrated potatoes in a skillet, adds evaporated milk and slices of American cheese. People love these cheesy potatoes which must be loaded with calories, fat and carbs. I ate a small portion and they tasted good. Mary offered to buy me some of the cartons but I really prefer just cooking potatoes!
This afternoon we are driving thirty-some miles to Walker for me to attend a WW meeting. I hope there really is a meeting. One way or another, we will have our evening meal at a restaurant in Walker, which has a very nice restaurant in a hotel on Leech Lake. There is also a Mexican restaurant and a few other choices. We'll probably go for the hotel restaurant with a great view.
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Last night was fish tacos with a chipotle slaw and fresh corn off the cob sauteed in butter with red and green peppers, onion and a dash of chile powder.
Carole, the dose I was taking, 37.5 mg, is considered non-therapeutic, so I think it probably hasn't done much for my personality lol. It was, however, extremely effective for hot flashes. Since I'm finished with the AI, I no longer have the hot flashes so have no need for the Effexor. I have a rather lengthy med list for my various and sundry ailments, so anytime I can cross two off, I'm all for it. So far, I'm having an easier time with the last reduction, so I'm hoping the end is near.
I actually feel like cooking tonight, so it's chicken parm with a side of cappellini and a salad.
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auntie - tell me about the chipotle slaw - I opened a can of chipotles and have not used them all yet!
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Special - strictly improvisational. Finely shredded cabbage, a squeeze or two of lime juice, salt, dressed with a bit of mayo mixed with a minced piece of chipotle pepper. I usually freeze the remainder of the can and thaw bits of it as I need it.
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Susan, Love Olivia's dress and Olivia! Everything looked yummy.
Sandy, sorry that things have been challenging for you. I wasn't impressed with LGA the 2 times I went thru it.
Nance, good luck with getting rid of the SEs of the Effexor weaning.
No creative cooking tonight. Just Bertolli's, garlic bread and wine. I cleaned house (no vacuuming - that's tomorrow) and then cut down some gigantic prickery weeds and put a a vinegar/salt/Dawn dishsoap solution on what was left and hope it kills them.
Happy dining everyone!
HUGS!
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I'm gonna pull out the "Man-cold" card...I spent almost 3 hours in the dentist's chair today. It didn't hurt at all..nothing..but I'm just now (7 hours after they started) that the feeling is returning to the left side of my face.
Tomorrow is round two, but that is only going to be about 45 minutes.
Auntie, I too hope the "end of Effexor" SEs go away quickly for you. I'm glad your dad likes the place. That is important...when "safe and good for them" makes them absolutely depressed and miserable...it becomes a difficult choice.
CDI (c. diff) uggh...... Hopefully everyone at your dad's place is up to date on the infection control procedures.
...phone is ringing....
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auntie - that is what I should have done, but I know they keep for a fairly long time in the fridge. I kept thinking I was going to use them up sooner, so now I am chipotle-ing everything, lol! Made chili tonight since it has rained all day, and added some to that, lol! Served the chili with a green salad and DH and DD also had French bread with cheese and herbs on it.
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Eric - oh my word, what in the world did you get done? Sounds like maybe a crown or an implant.
I was at the Medical Center until long past lunch. Too hungry to make the drive home (45-60 minutes), so I stopped at a local Japanese strip center restaurant. Bento Box: miso soup, tempura shrimp, fried rice, salad, Tempura vegetables, fresh orange & a 6 pieces of California Roll. Needless to say it was WAY too much food so the roll came home for tomorrow.
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For whatever reason, chipotles in adobo are the one hot pepper I can't tolerate! I can eat habeneros without a problem, but chipotles? They hit my mouth in a way that I find intolerable. This from a woman who ate a meal filled with Thai peppers tonight!
*susan*
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Went to work out this afternoon. I told my trainer afterwards that whether or not I did cardio would depend on whether I could get to the hospital in time to say goodbye to my longtime friend Maryjane—who suffered a massive COPD relapse, lung infection, heart failure, sepsis and was placed on a vent and dialysis. Called her son from the locker room before changing into street clothes, and he told me she had passed away peacefully just minutes earlier. He and his dad understandably needed some time to process before talking to friends, and I respect that.
Did cardio halfheartedly, went for some fro-yo (it was either that or the infernal pie place for consolation), and picked up a roast chicken and some veg. at WF. Grilled asparagus & a small Vidalia onion, cut up a small ripe tomato (all it needed was a bit of basil, Maldon salt and a few drops of EVOO) and 1/4 avocado with salt & lime. Nibbling numbly before bedtime.
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susan - I have to use chipotle sparingly, they are hot for me! A bit hot for DD although she loves chipotle creamy sauces, DH is game on.
chisandy - I am so sorry about your friend, and that you missed saying a goodbye to her - that is a tough one.
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sandy - sorry about your friend's passing.
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I'll add to Minus' and Special's thoughts, Sandy.....
Yesterday's dentist stuff was getting three fillings in two teeth..and today was one filling on the other side of my mouth....all below the gum line. I've had only 3 cavities in 25 years (same dentist) and we both are mystified as to why the sudden change.
Sharon is also "mouth numb". She had a root canal today and on Friday she will get a couple of fillings replaced.
My mom's brain study neuropathology report arrived in the mail today.....It's kind of sad reading such a dry report about *my mom*. Still, it's good to know that she helped to further research on dementia.
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I don't even like to read about people going to the dentist! I have endured a bone graft and implants in addition to other tortures.
The last two days of cooking are easy thanks to leftovers. Last night was a wonderful romaine salad with tomato, cucumber, avocado, and blue cheese. And warmed up pulled pork on bun. The pork was better than when first served.
Tonight is leftover pasta dish containing turkey Italian sausage, mushrooms, and green pepper. The creamy sauce was lots of Asiago grated cheese and pasta water. In the leftover version I will have to recreate some creaminess and haven't quite figured that out. No suggestions of heavy cream, please! None in my refrigerator.
I discovered at a WW meeting on Tuesday afternoon that I am up 4.4 lbs since leaving home two weeks and a few days ago. I enjoyed the meeting and have intentions of attending weekly.
Today is dh's birthday. He turned 78.
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I went to a 'survivorship' luncheon at Methodist Hospital today. I've been invited every year but never gone. Good support & reference booths, a demo on how to cook healthy (whole wheat pasta w/walnuts, and yogurt w/blueberries & strawberries), a session on laughter yoga, a nice musical program. Free parking - a big deal in a major med center. They did a count down. No one was there who had survived 25+ years. One can hope they just have better things to do with their time. The friend I took was the only one who stood up for over 20 (she's 23 years NED from a lumpectomy & rads). Only one or two stood up for over 10 years. Maybe 7-10 stood up with me for over 5 years. (Yes - I count from my first diagnosis & treatment - not the recurrence). A ton of people stood up for still in treatment to 1 year.
Food was bland, as I find most hospital food. A good size premium baked chicken breast in some sauce that looked like Campbells Chicken Soup - tho it was still a bit dry, mixed veggies - cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red potatoes cut & roasted w/herbs, a lovely fresh fruit bowl - strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc. Heavy lunch. Time for a nap. No dinner tonight.
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Last night I baked the first Copper R. salmon of the season on lightly-oiled foil on the gas grill. I could have pan-seared it, but it was a beautiful night for grilling. (Not enough time to wash & soak a cedar plank, and I can never get the grates smooth and slick enough to keep the fish from sticking if grilled directly on them). Sauteed some snap peas, nuked Gordy some brown basmati rice and a sweet potato latke for me. Tonight will be grilled grass-fed hanger steaks with broccolini, rainbow carrots and perhaps either a sweet potato or Vidalia onion. (For lunch today I made a low-carb BLT with uncured bacon and ripe avocado instead of mayo). Again, I could cook the meat in a searing-hot cast iron skillet, but why heat up the kitchen (and create more mess)?
Gordy’s ex-GF finally did laundry last night. Whew.
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Thinking of using up the last of the stir fry from earlier this week
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We are off to the Cape for the weekend. Friend has caught a HUGE striper bass, so that will be dinner! Can't wait. Nothing like a freshly caught striper. Since they can't be fished commercially, well, they can, but only a tiny number, you never see these fish in the market. What can be sold goes to restaurants who charge a fortune. I have seen a picture of this fish. HUGE. Obviously, we won't eat all of it. Just four portions.
Have started a romper for Olivia. Most complicated sewing project I have done in years and it is forcing me to up my game. If it comes out, it will be cute as can be!
*susan*
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Not sure what to do about dinner—Bob will be late, I have to be in bed early (up at 5 to be in Milwaukee by 8 for a 9am-noon outdoor gig). Might just have an insalata Caprese with heirloom tomatoes and the first of my garden basil and call it a night by 11 pm at the latest (I’m usually up till 2 or 3am).
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Hi all, I finished chemo 2 weeks ago and my taste buds are back with massive cravings. My only plan for today is making a chicken pot pie from scratch. I'll post a pic later.
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llimae - welcome to the table. We are always interested in what's cooking.
Quiet this weekend. I had to teach the water aerobics class this morning so I skipped breakfast. Lunch is a big salad. I'm not in a salad mood, but sure don't want to throw away these veggies.
I took 1/2 of a previously cooked pork tenderloin out of the fridge. Hmmmm. Brandy cream sauce w/noodles or rice? Green chili sauce w/beans? Sliced pork sangys on pumpernickel? Oh well I have time to consider this while I act like a rabbit.
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Yesterday was a chopped salad of cucumber, tomato, baby bella mushrooms, avocado & roasted chicken breast with Tuscan Italian Vinaigrette - washed down with a wine cooler (white wine w/Whole Foods Italian Strawberry sparkling water).
Today, went to three different farmers markets. Picked up fresh lettuces (just pulled from the ground this am), tomato, onion, herb bread, lobster salad and some wines. Having a large lettuces w/vinaigrette salad, some herb bread and lobster salad. Will forgo the wine for today (all things in moderation).
MinusTwo - Casting my vote for brandy cream sauce with noodles.
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Too early for farm lettuce here. Maybe next week since we finally have some sunshine?
Last night, we grilled up the striper and served with an herbed cous-cous. I made a caprese salad with less-than-stellar tomatoes, marinating each component, and the results were pretty good. It reminded one of a caprese salad which is the best we can do in June. Tonight we are going to one of the local fish shacks. Our friends had to head to Boston to attend their daughter's housewarming party, and are taking care of the dogs.
I vote for the sandwiches on pumpernickel. But I love pumpernickel.
*susan*
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Susan - Sounds like you are having a lovely time in Cape Cod - all that yummy fish/seafood.
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