So...whats for dinner?

ChiSandy, how fortunate that you have scapes awaiting! If you aren't sure what you'd like to do with them, how about making some scape pesto....and you could even freeze it in small servings to be used to add interest to grilled chicken, or other proteins.

Susan, how wonderful that you and Olivia will have that time together!

On the camp topic, I went to two week Girl Scout camp for two years as a ten and eleven year old. I was initially very homesick, but enjoyed myself nonetheless, and can still recall girls I met there, and interesting/fun camper experiences. DH and I were talking about sleepover camp with DDIL recently and we were shocked to learn that she would NEVER consider send our grands to one. Apparently, it is culturally discrepant to be that separated from one's parent (mother!). Interesting......we'll keep a watch on how that develops, remembering, of course, that it's too bad if we don't agree!

Yesterday afternoon we spent on the lake.....maiden voyage, 2016, finally!! It was a perfect day for it. Then connected with neighbors on the beach until past dinner hour. We had all watched a neighbors' daughter's wedding party be water shuttled across the lake to the Inn where their rehearsal dinner was being held. Fun!

So, we returned home after 8PM needing showers and food....showers no problem, food choices limited. I sautéed a couple of portobello mushrooms, minced garlic, some chopped kale, leftover diced flank steak, and added our last two eggs and tuscan seasoning in an attempt to make a fritata of sorts. Not pretty, but it tasted good. Too tired to make a salad (and few ingredients available), so I sliced our last two nectarines to have on the side. An hour later (very late!) we finished up the chocolate and cherry vanilla ice cream that was in freezer.

Today is beautiful here, but we head home again to attend an open house across the street to meet our new neighbors who have had dirt blowing at their house all week from all the excavation going on in the lot next door. Yuck! I don't envy them.

Tuesday we head to the Vineyard for the rest of the week, where we will eat good food, hopefully enjoy beach weather, and see some shows with my widow (awful term) friend, our hostess. I'm expecting she'll have a much better week than last year when her dog was dying during oyr visit.DH is very excited that we have tickets to see a Preservation Hall concert there.

I better get back to packing.....my least favorite task in case I've never mentioned it!

mommyof2 - our dinner will be similar - burgers on the grill on Hawaiian rolls, grilled corn on the cob and potato salad made with tiny Yukon golds. Will raise a toast to great minds thinking alike!

Dinner tonight is crab legs. I do a boil with hot seasoning, and garlic butter and lemon. YUMMMM

I don't know yet about dinner. An early lunch, however, will likely be hotdogs from a food truck outside a bank.

Welcome Valstim, though maybe you have posted before and my chemo brain is forgetting? Back when I lived in NC, we would often skirt your town on our way south of Charlotte. To be honest, I have no distinct recollection. All interstates look the same!

Dinner last night was interesting. While rummaging around in the lamb chop drawer, Mr. 02143 found a pork chop from that wonderful pig we bought last year. He pulled out 4 tiny lamb chops and this BONUS pork chop. I sous vide some potatoes [first time ever] trying desperately not to heat up the kitchen. They were not bad! Cooked consistently through and through, and the garlic and rosemary flavors permeated the taters. I then made a large salad with some carrots and cucumbers finishing up last week's farm produce. Tonight we will have the three leftover chops, the potatoes sautéed just enough to brown, and some vegetables as yet to be determined. Wonderful selection at the Farmer's Market this morning, so I have lots to choose from.

Bloody hot here in Boston. We are all melting. In fact, we even succumbed to air-conditioning our bedroom so we could sleep last night.

*susan*

Great minds do think alike Special.

Susan, hubby and I were absolutely melting last night at a wrestling event we had tickets for. They didn't use the a/c in the building as much as they should have. Lots of people were complaining during the event.

Luv - I think the bourbon will be better anyway. Susan - hooray for the found pork chop. Lacey - oh my, the tree roach story sounds awful. Eric - now you've got me hungry for hot dogs. I'll bet I haven't had one in two years but I do have a package in the freezer.

Dunch was leftover cold T-bone steak and re-heated boiled potatoes. I've just sliced a cantaloupe. They were only $0.77 at the super market this week. Hope it's a sweet one. And I sliced up some cucumbers & minced sweet onions that are marinating in tarragon vinegar, dill and sour cream.

Pre-birthday lasagna:

The lasagne looks delicious, but I'm seriously swayed by HappyHammer's shrimp.

Oh goodness. We used to drive to Galveston and buy 100 lbs off the boat years ago. But the hours of de-heading before we could pack for the freezer.... And no body wanted to have the "work" going on in any of their houses - so we sat out in the driveway in the sun. But fun. Thanks for the memories.

Loving those shrimp "tales". I'd love to be able to access such poundage of locally harvested shrimp. With all due respect to your allergy, Susan!

And Nance, what a beautiful lasagna!! You are such a great mommy/nurturer!

I have a little sos request of sorts. Oh and I may have forgotten to thank you, Luv, for your research on "jump ups".

Today, during and after our walk, I noticed that I felt a pebble in my sneaker under the ball of my foot....tho when I took my sneaker off, no pebble, and remaining pain. It's a developing blister, making it hard to walk. On an earlier post, I recollect that one of our members mentioned something they used for blisters that had an unusual name like elephant skin? I should probably get some! Does anyone know what this blister helper is? Thanks!

The open house we returned for at the new neighbors' was good....met lots of their friends and had tasty casual food from a good local caterer. They are a nice family who have been so happy to become a part of our community...and are being so gracious about the nightmare going on a few feet from their new house. Somehow the owner building the house has not even made himself known to these new neighbors. He lives two blocks away. Amazing!

Our house was like a hot box upon return...thanks to our "mini splits", we are cooling off. Susan I hope you keep your air conditioning on! We are an odd lot in this area.... not used to using "air" as my mother always referred to hers.

Thanks for blister repair help

Bob’s car was ready at the dealership--turns out that when he t-boned the idiot who suddenly turned L in front of him (mid-block), GEICO picked a cheapo discount chain body shop which did a really sloppy job repairing his car. The guy at the Ford dealership said there were missing bolts (and the ones they did install appeared “recycled”) and cracked clips. And when the body shop finished, instead of flushing and cleaning the radiator and putting in new coolant they just topped it up--so there were air bubbles and debris floating around. The hybrid battery overheated, and the car went into “protected mode” to avoid ruining it (half the cost of the car itself). He advised we call our GEICO rep and inform them that we want the missing stuff replaced properly (and have them bill the other guy, whom they determined was at fault). I had to Uber it down to the dealership--but I managed to get the most clueless Uber driver in the city. I suggested a route but he insisted on using his GPS....which doesn’t compensate for traffic. The place was southwest of me, but the idiot insisted on going EAST to Lake Shore Drive and then west on Fullerton Ave.--which is crowded at the best of times; but because today was a perfect-weather day and is the main drag through all the touristy parts of Lincoln Park, everyone was out driving and biking. I warned him, but he insisted his GPS was correct. We also encountered loads of construction (which my route didn’t have--I know because I drove it home) and he almost got us into an accident several times and missed a couple of turns because he couldn’t get into the proper lane. A 20-min., 6-mile trip took over an hour (and was nearly 15 miles). When I rated the driver only 3 stars, the app asked why--so I clicked “driver took improper route.” (Actually, every complaint option on the menu was applicable--but I was allowed to pick only one). So I got a 25% fare refund. I could have taken a cab, which is normally nearly twice as expensive, but a real cabdriver would have known to take the route I’d suggested. I hope my customer rating doesn’t go down--I usually give 5 stars no matter what, because drivers who feel insulted if you don’t do that downrate you--and the lower your own rating, the harder it is to get one and the longer it takes to get to you.

Costco was just up the street, but I got there just before closing and they were out of hot chickens. So when I got home I fired up the grill and made a pork chop seasoned with cracked pepper and espresso salt. One of the crispers in my fridge freezes everything in it, so the haricots verts I bought 3 weeks ago were still good (not so the lettuce, fennel and celery). I threw them in a skillet and let them steam in their own ice crystals, and then finished them with blood orange olive oil and Sicilian orange sea salt. I took a little zucchini “latke” from the freezer and griddled it. Had the last couple ounces of Rioja, and dined outside on the deck--where my cat couldn’t jump on my lap the way he normally does when I eat indoors (especially in my recliner).

Thanks so much Minus!! I'll head to Walgreens to look for it tomorrow

Given the choice between shrimp and lasagna, I would take shrimp every time, but DDIL is allergic too. I made the ricotta, noodles and sauce and she did the rest.

I like the name elephant skin too.

Bedo, you made me laugh!

bedo, i am howling about you and your cat. Cat's are the best. They let you know that they really don't love you, they allow you to exist in their world.

go and get canned cat food, i am sharing this with all my fellow cat lovers.

I really needed a smile.

Oh and shrimp. I go to Charleston (I'm about 4 hours away in Harrisburg NC) and get about 50 pounds. We usually eat through it so fast. I would dream of 100 pounds.