So...whats for dinner?
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Hi all, finally feeling better after being sick for more than a week. Not the flu, just allergies that turned into sinusitis.
I made a pot roast and will use the leftovers in a beef and barley soup in a couple days.
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Bob's absolute fave vodka is Snow Queen (from Kazakhstan)--it's not particularly expensive but not widely distributed. He discovered it at his favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant (the bartender/waitress is from Estonia). In quantity, he likes either Kirkland or Svedka, but is happy with Tito's. Me, I'm not a fan of vodka--I don't particularly like to drink for the sake of drinking. I have to really like the taste. If I drink spirits, it's either the occasional arcane cordial or a single-malt Scotch (usually Islay), Cognac (from the Grand Champagne subregion), or bourbon. (I'm partial to Old Weller or locally-distilled Koval).
Tonight with leftover steak was 2 oz. of Maryhill Cabernet Franc (WA). I slow-reheated the filet mignon, steamed asparagus and nuked a small sweet potato. Seasoned the sweet potato with cinnamon, sea salt and the dregs of crystallized sugar at the bottom of the jar of White Kitty Farm maple syrup. Sauced the asparagus with bearnaise.
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I'm not familiar with Tito's but learned from my vodka research that it is a favorite. Our of curiosity I will look for it just to see if it's available here. In Louisiana every good-sized supermarket is a liquor store and wine store. In MN we have to go to a Spirits store to buy booze and wine and the prices are higher.
DH cooked red beans with andouille sausage today. I will cook some brown rice and make a romaine salad. May also make cornbread with a box of Jiffy. I know, I know. Not good cornbread but dh likes it.
A pat on the back. I have lost a total of 10 lbs since going back to WW earlier this year. It has taken months, but 10 lbs is 10 lbs. Four more lbs and I can go to meetings without paying.
The recipe on the WW weekly today is Spaghetti Squash Pomodoro. I may give spaghetti squash another chance to impress me. The photo makes the dish look appetizing.
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Carole - you certainly deserve a pat on the back - congrats on the 10 lbs. That's a great milestone, and during the summer too!! I'm going to Costco tomorrow if Hurricane Wilma slows down & doesn't pound us with rain. Who would have thought...a hurricane from the Pacific Ocean in Texas.
Since 1985 we can finally buy beer & wine in our supermarkets in Houston, but the blue laws are by county so some places are still totally dry. Even so, you can't buy anything before noon on Sunday, and you still have to go to a liquor store for the hard stuff. And Carole - I use Jiffy cornbread from the box. Or Dromedary if I can't find Jiffy. It's what my Mother (who never lived in the South) cooked for my Dad.
Breakfast was a pork sandwich. Dinner was a ton of leftover veggies heated up from the fridge. I LOVE my chair yoga class on Mondays.
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Oh, my--they're really reusing "Wilma," which did so much damage to SE FL back in 2005? (Tore up my mom's retirement village--her building was the only one in her section that sustained no damage). I thought that they retire the names of major storms, just like baseball teams retire the numbers of their most significant players & coaches.
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I'm cooking some black beans for a recipe that Sharon wants to try tomorrow and I'm also cooking a whole chicken for use as snacks and meals.
That's good news about your weight, Carole.
I never liked vodka and for that matter, I never really liked any of the hard liquors. A good cool ale, however, is a wonderful thing. :-)
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ChiSandy- I think you are right, Wilma was retired as a Hurricane name. I think I heard on the Weather Channel a discussion on Hurricane Willa in the pacific
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Sorry - Willa is the correct current storm name.
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I love roasted fennel so here's something for you pork tenderloin lovers. I can't get fennel here so I haven't tried it, but I'm going to as soon as I get to the next town to get some.
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sheet-pan-pork-with-fennel-and-apples
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Nance - sounds delicious. I have never cooked with Fennel but will look out for it in the store. Thanks for posting.
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Fennel is awesome to cook with....
Now I'm on alert for typhoon response....busy, I am....
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Meatloaf, rice and green peas
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Congrats Carole! I will hold you up as a role model in my quest to drop 10 lbs. I keep resisting heading to a local WW, but was partially “on the plan” by association while visiting my friend on the Vineyard. She was counting points constantly...and lost lots of weight. I was, and still am, rather fascinated about how many foods count as 0 points (!!!). That “allowance” did not exist when the point system first started many years ago...when I was a member.
And Moon, I’m so pleased for all of you that your daughter is doing better, and that your DH will be released from that halo soon. Surely a sign of better days ahead. And what lovely then and now pix! Happy 45th! We will also be celebrating that number in a couple of weeks.
Illimae, glad you are feeling better!
The liquor brands mentioned are lost on me. I can only stand the taste of hard liquor if it is masked in a sugary mix, so haven’t imbibed in years. Wine is another story. I used to like to drink tequila and tonic or tequila and grapefruit juice, but that, too, was long ago. I am always amazed that anyone can drink spirits straight over rocks...just don’t have those taste buds.
Sunday, I attended a “conversation pot luck dinner” in our town sponsored by the Diversity Initiative, to which I contributed an appetizer plate of ratatouille over toasted baguette pieces, topped with fresh grated parmesan. After seeing some of the other offerings at my table (bag of chips and salsa, packaged cheese slices with a box of crackers, etc.), I realized I could do this a bit more easily next time. The conversation part really made it worth going....a focus on cultural appropriation vs appreciation. Really made me think in new ways.
Last night DH decided we should depart from our chicken or fish menu, so he picked up a pork tenderloin, which I marinated in a maple dressing and he grilled. We had sides of brussels sprouts, salad and nuked sweet potatoes. We had a similar dinner with the leftover pork tonight. Our menus are really the height of boring these days....and I haven’t even started making my kale/chicken sausage soup yet!
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The alert has turned into an activation. Typhoon Yutu.
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Oh dear, Eric. Do be safe. That typhoon sounds really awful. Were you expecting this much excitement during your retirement? Maybe you can import some of that food you were starting to cook this week. Seriously, I’m hoping that it magicallyturns away from Guam, and that you can get back to your stove quickly.
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Lacey, I feel the same way about our menus. Definitely not exciting. WW has certainly evolved from year to year, and I think the company genuinely tries to help people lose weight in a healthy way. It's a company, of course, and the profit motive is there. I find the meetings (now called work shops) helpful. I call them my AA meetings! The group support and camaraderie are uplifting. Our food culture in the US works against those of us who battle being overweight. I think downsizing portions would be a big step in the right direction. So-called "family" restaurants encourage over-eating.
I used up my last frozen eggplant casserole last night. Our side was a scrumptious tossed salad.
Tonight will be leftover red beans with sausage over brown rice. Side will be a salad. I may go to the supermarket and buy some pork country style ribs to cook in the oven with barbecue sauce.
Today I must get out into the yard and pull weeds and do other yard chores. I'm feeling a strong lack of enthusiasm over the prospect. I fantasize about hiring a yard man.
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Stay safe Eric!
Carole, 10 is an accomplishment - congratulations!
Spaghetti and meatballs from the freezer stock. These were the last so I need to be making some more.. Also the last of the pasta sauce and I just used the last of the chicken stock. Guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.
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Made soup with pot roast leftovers and barley. Not to toot my own horn but toooot tooot, damn that was good!
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Simple dinner tonight, tacos!
I slow cook chicken smothered in salsa. Once it’s done you shred the chicken and let it sit in the pot to soak up more salsa flavor then just put all the toppings you want
I bought some ready made taco shells & tonight I’ll cut up some onion, avocado, lime, and cilantro. Sprinkle some cheese and viola! Easy peasy delicious dinner.Stay warm and safe everyone! Cheers to your yummy dinners
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Leftover meatloaf was on the menu tonight.
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Made salmon teriyaki, snap peas and wild rice last night. Tonight I felt a cold coming on (ugh); had instant low-sodium organic "Chinese noodle soup" (meh) and a small hot corned beef sandwich on marble rye. My real comfort food was Angelo's Sicilian cassata gelato--texture like semifreddo, taste like the cannoli I had in Taormina (one of which I inadvertently had to share with a feral patch tabby kitten in the piazza). WF carries it--it's local, from the west 'burbs. The Angelo's chocolate gelato was disappointing--it was milk chocolate--so it'll likely live & die in my freezer. Mariano's dark chocolate (Vevo brand, from its hand-scooped counter) is much, much better--as good as Jeni's Splendid Deepest Darkest Chocolate but half the price.
WW certainly has evolved. My first stint--at which I first hit goal weight at age 19 (starting at 134, down to 116--oh, how naive I was!)--was on the original program. No points...but no fats, oils, potatoes, cereal, grains or starches other than two slices a day (no more, no less) of disgusting cheap cottony supermarket white bread. No sugar, ever. No yogurt or even liquid skim milk--it had to be (blecch) instant nonfat dry milk from powder, 2 servings a day. (They actually sold little packets of the powder as WW brand coffee whitener, which turned coffee gray...which was how I learned to like black coffee). An insane amount of protein per day--4 oz. at lunch, 6 at dinner--but no pork products at all. Red meat 3x a week, no more or less. At least 5 fish servings per week (only 2 of which could be canned tuna or salmon). One mandatory serving of any kind of liver per week. No more than 4 eggs a week. No diet salad dressings--we had to make our own out of tomato juice, vinegar and Italian seasonings. 3 fruits a day (fresh or frozen, not dried or canned). Of those fruits, we could have up to one apple and one pear per week--but not both on the same day. No grapes, cherries or bananas, though. Vegetables were either "#3" (rhymes with "free," as in unlimited) or #4. We had to have the equivalent of one half-cup serving of a #4 veggie per day. Amazingly, tomatoes were a #4 vegetable. (So were whole or cut green beans other than "French" style). No legumes. Peas were a #4 (they later became a starch exchange).
I've been on almost every iteration of WW since 1970, up till about 15 yrs. ago. Looking back, if I had just concentrated on maintaining 134 lbs. at age 19, I probably wouldn't have started the stupid yo-yo diet roller coaster that put me where I am today.
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The pork country ribs cooked in French's Cattlemen's barbecue sauce were as good as I imagined. I cooked three in the oven on 300 degrees, generously spread with sauce and covered. We each ate 1 1/2 with warmed up red beans and rice.
I always liked the Cattlemen's bbq sauce because it had a tanginess and wasn't so sweet.
Tonight we're eating out at Morgan's with another couple at Beau Chene CC, where we've been members since it opened way back when. Morgan's is the more formal dining room. There's a new chef. We've heard mixed reviews.
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Hard to tell what we'll have--our 8:30 am flight out of Austin was delayed due to "mechanical problems " requiring a part that has to be brought in. We are now scheduled to leave at 3:47 p.m. and, if we make our connection in Phoenix, should arrive in California about 7pm instead of the planned noon arrival. Glad our firm plans are for tomorrow instead of today!
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I'm coming g home tomorrow. The medical system in the islands was apparently operating normally (enough) that we weren't needed.
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Eric - hooray. I'm sure you are glad. And it's good to hear that the systems were working.
Nance - I made the green chili enchiladas today with the Frontera sauce from Whole Foods. Unfortunately I am one of those people who can't abide cilantro, and there was a lot in the sauce. Still, I was able to eat the two enchiladas I made with pork slivers & LOTS of Monterey Jack cheese. I'll try the red when my son comes to town.
Illimae - the soup looks delicious. I've actually had my oven on a couple of times. Winter in Houston - below 70 degrees!!!
Carole - looks like I caught your 10 lbs. Oh well, some hard work ahead.
As for booze - I talked to the manager at Costco. He says yes, their Kirkland brand vodka is great. The tasate of their Kirkland brand gin is between Tanqueray & Bombay (not quite as sweet as the first or as dry as the second), and the Bourbon is delicious, and the Scotch is like Glenlivet. But much to my disappointment ... because I live in Texas with their stupid crazy Blue Laws, none of these are available to me. If you don't know, we can FINALLY buy wine & beer in grocery stores, but hard stuff only in specific liquor stores - which are only open certain hours and NEVER on Sunday. And Costco can't sell a privately branded product that won't be available in any other liquor store. He suggested a road trip to Louisiana. Sigh.
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Oh Minus, I'm sorry - I should have warned you that the green sauces are heavy on cilantro. I don't think the reds are or at least they don't seem so to me. Bummer about the liquor, I didn't realize Texas liquor laws were so strict.
Welcome home Eric!
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Eric, glad to learn that you are freed up....hopefully for quite a while! And that the island's (not sure exactly where you landed) resources were functioning “well enough".
Minus, I am always amazed at that cilantro aversion so many people have. It must be gross! I never had cilantro until I came to Boston, and really like its unusual taste, but can just imagine how awful it would be if my taste buds disagreed!
Yikes, Minus, I'm surprised to learn that Texas' blue laws are even more primitive than those in Massachusetts. Fortunately, ours are relaxing a bit, and there were even some bars that even allowed patrons to remain past 2AM last night while the Sox struggled through the record breaking long World Series game against the Dodgers in LA last night/this morning.....which of course I watched until the bitter end....aroung 4AM. 😕 That would not have been an option were I not such a nite owl. But it was hard.....hoping tonight does not present such a challenge for this tired gal.
For tonight's dinner, I made a shrimp veggie stir fry (thank you DH for picking up the shrimp) over brown rice linguini and a side of a large garden salad, with accompanying wheat bread loaf DH picked up from TJs. I learned that prepping such a combo (especially when I am sleep deprived) is an effort, given all the the small veggie and shrimp prep. Next time I will just have an accompanying cuke salad. Anyway, it was good.
Am trying to think of what to make for a dinner on Wednesday for an older (than us!) couple from our church who need meals for a week while she recovers from a hospitalization. They do not eat beef or starches, prefer other protein, veggies, and salad (no problem for this salad maker). I’m guessing that they will be inundated with chicken dishes, and wonder if anyone has any idea of an interesting meal (including an unusual chicken dish) that they might enjoy. This is an amazing 80s couple who is struggling with health issues, yet manages to spearhead many important social justice issues in our community, and beyond, so I really want to nurture them to wellness. Thanks for any thoughts!
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Yikes, Minus--I didn't realize TX's liquor laws were still as antediluvian as WA's were back in the '70s. How far is the LA state line?
Eating Chinese leftovers for the second night in a row (ordered out Thurs. night). My neighborhood blog raved about a particular new Cantonese place, and the delivery was speedy, but results were mixed. Wonton soup was loaded with wonton & veggies--actually had to dilute the broth with hot water. Char siu was pretty good, beef chow fun was...bottomless (3 nights and I've barely made a dent in it). Egg rolls were skimpy--hardly any veggies (but what the hey, they were free with a coupon). Shrimp toasts very salty. Biggest disappointment was the shrimp almond ding--the picture in the online menu showed it in a white wine sauce, but it came in the same gloppy brown sauce the place around the corner puts on everything. Oh, well--win some, lose some.
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They took us as far as Hawaii via commercial flights. A military aircraft had been detailed to take us the rest of the way to Saipan (or Tinnian), but when the hospitals reported no significant damage, we were "parked" in Hawaii just in case something happened.
Nothing happened and we weren't needed...so we are heading home.
We did get a couple of hours today to go over and see the USS Arizona Memorial.
It's good to not be needed.
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Lacey - my neighbor is almost 80 and can no longer drive due to Meniere's disease in addition to lots of other medical issues. She can't eat salads or beef or pork or any sweets. She won't eat most veggies or any fish (or anything else from the sea). She will eat processed white bread & pasta and sometimes rice. As a change from chicken dishes, she really likes it when I bring quiche. She will eat spinach quiche but I have to leave out the mushrooms and make sure anything like onions are so small as to be invisible. It's really hard coming up with a dish to take her once a week.
Eric - oh, Hawaii. Glad you got to the Arizona. I haven't been out to the Memorial in 20 years. Hope you had some other downtime while you were 'parked'. I wanted to get back to the islands this year but it doesn't look likely.
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