Susie:

Lulu:

I actually made popcorn for my dinner.  Ate a big bowl while watching some episodes of "Victoria" season 3.   

Haha, you sound like us. Our dinner last night was homemade strawberry/rhubarb cobbler. Sometimes you just gotta enjoy life.

That cobbler sounds good for anytime of the day, Susie. We're waiting for the raspberry's to come in for Raspberry cobbler...Yum

I actually made popcorn for my dinner.  Ate a big bowl while watching some episodes of "Victoria" season 3.   

I'm doing grilled mahi-mahi with a broccoli & purple cauliflower and quinoa casserole as the side dish, with leftovers for Lady Sally's lunch next week.

Dinner tonight includes my last three home grown tomatoes. It be six long months before the next tomato... Robert

Folkfan--seems like you might as well grow ya some night crawlers in there while yer at it!

I've been making various soups during the past few weeks.  Things like split pea, tomato, and chicken/noodle.  I did a roast today which will end up as a hearty hash tomorrow. 

As for kitchen scraps,  I put them in my indoor compost heap.  I was curious about how things worked in a heap and started in the fall, putting my scraps into a plastic bin.  And the heap kept growing and growing. I now have 4 bins going.   Since the weather is now cold enough outside I'll start grinding my kitchen scraps up and putting them into a bin outside.   I hope to have a large heap going through out the spring and summer this coming year.   It's was amazing to me just how good a compost heap can smell.  Mine have a loamy, clean dirt smell to them, and they are warm so I figure that something is going right in those boxes.  LOL

I made a big pot of vegetable soup for dinner today- with butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, zuccini, onion, celery, turnips, and also some pink and white beans.  Will eat it today and tomorrow, and will then freeze half of it to enjoy next month sometime.  :)

Usually we put all the peelings into the compost bin in the yard, which is closed.  But this time I made Brian dump the fresh peels, ends, and seeds under the bird feeder for the wild things to feast on.  I felt so sorry for them during this deadly deep freeze we are in the midst of.  Yesterday i was getting rid of three apples that were getting old... so I cut them in 8ths and put them there under the feeder as well, for our wild friends.  

Doing a roasted pork loin seasoned with orange, boiled potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli salad, finishing off with the traditional (for us) coconut cake.

Merry Christmas to all on the forum.

On Christmas Day we are having dinner at a friend's home. I think it will be ham with various side dishes. The day after Christmas (Boxing Day) we have family coming in for fried oysters, mashed potatoes, green beans, and various other sides like pickled beets and eggs. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, we have two holiday dinners:

First is a traditional British dinner for Lady Sally, her daughter Holly, her Mum, and me (or I).  This is the only meal in the year that I do not cook.  Sally and Holly do it all.  They make a beef roast with roasted parsnips, carrots, and potatoes; fried Brussels sprouts, and Yorkshire Puddings (similar to a popover, gougère or savory unfilled cream puff).  For dessert we have the Christmas Pudding (what fruitcake wants to be when it grows up) complete with flaming brandy and hand whipped cream.   The Christmas "Pud" was made by Sally's Mum back around Thanksgiving, laboriously steamed, then rested in the ridge until Christmas.  This dinner we normally prepare on Boxing Day, but occasionally Christmas Eve.  

On Christmas Day we have the Outlaws Dinner.  Sally's ex- in-laws assorted friends, etc.  This year I'm doing a large Greek Pastitsio -- the Greek equivalent of a lasagna.  And a salad.  I'm also doing a wreath-shaped fruit dessert of kiwi slices and pomegranate seeds.  In-laws are bringing cheesecake and a couple of side dishes.

So... what's everyone making for their special holiday dinner this year ?

We only have one remaining tomato plant (sweet 100 cherry tomatoes) that is still producing.  But I did add a few to the big salad we had for dinner tonight: mixed greens, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, radish, kalamata olives, and cold grilled salmon left over from yesterday.  I'm always surprised how filling a salad can be when you add some good protein to the mix.  And all those vegetables helped assuage my guilt for having grilled a couple of hot dogs for lunch!

Mixed grill from the local Indian restaurant--I ordered everything mild (the rice, sauces, etc.) and it was right at my upper range of tolerable heat!

Wow Robert, my tomatoes have long since given up the ghost!  My garden is supremely neglected at this time of year.

Good for you!

My rice and beans were such a big hit a few days ago that I made another batch today.  This time with a thick slice of local smoked ham stake on the side, and using black beans, tomatoes, onions and sofrito.  I'll serve it with a little apple sauce for the ham.  We are still having windy grey rainy days due to that big storm front on the east coast.

Here in south Jersey, summer and fall is all about tomato sandwiches. As of October 29th I'm still picking from the field. A day hardly go's by when someone comes to my stand to buy tomatoes without telling me their favorite tomato sandwich recipe. Although stuffed peppers are on my menu for now... Robert.

I've been cooking for 3 families this past month, my husband and myself, my daughter and son-in-law, and freezing things to take down to Dave when I go to stay with him during and after his operation.  I've done roast beef hash, split-pea soup, fresh tomato soup, poached chicken, chicken stuffing, chicken enchiladas, chili, chicken marsala, minestrone using my tomato soup as a base, blue berry muffins, and started the fixings for Spanish rice  and somethings I can't even remember while sitting here typing. 

I have the last of my home grown cherry tomatoes boiling up for another batch of tomato soup right now.  And some chicken breasts poaching.  I think, after looking at Lisa's post, I'll make a batch of corn bread too. 

It's funny but I never liked tomato soup growing up.  My mom only fixed Campbell's canned tomato soup and I thought it was awful..  My soup is simply cooked tomatoes and onions, run through a blender stick and a sieve.  Then I add salted butter to it and that's all the salt that the soup gets. And no milk. 

Lisa, I wish you had a store like I have just down the road from me.  I'm living in a very mixed ethnic  area and the local store caters to all of us.  I have never seen so many different fruits, and vegetables, not to mention the varieties of rice, grains, breads, pastas, and canned and preserved foods from all over the world.  I am so happy we moved here, shopping is a constant enrichment process of tastes and textures of food.  Not to mention the variety of restaurants that are only a short walk or ride away. 

OK, so I just came back from the kitchen.  Made a batch of corn bread.  Then on a whim I whipped up a batch of gen-U-ine Puerto Rican rice & beans.  (I lived in Puerto Rico for 13 years and learned how to cook it directly from the country people there).  I used a bit of bacon rather than the traditional salt pork to get it started.  I even had just enough medium grain white rice on hand... it's not always easy to find in stores here (it's neither sushi nor arboreal rice). 

Everything is done and the beans are on very low simmer now to 'develop' their flavor. The house sure smells good right now!

We'll be feasting late this afternoon on arroz con habichuelas, y pan de mais.  Often it would be served with some chicken or other meat on the side, but the bacon pieces in the beans is plenty meat enough for us.  Plus there's the cornbread!  

these posts are making me laugh and think and plan.  THANKS.  okay, soooooo I'm having a variety of dried beans, about 1 and 1/2 cup....a pint of my home canned pork ......and Cajun seasoning in my crock pot cooking out on the porch.   Because I sold my #21 dulcimer 2 days ago and all my materials have arrived today for me to make #22.  YEAHSVILLE.  (nope and no coon gravy either)  aloha, irene

I'm grilling some pork chops tonight myself.  But before they get grilled, I'll brine them in salt water for a couple of hours and then put on a dry rub.  The brining allows more flexibility in cooking, so if you don't get the cooking time just right they still stay tender and juicy.  No dried pork chops in this household!

And no, I won't be serving them with coon fat gravy.  Yikes!

"...For a taste you'll never forget."   

--------------------

It's dark, cool, and damp again today. Think I may make either smoked ham steak or some pork chops tonight. I have both in the freezer, and I can make some cornbread with it.     

Don't knock it til you try it.

Hopefully it tastes better than it looks. 

possum in a bag.JPG.jpg  •  95KB

Dried.  Depending if I've got folks coming to dinner, amounts vary.  I try all sorts of dried beans and stuffs in my little crock pot.  Most of the time I put it on the front porch for the day because my husband doesn't like the smell of beans cooking.  too bad, I love that smell and eating 'em.  aloha, irene

Irene- do you mean putting into the crock pot dried lentils and peas, or canned?

When I know I'll be working in the shop, and running around, I get out my little crock pot while making breakfast and put in 3/4 cup of lentals, 3/4 cup of black eye'd peas and a big tablespoon of dried onions or fresh....add some peppered bacon and put water in it.  Cooks all day and dinner time it's JUST RIGHT.   aloha, irene

Ken, ditto here, hurricane Mathew. We mostly ate what we could, and brought the rest around to neighbors. 

We lost a freezer full of goodness thanks to hurricane Irma -- 40+ quarts of mango was heartbreaking...  Slowly building things back up.  I made real chili (no beans) on Sunday and we finished the last of it Yesterday at lunch.  So I made Mediterranean Meatballs -- turkey, spinach, feta, mint, yogurt, and spices yesterday for dinner last night, and will have them again here in a bit.  Also made a fabulous and simple tomato, lentil, onion dish that can be either a salad, or a chilled side dish.  

My weekly Fooding Around With The Kilted Cook bog is here:  

https://foodingaround-kiltedcook.blogspot.com/

Yesterday was warm in the high 60s... but heavy rains and high wind gusts, with hazardous weather advisories.  It was dark all day long.  Good weather to be inside looking out.

...and good weather to make soup!  I made split green pea soup for dinner and we ate at the kitchen table in the afternoon while the wind howled outside.  Candles to make things cozier.  

About 6 months ago, for some reason I was inspired to buy a spiral cut smoked ham.  Brian said i was crazy to buy a big ham.  It was good and we ate it for several days in a row... but it was just too much ham for us two to keep eating it nonstop. So I cut the remainder off the bone (there was plenty left!) and froze bags of the ham cut into various sizes for future use.  For the split pea soup, I pulled out a bag of diced ham and browned it with some onion and diced carrot, adding that to the pea soup.      Having a few little bags of such things in the freezer is like money in the bank!

I will stick to my medical infusion monthly for RA, no thanks to bee stings.

Lisa, happy to hear of your thriving bees this season, hope the honey is flowing.

Sure sounds like a job to move hives, but love hearing of your bees. 

Fer dinner i had a biiiig bowl of Greek yogurt with dried cranberries, golden raisins, flaxseed meal, and chopped walnuts.   Mighty refreshing!

Got the other large beehive moved to my house today- box by box, many trips in the car, lots of putting on and off of veil and gloves, lots of strapping and lifting heavy boxes with angry bees swirling all around.  Did it all by myself, just like two days ago with the other hive I moved. 

I was very lucky that my friend decided to give up two large thriving hives (she kept one) and offered them to me.  But boy, talk about an exhausting job that was.   I still have 32 frames of bees to switch into my boxes with so I can give her her empty hive boxes back.  And a whole lot of stuff to store away, but the hard part is done and everyone's in their new home in my yard.

Looks like I might get some honey this year after all now.  

I'm not sure about bee stings for arthritis, but I do know that multiple wasp stings can bring on gout.   Been there and done that.  Ouch.  I took aspirin and benedryl after the attack.  The wasps got in under my pants leg and kept sting my foot and left leg.  The pain didn't go away in the foot but increased to a major gout attack for me which hurt a good deal more than the stings.  I think I'll stay away from the bee treatment for arthritis.   Thinking about it the wasps were the first time I've ever been stung by an insect like a bee or wasp.   Lisa, my hat's off to you for keeping the critters.  Hope no allergy develops due to the stings you've received in the past few days and will in the future.  Take care.

Steven, at least the injections don't require an office visit.  :)

That's some treatment, John! I think I'll keep the arthritis.

Steven

I don't have arthritis.  At least I know I'm not (yet) allergic to bee venom.  

Yes, a few bees did perish... they died defending their colony against the perceived attacker (me). The hive is now residing nicely at my house, alongside my other hives.

I've heard that bee stings are good for fighting arthritis in the joints.  

Also that the bees that sting you die.  Maybe you lost a few this weekend?

I had a chicken enchilada suiza with rice tonight.  I've been doing chicken enchiladas with mole and red sauce recently which is how my daughter likes me to make them, but I wanted to treat myself so I had a creamy sauce tonight.   Now I'm going to do some quilting which is how I normally relax at night.  Unless I've got my nose stuck in a book. I'm reading some Civil War novels by Jeff Shaara.   I just finished "Gods and Generals".

Hmm, I had your dinner for lunch today. Wishing you all success with the bees.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Turns out I got more like about 22 stings yesterday.  Some were kind of blending together.  Yikes, lots of itching and swelling today but still on aspirin and benedryl...helps a lot and gets me over the first 48 hour hump which is the worst.  I did some more bee work today but on my own bees and didn't get nary a sting.  But tomorrow, back to my friend's to move her OTHER large 4 box hive, strapped box by box in my car...holy moly, what a huge task this is being.  Once finished however I'll have some great hives set up in my yard which is great because i lost 3 out of my 5 hives during this winter.  This gets me right back where I was, very quickly.

Dinner?  I had a nice cold tuna salad sandwich.  

Oh, FF, that sounds good!  

Strumelia, YOU ARE THE QUEEN BEE!  <3

We're going to watch some episodes of "The Borgias" at home tonight.  Lots of medieval intrigue, passion, treachery, and mayhem!  

Strumelia:I'm having a gigantic bowl of espresso-choco-chip ice cream for dinner as I type this.     Figure I earned it.

YES YOU DID!  It's chili over cornbread while watching "Dr. Who" here....

It's 7pm, just getting dark.  I just finished practically killing myself in moving a beehive with 32 frames/4 boxes from a friend's house to my backyard and setting it all up.  Due to the owner having put 7 frames into 8 frame boxes and not having opened any their hives since last year, the bees had connected all frames together with comb due to having 'too much space'.  This meant I had to slice them apart with a long kitchen knife to transfer the frames into my boxes.  Needless to say, a whole lot of very unhappy bees.

Got the job done though, took about 5 hours start to finish, five car trips, and I got stung about a dozen times, in various places.  I located and protected the queen however... all the bees are now safe and sound in my yard in their new home, in my own boxes, and with their beloved queen safe.  

So, I only have to do this all over again in the next 48 hours for the second large hive she's giving me. 

We'll see how I feel tomorrow and if I can do it again right away or need to skip a day.  

Meanwhile, I feel kinda woozy and shaky- am loaded up with aspirin and Benedryl and will need to stay that way til tomorrow at least.

What does all this have to do with dinner?

Well, I'm having a gigantic bowl of espresso-choco-chip ice cream for dinner as I type this.     Figure I earned it.

Eggs,  I knew I hadn't mentioned something that also was in the crepe.  It definitely has eggs in it, too.   And, Ken, that tortilla de patata looks yummy.  Sort of looks like something I've thrown together for breakfast after serving roasted potatoes the night before.   My usual concoction is eggs, potatoes, onions (green or what ever I have on hand) and mozzarella cheese. 

Hmmmmm.  If you fried up the hash browns and arranged them in a round shape, then poured beaten egg overall, things would stick together like a crepe.  Then add the toppings of choice and put a lid on to help things cook through....  

Ever seen a Spanish Tortilla de Patata?  Sort of fried potatoes & eggs combined -- I make these for our AirBnb guests all the time:

Tortilla Sandwich1.JPG.jpg  •  132KB

You had me at "crisply fried hash browns"!  This would be good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Sounds good FF;  I may have to work that up as a dish.

A restaurant near me makes a breakfast crepe (they describe it as a crepe) but it is a large circle of crisply fried hash browns, with a variety of fillings that they fold in.  I like mine with bacon, colby-jack cheese, and onions.  The concoction is large enough with the side of pancakes they serve it with to make 3 meals for me.  Depending, of course, on whether or not my daughter pops in for a quick bite to eat the next day.  I then share my doggy bag of tasty potatoes, etc. with her. 

Y'all just keep sweetenin' the pot!!!  I'd love to have that chat, anyway, Dan!!!  

Awww Sandi, come on down.  I could drive down to Tampa, we could jam with Ken, feast 'high on the hog' and you, your hubbie and I could discuss what has or has not changed in Henrico County since I worked there in 2005.

OH Ken, I love this life!!!  I dream of traveling and having adventures together, but some are getting ready to fly the coop...  We even take them to enjoy our anniversary with us, whatever we do (usually a meal out), coming up on twenty-four years the 17th.     We came by it honestly though, as we've never really had people to babysit/leave them with.  I'm not complain', as it just goes by too fast.

Sandi -- park the kids with relatives for a few days -- you and hubby NEED a break!

OH that would be amazing!!!!!

I'd give it a try! 

Remember the line from the song Jambalaya? 

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio.
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gayo,
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

 "Filé gumbo" is gumbo thickened with ground sassafras leaves rather than okra or a roux -- a different taste that the other choices...

In a stew,  hmmm. . . 

Try making homemade Root Beer, Robin.  Dried Sassafras ground leaves are called filé in Cajun cooking and are used as a thickening agent for stews, gumbos, etc  

That curry sounds good, Sandi!  

We should crash the Kilted Cook's castle.  :) 

PS- I'd like to try sassafrass bark for something other than tea.  

Come on doowwwnnn!  Kusani and his wife stayed in our AirBnb Poolside Cabana With Gourmet Flair.  They sampled my gourmet breakfasts and we played dulcimer at poolside.

OH Ken, I dream of brunch at your house!!!  

Tonight I made a Zucchini and Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese; with handmade Never-Fail Tart Crust.

For Sunday's lunch with Lady Sally and her Mum, I made Bison Meatloaf, Green Beans and Smashed Potatoes & Mushroom-Bisto(tm) gravy; for dessert I made my first-ever Flan which turned out fabulous.  You can read about it, and much more here at my Fooding Around blog:

 http://foodingaround-kiltedcook.blogspot.com/

This chick pea curry was AMAZING tonight!!!!

http://www.recipetineats.com/easy-chickpea-potato-curry-chana-aloo-curry/

Succotash-- from the Naragansett word 'sohqutahhash' (meaning broken corn kernals) -- is the quintessential American dish, made with only New World ingredients:  sweet corn and lima beans or other shell beans.  Other American additives include tomato and bell peppers.  Southerners often add Okra, but that is an African vegetable, not American.  

Native Americans made succotash both from fresh corn cut off the cob, as well as dried cracked corn and dried beans reconstituted by boiling in water with herbs including sassafras bark (root beer flavored corn and beans??!!).  High in nutrition including all the required amino acids.

Jan -- I've had that Spanish Omelet too.  Mostly in Catalonia along the Pyranees border with France.  

Sandi -- For Bulgogi -- Korean Beef -- I prefer rare Deli sliced roast beef marinated overnight in the sugar/soy/ginger/toasted sesame oil mixture.  It's a lot more authentic than ground beef. 

OH YUM, Ken!!!  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the recipe!!!!!

My Hazel is currently making Korean Beef for tonight's dinner:  http://www.lizzywrite.com/2010/05/korean-beef.html

By the way, when I went to Spain in 1971, a "Spanish Omlette", which I ordered in several cities throughout Spain, was a tasty cheese omlette stuffed with hot crispy French Fries--no onions or peppers or tomatoes or anything like that.  Yummy!

Interesting, Ken--that was what I fixed for breakfast the morning I left.  I used leftover baked potato and added the leftover steak chopped up into the mix.  And, yes, it was delicious!

Close, Dusty.  A frittata will have lots more 'stuff' between the eggs -  zucchini, sausage, bell peppers, tomato, etc. as well as more herbs and spices.  The Spanish tortilla, it is believed, came first, and the Italians "tarted up" the concept, as they say!  

I avoid ketchup too.  There's a unique Spanish "salsa" that I often use -- vinegar and paprika and some other spices.  Home-made Mexican salsa or Mango Pico de Gallo, otherwise

That sounds good, Ken.   I would avoid ketchup, though, and stick with salsa.

 If you replace the potatoes with zucchini you get a frittata, right?

Here ya go Sandi -- a real Spanish Tortilla, called a Tortilla de Patata  great for breakfast or dinner.  Sort of fried potatoes and eggs together.

• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Diced onion
• shredded cheese and/or ketchup or salsa

Slice some potatoes into 1/2" to 3/4" thick rounds.  Enough potatoes to fill the bottom of your biggest oven-able skillet.  Dice up half a cup or so of red onion if you've got it; white if you don't.  Whip together some eggs -- 2 for a 9" skillet, 4-6 for a 10" or 12" skillet.  Pre-cook the potato rounds in the microwave -- say 5 minutes.

Lay the potatoes out in the skillet so the rounds just touch each other.  Fry one side of the potatoes in a splash of oil.  When they are nice and browned, turn them over and fry another couple minutes.  Sprinkle the diced onion over all, then pour the eggs on top.  Turn your oven Broiler on Hi.  Wait another minute or two, dust with a bit of black pepper and salt, then slide the skillet under the broiler, on the top rack.  Cook another 2 minutes or so until the eggs are cooked on top and starting to brown.

Cut the Tortilla into quarters and plate.  Top with a bit of shredded cheese of your choice and ketchup or salsa.

Tortilladepatata2.JPG.jpg  •  199KB

When you can't figure out what to fix for dinner (supper), fix breakfast!

YUM y'all!  ~still have no idea for tonight~