Sorry to say, but this site has been so depressing for a few days. I thought I'd ask an average, everyday question....to make us all feel a little more normal today.
I made Eggplant Lasagna, and my BIL and SIL are coming for dinner. They leave for Cali tomorrow to see their beautiful grand daughter.
Sorry, sometimes we just need some REGULAR conversation.......or at least THIS caregiver does.
Now, soup in the hot weather is not "normal" but my mouth got to goin' and so I bought a ham steak slice, cut it up in chunks (cheaper than ham hocks and a lot less work), onion, garlic, carrots, baby potatoes, smoke flavoring, herb seasoning, chicken broth, tumeric, oregano, salt and pepper.
Even though the weather was warm, inside the house was comfortable and we sucked down the soup with gusto. 🍵 🍞 🍷
Yesterday I was hosting a friend from out of town for the night. I baked some pork chops in onions, diced tomatoes, zucchini slices, greens. The problem was that I didn't defrost chops completely in the refrigerator, so I put them in the microwave to defrost. I didn't take into consideration they were already partially defrosted and put them in for full time of defrost per weight. I ended up partially cooking in the microwave, even while the center of some were still cold and icy. Blah. So of course they cooked very unevenly, and overcooked. They weren't inedible, but it was annoying to serve this to my friend, since I had been doing so much better lately, but I missed the mark on this prep. Oh, well.
She ate it, said she liked the taste. Good enough, I guess. 😝
Really admire those of you who are such good cooks. I'd have a better chance of learning ancient Greek than of making those work!
Me trying to cook something new:
Stare at recipe in blank incomprehension.
Take a deep breath.
Tell myself I can do this.
Gather ingredients. This requires going to the store, and a Mom sitter, so I put it off and heat some frozen food.
After trip to the store:
Take out ingredients.
Scratch my head.
Do my best to follow the instructions.
Produce something that does not resemble the pretty picture.
Taste it.
Ugh. It has the consistency of cardboard.
Order Chinese food for delivery.
Tell myself, well, at least I tried.
Hope that next time maybe, just maybe, it will work out.
Think that some day, I will... I will... I will pass Dinner 101!
I love the idea of using an electric fry pan Dusti, there is no way to turn on the gas stove without heating up the kitchen!
Though there are all sorts of food trucks there maybe just a short trip for dinner. Oh, maybe not. I have makings for gazpacho. Mmmmmm. Yes a mom recipe if I can find it. Oh daughter 2 took a picture of it a couple of months ago. Try that before I start hunting.
I always liked my mom's good china and have inherited and it by default since it was moved into my house along with all of the other things we kept from the farm. Paper plates are easier though.
Her recipe sounds just like my Mom's too. My Mother used this recipe to make it for the family on my Birthday and I'm sure she probably doubled everything too.This was her recipe she used for Frozen Fruit Salad
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
one/fourth cup cold water. Dissolve over hot water
Add 1 can fruit cocktail with the syrup and add one/fourth cup sugar to the gelatin mixture with the fruit cocktail.Add 1 can apricots drained and cut up,1 can dark sweet cherries drained and 1 can Mandrin oranges,drained.
In a mixing bowl,whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (a lot) and the fold the whipping cream and a half cup of mayonnaise into the fruit mixture.Fold everything together.
Add a few miniature marshmelllows,pour into a pyrex or whatever container you wish and dot with Maraschino cherries,cover with foil and freeze overnight.
And that's how my Mom did it.It makes a lot though and I ate way too much yesterday.
It's so good and was always such a treat.
When I was growing upMother did a lot of entertaining and cooking and she always used her good china and silver and Goblets and such,but I have never used mine because people quit using it and things changed.
The NY Strips we got in one of the packages offered by Omaha Steaks. Can't afford them very often but darn all their meats are good. (we have had chicken, pork chops, hamburgers and steaks) and they last in the freezer for quite a while.
I fixed a roast (from regular grocery store), premade mashed potatoes and green beans today. Just got back from taking my honey to ER for edema and we had a snack of roast beef. Don't usually eat after around 7pm but just had to have some.
Have a great weekend!!
You won't need a passport to get into Mexico but you will coming back into the U.S..
I've heard you can do it with a birth certificate but I wouldn't. They would ask you why you don't have a passport.
The heat was oppressive today. Over 90 degrees (at 6 pm) and it rained here in TJ for a few minutes. Aaaah, takes me back to Puerto Vallarta in the summertime. ;)
Glad you could cool off in the mall. We visited MIL (no a/c), I got my hair done (yea, she had a/c), visited my Mom (no a/c), ate at a Lebanese Restaurant (didn't have it on) and had a Sangria at Routa del Vino (no a/c). Thank God the house is always cooler than outside. It's 11 pm right now and is 84 degrees in the living room. I'v taken 2 cool rinse offs in the shower and will probably have another before bed. Will be glad when we can stop sweating!
Do I need a passport to cross the border ?
The best mole up here was near mariachi plaza but I hear it closed
La Serranata
I'm at the mall to escape the heat and am at a yakitori / sushi place with a happy hour - not bad for the price
Yup, there's a great mole place called La Casa del Mole, downtown Tijuana in the neighborhood called Zona Rio.
We've eaten there many times and is my husband's "go-to" place for mole. (Although we make it at home too.)
They have any type of mole you could want, Pipian, Almendrado, verde, etc.
There is parking for a few cars out front but there's a free lot across the street.
Inside, there's a large rock fountain in the middle of the restaurant with seating around it in 2 isles, divided by a half wall. There is a pianist the whole time the restaurant is open. There are tables for 4 but they can put more together.
The food is good. Hubs always gets Breast of Chicken (pechuga de pollo) in Mole Almendrado. The pechuga is huge! He always orders an extra side of mole. Don't bother with the "soup" they bring before the meal-only chicken broth with rice and onions. I always get Chamorro (a pork shank in adobo sauce), yummy.
Prices are reasonable (in comparison to what we'd pay in San Diego).
Wait staff can be overwhelmed when the place is full but always have been attentive.
I'd suggest having lunch (menu is the same for dinner), as the food is the same and in good quantity.
Have I convinced you to come over? 😋
I tried different brands of pancake/waffle mix and Bisquick but no go. I blame it on the waffle iron (even though it was new).
IMO, the frozen Belgian (deep) waffles are better than the thin ones (more butter and syrup to hide in the grooves- hee hee. ) $2.00 for 6 on sale. Now, they even have cinnamon and spice flavor too. I feel a carb attack coming on.......time for a cookie! ;)
Dessert was strawberries with real whipped cream. Double yum.
(but after reading the previous posts I'm kinda wishing I had a waffle to put under those berries and cream)