So...whats for dinner?

Hi Lynn. As they say, "Pull up a chair." :-)f

Minus, that is good news that the stomach stuff is abating. Two chicken noodle soups or two Irish Bailey Creams? :-) I couldn't resist that.

I'm glad someone likes beets. I remember my mom telling me that when I was an infant, she gave me some beets and the nearby wall needed to be repainted. I still don't like beets.

I'm hardening off the plants for the garden. The basil and cilantro plants are huge and growing fast, so we are taking advantage of the harvest even before the plants are in the ground.

Lynn, I love eating other people's 7 layer dip because each one is a bit different. I hope your recovery goes well.

Carole, Do you like leeks or garlic? I love onions but would leave them out if you were coming to dinner. Sometimes extra good veggies are as much of a treat as chocolate.

Minus, I'm glad your stomach is recovering. My grandfather would make us whiskey hot toddies when we were kids if we were sick and staying at his house. I'm not too sure about the medicinal value but it did make us sleep.

m0mmy, Hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes was the only junior high school lunch that I liked.

Wally, I had to get up early to walk so that I could beat the high-80's temps today. I've lived in all kinds of climates but now my body has trouble adjusting to both extreme heat and cold.

Eric, I have pots of herbs but never bother to plant them outside. When I lived in the farm cottage in Scotland I would open the door and pick wild mint if I was roasting lamb.

Dinner tonight was chicken in mango sauce with cauliflower.

Maggie, I cook with garlic and like cooked leeks, since they have such a mild taste. I also cook with finely diced raw onion but do not eat raw onion or onion rings. The only inconvenience to my aversion is serving myself at potlucks with cold salads. I have asked dh to take a taste of potato salad and let me know if it has raw onion. He has sometimes not been able to tell.

Last night's dinner was hot dogs and baked beans, a small can of Bush's. DH had two hotdogs and I had one. We didn't finish all the Bush's. Dh also had some leftover broccoli salad.

No clue on tonight's dinner.

minus - on the CO property it was a half acre of land at a very high elevation. We needed to wait to apply for a construction loan until DH got all of his retirement income figured out and solidified. Surprisingly (or not) it took the federal government pension about 3-4 months to process. They paid a portion of it but we needed to know exactly how much before we applied. Once that all straightened out we applied for a loan, but building costs in that area are astronomical - $600-$700 a sq. ft. The HOA requires a minimum of 2000 sf, so that put building out of reach because we also needed an ADU as well over the garage. So, we put the lot up for sale, and are now looking outside of Summit County for something already built, which is much more affordable ad would be at a somewhat lower elevation. That way we are in faster - maybe by the end of summer - rather than waiting for two years for a build. There is still snow covering the land we own. It was a dream, but an unrealistic one.

It was so windy today with temperature in the 50's that I dismissed any idea of playing women's league golf at 9 am. I went to the gym with dh, out to breakfast, then to the supermarket for a pot roast, which is cooking in the slow cooker. It's a good day here for pot roast and veggies while at home in Louisiana, it's a good day for cold salad.

Wally, thanks for another term to look up, mapo tofu. LOL. I have an insight into the tofu but not the mapo. You and Maggie keep me on good terms with Google.

SpecialK, I'm sorry the dream house in Colorado didn't work out but I'm sure you will be happy with the backup plan. With luck your lot will have appreciated in value. A fixer upper seems like a good idea for you and your dh since you have some experience in that area of home owning.

Back to the pot roast purchase, I think roasts must be more popular in the south than here in MN. The selection of beef pot roasts was small and the cost about as pricey as at home. The selection of pork roasts was pitiful, almost nonexistent. I was all set to buy one of those for the freezer but didn't.

Eric, Good point!

Carole, Where I live it’s much harder to find pot roast in the summer, probably because it’s considered a winter meal. All the meat cuts now tend to be skewed towards grilling.

Special, Sorry that the lot didn’t work out. I guess some of the higher elevations in CO can stay snowed in year round. We rode horseback with a small group to cross the continental divide in the San Juan National Forest one August but had to turn around because of deep snow. It was very scenic even though we didn’t reach our destination.

Dinner tonight was angus strip steak and corn on the cob. We’re eating this fairly frequently but for some reason it’s inexpensive, good and plentiful right now. Grilling season?

Carole,

I have found that finding a pot roast in the summer very hard, even in New England! Pot roast here in New England is more for the cooler months.

Dinner was pork loin roast. Unfortunately I got distracted and it cooked WAY too long. Dry, dry, dry. The leftovers will NOT be good for sandwiches - only some kind of moist casseroles. Of course that's the way my Mother always cooked pork so we wouldn't get "Trichinosis".

Any suggestions beside fried rice?

Minus, A fruit/fruit juice sauce might moisten it up if the pork is chopped into chunks.

whole berry cranberry sauce, diced apple, chopped onion, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, pepper

mango juice, chopped mangoes, diced onion, chopped green bell pepper, thyme/rosemary/sage, salt pepper

chunky salsa, black beans

fruit juice with complementary tasting liquor like orange juice and orange curaçao; chopped garlic, salt, pepper

One meal of fried rice is good. If you chop the pork fine (or use a food processor) and add chopped celery, chopped onion, dill pickle relish and mayo you have a sandwich spread which can be topped with lettuce and tomato.

Enjoy your taste adventure.

Dinner last night was the new Niles location of Crosby's Kitchen (originally on Southport near where Gordy & Leslie live). It's been open only two weeks, but you wouldn't know it. We had to sit at the bar on the covered patio, but were a little rattled to find a wood-burning firepit (but wasn't as "triggered" by the scent as I thought I'd be). Their menu featured wood-grilled specialties, but we already smelled a bit like smoke, so why not? We split a roasted veggie platter (asparagus, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, broccolini). Bob's entree was a prime rib French dip with fries; mine was grilled king salmon (glaze on the side) with spiced broccolini. It was delicious but way more than I could eat, so we took home leftovers (Bob killed off the whole sandwich). Since we ate the artichokes with our hands, my fingers not only smelled smoky but were sooty. Planned to have it for dinner tonight, but…

About 1pm I was awakened from a post-prandial nap by fire alarms. Yup—there was a fire in our hotel. Can't make this stuff up. Grabbed my keycard and phone and booked it out of there. No smoke smell in the hallway but when I got downstairs the lobby was smoky. Sat outside, panicked—everything we own that wasn't affected by the house fire (and some that was mildly smoky), plus the cats, was in our room. Fire dept arrived, promptly found and extinguished it. Turns out a cordless hand vac was left plugged in to recharge in a ground floor janitorial closet, and the battery overheated and ignited. After the first floor was aired out for a half-hour, we were let back in. Luckily, no smoke on the guest floors. Still a bit shaky. The manager says it's safe to stay (no residual smell) but HomeLink is willing to relocate us early if we want. (Getting everything—especially the cats—out and into the cars and possibly an Uber would be a major headache).

Sandy, It's scary how fire seems to be stalking you. I hope that's the end of it. About three years ago I set myself on fire cooking and ended up in a burn unit for a week. My shirt caught fire as I reached too far for the pepper since I was immobilized by "let's see how it's doing in a month" knee arthritis. I still have nerve damage but the scars on my face have cleared as the surgeon predicted since I have fair skin which is looser thanks to “maturity.” Surprisingly I wasn't at all hesitant to use the gas stove again. Needless to say, when arthritis pain struck my other knee it was treated immediately.

Minus, I haven’t been able to drink for many years (migraines) so I frequently cook with wine and booze. The heat seems to neutralize whatever is the root cause and I can taste the flavor.

Dinner tonight was leftover stuffed peppers.

A week in a burn unit. What a horrible experience, Maggie. Must have been so painful.

Yesterday was dh's 85th birthday. We had dinner with a friend who is struggling with grief after the death of her dh late last summer. Her daughter has come to stay with her a couple of months and work remotely. The restaurant, Hilltop Inn, is fairly close to Dorothy's wonderful summer home on Long Lake. DH had the prime rib and I had pecan crusted walleye. The restaurant is known for both of these entrees. My fish was very good but the portion was on the small side.

No clue about dinner tonight.

Sandy, I agree with Maggie that fire seems to be following you. I'm glad this one was not so eventful to you.

I've not had any (serious) burn issues from cooking….just the tiny blister here and there from bumping something hot…not that I want even that.

I'm fighting a cold…it's just an annoying cold…not a "man cold".

I have a (very) old meat grinder and I'll cover up an overcooked meat mistake by grinding the meat and putting it into "something"….stuffed peppers or something with a ground meat based sauce.

I can't (don't want to?) imagine my grief if I were to "lose" Sharon. My heart goes out to those who have lost a spouse.

Light lunch at Calo, after braving the Andersonville Midsommarfest mobs lining Clark St., to buy shoes. I had 2 baked clams, a jumbo prawn, a couple oz. of squid, some salad and the house tomato foccacia. Dinner tonight w/friends at Arirang Korean BBQ: scallion shrimp pancake, various bonchon (assorted kimchi and other mini-salads), bulgogi, spicy chicken thighs, and grilled veggies (shiitakes, zucchini, onion, peppers and acorn squash). Sent them home with the leftovers, as our room's mini-fridge is chock-full. (An entire shelf is taken up by my 3 boxes of Mounjaro).

Took out boneless pork spareribs for dinner.

Debating whether hubby and I should go out for our anniversary on Wednesday or stay home. We are reaching the major milestone of 20 years of marriage that day.