So...whats for dinner?
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The first year dh and I were married, we were in Vermont during the fall and winter. The colored leaves were glorious. It was summer when I was in Nova Scotia. That sounds like a good trip, Minus.
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Minus, check out the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. It's known for it's beauty and should be especially beautiful in the Fall. There are lots of Festivals there, and nice Inns. You can see whales and go kayaking if you like that, or just sit and see the beauty
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The Cabot trail was awesome in summer. It's very popular with bicyclers, hardy souls indeed.
I just reviewed Susan's enchilada recipe. I won't be frying any onions, perish the thought!--but I will be following the general procedure. Still have some roasted chicken and also some black beans that need to be used and the remainder of a package of uncooked corn tortillas.
Off to the foot dr.'s office for an appointment.
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We're eating lunch in Asheville, NC.
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Making peanut cilantro chutney for lunch today with cilantro from my garden. I am overwhelmed with cilantro and can't eat it, give it away, fast enough!
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Sula, that's an unusual combination, peanut and cilantro. I'm one of those people who like cilantro.
Eric, what a nice place to have lunch. Ashville is a lovely town.
The enchiladas are in the toaster oven. The filling was chopped roasted chicken, black beans and red enchilada sauce, Hatch brand. I put shreded cheese on top of the filling before folding the tortillas. Sauce poured over the top and more shredded cheese. I'll mix up a salad with shredded cabbage and avocado, mayo and vinegar dressing.
Not many more home meals in the house.
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I really love Halifax. We went there for several summers to visit a good friend that lived there. We did a lot of day trips that required a car up and down the coast, and into the interior. We took the ferry one year, but drove all the way around for the other few times. I highly recommend Nova Scotia as a destination. If you fly into Boston, you can head up the Maine coast and then take the ferry. If you will only visit Nova Scotia for a few days, don't bother with the car. But if you can stay longer, the car is useful.
Carole, I don't fry the onions, I sort of "roast" them on a hot skillet to get the browned up after marinating them in lime juice.
Red, did the tornados/storms miss you last night? Those storms seem to have reached MA today. We are under a tornado watch at my house, while West of here they have a warning. Strangely, MA does have a tornado alley.
Eric, another place I love: Asheville. That is where we honeymooned. In fact, we spent a lot of energy and time trying to figure out how we could make a living there, but just not a big enough town to support two musicians. Now, it is a happening place and the cost of living has spiked out the roof.
Sula, too much cilantro is not a bad problem, though preserving it would be a challenge.
Last night we grilled some chicken with fresh, local peas [that took forever to pop out of their shells.] Tonight I made some mayo, boiled up some potatoes, and made a vinaigrette potato salad with just a tiny bit of the mayo. Lunch was made by Chef Pho N' Rice. We split one of their affordable lunch combinations. I am working really hard not to push myself too much. My installation deadline is looming and those files need my best energy.
*susan*
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Carole, and Susan,
well I cook with it a lot so that's a good point, though I wasn't doing much cooking during chemo, I am now back to work and back cooking I just have to catch up with the cilantro! Cilantro and Peanut is a great raw chutney
1 bunch cilantro
2 Tbs roasted unsalted peanuts
3 seeded serrano chilies
Dump it all in a food processor and grind it up,
then add in:
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs lemon juice
mix together and serve it up. This should be served fresh fresh fresh, as it's best that way. Great with fish or chicken
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Just dropped in to say hello. I'm fine no trouble just not checking in very often. Lazy i guess. A problem with my stupid phone too. This replacement phone does the same thing my other one did. Not charging. Hope all are doing well. We went from 50's to 80s. Lots of rain too. I ope no one is having trouble with flooding.
Much love
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Sula, that sounds like a lovely chutney. I am also a cilantro fan. It is such an interestingly flavored herb drawing such polarized reactions from people. My love for it started when Casa Romero opened in Back Bay in the early seventies. We lived down the street and ate there frequently, savoring their wonderful fresh salsa with lots of cilantro.
Minus, it sounds like a fun trip you would have to NS...especially with all these endorsements of so many sisters who have been there. And it would be fun to meet up in
"The Bean" if that works out!
Last night we had one of my weird kale meals....this time it was sauteed kale, onions, yellow pepper, mushrooms and scapes (hot variety) in lieu of minced garlic, topped with some delicious artichoke/sun dried tomato/ portabello ravioli that we bought at the farmer's market. It was drizzled with balsamic and olive oil and sprinkled with parm, and was quite tasty....along with a salad of the wonderful lettuce called "salad bowl", but I think it is also called "oak leaf". I also added scapes to the salad.
Tonight we had leftover grilled chicken and another odd salad...baby kale, beet greens, mellow variety scapes, red onion, pear, pecans carrot shavings and an almond chili dressing. I think I am into excess ingredients with diverse tastes of late.....DH has been just fine with that.
Susan, maybe I am balancing out your temporary (!) limited palate.
We are having a new furnace installed along with a new hot water heater. Spent Sunday clearing out storage boxes and out of date stored food items to make way for the work. Now I would like to clear the whole damn basement! But I'm sure that by the time these guys finish (Thursday) I will lose my motivation for such a big job. Plus we are heading out of town. At least some of it will be neat...but I hope they don't leave their own mess. Several years ago we had a stainless steel flu installed in our chimney and the entire basement ended up covered in soot. That was a clean up nightmare!! This, I'm sure will not compare....plus everything is now covered....lesson learned, tho soot is insidious.
My back is healing up, but clearly DH must have actually cracked a rib since his pain remains significant.
Those cracks take some time to heal, sadly. He is not a happy camper...and needs to lug his DJ equipment out to Stockbridge for a staff party on Sunday....Oy!
Carole, I hope your prep for your trip is going well. You are so well organized! Thought of you today as our weather was like soup....not a way I could spend my summer either! Our town missed the heavy winds and tornado watches issued late in the day. And fortunately, no towns got anything as serious as the midwest did recently.
Eric, your little traveling band is making excellent headway. Enjoy the southeast!0 -
Hi Moon! We crossed posted. Good to hear from you! I bet you are really enjoying that baby as she continues to develop!! Take good care.....
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My proposed trip is with my BFF who's husband died last October. While I did work for a Boston company & traveled there several times, it was in the late 1980s so there's much to explore. My BFF has never been. The tentative plan is to take a fall foliage small cruise ship North from Boston & yes NS is on the agenda but not camping. It seems that many ships are already fully booked for 2015, but if we can pull this together, we plan to stay in Boston a couple of days on our return. It would be fun to meet everyone if the plans solidify.
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Moon, thanks for checking in to say hello! You are missed. And we need a pic of the GD. She has probably grown a lot.
Susan, my remark about frying the onion was self-deprecating and a reference to my antipathy for onions. It wasn't a criticism of cooking technique. I didn't realize that your dh was a musician, too. Home-made mayo is highly appealing.
DH sets up the coffee maker every night. I was up first today and clicked the ON button. Waited an appropriate time and went to pour a cup of coffee. He had forgotten to include water in his prep last night! Oh, the delights of aging.
The enchiladas were delicious and I ate a small 2nd helping. No menu for tonight yet. There's a package of ground turkey in the freezer and some frozen spinach. Hmm. Maybe a small meatloaf with fresh green beans with potatoes. I like turkey meatballs and have a partial jar of Rao marinade. But sauce would entail pasta and I'm having lunch out with my mother and sister. Decisions...
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Susan, yes the tornadoes missed me. We were under a watch for most of the evening, but the storms were north of me. I am smack dab in the middle of the state. Home of State Farm Insurance.Eric, I loved the book CHRISTY by Katherine Marshall. It was set in Appalachia near Ashville--that was the biggest town in her book.
Lacey, I thin k it is Panera that has a Kale Ceaser Salad now----it makes me think of you everytime I shop and see it...
You will all love this---I splurged on my first jar of RAO tonight. The hot spicy one.... yes, your palate can tell a difference between 8.99 sauce and 3.50 sauce..... Since it is just me, a jar will probably mean at least 4 servings and I like a lot of sauce....maybe more..
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Red, So happy to hear that you missed the big stuff. Yes, the RAO's is a different sauce. Aren't you worth the extra money? And if you aren't, it goes on sale fairly frequently around here.
Tonight was day 14 of this new drug Ibrance, and my blood work is back and not so good. My white blood cells are disappearing. I guess I am technically immune-supressed. Sucks, eh? So, no more bare feet outside, no more raw foods, lots of hand cleaning......
*susan*
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Redheaded, good news that the tornadoes stayed away from your town.
I made Motley Meatloaf for tonight's dinner. My name for a combination of 1 lb. ground turkey, 8 oz. ground chuck, and 2 chicken Italian sausages. Also some chopped green onions, plain bread crumbs, s & p, granulated onion and garlic and an egg. Ketchup over the top. It tasted good but the texture was too compacted. An addition of cooked rice would have been good.
The side was fresh green beans with red potatoes cut into quarters. Cooked with chicken broth and one slice of bacon cut into pieces.
One more home dinner tomorrow night. I have two nice eggplants and may make an eggplant dish with grilled slices, tomato sauce and grated cheese. I also have some smoked sausage made with turkey that would be good in a jambalaya. Maybe I'll cook both dishes and have food for the road.
Where is everybody? Is anyone eating tonight?
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WE did eat. Yet more leftover chicken, some leftover potato salad, reconfigured leftover bulgar with tons of herbs from the garden, and local peas with shallots and some butter. Somehow, with my reduced appetite, there is still more leftover chicken which will turn into chicken salad for lunch tomorrow. I have Sunday English muffin bread which will be great with this. I have already bought some wild caught Alaskan salmon for tomorrow's dinner. The other half of the side will turn into some kind of cured salmon. Given my new numbers, I will have to hot smoke it.
*susan*
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Carole,
So, you came up in conversation with some friends the other night. They load up a trailer every January and head to Florida where they park in State parks to enjoy some decent warm weather. In the course of this conversation, I realized I don't know so much about your yearly migration North. It is possible you have told these stories before, but if so, my mind is blank.
So, you head to MN for the summers. Is this because one of the two of you are from there or because you just like it? Where do you park your 5th wheel? Can you reserve your space for the entire duration, or do you need to move regularly? Do you see family while North, or do you have "camping" buddies that you have gotten to know over the years. What is the thing you enjoy the most about taking the 5th wheel north? What do you find the most difficult? What should I know about this time you head North that I am not smart enough to ask about?
And, I hope you don't mind me asking.
*susan*
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Susan - so sorry about the WBC. Can they give Neulasta shots while you're on Ibrance? That's the only thing that allowed me to make it through TCHP w/o transfusions & hospitalization. Oh - but wild caught salmon!!
Redhead - I live alone and have decided I'm definitely worth the price of Raos. I do get 4+ meals from a jar.
Carole - thinking of you as you pack to migrate again. This will be an interesting one since you're leaving the trailer.
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Bedo - here's a great fish packet from one of the other treads. I always used tin foil since I usually made packets on a grill or a campfire.
- 2 6-oz. salmon fillets-fresh or frozen and thawed
- 2 zucchini, or yellow summer squash or one of each, whatever you've got, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 slices lemon-use the rest of the lemon for the juice
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two large pieces of parchment paper by folding them in half to crease. Then open the papers and lay flat.
- On one side of the crease, place half of the zucchini, red onion, dill, and one lemon slice. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a salmon fillet on top and drizzle with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the second piece of parchment paper and remaining ingredients.
- Fold the parchment paper over the salmon to close, making a half-moon shape. Seal the open sides by folding small pleats in the paper. Place the parchment packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until the salmon is opaque. Serve warm. Easy clean-up too, just toss the parchment paper away, wipe off the baking sheet and call it done!
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:: thinking :: Minus and Red are BOTH worth decent food, be it RAO's sauce or anything else that their budget will allow.
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We ate tonight also....at Volante Farms deli section prior to a jazz concert there given by a group of Oberlin students who are starting on a month's tour down the east coast. One of the kids is from Wellesley which is why they pitched their gig to Volantes and they got it. They were delightful. And I was thrilled to skip a dinner prep! Lazy lady.....
So DH started our BLT summer ritual, had it on an oblong ciabatta roll, so cut in half it looked like two sandwiches. He raved about it.
I went with something with a bit more interest....a roasted turkey sandwich on wheat bread with baby arugula, house made pear chutney, sharp cheddar and whole grain mustard. It was delightful! More delightful was our dessert of Volante's ice cream....I had a cone of cherry ice cream with large chocolate pieces and a scoop of pistachio as well. Yummm! I figured I could handle that after working out at the gym today for almost two hours. DH wisely stayed home with the rib pain. I carefully avoided any back stressing.
Tomorrow I head to my former school to attend a retirement luncheon for a woman who refused to have a real dinner/party/celebration. She's kind of a bitter lady who cannot allow herself to be given to. I always tried to collaborate with her for the sake of the kids. I'm hoping that some of us retirees showing up will help her feel valued as she rides off into the sunset. I hope they decide on a menu beyond lasagna...but if not, we'll have arugula salad and veggies for dinner since DH is also having lunch out.
Today at Trader's they were featuring samples of chicken salad using their yogurt dip made with cilantro and chives instead of mayo. It was totally passable....and would even be better with chicken other than their canned variety. This over lettuce would be a nice light summer dinner.
HaHa Red....so happy that I am in your thoughts at Panera!
Today we had an interesting letter from a couple who might like to buy our house...upsizing from a smallish cape. This is what is happening here with so few houses on the market, and lots of buyers. Too bad we are not physically or emotionally close to being ready ...and have no place to go!! Smaller houses are even harder to come by....most being snatched up by builders for expansion. Would prefer to stay in this town. So it does get our wheels turning......providing more motivation to keep clearing things out. To be continued.....
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So tonight - being worth whatever I determine (which is a LOT) - I broiled two lobster tails & dipped them in melted butter. $4.99 each at my local grocery store. Yes, I know, previously frozen, probably from outer mongolia - but they did taste like real lobster and managed to appease my craving with all of you talking about lobster rolls. It's a matter of quality. To someone from the East coast the quality was the difference between comparing Dungeness or Alaska King Crab with the blue crabs from the Gulf of Mexico.
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Ditto to Susan's Rao worthy comment!
Also, I neglected to mention that I am also sorry to learn about your WBC Susan. This so sucks! What does the doc say CAN be done aside from things that you must avoid to protect yourself. Anything?? I'm not familiar with the shots Minus mentioned....need to learn more. Hugs to you......
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Minus, I am chuckling over your seafood score....and comparisons. I have always loved seafood and grew up with a father who was severely allergic to it. So when he went on business trips, my mother would heat up Mrs. Paul's fishsticks to satisfy our cravings....but only on the first night of a five day business trip so the house would be clear of any fish smell residue by the time DF returned. This was a long business trip ritual for us! We thought we were in heaven with those fish sticks!!
When I attended college in Indiana, I ate seafood that was like cardboard (dining hall variety you can imagine), but enjoyed lobster tails in restaurants there...crayfish, but tasty in their own right. I also learned to enjoy trout. I have to say that I do appreciate having fresh seafood close by, but I bet there are much better options for it even in dining halls these days in the midwest...just like us getting good avocados here. Lots of frequent flyer miles for those items!
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Lacey - we were cross posting but looks like you had another wonderful meal.
Going to see my new MO tomorrow. Lots of questions. Then meeting my SIL for lunch. Passing along all the jeans & pants for her daughter (my niece) that I bought at the bottom of the chemo cycle which are now way too small since I'm sort of back to normal. If I ever get that small again, I'll be in a hospital bed so no worries about saving the clothes. Her choice was La Madelaine. I can always find good bread there & something to match with it.
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I don't really understand why neuprogen or neulasta aren't an option while taking Ibrance, but they don't seem to be. Several women over on my Ibrance thread have stated that if their WBC is above 2.4 they have stayed on the drug. Others say that their oncs watch the AbsNeut numbers and mine are low, but not below the acceptable range. Either the office will call, or they won't.
Minus, sending clothing back out into the world must mean you have been attacking closets [or spare bedrooms!] Hard work. I sent a bunch of clothes off to a clothing swap party that a friend of the kid's holds every 6 months. For me, clothing isn't the issue. We have boxes and boxes of sheet music, kitchen stuff, and years of concert programs.
Doesn't lobster tail freeze well? That sounds like quite the treat. Mrs. Pauls fish sticks, not so much. My mother used to buy Gorton's of Gloucester, and yes, like you Lacey, we loved them. Haven't had a fish stick in years! Lately, I have run into recipes that are quite the "in thing".... making homemade foods that once upon a time were cafeteria fare, but elevated. Tater tots, fish sticks, American chop suey. I just don't have a huge amount of nostalgia for that kind of stuff.
*susan*
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Susan, you and I were posting at the same time so I missed your news about the white blood count.
DH and I have been rv travelling since the 90's, when we sold our last sailboat and bought a camper. We call ourselves reverse snowbirders since we like our winters here in the south but find the summers too hot and humid. We made many interesting summer trips over the years, exploring different areas of the US, including New England. We also spent a summer in Canada and another in Alaska. We always wandered from place to place, never staying at one campsite longer than a couple of weeks.
Then four years ago we decided to return to an area in northern MN. We found a campground/resort on the internet called Pine Hollow Resort. We ended up staying there two months and spent another month moving here and there in the Midwest and visiting dh's relatives. This is our 4th year to return to this spot in MN and we plan to leave the camper and pay an annual seasonal fee to the owners of the small resort. We have made friends with the other "seasonals" and with the young owners.
This area of MN has affordable golf courses, many miles of paved bike trails and isn't as pricey and crowded as the NE. It isn't as far away as the NW coast of the US, another area we like a lot. There isn't a more beautiful spot in the country than the Oregon coast.
DH has his athletic shoes on and is waiting for me to don mine so we can go to the gym!
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Susan, I hope you get a call...with some ideas for relief. I'm glad you have a thread to connect with about this "experience". So frustrating....
I have probably not had a fish stick in many decades....and imagine them to be disgusting, but who knows?
I like the sound of your gentle summer adventures North, Carole. I always think of you when we pass five wheelers on the highway to and from NH.
Got up nice and early this AM before the hot water gets shut off for the water heater to be replaced. I am ready for this plumbing/heating upgrade to be over.
Susan, my largest piles and full boxes are professional books and clinical materials....just can't part with them yet...but the day is not far off. The clothes are way easier to dismiss....much less meaning...and since retired, I need few outfits. Your music materials would be very hard to part with.
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Just home from the retirement luncheon...where I now wish I'd shut up about the possible Italian food! Instead it was ribs and chicken with a very gmo looking sauce slathered over everything, plus canned corn, grossly unexciting romaine salad with cardboard tomatoes (there are prices to pay when you are a salad making queen!), and white rolls. I basically had a small piece of chicken and some sheet cake with icing. Not a memorable meal! However it was fun to see my old staff and catch up with them. And the retirement honoree seemed happy enough with her very low key party. That was what was important! Sometimes I am too focused on food.
I wanted to post this short little article that came in my Facebook newsfeed about the difference between cilantro likers and cilantro haters:
Oops, it is gone from my paste....
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