So...whats for dinner?
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Eric, wouldn't be surprised if it were hyponatremia. Been watching sodium to begin with, and Lasix might have a longer half-life than I expected. Noshed on a tomato slice and a hunk of mozzarella while making the salad (cut up every single tomato ripe enough to eat--seems I'm the only one in the 'hood with any luck in that regard this summer), and felt much better. Even better after the champagne. The tomatoes were one Big Boy and two heirloom "tigers," all beefsteak size. Used local WI mozzarella, as I was out of the buffalo. I chopped up the seed stalks from the basil to garnish the finished salad. Drizzled the tomato slices and basil leaves with California olive oil and 25-yr aged Balsamico, then a couple grinds each of black pepper and Breton grey sea salt. Final seasoning was a little blood orange olive oil and Sicilian orange sea salt. Had a couple spoonfuls each of black bean-quinoa and pesto pasta salads, pius a burger and a hot dog (both bunless). Didn't trust myself to stick around for the ice cream social, though I did have a small scoop of gelato at home
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Here I am at the pitiful internet cafe. I am on a mission to find cheap internet
For breakfast and lunch Clamato, tortilla chips peach salsa and brie.
I'm going to the garden and I want to make gazpacho.
Eric you saved your Mom's life by fixing her air!
Sandy bad bad electrolytes . I hope you feel better
Where is goats?
Lacey what healthy appetizers did you have? I had a Mr. and Mrs T bloody mary mix with two cap fulls of vodka two nights ago. Hard liqueur and I do not mix.So I had to be careful. I don't remember the last time I drank it. I won't even tell you what happened when I had 3 "real" gin and tonics when I was 35. No I won't. I really won't.
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Her air main air conditioner was under warranty, so I let the A/C company do the work ($1200 part that needed to be sent from "back east"). I just set up a "work around" so that she was comfortable until the repair was completed.
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Going all out tonight with the next door neighbors- fried Edisto Island, SC shrimp , creamy grits, homemade finely diced coleslaw, sliced garden Heirloom tomatoes, and collards for suppa'. Making cocktail and tartar sauce and will have homemade pickles and pickled okra on the table as well. We ain't playin' round here! Haha.
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Lots of food prep going on here. Spent yesterday processing and freezing several dozen ears of local corn, tomatoes for freezing and local peaches. Tonight will be ham and cheddar quiche, a homegrown tomato and cucumber salad and fresh peach hand pies.
Tomorrow is my mamm and bone density, marking my 5th year since diagnosis. As always, holding my breath.
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Last night we actually made Friday night's dinner. We bagged. It was hot, we had a large sandwich for lunch. We opted for some oatmeal. So last night, we harvested 6 tomatoes and made a huge bowl of pico de gallo, grilled up some flank steak, and I cooked up some simple black beans. Perfect! Every ingredient in the salsa, except the lime juice, was local. It was delicious.
Extra salsa was used today to make a pico de gallo and feta cheese omelette.
Tonight we will head to Sarma to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary.
Our current guests are from Central America [three different countries] and here for some coursework at MIT's Sloan School and the Harvard B School. What charmers! This is what I had imagined! They will stay for 8 nights which makes my job easy. They arrived with packages of Costa Rican coffee! In turn, they were rewarded with a special breakfast and I ride to the subway.
*susan*
p.s. That cake is amazing!!!!!
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AuntieNance- in your pocket tomorrow. Stupid BC and all of the worry! Your freezing efforts will pay off this winter, for sure! Have been soing some of that as well.
Susan- the omelette sounds yummy as does the pico. What an interesting group of visitors you have now.
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Hey, Mary, when are you heading up to Chicago? Looking forward to hanging with you and your DH! And mazel tov on your anniversary, Susan!
My electrolytes are beck in balance (I refuse to say “on fleek"--I don't speak Instagram). Had a nice time at the block party dinner. This morning, I made a “PLT" sandwich with the leftovers (3 little portions of tomato/basil/cheese): toasted 2 slices of low-carb bread, then romaine, a slice of LaQuercia “Speck Americano" (a nice prosciutto made in Iowa) sprinkled with fresh rosemary from my garden, then the leftover Caprese (sprinkled with chopped basil buds), another slice of speck & rosemary, and then romaine and the top slice of toast. Briefly considered making it a panino, but didn't want to have to plug it in and then clean it afterward (and a panino would have required more cheese).
Tonight, if Bob gets home too late to walk down through “EdgeFest" (our local street fair) to B'way Cellars for dinner and instead eats at the hospital cafeteria, I'll just crisp up a precooked duck half on the grill, along with asparagus and perhaps sweet potato seasoned with salt and cinnamon. Will probably eat only half of each: Gordy's been feeling under the weather these days due to a bad cold combined with viciously high mold & pollen counts--all he's been able (or willing) to handle has been diet PowerAde and udon soup from the sushi bar down the street, and hasn't even eaten much of the latter, poor kid. Nonetheless, he's still been going to his part-time teaching job at City Lit Theater (and did his regular Fri. night gig acting and running tech at pH Comedy Theater).
Going out to the deck to water the tomato plants so whatever's left will continue to grow & ripen. (Also pinch back the basil--may buy some pine nuts and Parm-Reg ends and haul out the Cuisinart to make pesto).
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what to do with an overgrown zucchini that is 12 inches long and as big is a small fist at the big end?
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Sandy- sadly our plans have changed and we will not be heading your way this month. Will let you know when we are scheduled your way again, though, as we would LOVE to hang with you, and hopefully, Bob.
Bedo- there are recipes for stuffed zucchini...and, am wondering if you could just "spiralize" it into many, many noodles??
So, I was able to make a pie out of some local white peaches and some blueberries we had tonight for the neighbor supper....only needed 1/4c turbinado sugar and a few pats of butter to make it absolutely divine!
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bedo,
I suggest using that zucchini for compost, or hitting a tree. Not worth your time for eating.
*susan*
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Truthfully, I agree with Susan...we usually try to pick and and ALL squash at 6" or less.
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I accidentally closed the window before I posted..so this time it was most certainly my fault I lost the post.
Happy Anniversary Susan. 34!!!!!
Bedo, I've tried a 12 inch zucchini. It was super bitter. If it is a heirloom variety, you could save the seeds.
Happy, that's a great looking pie. When it cools down here..... :-)
I'm glad you're feeling better Chi. You described exactly what I've seen more times than "I can count".
Today, i think I fixed a bothersome oil drip on the old Volvo. Two hours of looking and two seconds of fixing. Tomorrow I'll know for sure if my hunch is right.
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Beautiful pie, HH........Yum!
Happy 34th, Susan and DH! Hope Sarma was amazing! I love hearing about your guests.
Our weather has been beautiful in NH. However, winds are carrying so many allergens (ragweed is one of my nemeses) that I'm even resorting to wearing a mask outside to help my breathing. What a pain!
Nonetheless, we made it to the beach yesterday afternoon and what started out as an impromptu pre- dinner cocktail hour with folks who were not needing to head back down the highway to start their work week, ended up with three neighbors joining us for grilled steak, marinated, grilled vegetables, cuke salad, arugula salad with the neighbor's delicious heirloom tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and boxed cookies (!) for dessert. Another neighbor brought Trader Joe's frozen asparagus spears, which we "lost" while preparing everything else. Seriously, who can lose a whole platter of asparagus!? Obviously, I can! We later discovered it in the back of our large microwave oven which is perched atop our refrigerator...and does not have a carousel. I had been zapping a very large sweet potato which took forever, The platter of asparagus was behind it, out of anyone's view, and needless to say, was inedible by the time we discovered it. That aside, we had a great little impromptu dinner, with wine flowing (including a home made red by our neighbor), and lively conversation. I love spontaneous dinner parties since I have no time to fret/obsess beforehand.
Today, I am dragging a bit, and still struggling with the allergies. I'm thinking I may call the allergist to get an inhaler to get through this heavy allergen period. Never had one before....
We head home later, and tomorrow morning I am driving two retired school colleagues to Falmouth where another one is hosting a luncheon. After that, I am meeting with our community group that is working to promote awareness of human (sex) trafficking of suburban adolescents. Who knew that this could be happening! Our school superintendent is joining us and is very supportive of this initiative, so I suspect that he must be aware of the vulnerability of some suburban school age kids, and eager to educate the communityas a preventative step. Interesting project.....
Dinner may be a BLT on our way home.....
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Allergies here are brutal today--ragweed moderate-to-high and weeds in general high. We had two “allergy action alert” (i.e., stay inside and turn on the A/C) last week. My eyes are streaming & burning, our son Gordy has been practically connected to his rescue inhaler (his pulse-ox is hovering around 95% despite going back on BID Symbicort and using his NeilMed sinus flush). The only things keeping me from wheezing are Singulair at bedtime (Bob doesn’t want to prescribe it yet for Gordy because it does carry some long-term health risks for those under 40) and two snorts per nostril per day of Nasacort.
Just too tired yesterday to make dinner, so I simply nuked the remaining smoked chicken breast and washed it down with a pint of seltzer. Gordy was still eating only noodle soup (udon and pho). Tonight, I’ll sear the cooked duck half on the grill along with marinated (oil & balsamic) asparagus and halved sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon & sea salt. Maybe Coravin myself an ounce or two of inexpensive Pinot Noir from the cellar--the Chiantis and Sangioveses are a bit too pricey for just the two of us....if Gordy even wants any of it.
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Tonight will be tandoor chicken. I will also do an Indian roasted cauliflower dish that we love, some dal, and perhaps a bit of naan bread. Overbought on the chicken, so half went into the marinade, was vacuum sealed and is now resting in the freezer.
My visitors are having a heck of a time. Classes at Harvard by day, partying until all hours of the night at night. They come home, change out of their suits and then head out to clubs and bars. They return after we are in bed, and are very quiet as the pass our bedroom. Haven't heard them yet! Tonight, at least some of them are headed to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees. Baseball is not a thing in Venezuela where they are from, but one of them had a best friend from Boston from the age of 7 who said at that age "You can be my friend if you root for my team!" Ramiro is so excited to be going to see the team he has followed for 30 years... it has brought out his inner child. He plans to eat sausage dogs, and buy shirts, and maybe even a banner! And then tomorrow morning, back to Harvard to study being a business person.
Now I am off to find panela, a special sugar made from sugar cane that I need to make them a Golfeados breakfast bread for tomorrow's breakfast.
*susan*
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Dinner was fabulous. Made the chicken, and a cauliflower dish, bought chana masala from our local Indian spot with comes with rice, and grilled up some naan bread. Perfect meal!
For some reason, I decided to make a Venezuelan bread called Golfeados for my guests. The recipe was deeply flawed. We shall see if they are horrified by my attempt. The rolls are in the fridge and I will bake first thing tomorrow morning.
And, I hope that you all sleep as well as Olivia tonight:
*susan*
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awwwww.......
Went and pruned all the dead leaves and suckers off my tomato plants, which by now are pretty much spent but did give quite a yield. About three of the 22 'maters remaining on my windowsill are ripe enough to eat, and there are about five still on the vine and three new blossoms. Might make it to Labor Day before I have to buy a tomato to eat. Made my usual appetizer of insalata Caprese with the last of the mozzarella di bufala and a blood-orange vinaigrette. Grilled grass-fed top sirloin strip with salt (espresso and Breton grey sea salts) & pepper, and sauteed Brussels sprouts with olive oil, Balsamic and black truffle salt. Dined out on the deck, under the stars (the best part of summer). Gonna have some jackfruit as a late-night dessert.
Picked some basil, and will use it with some pine nuts, Parm-Reg and pecorino Romano and the last of the garlic scapes to make pesto before I hit the sack.
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She's a sweetheart, Susan. I can see why you want your Olivia "fix". :-)
I'm sitting on the bus waiting for the right time to head out on the route...first day of school.
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Oh Eric - seems hard to believe it's here already. Our kids have another week before they start.
What about your DD? Did she get moved to the college? What does she think so far?
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She moves into the dorm on Sunday.
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Nothing like a sweet sleeping baby!
I am getting a real kick out of the chronicles on your b-school guests, Susan. And how lucky they are to have your cuisine when "home" from their adventures! Except for the in-between guests scut work involved, this seems to be a perfect activity for you! I'm eager to learn how you feel the Golfeados turned out.
I was totally dragging today after two days of constant driving, NH>Home>Falmouth>Home, then last night being out late at our "Trafficking" meeting....all with allergic coughing in full force. Saw the allergy (functional meds) doc early this morning, and was happy to learn that my lungs are not being impacted badly by all that is going on "in my head". So, I will stop my serum treatment to soften this major challenge to my immune system, and use flonase and some odd "pearl" named things that will enhance my breathing and help stop the constant coughing. Holding off on an inhaler until/if there is actual wheezing. Hoping not!
I did a major food shopping trip on the way back from doc, and picked up some ground lamb for burgers tonight. We had them with Volantes' corn on cob, and cuke and tomato salad. I loaded up on fruits and veggies to bring back up North, since I tend to get lazy and not shop much there.
Eric, good luck in the new school year. And enjoy the "launch" on Sunday! One of those really familial punctuated events!
I thought of you today as I saw the sandstorm move over Phoenix on the news. I hope it skipped you!We spoke with DDIL's dad today. He sounds awful, very labored breathing, and describing serious fatigue. I hope that they are right in choosing chemo for him. I really worry for him...and all of them. He has a scan tomorrow, so they will see if anything is changing....
Back to NH tomorrow....more tempting to stay here where our mini-splits keep a cool house unlike our "roughing it" home there, where the closest thing we have to air regulation are fans. And on the eve of several days of heat and high humidity. I am sure that many of you just experienced this weather!
Carol and Nance, hope you are both doing well.....
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Ah..Tessalon “Perles:” the cough suppressant that eased the constant coughing of my COPD-sufferer mom. (They’re available OTC now). Unlike opioid or dextromethorphan cough suppressants, they don’t act on the brain’s coughing reflex but somewhat numb the lungs & throat, making them less “touchy” and less likely to want to cough. They’re often used as an adjunct to steroid or combo inhalers when bringing asthma under control. If you have allergies, and allergy-triggered asthma, you need to discuss the use of inhalers (maintenance or rescue) or leukotriene inhibitors (e.g., montelukast, aka Singulair, pills) with your doctor. You don’t have to have actual wheezing or bronchospasm to have manifestations of asthma: constant coughing and even a “twitchy” sensation in your lungs or the base of your trachea are symptoms, and they need to be nipped in the bud. Don’t want to scare you, but asthma is a serious condition that can kill faster than the most advanced cancer, i.e., in a matter of minutes.
I was first diagnosed with asthma when Gordy was a baby and I had an attack when I caught a chest cold on a WI vacation that landed me in the ER. (Though in retrospect, I probably should have known years earlier when after taking a toke on a joint passed around I had a coughing fit and my lungs felt “twitchy” for hours). When a cold hit my lungs a few summers ago, I was prescribed Advair, a combination maintenance inhaler (steroid & long-acting beta-agonist, or LABA) to be used twice a day, symptoms or not. (Gordy uses Symbicort--same type of combo maintenance inhaler). My singing voice suddenly got weaker, and I found out that one of the side effects can be permanent thinning of the vocal folds. For the vast majority of people, that’s no big deal....unless your voice is your meal ticket. My PCP considers singers to be a type of athlete, and his goal for me is to maximize my lung power and O2 sats. To that end, since I can’t take a steroid inhaler that reaches my larynx, he has me taking montelukast nightly, using Nasacort (or any OTC or prescription nasal inhaler) BID--“ease the sneeze to ease the wheeze.” as my old allergist used to say, staying hydrated, and carrying around a rescue inhaler (albuterol--in Europe, “salbutamol,” brand name Ventolin HFA--there is no generic alternative now that CFC propellants have been banned from inhalers worldwide). We also have a home and portable (battery-op) nebulizer with separate tubes, inhalation-med cups and mouthpieces for Gordy & me, plus a supply of Duo-Neb ampules--for when our current regimen isn’t enough (e.g., when our O2 sats, per a finger-clip pulse oximeter, dip <95%). We also have a peak flow meter with our own mouthpieces--start on a good day, get a baseline reading of how forcefully you can exhale, and take daily readings. Often, allergies give these out free in “asthma management” kits. If I ever decide to stop performing, I will definitely start using a steroid maintenance inhaler.
This is nothing to dismiss, nor to self-treat with OTC meds until you’ve discussed it thoroughly with your allergist, PCP or pulmonologist. OTC drugstore inhalers like Bronkaid and Primatene are worse than useless. (BTW, if you or someone you know are going to Europe, be aware that Ventolin HFA inhalers are not only 1/4 their U.S. cost but also available OTC by asking the registered pharmacist for them--they’re not stocked on self-service shelves. Those are Gordy’s favorite souvenirs of our trips). If your asthma is mild and controllable, you’ll probably be prescribed a steroid-only maintenance inhaler and montelukast; rescue inhalers are for nipping an incipient attack in the bud, and combo inhalers are for asthma that’s more difficult to control. Maintenance inhalers need to be used whether or not you feel you need them. A home pulse oximeter costs about $15-20 and is as essential to have as a home BP monitor.
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OK, back on-topic:
I had some of that sliced jackfruit from Whole Foods today. Even though it came pre-sliced, eating it was pretty labor-intensive. The produce guy told me it was only the fleshy yellow part that's edible--so I had to trim away both the rind and the fibrous beige parts, that looked sort of like the “fins” of an A/C filter. I also tossed the large pits, which I later learned can be steamed, boiled, or roasted and taste sort of like a cross between Brazil nuts & chestnuts. The soft yellow part is insanely sweet & delicious (and I suspect loaded with sugar), sort of s cross between peaches, pineapple, mango & papaya.
Had half a tomato left over from last night's insalata Caprese, so I took it, some tuna salad, low-carb whole wheat bread, sweet onion and romaine and made a tuna sandwich. Yum. I prefer my tuna on rye bread, but if low-carb wheat's all I can have, I'll take it. Haven't decided yet if later I'll spiralize that other half a zucchini and saute it with some of the pesto I made last night, or treat myself to some Dreamfields or Bionature whole wheat spaghetti as my “pesto-vehicle." Or maybe call it a day for solid food, as I had two olive-oil-fried eggs for breakfast.
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That Olivia....ohmygoodness! Pre.cious~
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Beautiful child, beautiful pie!
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Ditto to Nance's post. Beautiful child, beautiful pie.
Sandy, I've been buying that same CA evoo for several years now. Once I learned that the US is a dumping ground for inferior olive oil, I decided to support the US olive oil market.
Susan, I find your guests fascinating. What an interesting experience you're having. Just hope the extra work isn't too much for you.
I'm noticing increased difficulty with pulling the right word out of my mental dictionary. Lots of inability to remember a place name or person's name. In a short matter of time, the name or word will pop into my mind, but it's very frustrating in conversation to hit these roadblocks. I don't have chemo to blame but I guess I do have aging. I call dh (who's older) my brain. His recall is admirable.
Nothing interesting to report on the cooking front. The tomatoes are finally ripening up here in northern MN. I bought two nice-sized slicing tomatoes and a small bowl of cherry variety at the farmers' market on Sat. and paid $8. They were delicious. Also paid $1 each for small Japanese eggplants, which we grilled. They were sweet and tasty but I didn't eat most of the skin. I compare farmers' markets here to jewelry stores. Each veggie is a gem to the grower.
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The farmers’ market in Milwaukee where I sang Sat. had loads of great stuff (especially tomatoes, which right now for me are sort of like “coals to Newcastle”) but I felt so awful afterwards from the sun & heat that I even declined the offer of a fresh ripe peach that was otherwise going to be discarded. The balance of sun and rain in just the right proportions here in the upper Midwest has been amazing for produce.
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It.Is.Hot. We are over 90º and it won't cool down below 80º until about midnight. This simply doesn't happen here. We have pulled out some ribs that are already cooked, baking a potato in the tiny oven, and I have made a tomato salad and some cole slaw from the farm cabbage. I had tried to encourage a night out to somewhere with A/C, but Mr. 02143 thought up this plan. Oh, and he is steaming some green beans while I sit in my stifling office, away from the stove.
This isn't fun!
*susan*
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Susan - sorry you couldn't persuade the Mr to treat you to an outing. Hope you at least have a big fan. I remember going in my grandparent's basement when it was really stifling. Thanks for posting all the interesting tidbits & food involved with the B&B people. Sounds like work but also maybe some fun.
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