So...whats for dinner?
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lacey - the good news is that while vegan has protein challenges, it doesn't limit other things like sugar. I did make those chocolate vegan cupcakes and was able to use regular frosting on them. They tasted great too! Using quinoa and brown rice products works well - you can make a lot of regular dishes and just omit the meat/chicken/fish. I do a lot of vegetable combos served over quinoa or brown rice, or brown rice pasta with assorted sauces - so gluten free, dairy free and egg free.
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Dinner tonight was BLT's and they were delicious. The Bread Lady's Ezekiel bread lightly toasted was perfect for the bread component.
No vegetarians or vegans in our family or among our acquaintances. Vegan means no eggs or dairy in addition to no meat?
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Nance, there is a tea at the store called Gypsy Cold Care. Try the Health food stores. It is peppermint based and very soothing. Otherwise, put some honey in your tea. And a hot toddy of whisky (or brandy) hot water, lemon juice at bedtime is very soothing as well.
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Lacey, Lost in Yonkers is one of my favorite movies.
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Thanks Red, good to know.
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What a day!!! Coded from 7-11am. Made a lunch of an omelette with leftover sausage from last night's dinner, the provolone I had not used up completed after the parmesan, and a bit of gruyere. At 11:45 we were all on the road headed to Salem, MA to one of my favorite museums- the Peabody Essex. Stopped at the library to "take out the pass, isn't that amazing? You can use a library pass to get into museums! We bought the extra tickets to see the Chinese House, and we went off. Sadly, much of the Asian collection was closed for renovations, but the house, as always, is amazing, the Japanese collection is astonishing, and the Maritime arts are uniquely American. The special exhibit was a Native American art collection. Of course, they aren't artifacts from Northeast tribes [since everything was wiped out years ago] but Northwest tribes. There were both old art and new interpretations.
When we were done we headed to Lobsta Land. Yes, they spell it that way. The young cousin ordered a lobster, but it turns out she didn't know how to eat one! Me, the one who is allergic to lobster showed her how to get into the beast. She simply couldn't get into the tail so the waitress kindly took it to the kitchen to crack with a knife. After dinner, we went to a beach and walk to get the sand in our toes. There was a lighthouse across the inlet. Sailboats were going by. Lovely houses were perched on granite outcroppings. It doesn't get more picturesque. By now, I was feeling pretty lousy, and so we headed home as the sun set.
Tomorrow, I must code. All day. No exceptions. More coding on Monday. And no matter what, install on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I might file for unemployment, though I don't qualify. :-)
Vegan as a diet is no animal products, at all. No butter, no eggs, no cheese, no meat [that is the easy part], no gelatin, and no honey. If you adopt the full lifestyle, then no leather, no silk, no wool. I find cooking for vegans unsatisfying, as a general rule. I did do one T-day dinner with a young friend of the kid who was vegan, and she was great. She grabbed food as it was cooked to put on her Earth Balance, and then I buttered the rest. She made a tofu-pumpkin pie. M year brother-in-law ate some and praised her. Privately, he admitted that it was just awful.
*susan*
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Susan, loved the word painting of the beach scene. New England is loaded with picturesque. Thanks for the explanation of the vegan diet. I watched some tv shows with a vegan cook on Create channel several years ago when we got the channel here in MN. She used "vegan" mayo and "vegan" cheese. I'm guessing those food products are made with chemical flavorings and soy. Mushrooms and nuts add so-called umami flavor. She evidently got enough calories to be on the chubby side. Hope you're successful in getting all your work accomplished.
Yesterday we went to the Loggers and Legends event in Park Rapids. Each year chain saw artists create sculptures during the two days of the festival right there on the grounds. Plus they bring some completed sculptures. DH and I were hoping to buy a bear sculpture for our deck. We saw the perfect little fellow holding a welcome sign and wearing bright blue overalls. I bid on him up to $350 and then dropped out. It was clear the other bidder meant to have him and $350 was more than I initially had decided I would pay. The same artist had two other bears minus the overalls. I didn't get either of them. One of the large bears went for $2000 plus. It's so much fun watching the action at an auction. Rustic benches with carved backs are popular. I think the big bidders are well-heeled summer folks with lake homes and also some business owners.
DH's sister and her dh are arriving this afternoon in their Mercedes camper van. We'll grill ribeyes for dinner. Sides will be salad and steamed broccoli and potatoes prepared in some fashion, maybe boiled. BIL is diabetic and avoids carbs.
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The bear I didn't bring home.
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Bench I admired.
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Carole, I'm sorry Mr. Bear didn't get to go home with you. He would have looked good on your deck.
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I don't eat dairy but vegan substitute products that are not made from soy are more abundant since more people seem to be eliminating dairy, and/or going vegan. I use coconut milk coffee creamer and use unsweetened vanilla almond milk in smoothies. There are now some decent almond milk cheese alternatives, and I use a product called Just Mayo which has no eggs or soy, and actually tastes pretty good. I also use Earth Balance in place of butter.
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Also sorry you didn't get Mr. Bear, Carole, but your pocketbook must be relieved! I also enjoy auction action, but can also get caught up in bidding....that's how we got our house rental in Tuscany last year. Such an expensive adventure but it was an auction for charity. Some folks near us here have three cool benches cut from huge logs set around their fire pit. I'll try to take a pic to show you on my next walk past it.
Susan, I do think vegan lifestyle is often philosophical/ethical in purpose, and some folks I know who are vegan are very committed not to use any animal products. I'll be interested to learn more about DS1 and DDIL's implementation. I have never even entered a vegan restaurant since so many food items involve cashews and I am allergic to them. I would be a worried and annoying (trying to order things that had no contact with cashews)customer. Your day on the North Shore sounded wonderful, if exhausting.
Your library pass reminds me that my newly retired former colleague can hardly wait for us to go myseum hopping this fall using the library passes....a good value that I often forget exists!
We did have spaghetti and meatballs at our friends' house last evening. I brought some sauteed veggies laced with parmesan, and a garden salad. We then played an interesting game that DH has been dying to use since he was introduced to it last year....."Wise and Otherwise". It was pretty interesting, fun and brain challenging.
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Not really sunny enough for the beach so we walked a lot and I took a photo of the cool "fire pit" benches:
I bet you see benches like this in your northland. I really like them...and saw some very pretty cushions on them one morning
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In fact, it is cold here today. I put on long pants and a sweatshirt and have just removed them at 4pm since it is now a hole 70º! And the young French cousin is headed 4 hrs north of here tomorrow with a weekly prediction of rain with highs getting all the way to 66º. Oh the nights will be cold indeed. She does not have the right clothes. Her cute skinny jeans are practically see through they are so thin. I promised her parents that I would take good care of her so we are off to do my least favorite thing in the world- shopping. I will give her 15 minutes to find a pair of pants, preferably on sale [i.e. cheap] at H&M and OldNavy. I believe she understands that we are going for practical, not fashion, and if she doesn't want to keep the pants, I will donate them to some other young girl who is skinnier than one of my thighs but can't afford new pants.
That, my friends, is the definition of a great host.
The time spent shopping should be dinner prep time, so we will let Chef José make our dinner at the delicious Mexican restaurant.
*susan*
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Lacey, those benches actually look comfortable. They appear to be varnished.
Our guests are about an hour away. They will be our first visitors here at Pine Hollow.
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Carole, enjoy your guests' visit!
And Susan, you are the ultimate international hostess (faux mother)!!
We had a not too cool, but not very sunny day today, (with threatening clouds that eventually evaporated)so after walking, and then sitting on the deck enjoying the hummers' antics, we drove into town to check out the gift shop everyone on the beach has been tauting.
I was skepticle since from the front door it looked like it carried typical junk magnets.....but, NOT SO FAST! It is a lovely little store with lots of very nice gifts, children's books, hand crafted toys, unique Newfound Lake shirts, and wonderful artwork by the owners who are brothers.
Then there is the 46 year old turtle, Diane, who even has her own website! Diane was the pet turtle of one of the owners...all these years. She is big! My pet turtles did not enjoy such longevity! Can't wait to have DGD and DGS meet her....tho they will probably head straight for the penny candy jars!
So our next stop was to an ice cream and sandwich shop where we picked up BLTs (and I tried their ice cream, knowing it had to be better than last year....it wasn't ) and headed back to the lake since by then the skies looked beautifully clear, and a sunset dinner on the boat in the company of a small loon family just felt right. Oh my! What a delightful time that was! Gorgeous sunset and voyeuring the tutorial of Momma and Papa to their loon chick on the fine arts of diving, and flapping wings....priceless! All for the cost of two BLTs.
Special, I hope the rain stops soon (!) in your area.
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lacey - I feel like we are having rain like you guys had snow last winter! So crazy!
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The loon tutorial sounds right down my alley.
Yesterday we took dh's sister and our bil to Itasca State Park and the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. It's a small shallow spot near Lake Itasca where everyone wades into the water for a photo op. We had lunch at the old lodge in the park. Then drove to Bemidji and located a quilt shop. SIL is a skilled and devoted quilter and has a book with listings of quilt shops in all the states.
Dinner last night was cheese and crackers, nuts, fresh cherries and wine.
Our relatives are about our age but not nearly as active. SIL is in a study at Mayo for a drug to treat amyloidosis, a disease as deadly as cancer. She has suffered heart damage and isn't up to a lot of walking. She goes to Mayo at Rochester once a month for tests and an infusion. So far, we're told, the blood work is positive for her continuing the study. BIL, retired gastro dr., has hammer toes and isn't up to a lot of walking, either.
Not sure what the day will hold but I'm planning to take Bonnie to Park Rapids to Monica's, a quilt shop.
I'm feeling thankful that I can bike, climb into a boat, play golf and do the things I do at age 72.
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Carole, I actually like the sound of that dinner! We had a salad made with almost all of the leftovers I had in the fridge, including regular salad items, then the sauteed squash, grilled teriyaki chicken, and the Greek pasta salad. It was actually very tasty, and we were starved after spending part of the afternoon kayaking around Mayhew Island, partially against a gusty wind. I wondered how my shoulders would do since I worked them hard, and today they feel fine. Guess I'll keep up with those exercises!
We head home today (in pouring rain) to tend to neglected matters there....lawn, fitness center, haircuts, lunches with friends before they return to their school jobs....and will return here in a week to be with DS1's family, and DS2 and DGF. We will all celebrate DH's 70th together. DS2 has already booked reservations at a lovely restaurant overlooking the lake for the birthday dinner. Yay(!) says the chief cook!
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DH leaves today for a vacation trip with DS in Colorado, they will be camping and hiking. So, kind of a vacation for me since I won't be ironing shirts, cooking dinner, packing lunch, etc. I am having the Tampa BCO ladies over for lunch on Sat., so that will be fun - here is my prelim menu - an assortment of lasagnas - traditional, vegetable and Mexican, an arugula/watermelon/feta salad, a fruit platter with grilled pineapple/prosciutto wrapped melon/berries/grapes, a field greens salad with mandarin oranges and glazed walnuts with a sweet vinaigrette, caprese salad with roasted tomatoes and basil vinaigrette, and for dessert a lemon cake, a mocha cake, chocolate fondue, to drink there will be iced tea, lemonade, and blackberry sangria. I am making myself hungry, lol!
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Geez SK, wish I was in Tampa!
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WOW, Special! That is a SPECIAL luncheon.....Yummmmm!!
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Come on down, lol!
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Hooray - it's the Hatch Chili festival at Central Market. It only happens a couple of weeks a year. You can get fresh roasted chilies every day, or raw or dried riattas. And the store makes custom foods with Hatch Chili that are just delicious - salsa, hummus, mac & cheese, rubbed salmon - even a Hatch Chili wine this year. Munching on Hatch Chili chocolate chip cookies. Sounds weird but yummy. My favorite is the Hatch Chili scones from the bakery. Slice and slather w/butter & lightly heat. YUMMY. I bought a dozen yesterday but between sharing w/friends & pigging out myself, I'll need to go back next week before the festival is over to get more to freeze.
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OK behind again but at least I put a bookmark on where I stopped. I get to surfing too much on here and never get back to my favs. Not much cooking going on here. Haven't had the oven on in 2 weeks at least. Too darned hot. Only supposed to be 98 here after over 100 for most of the last 2 weeks. No rain in sight. Expecting a burn ban any day. I did manage to cook an enormous pan of BBQ boneless pork ribs; froze about 1/2. Tonight will be hamburgers and some corn I bought last week that needs using up. Think tomorrow will be crockpot white chicken chili. Chicken breasts on sale. But then again I have green beans again - never made Bedo's dilled ones. But I did make skillet dilled beans, yum.
Last I left I'd made the John Wayne Chiles Rellenos, kinda my way. Tres Hermanas brand chiles from WallyWorld were wonderful in it. Fat, few seeds, standing upright, well skinned. Eggy, cheesy what's not to love. I brought home about 1.5 servings out of 9x13" dish. Other than that we've been existing on salads, bean burritos, maybe a stir fry. Oh and cantaloupes finally came in around here. TJs got their figs in last week. DH had a doc appt and I went along for the ride. He parked and let (haha sounds like I'm a captive) me out. I resisted everything else, blinders on.
Lacey - what a lovely farmers' market you have. Purslane was a treat when settlers found it. I remember that from DD's Oregon Trail cooking/eating project.
I love Bok Choi too but the price here is outrageous in the grocery. Have not heard of Mei Yen seasoning. What is/was so special about it? Do you still have a jar to see the contents? Have you tried H Mart?
Herbs are one thing I just can't get to grow. This summer even my mint that I drench is looking putrid. I have a nice pineapple sage but I just rub it and have never cooked with it. I would love to have "an abundance" of basil. Mine has to be pots, not that I don't have the room but just nowhere with enough sun/water access. I had a small area in backyard fenced with chicken wire to keep dog out but it really doesn't get enough afternoon sun. Tried tomatoes which did OK for a couple of years but DH had topped the crepe myrtles that border it and I think they had more sun. He likes the c. myrtles for privacy, not like neighbor could even see in from the distance/angle.
Carole - congrats on the boat buy. I was imagining some 16 foot alum. with a small motor. Dats a boat! Wow love the deck and your set up in general. Looks so homey.
Special - I would love to get some new dishes. I have an old pottery set we bought about 20 years ago supplemented with some Corian from WW. Crate and Barrel is one store not in Ft Worth, haven't been in the Pottery Barn here in years. What color did you get? Yummy looking cupcakes. How many are you feeding for the get together? Wish I lived closer.
Interesting tattoos. I'm basically a wimp so doubt I would ever get one. Bedo - I am jealous of the fish.
Susan - where do you tap into your energy? I'd have to find an old textbook for your CBC results but see Special has done a good job. Yay that markers are down and WBC holding their own. How long is French cousin in town for?
Off to start those hamburgers. DH is working an earlier shift so we now have normal dinner hour
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Nancy - this was several days back but is this the KA recipe you were thinking of?
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/100-whole-w...
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Luv, I think that's the one.
Tonight was a lamb tagine with potatoes and green beans. Even though it's called a tagine, it was cooked entirely in the pressure cooker. Other than not quite enough heat and a little too much preserved lemon, it was quite tasty. Flat bread was good to mop up the juices.
Yesterday we went back to the gym after a prolonged absence, so today was an "ouchy" kind of day. But we'll be back at it tomorrow. Looking forward to swimming in the new pool after the kiddies go back to school next week.
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luv - just before my 27 year-old son was born I bought a set of classic white large rim dishes - service for 8, at J C Penney. They were awesome and durable but I had finally reached the point after 25 years that I had four of this and 7 of that - not 8 of anything! I bought some stoneware that had square plates and the underside was a sage green, but the eating surface was a glazed white. They ended up etching and looked crappy, so I bought the Verge pattern from Crate and Barrel - plain white with an edge - so far so good. I bought open stock but got a deal on 8, didn't get mugs because the ones from the previous set are in good shape and they coordinate.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/verge-dinnerware/f46...
I also got some coupe type bowl/plate things, which we use for big salads.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/restaurant-11.75-cou...
I went back to white because I like the way food looks on them, plus I have a ton of catering platters and cake stands that are all white. I vary things with colorful napkins and some other serving pieces that have color.
So far there are eight for lunch, wish you lived closer too! I wish you all could come!
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Omigosh! Wouldn't it be fun for this group to get together for a meal?
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It would be epic!!!
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