So...whats for dinner?
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Thanks Susan! Decided to go with the pasta option (which was my initial thought) and make brie en croute with the puff pastry and carmelized leeks and onions tomorrow which I will bring to my friends house as an appetizer as we are heading out tomorrow for a few hours to play mile bournes, laugh and eat. Since I was originally going to bake a cake or pie for dessert to bring with me, I will just do both.
Have a great evening and happy eating!
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I'm going to cook a whole chicken. Sage, parsley, garlic and onion, all crushed up, mixed with olive oil and rubbed under the skin.
I get "nearly wild" free range 3-1/2 pound chickens from a local butcher shop and that's a perfect size for a few meals.
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Eric, That size has gotten hard to find, hasn't it? And yet, it is perfect for so many preparations. Will you cook on the grill or in the oven?
We are suddenly, cold here. I actually put on jeans today and was shocked that they felt so tight. Whoops! My smallest pair. Our couple from the Netherlands actually had to buy some sweaters at our local Marshalls. Tonight a three generation family moved in. They are all VERY blonde! They really look like one family! They are celebrating the granddaughter's birthday. I gave them four options for dinner restaurants, and they chose an Italian seafood restaurant that is close by. They have been gone for almost two hours, so I assume that they are enjoying their dinner. When they check out on Tuesday, we get one night off. I am thinking that we need to try a new restaurant that night. Mix it up a bit.
Oops... I hear the guests outside. Need to go greet them!
*susan*
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I'm doing it in the oven. I waited until the sun went down and it's only in the mid 90s outside, so the air conditioner won't be "horribly busy" dealing with the oven's heat.
The only place in town (all of metro Phoenix) that I've found sells this size chickens is a family owned meat market. I much prefer them over the larger "franken-chickens".
Adding....
For tomorrow's jelly making project, I picked a bunch of prickly pear cactus "pears" from the cactus around my mom's house. If you're not familiar with these, "optunia" entered into an internet search engine will provide lots of pictures.
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Hello all. I just keep forgetting to check in.Dont have a clue where the time goes. Im still helping out my DD2 with being the designated body in the house for her on call nights. Doing ok but not doing much.
Wanted to check in because of the storm hitti g all the Florida and Eadt Ciast people. Hope everyone is ok.
Still getting the Home chef meals. My favirite one so far was the Butter chicken. An Indian Curry dish. Very tasty.
Much love
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Moon - great to hear from you. We miss you. Glad the Home chef meals are working out.
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Glad you checked in Moon! Ditto on missing you here. DD2 is lucky to have you helping out!
We had a surprise yesterday....
After walking home from the beach, I noticed that I had two missed calls from DS2, as did DH. No voicemail. We returned his call(s) and he asked us to Facetime with him so he could show us the gorgeous ocean view they had at Amelia Island. While we chatted, he was eager for DGF to say "Hi"....at which time she DISPLAYED HER BEAUTIFUL ENGAGEMENT RING!! We were really surprised, and probably should not have been. He had totally not let on to anyone that this was on the agenda for the Florida trip. They would like to have their wedding in that area in the Spring. Hope they can secure a venue that quickly. I thought they might want a destination wedding as many of their friends have done that. So...finally their life is moving along. We are so happy for them!
For dinner we had the saved lobster/shrimp linguine which was really good! I made a very large garden salad with a parmesan dressing to go with it. And we enjoyed prosecco to celebrate....and shared the good news with little Winston, the pooch! And, when we see them can finally open the champagne we've had chilled for quite a while, awaiting this happy occasion.
Today we've got to start the cleaning up and packing process, since we aren't sure when we'll be back here to the lake house.
Tomorrow we head home, and in time to meet up for dinner with our friends who moved to Santa Monica two years ago. We are going to a tapas place in Wellesley...first time there,
Have a good Labor Day everyone!
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Hi Moon. Glad to hear from you.
And Lacey..that is a good surprise!!!! :-) :-)
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You have one cagey son there Lacey!!! Congratulations! (And they don't want to get married at your house, so you won't spend the next 6 months obsessing about shrubbery and house paint. Yea!)
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ha ha - Susan. I so agree about obsessing over weddings at home. Lacey - congrats on the 'almost final' step. Do I remember correctly that her folks are in Chicago? I have been dreaming about your lobster linguine.
Mondays is usually one of the 3 times a week that my neighborhood group has water aerobics up at our community pool, however the pool is open to everyone today for the holiday. The water is still warm enough but I hate that it gets dark so much earlier. Anyway the group decided to play Chickenfoot this afternoon instead. Double fault - no exercise & lots of sedentary eating. I have no interest in shopping on a holiday so I'm taking a broccoli/cheddar quiche from Costco that was in my freezer. They come in a 2 pack & I'm selfishly saving the spinach/artichoke one for myself.
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lacey - I feel privileged that my state was home to the engagement - yay! Very exciting!
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Too much has passed for me to comment on, especially in my weakened state -- I've been suffering with a horrible chest cold since Friday that will no doubt end with a prescription for an inhaler like the last one. I've coughed so much and hard it feels like I've done a thousand sit ups (if only.)
Yeah for the engagement Lacey! How very sweet for them to face time you with the news! Your lobster pictures and descriptions have been extremely drool-worthy.
Glad you all escaped the storm unscathed or at least mostly. Susan - I'm so enjoying your AirNb experiences vicariously. I, however, would not like the work involved. You are doing a bang-up job.
Lots of good food going on here. I mean this board, not at my house. Far from it. I have had zero interest in food, at least since Friday. Tonight we're going to some friends for a barbecue which I imagine will be not very exciting but plentiful. That suits my current appetite. Nothing sounds very good. She makes wonderful dessert though. I'm hoping for lemon pie.
I read an interesting article by the food editor of the St. Louis Paper last week. It was about what 10 foods you would take to a desert island to live on forever. Here is his list:
No coconuts on this island. No fish. These would be the 10 dishes you would most want to spend the rest of your life eating, if you could only eat the 10. I included the description of the peach -- they are my sentiments exactly.
Corned beef and chopped liver sandwich •Sausage, beans and polenta • Specifically, spicy lamb sausage.
Pizza •
Buffalo hanger steak •
Cheerios
Peanut butter and jelly •
Sweetbreads •
Lobster •
Peaches • But they have to be fresh and ripe, because when you bite into a fresh, ripe peach you first get the sensation of that delicate fuzz, which gives way to a glorious explosion of sweet juice across your tongue, ending with a drop that slides out between your lips and drips slowly down your chin
Ice cream sundae •
My own list would be a bit different. In no particular order:
Pasta
Good bread
Butter
Cheese
Lobster
Peaches
Ice Cream
Heirloom Tomatoes
Preserved Lemons
Good Fried Chicken (not KFC stuff)
Seems a little dull when taken at face value, but I really can't think of one dish, other than fried chicken and ice cream, that I could eat for the rest of my life. I thought about herbs, but sacrifices have to be made obviously. I think these foods could make for some good variety. If I could add and 11th I think it would be eggs.
I'd be interested in your lists. I'm betting kale for Lacey and salmon for Sandy.
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Lacey - I had to laugh about your affinity for store bought yellow cake. I feel the same way about wedding cake. Love the stuff! In fact, it's the main reason for going to a wedding. Why didn't I add that to my list? But what to take off hmmm . . . .
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A great sadness has occurred. Seven Stars Bakery, of Providence RI, has decided to stop delivering my favorite bread to the Boston area. About two weeks ago, I made a cabbala [93%] with bread flour, and though the results were good, they were nothing like SSB's bread. I scoured ye olde internets and found an old blog by SSB that indicated that they do a very slow rise. The ingredients were listed as Duram Wheat, Wheat, water, salt, yeast. Then I found a bag with one last bread and its ingredient list said Wheat,, Duram Wheat, water, salt, yeast. If both are true, then it is a 50/50 blend. Also on their website was the declaration that they ONLY use AP flour. Interesting! So today, I made the same ciabatta formula, but with a 50/50 split. I wasn't able to do a long rise, but I did retard the first two stretch and fold sessions to develop a bit more flavor. And the results are VERY promising.
I need some more "lift", but the underlying flavor was spot on!
So dinner was a de-composed salad with Galese lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes with a garlic basil oil, farm carrots, sliced leftover tuna, and a loaf of bread.
Notice the subway/bus map out to show my guests how to get around.
*susan*
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yay lacey
Good choice minus on the chicken foot
Nance I am all in on the Cheerios. I have the whole wheat with blueberries most mornings
Hi Moon you are rising earlier these days I see on the weather chart it's good to hear from you
Looks great susan
For lunch and dinner these last two days appetizers from the Faculty and student orientations. Lots of Brie
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That bread looks good. Duram wheat is something I've not tried before. Arizona has a very well respected "Desert Duram Wheat" variety that makes a great pasta. The place that sells it is about a mile from my workplace....hmm. :-)
I simmered the prickly pears today and got 1/2 gallon of filtered juice, which will make enough jelly for gifts and a year's supply for me..
I found another recipe book at my mom's house. The recipes are interesting, but the paper used to record the recipes is even more interesting. My guess is that it shows how my family was touched by the Great Depression.
The oldest recipes are from my great-great-grandmother who died in the mid 1920s and are written in ink on regular paper. The depression era recipes are written in pencil on envelopes (with postmarks) and the edges of newspapers (with dates) or other scraps of paper. The even later recipes, written by my grandmother, are again on regular paper. A few are even typed
To think that they thought it worthwhile to save recipes even when paper was (I'm guessing) not in the budget....
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Now those are lovely pictures, Susan! My mouth is watering over those beautiful loaves!
Thanks for the "he put a ring on it" congrats.
In fact, Special, the "engagees" are hoping to have the wedding in the same area (Amelia Island), but since they are shooting for 7-8 months from now, I would wonder what venue they will find available. We'll see. Since they are both "oldish" professionals well connected in the business world (and part of her job involves organizing business meetings for her admin group in a large firm), I plan not to worry about them securing a wedding venue at all. They are much better at such things than I. I have no idea how involved her mother will be in the planning. DF (notice the shift?:) is a pretty independent gal. Lordy, Susan, if they ever wanted to have the wedding at our home, I would be be apoplectic! Or maybe just use the giant house being built across the street before the family moved in! LOLWhat I do need to figure out is what kind of a "party" we might hold for them locally since I am sure that some of their (too) many friends won't be able to travel given their current station in life....lots have new babies and toddlers, and demanding jobs. But then again, maybe they would like a getaway. And we need to figure out a good place to have a rehearsal dinner in that area, about which I know nothing! Well, it will work out. Open to ideas from anyone who knows that area....
Today was again beautiful here, so we spent our last afternoon on the beach with mostly neighbors who now live here full time. The group pretty much had the beach to ourselves, and when we all pulled up stakes, only the ducks who swam in were left perching on the rocks. It's rare to leave when it is still this warm, so we feel rather sad...but really do need to get back to reality and productivity at home.
I made BLTs tonight using some nice tomatoes (one red and one orange, both heirloom) from our neighbor's prolific garden. The innerds of the sandwich were great, but we used basic bread that DH got at the local closing store that was pretty cardboardy once toasted. Also had the last of our corn on cob, and locally made dill pickles. Tomorrow, we pack up all the food that can't stick around safely until we show back here.
Susan, given my resistance to completing the cleaning of this place before we leave, I would not be a very popular Airbnb vendor! That said, I do love when we arrive back here and everything is spit shining (outrageous exaggeration:)
Nance, I would have to think hard about my ten food loves. I can easily get tired of even things I like a lot. I have to admit that I have been rather unfaithful to kale this summer, and my weight shows it! Once home, I plan to get back to my kale smoothie morning rituals. Aside from all this, I am so sorry to learn that you are beset with another URI. UGH! I do hope that you can chase it soon...and can avoid the inhaler. Be well!
Minus, I must reconsider re-signing membership with Costco, which I let slide for years....especially since I hear that they have a pretty good selection of organic produce. I just worry that I will overbuy for just the two of us. I used to love to shop there when my kids were home.
Once again, w-a-a-y too long a post....
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Eric...another great find documenting your family's culinary history. Wonderful
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Lacey, mazel tov on the engagement! Susan, the crumb in that ciabatta looks so perfect I can practically smell and taste it.
Got back into the city from the folk festival just about the same time Bob left the S. Side. So I dropped off my suitcase & instruments at home and met him at Calo in our old neighborhood one mile south (Andersonville). It’s been the neighborhood meeting place since the late 1950s, when it was still your basic southern Italian old-school “red sauce and pizza joint.” About 10 years ago, it went a bit more (okay, a lot more) upscale but it’s still the nerve center of A’ville. Started with some tomato foccaccia, then Caesar salad and linguine with mussels in white wine. Drank a Domaine Chandon brut ($9 per split, same price as the--IMHO inferior--prosecco).
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Beautiful bread Susan!
I'm wanting to bake but summer is back here -- 92 today and humid. Hopeful it will break in a few days.
Friday dad gets a pacemaker. Not a big deal but it will mean an overnight hospital stay and an overnight stay in town for us. I'm glad he's getting it done now because as soon as an apartment opens up in the supportive living place, he is approved to go. I'm hopeful that this procedure will give him some more energy.
Tonight was souvlaki on pita wedges and tzatziki, and heirloom tomatoes with red onion, olive oil, wine vinegar, fresh oregano and crumbled feta.
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Grilled grass-fed ribeye (left 2/3 of it for Gordy) along with plain corn on the cob (half an ear--my half didn’t shrivel, but the other half shriveled as it cooled. Guess you need to eat it right away) and sauteed broccolini with olive oil, garlic, salt & red pepper flakes. NPO after midnight because of tomorrow’s cataract surgery.
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Sandy - hope goes well tomorrow. We'll be in your pocket.
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Thanks, Minus! Hope to have eyeglasses to freecycle soon!
I will ask my doc about getting a soft contact lens with my left eye distance & astigmatism prescription--he may even have it in stock. That way I can just wear drugstore readers. Otherwise, we’ll go to Lenscrafters and just get a plain no-correction blank put in the right side of my frames.
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chisandy - good luck with the surgery! My dad, and both my in-laws have had it, and all did very well with easy recovery.
Dinner tonight was a pork loin roast, and I threw some sweet potatoes in to bake at the same time. Did a wedge salad with garlic buttermilk dressing and crumbled bacon - a little pork with our pork!
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Treated myself to a nice chocolate egg cream. Gonna take my bedtime meds, shower and wash & dry my hair (won’t be able to for at least a couple days after), put in my last eyedrops for the day and set the alarm clock. Catch you from the other side--still typing one-eyed (this time until I can take the patch off).
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Have a successful surgery and easy and pain-free recovery from your surgery, ChiSandy. I'll be looking forward for your culinary posts - they always make my day, always rooting for you to get tomatoes before squirrels. Your love of zucchini made me to add them to my chicken patties ( together with almond meal, chopped onion and parsley). Result was a very tasty concoction which I pan-fried after covering in more almond meal. So addictive.
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Good luck Sandy!
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The weight is creeping back up again. This insidious one pound a week is frustrating. Dunch yesterday was an avocado, two Campari tomatoes and a scoop of tuna w/only a little mayo. I also enjoyed one glass of Espelt Garnasha. I have to admit that I did have 12 M&Ms before bedtime, but no other breads or carb or sweets.
And now I'm meeting my SIL for lunch. Oy... I'll try to have something healthy that will do for lunch & dinner since we're meeting at 1:30pm.
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Hope the surgery went well, Sandy. I will be "watching" your recovery closely as I keep avoiding the process, but will need to face it if (when!) my cataracts get much worse.
Yesterday, we spent seven hours cleaning, packing, and buttoning up the lake house, before heading down the highway....in two packed cars. That was exhausting.
I made a stop at the NH liquor outlet to get some celebratory beverages to be enjoyed on Saturday while tailgating with DS2's cohorts before the UMASS/BC game. I was worried about leaving DF's pooch in the car, and almost didn't stop for this errand, when suddenly I drove into cloud cover with lowered temps and rain. Yay! Mission able to be accomplished with doggy perfectly comfortable! Whew!
We arrived home just before our transplanted Cali friends picked us up to try the tapas place in Wellesley. It is actually a chain, Bocado, part of the Niche restaurant group...with good food. We had the menu for 4, which was a LOT of food! We started with 4 charcuterie selections, (my friend and I didn't even notice that thisxwas included) 8 tapas, and a paella. It was fun to select the items that were pretty inventive. I took a few photos but kept forgetting since we were all eager to dive in!
I thought this salad was so pretty......cantaloupe arugula salad with goat cheese, walnuts and merguez (sp?) sausage.....very nice! A mushroom dish over a white polenta was delish as was the gazpacho, and a braised rabbit dish. My first time trying rabbit and I will not be telling the docvegans. Both DHs enjoyed an octopus dish and there was a very unusual fried avocado item that was so tasty. I can't begin to recall all the component parts to these dishes, and missed others altogether. After the paella classico, we had flan and churros (with chocolate for dipping) for dessert. The waiter ended up packing the plentiful leftover paella which DH happily brought home. I am still full this morning! I am seriously going to try to return to my more moderate eating habits after indulging so much this summer.
We are about to head into Savin Hill to return the grand dog. We are always a bit sad and a bit relieved when he leaves. 😐
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hi -(minus) I stopped my Arimidex and decided to go for 5 instead of 10 years and within 3 weeks my weight redistributed itself now I am working on stopping the Effexor for hot flashes and I have lost weight too for me luckily it was medications IDKThey have hired another person so thankfully I can go to 4 days a week yippee
Now my next crazy plan is to move into the Quaker house in Boston which is basically a community of which I have lived in before not that one, to be near to my daughter when she has my first grandbaby :-) I still hope to travel when I leave this job , and the job is great
I think that my purple carrots from the garden and pizza will be fine plus one beer and I will add herbs and tomatoes and squash yellow from the garden
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