Blue Joys

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you are a little discontent and you have no real idea why?This past week I was just a grumbling mess of a human. I was totally uninspired and it was not because I did not have a ton of things to do. I had my nose out of joint for no real reason, and seemed to be content to wallow in self pity. Of course by definition when one is wallowing in self pity, the only one feeling sorry is one's self.  I am giving me just one more day to shake these blues, and get back to feeling like myself.

Sunday: TheHub did not feel well. He had been fighting some respiratory crud for a few days, so we hung around the house and did a good bit of reading, then watched Succession. I think we watch it because no group of people in real life can be as horrible as every member of the Roy family. Knowing we are not that terrible makes us feel so much better about ourselves.

 

Monday: The day was a gorgeous weather day, cardinals were nesting near the fence and we found Monday at 6 p.m. is just about the perfect time to go to Costco.  Considering where we were, the store was virtually empty. (Which means the parking lot was only about 1/3 full and self checkout was available without any wait.) In my opinion that was something of a huge joy.

Tuesday: I rode to Son2/DIL2's house to have a brief visit with her mom. She is a lovely person going through a very difficult time right now, but I was very glad to be able to see her. Her dog has also moved in and is a wonderfully sweet fella who is tending to his "mama".

After the visit I headed to Independence Place for a quick pop-in visit.  I had not seen any of the participants since the play and have really missed them. As I have said before, IP is my happy place.

Wednesday: I had planned to have dinner with a childhood friend, but she has been cleaning out her mother's house and was not finished as soon as she thought she would be. After clearing Mom's house I certainly get it, so we rescheduled the dinner a week later. 

My beloved sister and I sat in the tax assessor's office for an insanely long time for a while, but we had each other to talk with and laugh at the absurdities happening around us. After we finished we came back to my house for a very late lunch (thanks courthouse) of leftovers and possibly ice cream. 

TheHub and I had a stay at home night and started watching the new season of Mrs. Mazel.

Thursday: I talked with Sluggy which always makes the day better, then got ready to go to the semi annual Parkinson 's fundraiser. I really did not want to go, but pretty much had to. Like most things I dread attending, it was a lot of fun once I got there. Hats off to Christina, who planned the event. It was a huge success.

An added joy? Though rain was predicted we did not have a single drop the entire time we were at the benefit.

Friday: I read for quite a while, finished a few odds and ends, then rode with TheHub to pick up some treats from our local Mexican bakery before grabbing a take out dinner. Any day I don't have to cook is joyous.

Saturday: TheHub wakes each Saturday with an agenda. Most Saturdays I have gone along with whatever he wanted to do, but I managed to play my stubborn card that morning. 

I agreed to go to Aldrich Garden's plant sale (didn't want to)  and was very glad we went. We bought some gorgeous limelight hydrangeas  and variegated aucuba plus another partial shade plant, but I forgot what it is named.  

After we left there he had a few more stops he wanted to make and I told him to go ahead but I was not going with him. Instead we went home, had lunch and watched Alabama's softball game. 

I almost felt bad for being a spoil sport, but not bad enough to do things I was not interested in doing.

Next week I will be agreeable again__maybe.

Look for joys wherever you can. They are always out there even if you have to hunt for them.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

When Plans Change

The week was different than I anticipated so the meal plan went sailing out the window along with any intentions I had of following it. I mostly went rogue . C'est la vie!

What was planned:

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Grilled tuna, salad

Smoked trout toast, coleslaw

Veggie meal TBD

Stuffed peppers, coleslaw

Out to eat or takeout

Pimento cheese sandwiches, coleslaw

 

What really happened: 

Monday: I wanted needed a quick meal. This is why I always have browned ground chuck in the freezer.

Spaghetti with bolognese, tossed salad, rolls

Tuesday: I headed to my favorite Asian market to pick up a few ingredients for some future meals, and my plans for dinner changed as soon as I got home and unloaded the groceries.

Pho

Wednesday: TheHub was having some medical tests Thursday morning and needed a very basic early dinner before he began his night fast.

Grilled tuna steak, baked potato, tossed salad

Thursday: I bought lemongrass when I was at the Asian market, and had to find some way to use it

Lemongrass chicken, jasmine rice, Asian slaw

Friday: About a week ago I bought a huge bag of potatoes at Aldi and realized I really needed to start using them.

Hamburger with all the fixings, potato salad

Saturday: We had to go to a funeral, then joined 10 others who also attended for an early dinner at Mikey's.

Grouper Oscar, asparagus, mixed green salad.

Sunday: TheHub had a sore throat and sniffles so I cooked some comfort food for dinner

Creamy Potato Soup

Next weeks possibilities: 

1. Hamburger patty w/grilled onions and peppers, mashed potatoes, coleslaw

2. Baked ziti, tossed salad

3. Out to eat

4. Carmine's salad

5. Asian inspired salmon meal

6. Stuffed peppers, coleslaw, potatoes of some sort

7. Pasta salad, diced fruit

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

Finding Well Hidden Joys

Our week was filled with emotional ups and downs, and by intention we decided to do very little. We really did need a week to rest, relax, and take stock of our plans moving on.

Sunday: I already wrote about these last week, but I am just trying to get back to my regularly scheduled program. So not to repeat myself, it was a good day and ended with a dinner out with friends.

Monday: It was not a personally spectacular day, but it was beautiful outside!

Tuesday: Though grocery shopping does not sound like a lot of fun, I spent about an hour browsing my favorite Asian market.  I love looking at all the things that are so strange to me, trying to decipher the Mandarin labels (which I neither read nor speak)

On the way home I stopped and bought a BLT which I took to a small lake near my house for another car picnic while I watched the ducks and listened to classical music.

Wednesday: I got to talk with Sluggy, and laughed a lot. Nuff said! The patio set still remained untended.

Thursday: Should have made hay while the sun was shining since that wonderful patio set I bought was not going to re-paint or re-cover itself. Instead, I read, but I had too because my library book was due to be returned in a couple of days. 

TheHub had a cardiac stress test and we were thrilled when his friend/cardiologist called Thursday evening with the good news that everything looked great. 

Friday: Another day and I was able to talk with Sluggy! I think I am going to need to take a road trip before too long.

Oh, and yes, the day was gorgeous and the patio set still sat in the basement waiting for me to start work on it. It is amazing how well I can ignore a chore isn't it?

Saturday: After a cup of coffee we began our day going to our favorite produce stand. Benny and Mrs.Benny are back back and will be stocked with fresh produce as it is available until the first freeze in the fall. This week I only bought tomatoes, cukes, and several plants. I have had great success with their plants and managed to over-winter several of them.

We had a few other quick errands to run, then came home to get ready for a funeral. We needed to be there early, and felt very honored that the family members included us in some things they intended for family only.

After the funeral and the graveside service, we went out to eat with some of our friends who were also included in the family events.

For the record a 2 martini early dinner meant we came home, changed clothes, splayed out on the couches then fell asleep for 4 hours. As I am writing this it is now 2 a.m. and I am wide awake. TheHub evidently stumbled to bed sometime while I was asleep on the couch and he is still asleep. I think it is about time for me to try and sleep some more, but I hope getting ready for bed will not wake him.* 

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

* It did. 

Kinda Vietnamese

When we were in Palm Springs we were fortunate enough to enjoy a delicious Vietnamese meal. I have never tried my hand at cooking any before and it did inspire my interest in learning some different dishes.

Thus, I began a Google hunt of recipes.

I had not really planned on cooking anything this week, and had gone shopping at Red Pearl to get a few things I needed for a dish for next week. Though it was not on my list (along with about 10 other things not on my list that I bought anyway) I could not resist buying some lemongrass. When I got home and put things away I realized I needed to find something to use it in.

After looking through several sites I came upon a recipe that called for lemongrass along with other ingredients I already had. 

Did I make it like the recipe? No, but this is my take on Lemongrass Chicken. All the ingredients are approximate because I don't generally measure, resorting to eyeballing amounts nearly all of the time.

Marinade

3 tablespoons lime juice*

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons fish sauce (Red Boat is my favorite)

3 stalks lemon grass, (minced creamy colored and soft green parts only)*

4 cloves garlic, minced*

1 inch knob of ginger, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons sweet red chili sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand** because I had some in the fridge)

2 tablespoons avocado oil (It is a neutral oil but I am sure olive oil would work well too)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (I had no fresh)

2 large squirts of Sriracha (a tablespoon maybe)

Mix this all together and marinate. This was enough for 3 small chicken breasts I had cut into strips. I left the chicken marinating in the refrigerator all day, took it out of the marinade then cooked it quickly on a hot griddle.

I served it on top of Jasmine rice with a side of "Asian" slaw. (Regular coleslaw mix with added peppers and scallions and a dressing made from seasoned salt, sesame oil and apple cider vinegar)

The meal was delicious, but there are some things I will do differently the next time I make it.

* I have tubes of garlic, ginger, and lemongrass paste in the freezer. All I would need to do is take them out of the freezer for a few minutes, knead the tubes and I could squirt a healthy amount into the liquids which would save time and deliver the same flavor. The same thing with the lime juice. I squeezed it from fresh limes and it might have worked just as well using bottled lime juice.

** I had Thai Kitchen brand sweet chili sauce ( available at just about any grocery store on the ethnic foods aisle) I am sure there are brands with a much better flavor.

The dish was not hot enough for my tastes and I wish I had added some chili crisp to the marinade, and it really needed more sriracha.

The last thing I would change would be to cook it outside on the grill. I think the flavors would be a little more intense and the marinade would caramelize to add to the enjoyment. Even with my griddle very hot, there was no caramelization. 

This dish is definitely going to be in our summer rotation! Try it and you might like it.  

Joys and Meals

I am feeling seriously blogging uninspired so I am combining my weekly joy list with our dinners for the week in one post. I have been much more involved in the 3-D world than I have the online one lately, and think I need to devote more time to the 3-D life. Lots going on with people in my life right now.

I am still reading blogs, but not doing a lot of commenting, mainly because I am reading them from the phone and I am just not going to try and comment using just my thumbs. 

Not!

Sunday. Easter we went to church came home to pretend we were at The Master’s Tournament and enjoy a pimento cheese sandwich. After an afternoon of on again off again watching we got to see John Rahm get his green jacket. 

Later that night we watched the new episode of Succession .  Neither of us saw that coming. 

Dinner: Something from somewhere. I don't remember what

Monday: The biggest joy of the day was being the 1 of 3 people called by Sluggy who actually answered. She does make me laugh. 

Monday afternoon  I got a call from Son2 that his MIL was being discharged from rehab and would be staying at their house. He asked me to pick up a few essentials for him since they were going to need to empty their guest room to make it hospital bed ready.

Dinner: Cheeseburger casserole, coleslaw

Tuesday: I ran to Uhaul to pick up some mattress covers and wrapping paper, then went to Son2’s house to help them a little to get a bedroom emptied for a hospital bed and other equipment. I left before it was delivered so neither my car nor myself would not be in the way. 

On my way home I ran by Aldi to grab a few needed things and found a 15 pound ham shank for 71 cents per pound. Great find that went straight into the freezer

Once I was out of the grocery store I picked up a sandwich and drink from a local place and drove to a neighborhood lake to have a car picnic while watching the ducks, swans and geese, and listening to a podcast. 

Dinner: Grilled Conecuh sausage, pasta salad

Wednesday: The great de-pollenization was begun. I have to wash the deck about 3 times before it is completely clean so stage 1 was done   I am glad it was warm enough that I could  be barefoot and in shorts while cleaning it. 

Dinner: Grilled grouper, salad

Thursday: This was just a regular day filled with mostly regular things. The joy was having a regular day!

Dinner: Rack of lamb, potato pancakes, tossed salad

Friday: We woke early and drove to Nashville. Met Son3 and DIL3 for lunch at Cafe Roze in the east Nashville area, then checked into our hotel before going to The Bluebird Cafe to see DIL3 perform in the round with 3 other fabulous woman. If you are ever in Nashville try to go to one of the venues events. It is a wonderful and intimate listening space.

After they finished playing we went to Etcetera for a post event meal with two of their friends and had a wonderful time.

Dinner: Fabulous food from Etcetera  (Between the 6 of us we had a lot of different items)

Saturday: After a protracted breakfast with Son3 and DIL3 we headed home. It was a beautiful day for a drive. As soon as we got back into town we picked up a mid century modern outdoor seating group I had bought from a local resale shop. I got a great deal on the two love seats and table, but I think I bought myself a lot of work! It has to be repainted and the cushions need to be recovered.

Dinner: We ate a Whatburger lunch very late and decided to skip dinner

Sunday: We went to church and came home with a take out salad lunch, then changed into work clothes to begin another day of de-pollening the deck. We got all the surfaces, screens, decking, bricks, windows, and doors, hosed, scrubbed and rinsed. We are almost ready for summer now! (Well, after I get the new to me outdoor seating painted and recovered)

We went to our church to pack meals for Rise Against Hunger, then went out with a few friends for dinner at Mama Coco. It is a cute restaurant, but the menu is just too big. (Or maybe I am just too simple)

Dinner: Tamales (TheHub) Chile relleno (me)

Dinner plans for the week? (may or may not happen)

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Grilled tuna, salad

Smoked trout toast, coleslaw

Veggie meal TBD

Stuffed peppers, coleslaw

Out to eat or takeout

Pimento cheese sandwiches, coleslaw

So in closing . . .

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all

                                               and

                     May all your weeds be wildflowers!

I don't want to cook, much less plan

A week long trip to Palm Springs, then another week doing things that did not get done while we were gone meant I was gone from the blogging world. I could lie and say I kept up with everyone, but honestly I did not. Anyway, it's been a long time and now I'm back to normal (whatever my normal is).

I have no idea what we had for meals last week, but most of it was either sandwiches or take out. I am not terribly good at getting back in the habit of cooking when I am away from it.  I am not sure I am really wanting to do much this week either.

This is my pitiful excuse for a meal plan for the week. We will be taking a short trip to Nashville this weekend to see our beautiful DIL perform at The Bluebird Cafe and we are also supposed to go out to eat Sunday night after packing bags for Rise Against Hunger. With those dates taken I will only be planning 4 meals for the week. Surely I can do that.

1. Cheeseburger casserole, tomatoes and cucumber

2. Rack of lamb (I did not cook an Easter meal. Instead we had pimento cheese sandwiches. Sue me!), potatoes or rice, asparagus

3. Chicken, roasted vegetables, salad

4. Pasta salad, grilled tuna

This may or may not happen depending on whether I go to the grocery store or not, and to be honest right now I am just not feeling it.

Have a good week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all!