Friday Food February 8, 2025

 

Served in the Indian style - chicken,  cold fruit/veggies, cut plantains, rice w/peas & carrots.

Thick veggie stew, pan-fried white potatoes, skinny green beans with onions and ?.

Since I started occasionally driving two neighbor boys to school, their mother, Mariam,  sometimes offers me meals when she cooks plenty.  I never say no!

 She grew up in southern India and is an excellent cook.  I don't always know what I am eating and sometimes have to add some plain yogurt to tame the spice, but it is all delicious.   This past week she has sent over three evening meals, usually enough to  have some "plan-overs" for lunch the next day. I do have food in the house, but low energy and coughing make real cooking more than I can handle. 

It is so special to have wonderful friends and neighbors who will help out.  I enjoy living alone and get along nicely in daily life, however, there are times that I need support and am reassured that help is available. 

BE SURE TO GET YOUR RSV VACCINE.

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Friday Food - Ice Cream 06-28-24

Anytime, any season ice cream appeals to many of us.  When I am on a road trip Diary Queen is always tempting.  Locally there are a number of local or chain ice cream shops.   The boys and I have tried quite a few, but after trying a new place we always go back to Rich Farm, which is the closest to our houses.

Julian likes the "candy" ice cream that always seem to be blue or green.

This may have been "cookie monster". 

Some Japanese restaurants have green tea ice cream.  This with chocolate  streams and powdered  sugar sprinkles was at my favorite in San Diego - Ikiru.

After a delicious salmon dinner at a Los Alamitos,CA, seafood place.

There is a chocolate fish propped on top.. 

The gelato case at Whole Foods.  Decision, Decisions.

At home I prefer Talenti's Coffee Chocolate Chip or Lactaid vanilla.   I don't  need a  "dairy relief" pill after the Lactaid, but I always carry some with me in case of a sudden, overwhelming urge to stop for ice cream!

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Friday Food 06-07-24

 Here is one of my favorite light meals, good any time of year.

Fresh broccoli microwaved just to crispy.  Two soft scrambled eggs. A grating of sharp cheddar.  A sprinkle of paprika. Eaten usually with unsalted matzos. 

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Friday Food 05-31-24

 Somehow spring time is always salad time for me.  Although I do eat salads all year, they seem more appealing as the weather warms up and the landscape is green and also colorful with flowers.  Here are some memorable lunch salads.

Although Fitness Grill has changed to Versie, the menu is basically the same. I frequently order the salmon salad which is always simply delicious.  Other than scallops I rarely cook seafood at home, so often order it at restaurants. 

Several years ago there was a fad of stuffing the salad in a tall glass and then  upending it  on t he plate; a sort  of  salad tower; this one was at Bowers Museum restaurant.   Very tasty, but one had to flatten it out to eat it. 

Here is a crab salad in an interesting combination.  Don't recall the restaurant. 

Here is a made-at-home salad.  Celery, avocado, oranges,  banana,  dried cranberries, chopped toasted pecans, lactose free cottage cheese.   Not yet added, a drizzle of Brianna's Poppy seed dressing.  

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Friday Food 05-23-24

I am still working on losing weight.  About fifty pounds since sometime last fall.   The only "rules" are eating less of everything and eating one cookie instead of five!  I have always had a "sweet tooth" and while I was growing up dessert was always part of the meal. To force me to eat something I didn't like (liver comes to mind) mom would threaten to withhold dessert. Usually worked!    Here are some pictures I have taken of delicious offerings at many different restaurants.  

A sample plate at Summit House in Fullerton.  Four diners, I took the creme brulee.

An unusual offering at a casual lunch spot.  They were all perfect, just missing a glass of milk. 

Cheesecake is always a good choice - if nothing else looks better!

Below the luscious top is equally delicious cake. 

One or two fillings are raspberry.  M-m-m-m!

At home, especially in the summer, I enjoy lactose free vanilla ice cream with berries or melted chocolate chips.  

In the summer when my meal is a fruit salad I restrain myself and don't have dessert.  

Now I have made myself hungry.  Guess I'll have a few chocolate chips to take the sweet tooth edge off.      

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Friday Food 05-03-24

Recently I read an article titled "12 healthy foods" and discovered that all but one are the mainstays of my normal diet.  Avocados, Broccoli, Apples, Nuts, Berries, Beans/Lentils, Eggs, Dark Leafy Greens, Olive Oil, Dark Chocolate, Whole Grains, Asparagus. The latter is rarely on my plate, just not a favorite!   If you Google 12 Healthy Foods you will find dozens of variations which include most of these choices.

One of my favorite meals is lactose free  cottage cheese with fruit and a drizzle of Brianna's Poppy Seed dressing.

Tonight it was avocado, pear, apple, blueberries, pear, banana, toasted pecans, 

Last week it was avocado, banana, blueberries, banana, apple, toasted pecans.

Happy eating!

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Friday Food 03-08-24

 While in SDiego I stayed in Air B&B with Pat Pauly, the teacher, so we ate breakfast at the house and sometimes dinner also.  We shopped at the local Von's Grocery where I found these "mixed" eggs.  

There  were these four left to bring home, but the  original dozen were  more varied  with  darker browns  and  brighter blues with  one greenish one. I have purchased colored eggs from local growers, but have never seen them commercially packaged. But I usually just buy brown eggs from Trader Joe's and don't look to see what else is available.  

Inside they are like any eggs.  These  were medium rather than the large I usually buy.   The breed of chicken is Ameraucana, which lay eggs in several different colors, but most commonly shades  of blue.

The commercial carton.

A full dozen from a local supplier.  They are not graded and come with all different sizes.  

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Friday Food 01-26-24

Lunch yesterday with friend Carol. We went to  Blue Agave in Yorba Linda.   Upscale, Tex-Mex food is always very good.

I don't usually order wraps, but this sounded so good. Grilled chicken chopped with bits of apple, crumbled blue cheese with a sauce for dipping.  .  Rice on the side and chopped veggies.  The yellow lump is a scoop of corn pudding.   I would definitely order this again.   And I had the second half for lunch today  - great. 

Carol Bednar ordered chili relleno and and chicken tostada served with Texas beans and rice.

I have switched to wearing a slightly too small long sleeved mock turtle with a small pillow (7" square)  over the incision site.  It is held in place by the tightness of the shirt.  No tape, so there is less itching, but I am still applying Cortaid-10 around the parameter of the steri-strips. The pillow stayed in place when we walked and I wore a vest so it doesn't really show. Unless someone is staring at my un-bra-ed bosom, which is not very likely.     Feeling better every day.  

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Friday Food 01-12-24

Yesterday Carol and I had lunch at Maguroya on Imperial in Yorba Linda.. It is next door to Fitness Grill, our favorite lunch spot.  A few weeks ago we drove to Fitness Grill  only to find they were closed to do some remodeling.  Since we were there we decided to try Maguroya a Japanese  restaurant that has been there for years.  Their lunch plate was delicious.  Yesterday was a little chilly to sit outside and neither of us likes the dark interior of  Fitness with the high back booths.  So, we went next door and enjoyed the lunch plate.  You can select from the menu to "mix and match" what is on the plate. We chose to have the same selection. Again, it was delicious and just the right amount of food. 

The plate is very large, maybe 14", makes the servings look small, but they are not.

Two slices of orange, a scoop of cold noodles with light sauce, and a scoop of lettuce with a sweet dressing.

Teriyaki chicken.

A few pieces of perfectly cooked broccoli with a dab of sauce.

And sushi and California roll. 

Hot tea, of course, on a rather chilly day.  It was lovely.

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Friday Food 12-29-23

 Fuyu season is almost over and I haven''t had nearly enough!

This trees slightly hangs over a wall along our usual walking path.  Before I could ask if I could pick some  they harvested every one!

This shows the difference between the Hatchiya on the left and the  Fuyu on the right.

The Hatchiya is soft and gelatinous when ripe. The Fuyu is hard like an apple.

The Fuyu cut crosswise makes a sun with rays some have flat black seeds. Other than eating them like an apple or cutting them up in fruit salad, the only other way I have heard them used is sliced and dried as a snack.    This year when I saw them at the market they were selling for $1.00 to $1.50, each.  As I drove around the area I looked for some loaded trees and stopped to ask to cut a few.  The man at the first house said no, they were a large family and needed them all.   There were probably 70 - 80 on the tree, maybe they planned to dry them.  At another house there was nobody home and it appeared that they had been gone for awhile, maybe traveling for Xmas.  So, I cut four off their well fruited tree and said Thank You.  I am a Fuyu thief! 

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Friday Food 11-17-23

 

Friday Food 09-08-23

 I love  salads, but am always a little leery when eating out because of my allergy to sulfites. They are frequently  used to keep  the lettuce  and other veggies looking fresh.  Salad bars are the  very  worst so I avoid them. But better restaurants usually don't use sulfites on their food.  If  in doubt I ask, but don't always receive a firm answer. It is  worse outside of California due to the different regulations in different states.  I don't make elaborate salads at  home - all that chopping, ick.  Our  temps are on the rise this week so I am  thinking salads - maybe Fitness Grill again!

Tasty crunch with chicken and cheese on top and, as usual, the dressing on the side.

Grilled tuna and violets.  Can't really taste the violets, but they are a delight to the eye!

This is more like what I make at home - two ingredients with rice vinegar and olive oil on the side.  A little fresh parsley if I have it.

Tomatoes, radishes, broccoli, blueberries, provolone, and  greens..

Got a little fancy here.

This recipe came from a Facebook friend in Australia in 2009 and it is my favorite summer salad, worth all the peeling and chopping.  

 

There aren't any exact measurements, but this is what I use for just one dinner size serving:

3 - 4 radishes sliced

half a small can of sliced black olives

1/2 naval orange cut into small pieces

2 cups of watermelon squares - about an inch.

a couple hands full of mixed greens OR baby spinach OR what have you.

Toss with a dressing made with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. 

A beet salad at Solare Ristorante in Liberty Station, San Diego.

This is a delightful combination and I always  intend on trying to duplicate it at home, but haven't so far.  It tastes so cool on a hot day. 

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Friday Food - On a Saturday 08-05-23

Friends are still gifting tomatoes and I am loving it!  This was Friday's dinner. 

A  large  slice  of sourdough bread (current favorite is San Luis Sourdough),  mayo, a small smear of Dijon, one large tomato sliced, black pepper, sharp cheddar and a quick melt in the toaster oven.  It was delicious and I was tempted to make another one, but I have been cutting down on food.  Eating one cookie instead of five!  And one toasted tomato/cheese sandwich.

I have  been in bit of a funk and haven't been posting.  But we are  still walking twice a day trying to overcome my aching legs and butt.  Paying attention seems to be more difficult and this caused me to back into my garage door!!  I always back into the garage and I always open it with the clicker - until this time.  Have no real idea how it happened, but it requires a replacement door!  It will be twice the cost of the ruined door which we installed about 35 years ago.  Same specifications. 

The heat has not been so bad, mostly in the low 90s, The A/C is set at 79F and doesn't come on until mid afternoon.   But the sun shines on the front of the house  and it starts heating up.  We walk in the morning about 7:30am before it gets hot  and wait until 7:30pm or 8pm when the temp drops to 80F or so to take our evening walk.  

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