It's "JUNE 2021"...What's Cooking ??

Burgers and hot dogs on the grill.

Happy Memorial day. Kids will be over, and we also celebrate
Aurora's 2nd year birthday.

Yes, Happy Memorial Day to everyone !

I've got my ribs, stripped of the thin membrane on the bottom and sprinkled with my homemade rib rub, in the oven covered in foil to steam for a couple hours on 300°. I thought I was pouring a small can of Coca Cola over the ribs when I put them on the sheet pan but realized when I looked it was a small can of Dr. Pepper ~ ~ some that grandson Josh picked up when he was here.

It should be just fine, as it's mainly just as a steaming liquid to get the ribs tender. When they're tender they'll be finished on the gas grill, slathered with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce.

I'll cut the corn off a couple ears of corn and make some Old Fashioned Wilted Lettuce salad with bacon & onions, hot sweet/sour vinegar dressing to go with the ribs. I thought about making some potato salad but decided that would probably be too much since it's just the two of us.

Happy Memorial Day, but in Canada today it's still May 31, not June yet! LOL.

Cookin Lore wrote:Happy Memorial Day, but in Canada today it's still May 31, not June yet! LOL.  

Hahahahahaha! I just realized the same thing, Lore. I think Jimmy's calendar only had 30 days in May.....


Oh, well, no biggie ~ if nothing else, we tend to roll with what is around here.

bethk wrote:

Cookin Lore wrote:Happy Memorial Day, but in Canada today it's still May 31, not June yet! LOL.  

Hahahahahaha!  I just realized the same thing, Lore.  I think Jimmy's calendar only had 30 days in May.....


Oh, well, no biggie ~ if nothing else, we tend to roll with what is around here.

This is a Pre- June thread. Tomorrow, it will be ok.
I sort of jumped the gun I see. Oh well. Old Man Jimmy did it again.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:

bethk wrote:

Cookin Lore wrote:Happy Memorial Day, but in Canada today it's still May 31, not June yet! LOL.  

Hahahahahaha!  I just realized the same thing, Lore.  I think Jimmy's calendar only had 30 days in May.....


Oh, well, no biggie ~ if nothing else, we tend to roll with what is around here.

This is a Pre- June thread. Tomorrow, it will be ok.
I sort of jumped the gun I see. Oh well. Old Man Jimmy did it again.

No big deal.....really, only Lore noticed it........



Hahahahahahahaha~

I think I left the ribs in the oven about 30 minutes longer than I should have....

I really like when you have to pull the meat off the bone just a bit ~ this time it came off with just the touch of a fork.

On the bright side ~ no struggle to eat them!!

At the last minute I decided to make a packet potato: Cubed potato, chopped onion, one of Dane's HOT banana peppers sliced up thin and some olive oil and s&p ~ all sealed up in some non-stick foil and put on the hot grill until they puff up and steam. If you leave them on and turn them over a few times they end up getting a bit of toast on them. Surprisingly, the HOT pepper really mellowed out, reminded me of a sweet cubanelle pepper (sweet Italian cooking pepper) and just kind of melted into the potatoes.

I made Grandma's Wilted Lettuce Salad. It's better with homegrown sweet leaf lettuce from the garden, cut in the morning and washed in the kitchen sink, wrapped in a towel & stored on the refrigerator shelf all day to absorb the washing moisture and to crisp up......Ah, but it's not to be so I made do with some store bought 'leaf lettuce', not as sweet and just maybe a bit bitter. But the best part of the salad is the bacon and the hot dressing of the bacon grease, white sugar and cider vinegar, brought to a boil and then the onions are dropped in to soften just a bit before being poured over the cut lettuce. YUM

From Lore:

"Dinner Tonight. The last of the rotisserie chicken I bought a few days ago. I doubt I will buy one again soon. I really don’t like to eat the same thing three days in a row. I microwaved the broccoli and find that it becomes rubbery. Anyone else find that?"

Lore, I microwave broccoli all the time.....about a tablespoon of water, a sprinkle of salt and sealed well with plastic wrap. I cook it on high for 3 minutes and then let it sit for another 3 minutes before I pull back an edge of the wrap to drain it. Then I add some butter and s&p again.....Comes out just the way we like it every time.

When I get a rotisserie chicken we have the legs, thighs & wings one night and then I usually use the leftover breast meat for chicken salad for a day or two. Once in a while I'll make a 'faux' chicken pot pie with a 'white sauce' chicken-ed up with some chicken soup base, add some cooked mixed vegetables and serve it over toast or noodles....but only when it's cool outside. Always seems like a 'winter' meal to me.

Oh!.... so full.
baked beans I love, but afraid to eat. I had gas pains in my stomach yesterday, so I stayed away.
Burgers, wings in the air fryer, guacamole dip DD made. Beef Brats; pork Brats, and Hot dogs from the Chester butcher shop. Asparagus, and green beans broiled with parmesan cheese and garlic.
Bacon for the burgers, macaroni salad. Cake and ice cream.
We were all stuffed to the gills.

bethk wrote:Lore, I microwave broccoli all the time.....about a tablespoon of water, a sprinkle of salt and sealed well with plastic wrap.  I cook it on high for 3 minutes and then let it sit for another 3 minutes before I pull back an edge of the wrap to drain it.  Then I add some butter and s&p again.....Comes out just the way we like it every time.

When I get a rotisserie chicken we have the legs, thighs & wings one night and then I usually use the leftover breast meat for chicken salad for a day or two.  Once in a while I'll make a 'faux' chicken pot pie with a 'white sauce' chicken-ed up with some chicken soup base, add some cooked mixed vegetables and serve it over toast or noodles....but only when it's cool outside.  Always seems like a 'winter' meal to me.

That's the way I basically used up a rotisserie chicken when I had someone to share it. But, a whole chicken for one person seems to go on forever. Think I'll put some ribs in my neighbour's oven today. I sent her a message asking if she is having a real estate showing today. ..............................

It is now about an hour later. Message came back from neighbour. They had three showings on the weekend. Place is sold. I will miss them terribly. But, I can use the oven for now. Closing is August 12. They got full asking price, real estate here is crazy!

Lyn & I went out to lunch today ~ we tried a new restaurant in my town square, Farmshed Diner.  It's owned by a couple who live in The Villages.  They did an extensive remodel of the place.  Now it's all CLEAN with new tile flooring, booths, tables & chairs.  Added a cocktail area with a full bar.  They have tablecloths & cloth napkins ~ all adds to a nice dining experience.

I read the local restaurant reviews and all I had seen was complaints from people who wouldn't go there because a burger is $15.95 and soft drinks/iced tea is $3.75.  We almost didn't go but decided to see for ourselves if it was as awful as reviewed.

And, yes, my burger was $15.95 ~ but came with a choice of side.  I chose collard greens with bacon that was too much for me to eat.  Lyn chose a lamb burger with blue cheese & blueberry chutney with roasted cauliflower (which she couldn't finish, either) for $18.95.  It's a 'farm-to-table' restaurant and they source their food from local farms.  The end result was very tasty.  It's not a place we will go 4 or 5 times a week but it wasn't so expensive as to keep us away.  My burger was excellent, as was Lyn's.

Tina made pork burgers and I peeled potatoes for Tina to make potato salad.
We had a garden salad with it.
Ice cream for dessert. ....... Later.

Hey, Norm & Cyn ~~~ Time for you to check in with us!

Yoo Hoo !!!

From Lore:

"Dinner Tonight. Very large smoked pork chop done with Sauerkraut in my neighbours’ oven and baked potato with sour cream. Yum. Better than ordering in."

I stopped at Fresh Market yesterday on Ground Chuck $2.99/lb. day.....

Picked up a couple pounds to form into patties.

Asked for 1-1/2 lb. 'triple' ground to make a batch of Jimmy's Greek Hot Dog Sauce. I ended up with 2 lb. of the fine ground chuck so I just added a bit more of the spices.

It's been cooking all day and looks & tastes pretty darn good. We're going to be having a neighborhood patio party next Thursday and neighbor Jim is hosting (he has the largest courtyard) and offered to make hot dogs for the neighborhood. I'm in charge of the hot dog sauce and the chopped onions.

I have to come up with an idea of something else to bring....don't know if it'll be savory or sweet.

I've got over a week to figure it out so I'm not too worried about it right now.

That sounds so great. My go-to for a crowd the last few years has been devilled eggs. For neighbourhood party, I think they would go too! I have three Tupperware containers with lids which each have space for 16.

No neighbourhood parties going on here. I've had people in the building ask me when we can have another party. Well, it's not up to me. COVID restrictions are pretty tight here.

Gonna make a pizza for myself on a piece of naan bread that I have. Will Stick it in my neighbour's oven.

We had the Greek style chili sauce but DD forgot to put it outl
Maybe tomorrow with hot dogs.
Tonight will be spaghetti with meat sauce. ( Ground beef + jarred sauce ).

YOOO HOOOO!!

I got the page!

I am around.. not doing much cooking, but I am here. I keep up with things.

I have been busy with some stuff going on around here. I have become Activist! Yes, an Activist; a long story, but I, along with another woman inure planned a protest rally outside the building, about new parking policies the City and the Department of Conservation have set up along the beach and surrounding streets~~ not fair for us, and any visitors, caregivers~~~~~ long story..

Yes, it was like a page out of the 60's; complete with signs, yelling, etc. A bunch of seniors doing this. It never happened in the building's history of 42 years; but leave it to me to start something. My dad always said my mouth would get me in trouble.
It took a lot of work to get organized and such.

Next step should be to invite the Mayor, the elected officials, the traffic committee; all, to an open forum meeting in the dining room: to discuss our problems and ask/demand solutions.

I had been walking either daily or every other day; but have slacked off. The past several days, I was SOB~~~~ but that could be from allergies, also. I need to get back into the habit. I walk just over a mile.. it is enough for me.

Geoffrey is Geoffrey. He is back to vomiting, 8 times in May. I took him to a new Vet, the last one moved.

This one feels it is probably more than just hairball issues. She fears allergy to chicken and IBD!!
I am kind of beside myself when I heard this...Here we go again... Artie had IBD.. dam..

Now, I guess we know why he was given up for adoption~~~ could not afford treatment... ugh...
I thought by adopting a younger cat, 2-4 years old, he would be healthier... nope..

But, things are ok... survived Covid ok...
We were vaccinated in Feb and March... they are offering testing every other month. They had pretty much decided to open up the building.. as of now, masks are required in all areas of the building.

I also had some dental work done; a crown, and car issues.

You could say, that I have been pretty busy; and going through a very expensive month or so.

For the past week end; I made cheeseburgers, and a marinated turkey tenderloin, on the indoor tiny
George Foremans Grill. They came out good.

All in All, things are ok. Not great, but OK. Concerned about Geoffrey, and money.
Geoffrey is not going to be easy to medicate. Oh, he will be ok, once I get him. The problem is, he hides under the bed, where it is impossible for me to get him out. He runs from me. And runs from me all day long, chiding under my bed. He is so frightened of everything.

Whereas, Artie was so much easier to medicate. He fought me more, but at least I was able to grab him.
He was a much more confident cat; staying out in the open.

I cannot even brush Geoffrey! He squirms away from me. I am not as agile as I was with Artie; and I do not have as many spots to brush him in.
Meds will be impossible to do. sigh.

I see the cardiologist later in the month. So, we will see what she says.

I went back to Church about a month ago.

Life is life.... Good periods, bad periods, and then ok periods..

I hope Imelda has a good trip, Bugster's health improves, Lore's kitchen is gorgeous, Jimmy & Tina's health improves, Beth and Dane continue to flourish in Florida...

Yes, Where is NORM??? Hope he is ok...

Continue with the stories. I appreciate them. I am always here..

Love to all!!!

It is so great to hear from you Cindy.
Life is good if we at least try to make it good.... it seems you are trying very hard to do that.
So sorry to hear about the kitty. Just had issues with the oldest one ( 15 y/o )
UTI infection. She's doing better on meds + Vet = $600.00
I know.... "Boing"..... Slap with the palm of the hand on the forehead. HA
Take care. Thanks for checking in.

Thanks for the update, Cyn. I know it seems odd to nag at friends to check in but I think we all worry about one another. If we lived in the same area (and wouldn't THAT be a hoot!) we'd probably be popping in and banging on doors.

Getting loud with city hall is a great past time. You go girl!


************

I made the fish I was planning to make last night. I think the skillet was a bit too warm when I put my grouper in to crisp up the panko ~ but it tasted better than it looked!

Dane likes when I add a bunch of veg to stuff like rice or noodles ~ he thinks he eats less carbs that way. (don't tell him about peas & carrots being high carb veg, OK?)

It's so nice to read your great update, Cindy!  Activist, good for you!  My kitchen is a slow renovation, but will be great.  Will post pictures when done.



Pizza Tonight made on a piece of naan. Red sauce, mozzarella,pepperoni, anchovies, fire roasted red pepper out of a jar, marinated artichoke hearts then more cheese. On a board that fisherman son made. Yumm!

Johnsonville Original brats, home fries and red beets.

That's what was supper tonight.