So...whats for dinner?
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almost in Chattanooga I made a trucker pull his horn fondly psycho Bedo
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Chattanooga is beautiful. Love those runoff ramps. Foreign to flat Texas lol. Bet you're seeing lots of blooming stuff now
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Eric--My former kitchen was the size you mentioned. I'll bet you are like me though--you can do a lot with that tiny space! Glad you are out having fun.
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Dinner tonight was speckled butterbeans (frozen) cooked with sliced smoked ham hocks in my 4 qt. crockpot. I emptied the frozen beans into the crock pot, tucked in an onion cut in half and 4 or 5 garlic cloves. Tucked in a couple of slices of the hocks and put the rest on top. Mixed a cup of water with some dry roux and poured that in. Turned the pot on High. Later I sprinkled s & p and later still I took out the hock slices and cut them into pieces and returned them to the pot. Turned out delicious. Served with brown jasmine rice and a cabbage slaw with diced avocado.
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Our dinner was a Pork with Cloud Ear Fungus stir fry, a Mustard Greens with Onion and Garlic, and some rice. I had forgotten that the package of deboned pork shoulder was on special. Whoops! So, I only needed 12oz of pork, I have the rest braising seasoned with just salt. It will probably turn into pulled pork of some type, for either a sandwich or a taco. I figured if I didn't commit to a special flavor profile, I could do anything I want. We shall see if this is a failed experiment.
I really need to get excited enough to do some taxes.... they must be submitted before I head to Europe.
*susan*
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Susan - you've provided my google education 'word' for the day - Cloud Ear Fungus. Hmmm and Thanks. I'll know it when I see it again.
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Sounds horrid doesn't it? And yet, this little tree fungus is wonderful! If you have had hot n' Sour soup at a Chinese restaurant, those black things floating around are the Cloud ear fungus. They have an earthy flavor, almost like a mushroom. Bottom line, they are totally delicious.
*susan*
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Love hot and sour soup and now I can properly address the little floating buggers!
Am determined to get to sleep before 1AM, so am just on to post the kitchen pix. You will quickly see why I have extreme "island envy" and that has nothing to do with wanting to fly to the Caribbean!
I also have cabinets to the ceiling, but wanted and like that for storage. Also had a gas stove with electric oven installed and really like it. DW never got swapped out when we updated kitchen ten years ago because it was new then...so it is white with everthing else near it, cream and stainless. Across the way is our 20 year old side by side fridge that is also white, but covered with family photos...can't do that with the new SS ones...it will look much neater!
Counters are green corian which I preferred to granite since it is more forgiving to dropped dishes and doesn't pit from acidic foods. Love the look of granite and other natural stones, tho.
Our eating area, across from pantry cabinet is small, even tho we opened up a separating wall to make room for a kitchen table. When we moved in 35 years ago, this whole big house just had a small "ice cream parlor" table in our current eating area...needed to be opened up. If I were the next owners, I would rob a bank, push the kitchen out 8 feet, to have an eating area island, and use this area as a desk space. If the upstairs also got expanded the small bedroom above the kitchen would be enlarged, and a laundry could be between that and the hall bath. Maybe I should consult to the next owners...Ha!
We managed with that table arrangement while raising the boys, but accommodating a fifth person always required pulling out the table. Pantry (which you will notice is poorly organized with so many of my piles) is across from this table.
So, the reason we can't have an island, is because the main chimney goes up through the kitchen. This next shot is of that wall....on which hangs a lovely signed menu from Taillevant, a "fancy schmancy" restaurant in Paris. We had an exquisite dinner there with our Parisian friend several years ago. I believe it has since closed...since the owner died.
So that's the grand tour of our not so functionally grand kitchen which needs an island to make it more than a "one cook" space. I like our colors though...and matched the wood floor to the dark oak floors that are in the next rooms. Also, I had the leaded glass doors on the two upper cabinets by the sink made in the same design as exists in our dining room hutch....a splurge for house architectural continuity. However, I tend to be a fan of function over form, so this is pleasing to the eye only....and often frustrating to me if I need help in the kitchen...we are always in each other's space. We'll keep that a secret tho if and when we ever list it. Ha!
Okay....off to dreamland...
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oh dear, a few pux deleted themselves...
Kitchen table...
Center chimney with Taillevant menu...and storage cart that holds pans below and Lacey memorabilia, etc. on top.
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Lacey--Beautiful kitchen.
Susan--Where in Europe? My DH's brothers gave us a trip to Hawaii. We are going in May. I too will have to look into this Fungus.
Not feeling well lately. My DH came home early today and cooked dinner. We had pan-fried sea bass with green leafy salad, broccoli, asparagus, and brown rice. He prepares things very basic, but it was all fresh and tasty. It was nice to rest and not cook or clean up after. The kiddos jumped in to clean. I didn't have to lift a finger.
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Lacey, your wall paper is similar to mine and you have dark green countertops, too. I love the wall paper and another reason for not changing my counter tops is not ruining the paper above the back splash. If I didn't have natural wood cabinets, my next choice would be the same soft white as your cabinets. I have always liked painted cabinets but dh is a woodworker and favors natural wood look. I like that soft aqua paint on the cabinetry on the Kitchen show on Food Network. A Pisces color.
MZ, sorry you're not feeling good. You're in treatment, I believe. How fortunate to have a husband who can cook a good, healthy meal and children to help clean up.
I enjoy hot and sour soup. Didn't know about the fungus ears, either.
Today is day one of a 3-day golf tournament so I should get moving.
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I'm so enjoying all the kitchen pics. It's fun to see where all of our food "magic" happens. Now when you all describe your meals, I can easily picture you in there putting it all together.
Regardless of how it tastes (good) you gotta love the name "cloud ear fungus".
No cooking here today. We're taking my dad to the urologist to have his catheter removed (hallelujah!) then spending the night in the city. We'll make a Costco run and do a few other errands while we're there. Dinner tonight will be at another of our favorite Italian restaurants.
Lacey, in our house, in spite of all the food prep space, if I start dinner, dh always finds a reason to come in and get in my way lol! My dream kitchen would have a "man" sink in some out of the way corner!
Joyce, good luck with your scan today!
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Lacey, Thank you for posting pictures. I can see how two people might bump into each other. These older kitchen just didn't have much square footage! But you have done a lovely job of maximizing the useable space. I too have a chimney column behind the sink. No place to expand. You do seem to have quite a bit of counter space which is a plus. We can't possibly have a table in our kitchen, but we have a dining room that we eat in for every meal.
Nancy, a "man sink".... YES. I need one of those too!
Lunch was a turkey sandwich made with the turkey we smoked yesterday. Oh how delicious! Tonight we will have the rest of our Chinese meal. There were tons of leftovers.
*susan*
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Auntie--Haha! Man-sink! I love that and I can appreciate your desire for that. My DH is constantly out gardening in the dirt. He often feels that the kitchen sink during dinner prep is the perfect spot to wash off dirt, sap, and worse. We even have a mud entry he could clean up in! (There are worse flaws though. lol) Yay for your dad! Have fun in town and I hope you have a great dinner out.
I might have to make something with Cloud Ear Fungus just to watch my kids faces when I tell them what's in it. I'm pretty curious now. My oldest son is in Mexico. He has tried some pretty bizarre stuff--two kinds of bugs. He liked the grasshoppers. I think I'll pass on that one though. Has anyone tried unusual foods and liked them?
Carol--Thanks for the kind words. I hope I'm OK being in this group. I know it's a "moving beyond cancer" forum, but I was thinking it would be nice to be looking at life beyond treatment ahead of time. Hopefully I'm in keeping with the fine flavor of discussion in this thread and not bringing anyone down.
Keeping dining simple for DH. Tonight it's Costco chicken, salad greens and veggies. Doing seasoned, cubed potatoes in the oven--olive oil, garlic, onion, parmesan. Yesterday, for our family night, I mustered some energy and made peanut butter rice crispy treats in the microwave. I love it when simple things are such a hit!
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Mombie Zombie I have you beat---I am having a WW tv dinner (3 cheese ziti) and then going to a cancer center program on PROTEIN.....and I smile amidst my carbs.....
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LOL Redhead!! OK, you win. <wink, wink> Please share what you learn about the carbs....I mean protein! lol
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Nance, the man sink idea is a great one. Now I have to say two things about that...first off, a picture I left out (see below) does have more counter space away from "my" triangle, if DH would just stay there when he is cutting lemons for our water, or other such serious tasks.
And also, I could now regret our decision to remove a "bar sink" that the previous owners had put in to the right of the stove. We were much more interested in getting some seating available, so abandoned it. So...I had my man sink briefly and never appreciated it!Tonight, we will have leftover turkey steaks, farro, carrots and probably a spinach salad with pear and walnuts.
Last evening I munched on some leftover pizza (which was wonderful), before heading to a meeting at our local library for people interested in cooking and discussing food, recipes, etc. etc. It was loosely organized. Apparently the woman who was supposed to lead the discussion had to leave for a medical concern, so we had a lovely young gal who muddled through as best she could. I'm not sure my next door neighbor and I will continue to go. But I might check it out once more (next meeting in June).There was one very older woman there who studied with Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. She said she cooks for clients. I was put in touch with my kitchen OCD- ishness when it struck me that she also "seemed like" a cat lady, who might have felines running around her kitchen counters. Apologies to any cat owners....Thus, I would not be ordering up any of her dinners without bendryl!
I am officially going to make an Easter dinner....and it is looking to be a challenge. DGF is probably the most selective eater I have ever met....so I need to figure that out. Then we are having our niece who is here in college. She is vegetarian and also selective. DS2 prefers not to eat mammals. Then we are hoping that DS1 and DDIL will come with the grands, but that is less likely since DDIL is busy setting up her new solo GYN surgical practice. If they do, there will be more food challenges....tho their kids are pretty good eaters. DS1 is suddenly a vegetarian....mostly! But DDIL is still a happy carnivore. Oy!
So I am thinking of having turkey tips (DS2's idea) from Volante Farm, and my own marinated grilled chicken breasts with rosemary, garlic and balsamic; a baby kale salad I pulled from yummly (I think) which has feta,walnuts, dried cranberries and something else; some pasta dishes ...veggie lasagna, or ravs; my faux French bread, and I'm not sure what else.
At Durgin Park, there was one thing DGF could/would eat....a grilled chicken sandwich, and when the waitress put a dish of cole slaw next to it, DGF immediately offered that to anyone else, since she does not eat cole slaw. I am so tempted to ask her to make a list for me of what she DOES eat, so I can know what to make without having more discussion.....would so like to get the focus off of her food dislikes. Oy! She must wonder who this oral family is!
We "food monger" folks enjoyed some fried calamari and potato skins (totally unrecommended!) for apps at Durgin Park, then I had a shrimp cocktail and DH had a broiled seafood platter which looked good and fresh. DS2 had his favorite....lobster roll, which he enjoyed. The old tourist place was empty when we arrived mid afternoon, and only filled up a bit as it got to closer to 6PM. The waitress was not as edgy as the ones I recall from the past, and the food is about three times the cost of the olden days. So that will be our last visit there. Sadly for me they load up their soups and fish cakes with celery, thus the shrimp cocktail. Below is the lost last kitchen pic, and one of the mixed eating style group who ventured to Durgin Park.
Oh we also met the new "grand dog" at DS2's. He is an adorable Scottish Terrier.
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The rotisserie chicken sounds good. Wish I had gone to Sam's Club and bought one. Dh has a woodworkers' guild meeting tonight and said he was ok with warmed up butter beans from last night. I have a huge bag of the coleslaw mix so will make another coleslaw.
Even the WW 3-cheese ziti sounds good! Redheaded, how are you getting along? Is there still pain?
Nance, hope you enjoy your dinner out at the Italian restaurant.
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Lacey, we were posting at the same time. Your son is nice-looking and his girlfriend is very cute. I cannot imagine being that selective about food. Does she eat dessert foods?
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Lacey--Sounds like a tough Easter crowd. This might sound callous, but, if I were you, I would cook a variety of things you are good at that can cover lots of tastes in food. Then I would relax and enjoy what you did. They are guests at YOUR table and should be grateful for the work you put into it. (That's the tough side of me. The soft side of me is a people-pleaser and might be kindly, like you are doing, and look to make something special for everyone involved.)
Carole--cole slaw sounds good. I hardly ever make it because I'm the only one who will eat it. Do you do anything different or is your traditional?
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Ha! Carole, she did take the risk to try Indian Pudding and ate several bites. I am actually at a loss abkut whether she even like desserts...hardly ate the one we had a few weeks ago when out. Am thinking we should hike or something and soend our time together away from food!
But we have always congregated around food...oh dear. 
MZ...you are totally fine on this thread..we have all been in various stages of treatment while here, and I am pretty amazed at how well you are doing already! So glad that you have supportive family to help out when you are "feeling the pain". Your family sounds so interesting....and love that your son in Mexico has a bit of the Anthony Bourdain in him! I am not into bugs myself...but it's prbably more the thought than the taste.
Better get our leftovers in the oven.
Oh, can't edit again...hate this Ipad dysfunction on this site.....
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Thanks Lacey
Life is never dull at my house, that's for certain!Funny story: The other day we were in the car heading to Grandmas for a visit. Brother was teaching Sister how to do a simple origami fold that becomes a bird. It's made in such a way that when finished, you can pump the tail up and down and it makes the wings look like they are flying. They each finish their bird. Sister moves the tail on hers like Brother showed her. She frowns because it isn't working right. So Brother explains that she isn't moving the tail correctly. Sister adjusts her actions. Still not working. Finally, Brother took Sister's bird and starts examining it. He laughs and says, "I know why the bird isn't flying! You folded it so that its head is coming from its butt."
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Last minute I decided to make some scallion pancakes to accompany our dinner. They weren't perfect, but they didn't cost $6 for an order either! I tired the Serious Eats recipe tonight, and I am not sure I think it is better than Ming Tsai's. We ate both of them.
*susan*
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MZ, love the origami story! What are the ages of your children? I definitely am not open to the idea of eating insects. I tend to not like insects as they figure into my life.
Susan, scallion pancakes sound good. I'll have to look them up. Pancakes of any kind appeal to me in my old age.
Lacey, hiking might be a good alternative to dining! LOL!
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Mmm...scallion pancakes sounds interesting. What goes in those? Are they easy?
Carole--Kids are boy-20, girl--16, boy-14, boy-11. Nope, can't say I want to eat bugs either. But my boy that's in Mexico is an adventurous type. He is serving a mission for our church and he is wanting to embrace the culture, so he tries everything. The funny part is that he is 6 foot 4 inches tall. Most of the people there are tiny. They look at him and think he must eat a ton. One family served him and his companion EACH and entire chicken, along with several other sides!! Incidentally, he ate the entire thing to be polite. Early on in his time there, he was missing eating normal things. One day he spotted some yellow bell pepper slices on the serving table at a dinner. He proceeded to heap them on his plate. He found out the hard way that he had dished up habenjaro peppers. Ohhhhh, did he burn!!
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Here is the recipe that I used tonight. They are a savory treat. As you cook them they puff lightly, and then you dip them into a prepared sauce.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/extra-f... The Ming Tsai recipe seems to have been pulled down. I make the dough by hand. Not worth getting a food processor dirty to mix a little flour with water.
My goodness. A whole chicken must have cost them a whole week's wages!
*susan*
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Yum, thanks Susan. Going to try it when I get my energy back. Saving the link.
I know right? A whole chicken! I worried about what it must have cost that family too, but I am hoping it was one of the more wealthy families that he visits. He definitely sees the poorest of the poor, but some are better off. Poor or otherwise, he really adores the people there. He comes home in four months and he says it's going to be hard to leave.
Here he is with one of his favorite people. The man didn't own a tie, so Gabriel gave him one of his. He later saved up and presented Gabriel with a new tie in return. The pic shows them wearing each other's gift. So cute.
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Lacey, I would just suggest everyone bring a favorite dish to Easter dinner to share, that way you will have one thing she will eat, for sure....
Carole, I get funky pains in the wrist and arm from some finger movements and sometimes it feels like a toothache. I get the cast off a week from Thursday.
Love the origami story! I remember someone at work making those and selling them and we all wrote our names on them and decorated the office Christmas tree with them....
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Redhead--Great idea on the Easter dinner thing. That's cute using origami to decorate a tree. I found these cute little bowls and I want my son to fold them for our Easter table.
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These days I feel kind of like that origami bird . . .
Dad mission was a success, hooray! Next mission -- wound care center for his foot ulcers. I found a very highly rated one not far from him and he seems to be willing to try. Double hooray!
For dinner we had a wedge salad with blue cheese, pancetta, tomatoes, onions and a slightly sweet Italian vinaigrette house dressing. I had a pasta primavera with angel hair in a garlic butter sauce. Lots of fresh veggies, sauteed perfectly -- roasted red peppers, red onion, carrots, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms and baby peas. Really lovely and delicious. Dh had rigatoni with their house made sausage. I love Charlie Gitto's food, but not their red sauce so much. Like a lot of St. Louis Italian restaurants, It's a little to sweet for my taste, but dh loves the stuff. We both had spumoni for dessert. It was all quite good.
Great picture Lacey, what a handsome couple! And so is your son and his girlfriend lol! Just ask the girl what she likes then fix one dish along those lines. If she's that picky, this probably isn't her first rodeo. I expect she encounters food dilemmas quite regularly. Make sure you serve lots of bread lol! When I was first diagnosed with diabetes the few people who invited me to dinner always fussed about fixing something special for me. Although I truly appreciated it, It took some convincing them that I was responsible for what I could/should eat and I would manage no matter what they fixed. As long as it wasn't just a dessert buffet, I was good.
The only bugs I have eaten were by accident. Blech!
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