So...whats for dinner?

Illimae, Great news about the MRI results!

Wallycat, I’ll still have Enhertu every 3 weeks to keep it that way but no radiation, which it hate. “Maintenance chemo” is forever for HER2+ MBC’ers.

illimae - yay for good news on the MRI!

All - I am finally back from DD's event. All went as smooth as possible for the event itself - which really means nobody flipped their vehicle or got hurt on either course. That said, DD's beau was taking down signs at the conclusion and stepped in a hole and broke his ankle - so, he left in an ambulance and DD had to soldier on because things weren't wrapped up yet. Fortunately, his sister was also helping us so she went with him. He is now in a walking boot with pending further imaging that the VA seems in no hurry to do…

I am sore and tired and just now getting back to "normal" and doing things around the house. I stood too long, got too little sleep, and carried things I should not have. Both knees swelled and one ankle - one knee (the left that had surgery many years ago) is still being problematic. I would like to be out walking since the weather is nice, but don't trust that I won't aggravate it more. I am trying to be good…

We have been eating things from the freezer since I mostly used everything else up before we left. I need to do a grocery shop, but we still have some broccoli and carrots and a whole bunch of frozen vegetables. Tonight is a previously frozen creamy pasta, chicken, broccoli casserole.

I have read back through all the pages I missed! Glad to be back!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the congrats 🙂.

Dinner tonight is a small sandwich (turkey, cheddar, lettuce, mayo and avocado on toasted 7 grain bread) and a side salad (spring mix, carrots, radishes and cucumber) with balsamic vinaigrette.

Carole, It's good you passed your stress test and are now cleared for surgery. I feel like it's my lucky day when I buy an eggplant with no seeds and no bitterness.

Special, I'm glad your DD's event was a success but I'm sorry her beau and you came out of it in worse shape than you went in.

Wally, Rice pudding is one of my DH's favorite desserts. I don't make it often since I shouldn't eat it and he claims (with some justification) that leftovers more than a day old give him migraines.

Minus, Weird meals are sometimes the best meals.

Dinner tonight was chicken cacciatore.

Homemom, I sort of follow the Mediterranean diet since I take steroids and they are terrible for causing high blood sugar and weight gain. I veer toward the more low carb/high fiber items in the fruit/veggie category (asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, berries), have two servings of yogurt a day for calcium rather than the recommended one, and eat much less than the recommended amount of whole grains. I cook with olive oil and eat olives and nuts. I can't drink because of migraines but I cook with wine. It imparts flavor to the food (mostly chicken and fish) and burns off most of the alcohol and sulfites.

I actually feel good and can lose a bit of weight on keto but my endocrinologist is against it since it wrecks up your thyroid and mine is already defective. She allows me to do it for six weeks every six months to keep my weight closer to where it should be but for the rest of the time I stick with the modified Mediterranean. The food tastes good and I cook potatoes, pasta or rice for DH who thrives on carbs thanks to growing up in Ireland. Cooking your own meals allows you to control the ingredients. Also, I can't eat at restaurants or inside with other people thanks to RIPF (I got covid the one time I ate outdoors at a cafe) so it's a good thing that I like to cook. I miss being able to share a meal or a coffee with friends and family, though.

Bread pudding with whiskey sauce is a big favorite in the south. My mother didn't make rice pudding.

Dinner tonight will be salmon fillets topped with yogurt dill mustard mixture and cooked in a hot oven. Also cauliflower/potato mash. The cauliflower is small so may need to add some potato. And our romaine salad.

I've been reading Forks over Knives and Vegan Richa. Eventually, maybe soon, I'll try cooking an Indian vegetarian dish or two.

With DH OOT, I stopped at a local gourmet market and picked up chicken divan. It was awesome but made much richer than I make my own. I also had a big peanut butter brownie from the same place.

The above reminds me I need to reseek my motivation to eat less sugar and rich stuff. On my bedside table I have the book "Blue Zones Challenge" about the habits of long lived people. I think I'm now ready to read it and start implementing some new ideas.

My mother never made dessert. I can't recall ever having something sweet after dinner. The theory went that when you're done eating, you're DONE, LOL. My first taste of rice pudding was when my nieghbor (in WI) would bring some over for DH during the holidays. The thought of it revolted me. I wouldn't touch it for years. I finally offered to make some for him (I use short grain brown rice) and took a bite. OMG…I don't stir a lot so there's a gorgeous rice and custard layer…to me, it is like creme brullee on steroids. SO good.

I've done "mediterranean" style eating ever since I can remember…basically less processed foods, lots of veggies and moderate wine & cheese consumption. Fruit is also a cornerstone. I worry about that because I have been pre-diabetic since my 40s, but with MGUS, "they" say higher fruit intake makes myeloma less likely (from past studies). Some things, one just has to choose.

We had the chicken yesterday. Today, DH will have the last lone thigh and I am thawing some scallops for myself (which he doesn't like). I'll thaw some tuna steaks for tomorrow.

Reader, Your mention of chicken divan means I’ll have to make it soon. I use asparagus instead of broccoli since DH is not a fan.

Wally, If I want scallops I have to make them for myself. According to DH they along with clams, squid and octopus are too “rubbery.” In Madrid at a famous calamari takeout place the servers couldn’t believe he didn’t want any and gave me two servings for the price of one.

Minus, It takes forever to find things in an unfamiliar grocery store. I’ve noticed that Aldi stores seem to have a very similar layout and stock no matter where they are located.

Dinner tonight was creamy chicken with mushrooms and spinach.

Dinner tonight was a turkey subway sandwich and several organic raspberries from sprouts, best I’ve had in many years, it was like I was plucking them off the bush myself, just wow.

A friend caught a 169 lb tuna recently and we were gifted two pieces. I ordered tuna once in a restaurant many years ago. I remember that it was a birthday dinner. I didn't fall in love. It didn't seem like fish. More like almost raw steak. So since then I have avoided ordering tuna, which is frequently on lunch menus as a salad component. So I will be researching recipes for cooking tuna.

Wally, I know your recipes will be Asian, not my favorite flavor. I'm betting that the majority of recipes will list soy sauce as an ingredient in a marinating sauce.

My cute Cornish hens didn't live up to my anticipation. I wish I had cooked them at a higher temperature and browned them more. The side was a butternut squash mash with a small amount of brown sugar and butter. It was just ok, too. We didn't get up from the table hungry and, with luck, will live to eat another dinner. LOL.

Glad to learn I wasn't the only one puzzled by OOT!!

Carole, As far as fresh tuna goes I like mine medium well to well done (as I prefer steak) but that is anathema to many people. I haven't cooked a fresh tuna steak in while but in the past I have used Mediterranean marinades rather than Asian. Here are a couple that are similar to what I like.

https://www.daringgourmet.com/sicilian-style-grilled-tuna-steaks/#recipe

https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/garlic-herb-tuna-steak-marinade/

Wally, I'm with you on the scallops. I cook mine for two minutes in butter and paprika. I cook octopus in a Basque type stew. DH grew up eating a very unadventurous diet. In my opinion Irish cuisine isn't that great except for breakfast, some lamb dishes and the brown bread made from a special flour blend. He would not eat corn for years (animal feed in his opinion) but now wonders why he turned down fresh corn on the cob for so long. He likes lobster salad and MD steamed crabs but won't eat the same lobster warm. I sometimes make two dinners simultaneously so that I can eat what I like now that he no longer travels for work. I guess there is no accounting for individual tastes.

I grew up with fruit being dessert - fortunately living in SoCal the fruit was fantastic, so it didn't seem like we were being deprived. My mom was a pretty health conscious cook for the time, my dad had an organic garden in the backyard and we didn't have soda or chips or much in the way of prepared foods in the house. Made having those things an occasional treat. I try to maintain a gluten free Mediterranean diet, and naturally favor fruits and vegetables. I do love sourdough bread, but for the most part I can leave bread behind and not miss it too much. I made the switch to brown rice a while ago, but we also ate it growing up.

My local Publix just did a remodel and they switched the aisles around. I have now shopped there many times but I don't feel like I have mastered the layout - I keep having to backtrack and look at the overhead signage to find what I am looking for - and I am the kind of shopper who goes up and down every aisle! Very frustrating! I do have Sprouts and Aldi very close by, and have no trouble there because the stores are smaller. There is a new and huge Whole Foods downtown, I can spend half a day in there, lol! The good news is that I rarely go downtown so the temptation to over-browse and buy there is limited. I love Trader Joe's but it is also downtown - when I am there I really try to go and pick up my regular staples that I like - but it has to be the right time of day or the parking lot is impossible.

carole - when is your implant swap?

Dinner tonight is a pan seared bone in pork chop with roasted turmeric cauliflower and sautéed Swiss chard.