So...whats for dinner?
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nance, Wow. I didn't realize that you were quite that far away. So much more difficult...... and holiday weekends are impossible. I wish this was easier for you.
Minus, now I want to go to Hawaii! Your meals sounds absolutely fabulous. I love Japanese food, but Mr. 02143, not so much. At least what I have made him here.
*susan*
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Minus, I am positively drooling over the food you had in Hawaii! Thanks for giving us some warm and delicious tropical thoughts on such a frigid night!
Nancy, my heart goes out to you caring for your dad living so far away. In the last year of my mom's life, I was ping-ponging between Chicago & Delray Beach every three weeks or so. And a year after that, I had four trying weeks with Bob's elderly folks being in different wings at LIJ, with me based in a Garden City motel because Bob couldn’t take time off to be in NY. Bob's dad made it out but it became clear after his wife died (at almost 96) that it was not safe for him to live on his own. He had been all set to move into the same assisted living highrise as several of his neighbors until he decided it was too costly and he wanted to live closer to us. Bob brought him to Chicago on Gordy's college graduation weekend, intending to have him tour some nice retirement hotels along the lakefront....but after one taste of my cooking, and one Mass at St. Gertrude's, he refused to budge. So for two years, life got, uh, interesting. (Our housekeeper got combat pay). It was very trying at times--we clashed on lifestyles, spending, health, diet, politics, etc. But after 2 yrs he had a massive irreversible stroke and passed away at 91, exactly 2-1/2 yrs. after moving in with us. He was a brilliant, multifaceted and at times thoughtful man, and I miss him, despite our differences.
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eric glad your almost daughter is safe. Sorry for her friends.
Susan love the cabinets and tile.
Nance hang in there.
Minus next time don't take any clothes. I'll ride in the suitcase! LOL
I had another bout of not keeping anything down. Also I was in a lot of pain. Finally decided to go to urgent care who sent me to the ER. Cat scan time. Of course you will know I was totally relieved to be diagnosed with kidney stones. LOL. Something real that was causing much pain and something they would do something about! I'm back at home now with anti nausea meds and pain pills. Feel like a wet sponge though.
It's all my fault though. I told the dentist I was feeling pretty good. LOL. Too bad I drove myself home and went alone. I could have really played that up with DH, but this is his week to catch up with work at the arm and start prepping his apt for the outage. We thought he was done with the outages, but as long as hes here and not yet in Florida, he has to work. 12 hrs and for 6 out of 7 days. Ugh.
I ad some chicken pieces for supper. So far so good. Maybe if this stone passes I'll be able to really eat something.
Much love.
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-9 at 8:44am. Cold. *susan*
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Happy Valentine's Day to all of my foodie sweethearts! Woke up this morning to 3 inches of new snow. There are at least a million birds at the feeders. No worries -- it's supposed to be 60 degrees on Friday. I will take advantage of the warm weather to get a much needed pedicure
For my valentine at home tonight we will have a filet (for him), cold water lobster tails (for me), a wedge salad and cheese souffle. Perhaps a baguette as well.
Monica -- I hope this does pass and quickly. No fun!
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Moon - sorry for your ER trip but yes, we do understand your relief that it's "just" kidney stones.
Susan & all back east - thinking of you. Hope pipes don't freeze and cars start.
ChiSandy - can't remember when you're going to San Antonio but I found something else that might be interesting. WitteMuseum.org is now hosting "Salud!" dinners at the museum. They've already had 15 dinners, 'tapping into San Antonio's culinary scene to bring conversations about food into the evening' with chef's explaining their process & taking questions. One was a Bug Dinner. Think I would have passed on that one. Schedules are on their web site.
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Monica, more wishes for you to pass those stones quickly while the pain meds is active!!
It was -11 degrees here this AM and the wind chill was below -20... Brutal! So happy that Winston duty was over. Even he would resist going out at 6AM in this, although I suspect the cold wind was even worse in his neighborhood next to the harbor where DS2 will have the pleasure of walking him. Yowser!
After church (where our young minister put together the most beautiful service featuring the four kinds of love described by C.S. Lewis...in which DH and two good friends talked about "philia", documenting their close friendship over the past 35 years that started in a church "mens group"), DH and I went food shopping for tonight's Valentine's dinner. Since we could not recover from the sticker shock of the tenderloin filets, we settled on rib eye steaks which will be accompanied by sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli, french dinner rolls, and a salad of my choosing. We bought eclairs for dessert. A nice evening to stay home and have a hearty meal.
So for all of the hype about our cold weather, I am much more concerned about the forecast for Tuesday when we are supposed to have 50 degrees and heavy rain. Given the snow on our roofs and the potential for the sponge effect, this could be pretty scary. But no, I will not expect DH to get on a ladder and clear our roof.
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Lacey, I vastly prefer ribeye to tenderloin--nearly as tender and MUCH more flavorful!
Right now it's in the high teens with snow showers. Ugh. We're walking to Valentine's Day dinner in a few hours. That means UGGS, which also means casual clothes (didn't get to wear my new shimmery swing-jacketed palazzo-pants Chico's outfit last night, since our house concert was postponed two weeks). Fortunately, dinner’s at our casual but upscale neighborhood joint (where we walked to & from the Super Bowl party last week), so jeans & sweaters will be the order of the day for most patrons in weather like this. Clear tomorrow, more snow Tues. and then a warmup. Nicest day will be Thurs.--39 but sunny. Fri. will be 56 (!), but extremely windy--very typical for Chicago in late winter & early spring. Gotta take the bad with the good, I guess.
The ribeye with espresso salt and cracked peppercorns was delicious--and I got 3 servings (2 dinners and breakfast) out of it. I flash-steamed some halved Brussels sprouts and then sprinkled them with blood orange oil, lemon white balsamic, and a combo of black truffle and Sicilian orange sea salts.
We have a shop in N. Evanston near the hospital/cancer center and Hogeye Music called “Old Town Oil." It has spigoted tanks along opposite walls: one with oils, the other with vinegars. Not just various EVOOs from Italy, Spain, Greece and California--but flavored ones and nut oils as well. The vinegars run the gamut from aged balsamic to red wine to flavored white “balsamics" (an oxymoron, acc. to foodies) and sherry vinegar. The combinations I like are the blood orange oil + grapefruit or lemon balsamic, lime oil+ lemon or blueberry balsamic, and walnut oil + sherry vinegar. The sherry vinegar is also great for pan-finishing skate wing quickly sauteed in browned butter, the sprinkled with capers. The resulting pan vinaigrette is poured over the fish. Yum! You choose your oils & vinegars (free little paper tasting cups just like at fro-yo shops), and they bottle it and shrink-capsule the neck on site. You can bring your empties back for refills or recycling. You can buy any quantities from a cupful to a quart. I usually buy 12 oz.
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I am sorry I can't keep up. I stayed at a friend's house this weekend, it is just too cold here, -20 with wind chill and cabin not that insulated. I laughed at silly women going to the store in leggings and their parkas. Silly girls, put on knee highs, leggings,then jeans, - 20 boots, long sleeve t shirt, flannel shirt, -40 parka, cat hat with cat face I don't care, it has ear flaps, gloves with mittens over. scarf and you are ready to go.
Had a lovely eggs" Benedict" with eggs-2 on home made toast, tomatoes, tomato pesto, avocados spinach ,Benedict sauce whatever that is. and hash browns. And orange juice. I think I need carbs in this weather.
Moon Ouchie! Stones are so painful! I hope you are recovering.
Time to go in the shower ie meat locker. :O
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Susan, your pulls are lovely. They will look great with your cabinets. We gutted our entire house six years ago, and with all the construction. I swear I can still feel that layer of fine dust on my skin that wouldn't go away. It's worth it in the end, but the process can be a nightmare. My husband is an architect, so he did the drawings, but we hired a general contractor to execute his plans. Oy vey. It wasn't easy.
Lacey, I LOVE rib eye. Yummy, marbling goodness.
Auntienance, my dad was hospitalized twice in the last three years for pneumonia. He was also in the hospital for a year after a botched surgery in 2003. I've had my share of snarky RNs, and it's just not acceptable. When I even remotely sense an attitude with respect to my father, I would say, you choose your career. My father did not choose to be in the hospital. I would then put in a complaint, and not allow that nurse to be with my father.
Sandy, we have an oil and vinegar bar at my local Whole Foods. I'm fascinated by the idea of a blood orange oil. I have macadamia oil, avocado oil, almond oil besides EVOO. But I look for other interesting oils. I'm also just getting into vinegars. I have sherry, champagne, besides my standard balsamic and my aged balsamic. White balsamic kind of makes me cringe.
Tonight I made a ragu out of my leftover pot roast. I sautéed onions, garlic,mushrooms and carrots, added a little diced tomatoes and the shredded meat. I let it simmer for about 1/2 hour and added a touch of heavy cream. Paired this with rigatoni and it was delicious. I also made a Caesar salad.
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Tonight was some leftover angel hair pasta mixed with marinara and some heavy cream and tossed with roasted chicken breast, topped with grated parm. Steamed some broccoli and had a butter lettuce salad with marinated mushrooms. Got DH's lunch all together and then realized that tomorrow he is off for President's Day - eeesh. At least I don't have to make lunch tomorrow, lol!
Everyone in the cold - bundle up and stay warm and safe!
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It was in the mid 80F degree range today. Sorry.....but you all can laugh this summer when it's 119F in the shade. My wife's hometown was -37F (thermometer) temperature...no wind chill.
Susan, if the house is more than 30-40 years old, I would certainly hope they checked for lead and asbestos before they started all the work.
Bedo.....storm windows are the best, especially if they are all properly weather stripped. Since it takes a long time to build storm windows, 8 or 10 mil clear plastic sheeting, cut with scissors, stapled and taped in place, would help. It's not perfectly clear..think frosted glass...but it's (should be, anyway) cheap. Most improvement stores should sell it. It's probably going to be a bit hard on the wall finish, but......
I suppose you could get 1/16 inch thick Plexiglass and cut it large enough to cover the windows with some extra margin on the edges. It's very clear (used for aircraft windows) but it's not cheap and would require some work to be cut to size and secured over the windows.
The phone......
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I will definitely keep this valentine...
And the ribeye was delicious! Here is the kitchen table (since my sewing stuff currently graces the dining room;) Valentine's dinner:
For the record, we managed to down half of that meat....and will enjoy the rest sometime this week
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Dinner tonight was braised lamb shoulder a la Julia Child. I made some flageolet beans with bacon, shallot and spinach. The flageolet beans were clearly a bit old as they didn't gain the consistency that I crave in a bean. I am being nice to myself since this is the first time I have cooked these beans from dry. When we discovered them in France, it was the season and we bought bags and bags fresh. What a treat! There are lots of leftovers. We shall see how much we eat before I send the dish to the freezer.
Here is another picture from today's visit. Obviously, this is the fridge that was in the building when we bought it. We are starting to think the kids can live with these new appliances for a bit so we can afford to finish the rest of the project.
*susan*
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Slogged through howling wind and drifting snow earlier tonight to Valentine’s Day dinner. Shared appetizer of shrimp & mango ceviche with house-made tortilla chips, bourbon-glazed grilled salmon atop julienne veggies & grilled sweet potato (Bob had steak for the second night in a row) and shared chocolate-drizzled strawberries in caramel sauce. Wine was a bottle of Vigna de Alice sparkling brut rosé (made in the Prosecco wine region of the Veneto but with different grapes, artisanally, in small Charmat tanks). Mignardise that came with the check was a cinnamon-and crystallized ginger gelee dipped in dark chocolate--made by Josie, the ace pastry chef/bartender who’s raising money to do the full 39-mi. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. (Bob, Carrie & I are doing only the 5K). The walk home was considerably easier (must have been the wine), though the slush at the intersections made it a bit dicey--I skidded more than once.
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If that were me, I'd probably have grill marks from trying to keep warm. That steak looks good and the table setting is amazing looking too.
Moon..ouch...hope they pass with no undue issues...."Oh good. It's only kidney stones" is probably not the usual reaction to that diagnosis, but like you said, it's completely understandable.
Except for asbestos and lead removal, I did all the work on my grandparent's "built in 1870" home. Hsant, there were a few nights I slept on a cot on the back porch or in the dirt floor detached garage...where it wasn't so dusty. :-)
Susan, those cabinets are awesome. I love light colored cabinets. Good choice! :-) As for the stainless refrigerator, just tell them to put enough pictures and stuff on the 'fridge so the stainless won't show!
Dinner last night was sweet peppers of all colors, onions, a bit of garlic and mushrooms all sauteed...I'm guessing there was about 2 pounds of "not meat", along with about a quarter pound of thinly sliced strip steak....there were no leftovers. :-)
I've not encountered a snarky nurse and the doctors have run the gamut from "not very personable" to "OK" to "really good"....except for one. He was involved in Mickey's end of life care/ pain management. I pitched such a fit about his care/competency/humanity that...a bunch of security guards showed up and Mickey got a new doctor.
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I have to say that with few exceptions, I think nurses are rock stars and I truly appreciate the difficult job they do. I hate when there is one who makes a difficult situation more difficult. That being said, dad got transferred to rehab today! His new nurse at the rehab center called me this evening to ask if I had any questions, to tell me dad was comfortable and give me information about the place and dad's plan. See what I mean about rock stars? I am greatly relieved.
The Valentine's day meals sounds awesome. The lobster tails were delish. Lacey, I'd hang onto that valentine too
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Nance, I'm glad to hear that your dad is settled and that communication is on the upswing. Here's hoping things just keep improving and that he feels sonewhat content there
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Bedo, I have used the hair dryer plastic on my windows for years before I had them replaced. It is pretty c ool. You put two sided tape around the window frame (inside the house) and then you cut the film to just a little bigger than where you put the tape. Then you hit it with a blow dryer and it "shrink wraps" your window. My only problem was the kitty poked a hole is a couple of them, so I used duck tape to try to repair it....HAHA
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Thanks Redheaded, Eric and Susan for the window suggestions. My er "John" has been frozen and won't flush for two nights despite pouring hot water in the back and firing a hair dryer on the pipes. Finally put a space heater in the bathroom and success! TMI I'm going to price them out. Our future here is undecided with MIL's illness.
Nance glad about your Dad's improvement.
I made an actually good chowder out of surimi (fake crab) hope I'm spelling that right, with leeks, fresh dill, marjoram, milk, butter, flour, Worcester sauce,vegetable broth, salt, pepper and some hot flakes.
Kitties are attached to my body at night They love me so. Why did they not love me so last summer?Our garden is meeting for a seed swap this Thursday. Summer is coming
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Bedo - hard to believe you're having a garden meeting already. Brrrr. The chowder sounds great.
I need to tell you about some of the other Hawaii meals so I can put them out of my mind (not likely). At the Chart House: Pan Seared Herb Crusted Ahi – ginger, garlic, kaiware crusted Yellow Fin tuna, seared rare w/Ponzu butter. And another night, Opah (moonfish) with jasmine wild rice & of all things, Boston clam chowder to start. And absolutely delicious 7 grain bread. At Shokudo Japanese: shrimp tempura, pork gyoza, assorted sashimi (ahi, salmon, hamachi, ika, & scallop) lobster dymamite (YUMMY, cooked in cream w/hot spices), hot Udon noodles, spicy miso ramen. At Rum Fire: Kalua Pork nachos, calamari basket (OK, you caught me – these were pupus at a bar right on the beach which we had w/drinks instead of dinner). At Nicos Pier 38: Poke sampler, truffle fries, grilled peppercorn swordfish, seafood pasta (Mediterranean style with calamari, shrimp, fish in a light lemon cream sauce w/local grape tomatoes). At Siam Square: wonderful vegetable rolls & excellent rice & can't remember what else – things w/beef & tomatoes & onions. At Tango Café: Cobb Salad (the best blue cheese dressing I've tasted in a long time), wanted to have some of the specials but I was just too full – sweet Madras Curry w/grilled banana & house-made Mango Chutney, sautéed Seabass w/lemon & capers, scallops & shrimp in lobster cream sauce. And last but not least, Morning Glass – a breakfast/coffee place: emphasis on seasonal, local and sustainable products. We support local farmers and producers where-ever we can – fresh pork from Shinsato farms, fresh beef from Kulana Beef on the Big Island, local tomatoes from the Big Island, greens of all kinds as well as bananas and lilikoi from the North Shore, mangos, papayas, Lehua honey from Oahu, even local milk from Hawaii Fresh on the Big Island . I had an Omelette en Casuela w/Ali'i mushrooms, gruyere cheese & carmelized onions. Didn't try the macaroni & cheese pancakes (eek).
Now I have to get back to reality!!! And figure out how to loose the 8 lbs I gained since we also had drinks before every meal & wine w/the meals. I'm sure my PT lady will be horrified at my slothfulness when I see her Wednesday.
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Minus...what a delicious way to gain 8 lbs. Totally worth it! I could never recall all that detail, delicious as it sounds! Impressive!
Today was a good one for making soup...so I made two kale soups....pretty much same recipe except that one had mixed color lentils and one had cannelini beans. We had the one with lentils tonight which was really more flavorful than the one with beans (of which there is a lot). I also roasted a whole cauliflower with yogurt/Moroccan spice coating....and since I had extra yogurt mix, I baked some chicken thighs slathered in that, too. With these little items, fresh salads, and the leftover ribeye, we should be set for the week without me needing to create much. I'd like to get some sewing tasks done....but so often gravitate to the kitchen to take care o business there.....
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Lacey - I certainly didn't remember even half the food since every meal involved at least two appetizers, but some items were sooooo good I asked for "take home" menus or business cards with web site menus. Now I have to put it behind me. Sigh. Your soups sound delicious & your Valentine meal looked delicious. I'm a fan of RibEye.
Eric - how are the kids doing at your 'test' daughter's school? Nance - good news you have a conduit for news about your Dad. Susan - I agree, the fridge will be fine for now. You need a break. Moon - are you feeling any better?
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I loved all the food you talked about. Just lost a humongous post due to bad luck. Sigh. With really long personalized notes for everyone. Honest! Really! I swear! LOL
Here's a quick update. Still have the dang thing and got a panicked call from the hospital that a Dr took a look at my cat scan and also my urine culture ( sorry if you're eating. LOL) showed infection so they wanted me on abx. Everything here is closed so I said I had just had my dentist pretreatment with a double dose and couldn't that be enough? No fever yet I thought i could Make it til the morning. I knew they were concerned because they gave me the super de duper private number to call if i get worse. Now ts 5 hours later and I'm going to sleep with no fever. LOL I know infection and told them I don't take chances but they don't know that. LOL
Good nite everyone. I think i can squeeze in another pain pill for bedtime.
Much love.
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Moon, kidney stones are a form of torture. Mr. 02143 passed some in Montana, and I thought I was going to be a widow! Only time Mr. 02143 has ever gone to an emergency room. A lot of money later, we left with a screen since the doctors wanted to analyze the stone. We didn't bother with that. No insurance, no money. But Mr. 02143 stopped drinking tea and he has never had any more stones. I sympathize tremendously!
Minus, what a great food adventure! I am just a tad jealous [again.] Sounds like a wonderful trip for you. I bet that it is hard to adjust to being back in Texas.
Nance, thank goodness he is no longer in the hospital. Hospitals are unpleasant places and really not conducive to getting well.
The tile guy is screwing with me again. All that extra bullnose is no longer needed, but he wants more regular tiles. Off to Watertown again..... will involve begging not to be charged a restocking fee. Day 7, mid-day, like clockwork the GI issues started up again. Today it feels like my system has been pummeled by Tonka toys. Little nervous to head out before stomach settles down just a bit.
*susan*
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minus - wow on the Hawaii food!!
susan - love all the pics of the new home - looks great!
moon - hang in there, kidney stones are a bear. One of my good friends had one removed when we were in middle school that was the size of a golf ball - what??? So weird and rare in someone that age. She still gets small ones from time to time, they are no fun. Hoping this chapter is over soon for you and be careful - I know you are an infection expert and will deal accordingly. That is one upside of hard-won knowledge.
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Carole: Thinking about you. Can't remember how long you planned to be in OK, but hope you're having fun.
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OK, today has consisted of needing the leakfinder guy to determine where the plumber needs to replace pipe outside under the hedge alongside the garage ($250), the plumber who replaced a section of pipe but still isn't sure if there is more repair needed because of the flooding from the leak - so will be back on Friday when things have dried out (already warning me that we are looking at $500 minimum), and for me, a UTI - yay! NOT! Tomorrow is a PS appt for another fill, and a PCP appt for the UTI. I don't want to make dinner at all, lol!
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Yike SK! You deserve a break today!
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The OK visit was enjoyable. Thanks for your thoughts, Minus. I, too, brought home extra unneeded and unwanted lbs. We ate at a Tex-Mex restaurant on Fri. night. I had soft tacos with pork filling and beans and rice on the side. The salsa and chips were especially good. The guacamole also good. The margarita was huge but not remarkable. We ate lunch out the next day at a restaurant noted for its pies. I splurged and ordered a reuben that I enjoyed. We shared a lemon pecan pie with a warm sauce and scoop of vanilla ice cream. A guy next to me had a gorgeous huge piece of cocoanut cream pie, one of my favorites. With his permission, I took a picture of it!
We stopped at an Amish store where I bought a container of whoopee pies and another with one-layer carrot cake. Saturday and Sunday morning we had hot biscuits and sausage for breakfast. Sunday night was grilled ribeyes with the side fixin's. All in all there was too much eating of heavy food and no opportunity to feel hunger.
We made the return trip yesterday and our SIL came back with us so that she can accompany her mother to OK. We departed at 6:30 am and arrived home at 7:30 pm. The Baton Rouge portion of the drive was horrible with some stop and go traffic. This is the first time in quite a while that we've made a 13 hour road trip in one day. We were quite proud of ourselves that we got up this morning and went to the gym.
Dinner will be catfish fillets, turnip mash and... something else. Maybe roasted sweet potato chunks. I looked up turnip recipes and was surprised at the variety.
I am returning to WW so meals will be simple and boring to describe.
Moon, hope you get relief from your painful ailment. Susan, I'm thinking about you as you endure chemo SEs.
Our weather is spring like. The large tulip magnolia tree in the front yard is in glorious bloom. It's about time to order bales of pine straw for mulching flower beds.
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