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If you have pets, try to not take them for granted. Sometime today, try to make the time to remind them know how much you love them and how much love they bring into your life. Give a few extra treats, play with them a bit, let them snuggle n your bed or chair, take a few pics. It's too easy to let those moments slip by, and then suddenly one morning it's too late.
For dinner tonight, I'm attempting a modified version of Max Miller's kalua pork recipe. It's chugging away in the slow cooker instead of the oven, and I couldn't help also adding a light sprinkling of Sunshine Seasoning because it had ground banana & pineapple powders in the ingredients. I've got Hawaiian rolls, I'm making deviled eggs too, but I'll forgo the traditional Hawaiian macaroni salad because Dad won't try it. I made a cherry pie yesterday for Dad, so I think we're set. I know it wasn't authentic kalua pork, but that came out damn tasty. The kosher salt + Sunshine was subtle enough to enhance the natural delicious porkiness. Now I wish I'd made a small batch of haole macaroni salad anyway. Oh well, leftovers for dinner tomorrow will be good.
Leftovers will be in the back porch fridge if you swing by, Freehold. Please do not laugh at the big housecat's lion cut as he is still very sensitive about it.I will not laugh, I promise. I know you have a gator suit disguise, but I was surprised you could squish down into an iguana suit. I didn't realize you had access to a shrinking machine too (I assume it's kept next to the MARS Industries Weather Dominator in your sekrit lair.) Last night we had a mid-size iguana chilling on the back porch. Don't know what he was doing or how he got into the porch, but he scooted off when I poked him. This morning I couldn't find any holes or tears in the screen s, and the doors were still firmly latched. Cats were safely inside but it is still concerning. Dinner last night for Dad was baked tilapia, baked tater, and hushpuppies. I instead had a couple battered pollock fish filets in a hamburger bun. For dinner tonight, I'm attempting a modified version of Max Miller's kalua pork recipe. It's chugging away in the slow cooker instead of the oven, and I couldn't help also adding a light sprinkling of Sunshine Seasoning because it had ground banana & pineapple powders in the ingredients. I've got Hawaiian rolls, I'm making deviled eggs too, but I'll forgo the traditional Hawaiian macaroni salad because Dad won't try it. I made a cherry pie yesterday for Dad, so I think we're set.
Are you standing over the rubber bands and string you removed while you post this? Ah yes, kleenix, and their cousins the fat indolent rolls of toilet paper, have been the natural prey of cats for millennia. Thank goodness your little hunters haven't yet discovered cotton swabs.
SQUEEEE! SO WEEEE THE TRANSFORMER! It seems to be the kitten effect. I still like the modern Transformers from HasTak, but none of them delight me like these third-party versions from Dr Wu. These pairs of combining bots (Duocons) are hitting the limits of modern engineering (and the manipulation limits of human fingers), but the regular G1 figures that Dr Wu makes are even smaller. Thank goodness that I've only found the non-transforming line of poseable Transformers by Blokees at one local store. They are equally tiny and squee inducing, and once I give in to temptation with one I'll need them all. I can't even afford my Dr Wu habit as it is.
I hope your home repair was a complete success. And oh lord, my early youth with model kits too often turned into bloody katamari damacys. As clumsy as I was with the epoxy cement, I was downright self-dangerous with that vampiric x-acto knife. ...and my order for a very teeny "Transformer" finally arrived today (and he's adorbtastic!)....battletrap? Flywheels is the one who just arrived, I got his sibling(?) Battletrap several weeks ago.
Today was an unexpectedly darn good day. A quick jaunt out to pick up some groceries didn't pay off because they were out of the on-sale meats and Dad's fruit pies, and overnight gas jumped back up 20¢/gal. But while I was out, I got to use a couple promos to treat myself to a prime rib burger (sliced "prime rib", caramelized onions, & cheddar cheese sauce stuffed ontop of 1/4 burger patty) at one place and $2 large fries at another. So satiated, much full. I managed to lock in preorders for two upcoming Transformers at great prices before one of the websites crashed under the preorder bombardment, and my order for a very teeny "Transformer" finally arrived today (and he's adorbtastic!). And Dad's dinner is ready in the fridge just needing to be heated through. Yay!
Today's lunch was breaded chicken patty (from frozen) sandwich, french fries (from frozen), sweet & spicy pickle chips, and sucralose-sweetened tangerine-flavored water.
Yesterday's lunch was instant chicken pho, a 4oz cup of fruit cocktail, and a 12oz glass of unsweet tea.
I got any early start prepping, so dinner tonight will be "marry me" chicken & sauce, mashed potatoes, fresh baked rolls, and glazed carrots. Dessert will be peach cobbler. Leftovers will be in the back porch fridge if you swing by, Freehold. Please do not laugh at the big housecat's lion cut as he is still very sensitive about it.
When your PC is inspired by Michelangelo's David, but their chosen medium is cultists and they're chipping away with dynamite.
It sucks that I woke up 3 hours early craving a grilled breakfast sandwich using some of Sunday's leftover bacon. I managed to stall off getting up for a half-hour or so, but the craving became too mighty. I assembled and pan grilled a breakfast sandwich of toast, swiss cheese, scrambled egg, and sliced smoked turkey (with a side of half a good tomato, sliced & lightly salted)... and then only after I'd eaten half did I realize that I forgot to add the bacon in there. D'oh! Apparently there are side effects to reducing my coffee consumption down to a single cup.
Too hot for heated leftovers. Instead I made Italian sandwiches with ham, salame genovese, aged Swiss cheese, sliced ripe sweet tomatoes and sweet Vidalia onions, shredded iceberg lettuce, a drizzle of oregano-olive oil-balsamic vinaigrette, all on fresh bakery kaiser rolls, and served with pickle spears and garlic-parm potato chips. Mmmm, heaven. The only way it would've been better is if I'd also remembered to get spicy capocollo at the deli too.
Feeling less motivated today than a tortoise after a medicated root canal from the dentist. Dinner is a frozen supreme pizza.please heal Thanks. :) I'm impressed you can eat solid food after a root canal. I was on soup and porridge for days. I think it comes down to 1) there is only so much soup and stock/broth I can take before my tummy gets the rumblies that only Whether my pain threshold is high enough naturally or from decades of my uterus trying to kill me or my dissociative powers are active, who knows? Anyways, last night was tacos, another quick & easy to fix meal. The house temp was too hot (Dad still refuses to turn the house A/C on yet) after cooking, so I ate a single taco, put away the leftovers, and hastily scurried back to my air-conditioned apartment.
Half-price loaded 1/4 lb. cheeseburger with 16 oz "arctic grape" flavored water.
If the weather is obviously very hot or very cold, and you stupidly ask someone who is clearly uncomfortable/suffering "Is it hot enough/cold enough for you?", you should immediately be kicked by a donkey in your reproductive parts. No stalling, no appeal. It should be so painful that the ghosts of your parents (even if they're still alive) should appear and publicly berate you for being such a hopeless dumbass.
Feeling less motivated today than a tortoise after a medicated root canal from the dentist. Dinner is a frozen supreme pizza.
Oh! Oh no. I'm sorry. He got plenty of use out of it (the previous one), and it had several other battle scars. The cracked hinge + slow failing lcd panel was someone else leaving a disposable bic pen above the keyboard and then closing the panel when they were done. I know Dad didn't do it, but that someone else never took responsibility. I'm just glad we were able to find him a very affordable new replacement, and that he could afford it (if it had been my laptop, I'd be totally screwed.)
I am mildly disturbed to notice that I have been channeling Basil Exposition of late. Since I can remember starting as a wee tadpole I've paid special attention to precision and accuracy, but recently it's become noticeably pronounced. I am also disturbed that I'm not more disturbed about this increase in elucidation. Edit: "The Exposition, let's begin
Dad still has some leftover great northern beans & ham, but I picked up a fresh rotisserie chicken** at the wholesale club today while we were buying his replacement laptop*. So either way, we're set for dinner tonight. * Be gentle with your laptop lcd panel & hinge. Do not get in the habit of leaving a writing utensil on the keys in case the lid gets closed. ** It's cheaper to buy a cooked 3lb warehouse chicken then to buy a raw whole chicken of the same weight that still needs to be prepped, seasoned, and roasted.
That would be the point when I would, as Zaphod Beeblebrox put it, use a very large ax to give it a reprogramming it will never forget.I have a passive-aggressive cell phone. If I plug it into a slow charger, it reminds me that it could be plugged into a fast charger. If I plug it into a fast charger, it reminds me that it could be charged wirelessly.When you charge it wirelessly does it say, "Slow-charging me would be more energy-efficient?" Ah. Percussive maintenance except with a pointy bit.
Last night was leftover pork shoulder roast from Saturday, plus fresh rolls and baked potatoes. I used that Tabitha Brown Sunshine seasoning as the primary flavor, and it was fine but unexpectedly spicy, so I'm glad I only used half what I'd planned. Tonight is baked chicken alfredo with garlic toast. Likewise, tomorrow will be leftovers of it. Wednesday? Maybe beef enchiladas and refried beans if I've got the energy for it.
Hmmm, my brain immediately went to a tiefling ancestral quirk where x/day they can crack their back to illuminate softly like a glowstick.
Deli roast beef, sliced mozzarella, on a toasted kaiser roll with mayo & ricotta tomato pesto. A handful of plain potato chips and a tall glass of lemon water.
I somehow found the spoons for tonight's dinner. At 11:00AM, I started the mostly-thawed 5.75lb turkey breast slow-braising (from an ATK/Cook's Country recipe) in the oven. Between my herb-seasoned cooking liquid and the included pouch, there'll be plenty to thicken with a couple Tbsp of flour into gravy. The gold taters are peeled & large cubed ready to start boiling for mashed (technically, whipped) potatoes. The can of creamed corn is standing by (we like it), the can of cranberry sauce is already chilled, and the rolls from the supermarket bakery (R.I.P., last local Winn-Dixie store) are thawed and just need a few minutes to warm through in the oven. Will definitely have tonight's leftovers for tomorrow's dinner. Tuesday night, who knows?
{ fat slaad eats a stress-reducing raspberry-filled jelly donut and pets a large floofy cat }
Leftover red beans & rice, a fresh peach, and a glass of unsweetened iced tea.
Last night Dad's dinner was tilapia en papillote, baked potato, and hushpuppies. I instead threw a pouch of dried red beans & rice in my rice cooker with 1/3 chicken broth & 2/3 water, and when it was done I gorged myself on it. Was still about 1/3 of it left for my lunch today. Tonight, for dinner we had a lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, a salad (iceberg, tomato, purple cabbage, Vidalia onion, carrot),cand some bakery rolls. I bought the supermarket rotisserie chicken on sale for cheaper than a raw roaster chicken of the same weight about two weeks ago; I just stuffed the clamshell in a freezer bag when I got home and stuck it in the freezer for a night like tonight. Tomorrow night will be leftovers.
Late lunch today was a fried chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich.
For last night's dinner, Dad was still happily enjoying leftover beans & ham. I wasn't really hungry all day, and dawdled around until about 8pm when I decided I needed to eat something. I settled on a pack of frozen gyoza (pork) dumplings that I picked up because they were at an introductory sale price + and had $1 off coupon. I was surprised how much they wanted to stick at end of cooking (strictly following the directions), even though it was an unscratched non-stick pan. They were tasty, but they're not anything I'll likely go out of my way to buy again even with their convenience. I had them with a good size batch of fresh french fries I'd made, and the pairing went well together. Still not sure what I'm making for dinner tonight.
Tonight for Dad's dinner I'm making a pot of great northern beans & ham. I've got a pie plate of rolls rising to bake later. I'll probably have a frozen burrito or chicken patty sandwich for my dinner. I remembered I still had a frozen pizza in the freezer so I'll fix that for my dinner instead. I still had an ounce & half or so of asadero cheese left that I'd grated for the ziti, and a couple slices of bacon left from Sunday breakfast, so I crumbled the bacon and scattered it on the pizza with a few dashes of dried oregano. I know the beans & ham has a lot of nostalgia for Dad from both his mom and then my mom fixing it regularly. Still, I don't understand why he loves it; he'd literally rather have a pot of beans over anything else, including a decent steak or roast.
Last night we had leftovers from Wednesday: center cut pork chops, baked gold potatoes, and creamed spinach. I dry-brined the chops for an hour, baked them at 275°F for an hour, then finished them on the outside grill for about 4 minutes a side. This afternoon I finally macerated the pint of strawberries I picked up last time I was at the grocery store. I had a small lemon streusel loaf that I'd grabbed on sale a month ago and transferred it last night from the freezer to fridge to thaw. Not sure I had enough strawberries for the cake, so I also took out to thaw a pint+ of fresh cherries I'd pitted. They were thawing pretty quick, so I stirred them into the strawberries while sprinkling on a bit more sugar. They should be great after sitting for an hour in the fridge. Tonight for Dad's dinner I'm making a pot of great northern beans & ham. I've got a pie plate of rolls rising to bake later. I'll probably have a frozen burrito or chicken patty sandwich for my dinner.
Today I mixed some tomato ricotta pesto with some mayo, threw in some small dice celery & sweet onion, and mixed in a can of (drained) sardines. Had it in a toast sandwich with potato chips and a good handful of sweet & spicy pickle slices. Only thing I'd change is quick pickling the onions and celery first.
Tonight was ziti. I got the proportions off, so I shoulda used more red sauce/marinara and less ricotta, but otherwise it was pretty good. Served with garlic toast. Have plenty leftover for dinner tomorrow. Will split off everything not needed for that dinner and freeze up for a quick reheat dinner in the future.
Last night was salmon & roasted broccoli with rice. I cut the broccoli up into ~1 inch pieces, toss it with salt and sesame oil and then put on a baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees. I start the rice in the magical rice cooker I got at Target for $25 that somehow always knows exactly how long to cook rice. After ~20 minutes I take the salmon, sprinkle with salt, cilatro add a squirt of lime juice, and put it on the same baking sheet as the broccoli (I like my broccoli super crispy--depending on the oven and personal preference, you might have to play around with roasting times). 10ish minutes later, the salmon is done. Right before serving the rice, I stirred in some grated parmesan and salted, roasted pumpkin seeds. I like how that makes the rice more interesting. That sounds delicious! Ina Garten had a similar recipe for roasted broccoli that Mom really liked. Haven't had salmon in a while, especially with crispy skin.
Wow, that sounds amazing. I wonder how the roasted sweet potatoes would do blended together with Garten's roasted eggplant, red bell pepper, and onion spread? Lemon curd over vanilla ice cream for dessert. O M G !!! Tonight I made cheeseburgers on the grill, and we had it with potato chips.
Yesterday's lunch was a braunschweiger & swiss cheese sandwich and garlic toast-flavored potato chips. Today's lunch was a recommendation from Anthony Bourdain: fried mortadella sandwich, except I substituted a good Swiss cheese for the provolone. Ate it with a handful of honey bbq chips and a glass of unsweetened tea. I'd never had mortadella before, but it's like a fancy Italian bologna with pistachio slivers. It's pretty tasty, but I'd argue that an authentic mojo pork hoagie, a Cuban sandwich, or even an Italian sandwich sub is better. One of the local supermarket's delis had mortadella on sale, so I grabbed another half pound Monday. Lunch today was a 1/4 lb of lightly fried mortadella & swiss in a fancy-ish hamburger bun.
No mojo pork today either. Finally got an early enough start on Saturday to make mojo pork. Couldn't find bitter oranges (or the juice), but used fresh orange juice and juiced some limes instead. I also found a shaker of mojo rub seasoning and used a rounded tablespoon of it as a rub on the 3 lb butt roast. It was very good, but the seasoning blend had a bit too much hot red pepper in it for Dad to have enjoyed, so I kept the au jus separate for him. Served with baked beans (Dad isn't a fan of black beans *sigh*) and garlic bread. Had leftovers on Sunday. Monday's dinner was baked red snapper, baked potatoes, and hushpuppies. Tonight we had chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese. I don't know how you feel about sweet potatoes. I generally don't much care for them (and have been known to throw around phrases like 'abomination unto the Lord' when I see a sweet potato pie mixed in with pumpkin pie in the grocery store). I prefer pumpkin pie over it, but sweet potato pie is delicious, at least to this amphibian's tastebuds.
No mojo pork today either. Tonight was a boxed mix of creamy blackened chicken & rice. Instead of cutting the browned chicken into strips, I split the breasts into quarters, dry-brined them for an hour, grilled them, and then added back into the simmering rice for the last 10 minutes. In making the rice, I replaced half the water with chicken ramen broth. Dad won't eat the rice, so I baked him a potato. Dessert is an apple pie I baked earlier. It came out pretty good. I was worried the rice might end up too salty from the ramen broth,vbut it was just right. Tomorrow's dinner? Who knows.
Tomorrow? Maybe Cuban mojo pork, I dunno. No mojo pork today. I first need to grab more limes (for the mojo criollo marinade) and some fresh cilantro, and I don't wanna leave the house today. So instead for dinner we'll have meatball marinara subs and potato chips.
HORSE HORSE HORSE HORSE HORSE HORSE HORSE HORSE
I just assume Bojack Horseman showed up to have lunch with Freehold. I know he's* a fictional cartoon character, but counterpoint: it's New York City, where there's a non-zero chance of anything happening. Disclaimer: I've existed in SW Florida nearly my entire life, so my grasp of reality is tenuous on the best of days. * Edit: Bojack is the fictional character. Freehold seems to be real, even if he pops in and out of manga & anime realities like an A-ha music video character.
Tonight Dad will finish off his leftover great northern beans & ham and cornbread for dinner. I also hard boiled a half dozen eggs this afternoon so he may have an egg too. I made up a boxed (Italian dressing seasoned) pasta salad mix, but used mayo instead of the olive oil, and added in finely-chopped onion, celery, and red bell pepper that I had cooked until softened. Then I cut up a pack of surimi (imitation crab aka pollock) and stirred it in. It's chilling in the fridge until dinner, and I'll dig into it then. Tomorrow? Maybe Cuban mojo pork, I dunno.
Half a sandwich (smoked turkey & sharp cheddar), oj, and a banana.
Late lunch today was just a banana, a gummy multivitamin, and 6oz of pulpy orange juice. Trying to remember not to skip lunch (and breakfast), but only having middling success.
Monday night's dinner was just (from frozen) turkey pot pies. Last night was non-fancy tacos. Tonight I was thinking of (from frozen) fried chicken breast fillet sandwiches and (from frozen) french fries. Hadn't had either in a short while, and it'd be quick & idiot-proof to fix. I'm unfortunately out of kaiser rolls though, so it'll need to be non-sandwiches. Or maybe we'll instead have leftover chuck roast & mashed w/ gravy from Sunday night. I'll ask Dad his preference when he wakes from his nap.
I have seen online acquaintances raving about possibly similar "sheer" tights. Apparently the tights look sheer in person but are actually opaque because they are fleece-lined. Which works wonders for those in chilly climes. This misuse/linguistic drift of "sheer" bugs me too. ...Though not to the irrational extent of one YouTuber's continued use of "transclearent." Dude. "Transparent" and "translucent" are both right there! They're both perfectly cromulent words! Embiggen your vocabulary! And in recent months, I've started seeing transclearent in the wild on a related message board. Makes me wish I had a flamethrower to go full MacReady on the spreading infection.
Today's lunch was a recommendation from Anthony Bourdain: fried mortadella sandwich, except I substituted a good Swiss cheese for the provolone. Ate it with a handful of honey bbq chips and a glass of unsweetened tea. I'd never had mortadella before, but it's like a fancy Italian bologna with pistachio slivers. It's pretty tasty, but I'd argue that an authentic mojo pork hoagie, a Cuban sandwich, or even an Italian sandwich sub is better.
Dinner last night wasn't chicken. Instead, for Dad I made fish en papillote, a smol baked gold potato, and hushpuppies. I switched seasoning on the fish; instead of the usual Old Bay, oregano, & salt, I used more herbs (oregano, parsley, rosemary, chives) & salt. He ate it fine, but I could tell he liked the Old Bay seasoning better. I had a box of cilantro lime rice in the rice cooker using tetrapack chicken ramen broth (well-seasoned, but salty) in place of half the water, and threw in 8oz of frozen shrimp halfway through cooking. The shrimp were overcooked, but just a bit chewy and not tough; I'll half the leftover half warmed up for lunch. Tonight, I'm just planning to throw together some chicken & pasta. The four-cheese dry pasta pouch I got on sale + coupon for only 4/$3. The chicken is a 12oz refpack (precooked & fajita-seasoned breastmeat strips) that was on sale because it was two days from it's "best by" date, and I threw it in the freezer until now. I'll just make the pasta per instructions, add in the thawed chicken to heat through together, and stir in some some extra parm at the end. I'll fix some frozen corn or carrots as a side. Tomorrow will likely be a chuck pot roast and mashed potatoes & gravy.
Dinner tonight will be leftovers, though I think I'll also steam a couple half-ears of corn to go with it. I need to do dishes this morning, then get to breaking down the 4+lb bulk pack of ground chuck that was on sale yesterday. Gonna have a whole lotta hamburger patties to freeze up. I didn't get the ground chuck made into patties until first thing this morning. Thankfully I grabbed the bulk pack from a fresh batch the butcher was putting it out after just grinding it, so it's still good. I should have done it yesterday, but my back hurt bad, I assume from twisting weird at the waist as I unloaded the cat food from the car Monday. It's still sore this morning, but the naproxen is keeping it manageable. Tonight's dinner will be grilled cheeseburgers and chips. Tomorrow will probably be chicken and pasta some way, unless I think of something better.
Mmmm, a double-cup of coffee and the leftover 2/3 of an Italian Pub-sub on a 37°F morning. Breakfast of champions! Last night's dinner was braised BBQ pork country-style "ribs" (pork shoulder), Mom's potato salad, and garlic toast. And I managed to throw together a cherry pie for Dad earlier before I went grocery shopping. Surprised I got as much done as I did. Dinner tonight will be leftovers, though I think I'll also steam a couple half-ears of corn to go with it. I need to do dishes this morning, then get to breaking down the 4+lb bulk pack of ground chuck that was on sale yesterday. Gonna have a whole lotta hamburger patties to freeze up. Edit: Dang it, when my cousin stopped by yesterday to visit Dad, I forgot to get her homemade cheesey potato soup recipe again.
But, I'm not made of wood! And I weigh more than a duck!
Ah, what does a spin on the Wheel of Aging bring this time? "You're 45 now, so your new sign of impending decrepitude is... nose bleeds." I assume it's the three cold days in a roll here (SW FL), and the very low humidity has finally made itself felt. It's just a slow trickle, not a bad bleed, but still it's a bit freaky to discover your first ever nose bleed. Augh, I'd never once tried powdered nose candy! I wasn't even thinking lewd thoughts! I suppose this puts a kibosh on future plans to eventually move up north away from the oppressive heat & humidity in the spring, summer, and most of fall. I'd be up there, enjoying the nice weather (snow! it's real!) and start munching on peppermint, and whoosh, blood everywhere.
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