So...whats for dinner?

Love the hot red toes, Carole!l they look professionally done....do you go somewhere, or are you just real good at toe nail painting? I have never had a mani or a pedi....just paint my own toenails once beach season arrives. I tend to stay with safe not too bright colors, but wow, that red is tempting!

As you all have probably noticed, cooking has been minimal in this house of late. It's actually been sort of weird to eat out so much. So today, while I didn't have time to fit in a shopping trip, I decided to use the large portobella mushrooms that I bought on Friday to do something creative with. So, I marinated the mushrooms in a balsamic marinade with garlic and fresh thyme, which DH grilled, them melted some mozzerella over. Also grilled red onions, red peppers and zucchini slices after marinating them in Italian dressing and balsamic. For salad, I used up a ripe avacado, making an arugula, red onion (Carole, I can see you wince every time I mention our overuse of raw red onion;) avocado, strawberry, blue cheese, salad with poppy seed dressing. It was a great meal and vegetarian....so I could replicate it for the growing number of vegetarians in my extended family. We enjoyed some fresh crusty French bread from Volante's with our meal.

Susan, are you feeling that you have saved the best for last?! This Istanbul visit sounds pretty great. Always nice to see how the one percent live....and share in it! Your cousins are no doubt thrilled to show you their lifestyle and region. Is this your first trip there?

Need to get some things done, so no editing tonight with this uncooperative machine.....apologies

auntie - holy hummingbirds!!!!!

Unbelievable. I usually don't see more than 2 or 3 total for a season. Thanks for sharing.

Time for a quick peek in during a lull at work.

SK - I've gotten really good at power naps on busy days and when I actually get a few days off I crash and crash hard for hours and hours.

The trip to Istanbul sounds amazing. Hopefully you can figure out how to post more pictures.

Carole, I can't decide. I loved Spain but Istanbul is fascinating, especially the food. What a great trip Susan has taken us on!

Tonight I have a meeting so I think we are having Chicago dogs with all the fixings. I think I'll make some potato salad too, perhaps German. Haven't made that in a while.

Yesterday I bought some pretty arucana eggs from a local guy. So for breakfast DH is fixing me green eggs and ham lol!

Nance's house definitely sound like the place to go.

Nance I haven't tried the sauce recipe on the website but after trying enough of the family's sauce I think I'm pretty close. I have a secret for my gnocchi for when I'm a little short on time. I use the flavored mashed potato packets (usually Idahoan as I can get a italian white cheese and/or roasted garlic), make them according to package directions, add an egg for two packets and then enough flour to make a dough that's workable. Roll it out into a rope shape and cut pieces about a half inch in length, allow to dry an hour or so before boiling. I'll make them from scratch when I have time and/or I don't have any mashed tater packets (I tend to keep them on hand because they're nummy on top of my steakhouse shepherd's pie) and even taught my aunt and cousins how to make them from scratch when I was in Finland a few years back.

Give me enough head's up and if you come over for dinner I might have the gumption to make a cheesecake.

Luv, I misspoke, the recipe came from Martha Stewart's website. I saw Frank Pellegrino (of Rao's) make their famous lemon chicken on her show (one of my most favorite dishes) and found the sauce recipe there too. He has published a couple of cookbooks with Rao's recipes, perhaps the recipe is missing a secret ingredient lol! The recipe had been published several different places so I'm not sure how secret it is.

Welsh cakes are these delicious little sweet cakes rather like a scone, only better.

In today's nature report, momma deer brought Bambi around again. We got to see him nurse, so sweet! It's rather interesting to watch the little guy go hide himself in the leaves or tall brush while she goes to browse. He did this on his own and stays put until she comes back for him. In other news, a pair of house finches have set up a nursery in one of my hanging ferns. Sigh! Difficult watering around a tiny nest with three little blue eggs in it. So the fern is on its own for a few weeks. The female oriole has been here several times for jelly. I'll get dh to set up the bird cam to try to get a picture.

susan - I had totally forgotten stagefree (Ebru) was there - I read her posts often, how awesome you got to see each other, and what a wonderful sounding day you had together! Yay!

DH and I signed a contract today for solar panels.  He was more gung ho than I was and he usually has good instincts. 

We had delicious poboys today for lunch from Firehouse Poboys.  Brisket on wheat.  The bread is good and the meat is tender and really flavorful.  DH humored me and went to pick them up.

Nance, I love your nature scene at your house. 

I'll have to look for the Rao marinara recipe. 

Dinner will probably be dh's beef stew and rice, warmed up. 

I have a small Krups that I've had for a long time but never use. It makes pretty good espresso but I like cappuccino and the milk was a pain to clean out of the frother. Yum on the poboys and great idea on the solar panels.

Susan - wonderful that you got to spend time with ebru - she sounds like such a lovely interesting person. Your trip gets better and better.

I never cared much for gnocchi -- too doughy or something (which is odd considering how much I love doughy dumplings) until my DSIL made them with ricotta instead of potatoes. Not exactly sure what her process or recipe is but they are really good.

Bedo - thanks for the wedding report. Did you manage to avoid the ex-in-laws?

It's been a couple of days while I ate up leftovers, but tonight was the Rao's marinara with leftover turkey breast & artichoke hearts. I LOVE this gravy, and I don't like very many. I may have to save my nickels & dimes to continue purchasing Raos. Carole - if you find a recipe, please post. Nance - are you the one who mentioned the lemon chicken by the Rao's chef? I'd love that recipe too.

http://www.marthastewart.com/339001/raos-famous-le...

Minus, this link has the lemon sauce within it and if you follow to the next recipe, the marinara.

auntie - OMG - cutest baby deer ever!  I actually said OMG out loud.

bedo - yay for the excellent wedding!  I am firmly convinced that if either of my grown children ever gets married I will be a blubbering idiot.  I have a track record - I even cried when my son was awarded "Swimmer of the Year" when he was about 10.  Like, uncontrollably - although thinking back it was probably perimenopause that caused it, lol!

Susan, what a wonderful, exquisite and personally enriching day for you and Ebru. Sooo happy for you nd DH. Loved the travels around the palace! And who better to have a serendipitous chance to personally thank a chef than you!

Carole, lots of our neighbors have installed solar panels. You will probably be happy with that plan.

Nance...sooooo darling! You do have the best nature views!

I must check out the site for those recipes.

Tonight we ate in Harvard Sq. at The Red House. We had an assortment of small plates.....a pea tendril salad with goat cheese, a warm kale salad, scallops over shredded parsnip and carrots, calamari over mizuna (sp?) which looked liked dandelion leaves, so I was afraid to try it, and DH had a small plate of drunken lobster rigatoni. They were all good! We saw Mandy Patinkin in a two man vaudeville musical with Taylor Mac, The Last Two People on Earth. I was amazed at how perfectly they sang the lyrics to 30 songs without a break! I kept wondering how long MP had to practice them...and how tired one must be after a show like that.

An uplifting thing happened in the theater right before the show. Soon after an elderly couple got settled in their seats directly in front of us, an usher came up to them asked their names, and presented the husband with his wallet. He was baffled...and the usher explained that the restaurant manager from down the street brought the wallet to the theater after the man left it on the table. Apparently they had heard the couple talking about going to the performance. So the theatre staff looked up where the couple was sitting and brought the wallet to him. He was amazed and thankful, and really happy to see all of his credit cards and cash. For all of the bad behavior we hear about everywhere, it was lovely to see this act of honesty and kindness.

Early kindergarten class tomorrow due to a needed switch in schedule.