Mar 18, 2023 12:46PM - edited Mar 18, 2023 12:49PM by chisandy

Carole, I am truly in restaurant heaven, as several of them are in easy (depending on weather) walking distance. Judy, glad you liked Brasserie C&C. We'd go tonight, except it's bitterly cold & windy and Bob is fighting a cold (at the stage where the nasal stuff is easing but before it hits his lungs). Colds were so rare these past 3 years that people tend to forget how awful they can feel, even compared to a Paxlovid-treated case of COVID. Despite the frigid temps, the tree pollen count is creeping up--and our cedar out front (part of the juniper family) is doing its best to let the wind spread its reddish pollen around. And the maple & buckeye across the street are starting to release their yellow-green yuck. Our garage is the saving grace, as we don't have to park anywhere outdoors long enough to have to clean anything other than road schmutz off our cars. But my ears & eyes are itching like crazy (wanna scratch one all the way through to the other).

Last night I made Bob his reuben: low-carb hi-fiber wholegrain bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, homemade Russian dressing (mayo, Tabasco, grated horseradish, ketchup, Creole seasoning)--buttered & pan-grilled. I had mine sans bread & cheese, but with wholegrain Dijon mustard. Then half the leftover prime rib & green beans, with a little au jus and creamed horseradish that "came with" (as they say here in the Midwest).

His office nurse sent him home with a loaf of homemade soda bread--no contest, it blew the Costco one out of the water. She used a variety of raisins. I will restrain myself from hereon in, as my weigh-in is on the 28th and I have definitely gained.

Tonight, if he doesn't want to go out, I'll defrost some whitefish to nuke Greek-style in parchment with herbs & veggies, accompanied by sauteed broccolini. Will also slowly defrost & reheat last week's leftover half of my branzino with asparagus, and divvy up the two. Maybe use up the rest of the beef & green beans as a surf & turf.

Mar 19, 2023 03:06PM chisandy wrote:

We still have winter--calendar-spring officially starts tomorrow, though meteorological spring started March 1st. 40s-50s all week. Rain-snow mix next Sat. Around here, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb...a rabid lamb...on steroids...with anger management issues. We've had measurable snow as late as April 23 (4", the night of a gig in 2018, and we had to clear it off the car before we could load out) and flurries as late as May 4.

Dinner last night was fridge-and-freezer-foraged surf & turf: the surf being leftover prime rib, the turf being defrosted leftover halibut and parchment-nuked fresh whitefish with herbs, peppers & grape tomatoes, roast eggplant from WF's hot bar, and various leftover veg. Probably walk to Regalia tonight (alas, Brasserie by C&C is open only Th, F, & Sat nights).

Mar 19, 2023 09:12PM chisandy wrote:

I am not a winter person--I have no use for snow unless I can play in or cross-country ski on it (and at my age with osteoporosis & the risk of falling, the chairlift has ascended away on that). I hate bundling up, and cold air makes me wheeze and my nose run like a leaky faucet. Never could skate, either. Not a fan of tropical or low-desert summers, though as long as I have A/C i'm okay. I grew up in Brooklyn, and IMHO all snow was good for was no school for a day. Tried making snow angels, but when the snow gets down your clothing? Yuck. City snow is pretty at first, then dirty and partly frozen. I enjoyed my seven years in Seattle--only once did it snow enough in the city to be inconvenient. I never minded the rain--you don't have to shovel it or clear it off your car. And when we lived there, it never rained hard or flooded (well, maybe one county to the north once).

We walked to Regalia for dinner. We shared a Mediterranean house salad and wagyu beef carpaccio with toasted pumpkin seeds (I gave the crostini to Bob). He had veal cutlet Parmigiana, and I had the special veal chop Marsala with wild mushrooms, spinach & Calabrese cauliflower (instead of mashed potatoes). No dessert. Yup, we have leftovers.

Mar 20, 2023 07:43AM wallycat wrote:

If I moved back to WI, it would be for family/friends. The summers are brutal and the mosquitoes, unbearable. Although I adore the snow, the main reason I like winter (and fall) is the cold temperatures and the shorter daylight. In a perfect world, I could afford an apartment in Australia and fly there when it is summer here...a gal can dream, LOL.

I'm using up the last 2 Polish sausages (not sure they are authentic; grass fed from Costco and a tad too smokey for us) with slaw and sweet potato.

Mar 20, 2023 06:33PM - edited Mar 20, 2023 06:34PM by minustwo

Mae - I'm glad somebody besides me does those crazy things. I think I posted about my dinner of 1/2 a can of beer nuts. And sometimes I just have a can of smoked oysters - with or without crackers.