Ann that roast beef dinner with asparagus looks so good.
I have to content myself with the jarred and canned variety of asparagus now.

Lori what wonderful looking ziti pasta, pretty container and lovely photo.

Annie you always make me hungry and now with hummus, cherry torte and all. How in the world does one make homemade pita chips?

My diet meals have been frugal since the past week, but I can eat fish, prawns and some lean meat. Thursday I prepared two salads for Wolf and I had prawns as a starter and we both finished with salmon steaks and Swiss chard.

Yesterday we went out and I was so pleased to see sole meuniere on the menu of the day so I ordered mine with no butter, toasted garlic bits on top on a bed of chopped lettuce.
It came out to perfection and I really enjoyed it. Wolf had his favourite ham omelette with salad.

Today we had fillets of chicken breasts on steamed spinach. Wolf had potatoes and carrots as well (lucky guy). No pics today.

Compumom I wish I could go but this year I won't be visiting my family in B.C. as we're having some big repairs done to the house over the summer and our German friend can't come down to stay here with Wolf. I can't leave him alone poor man as he can't even cook! Also I'm worried about travelling and going through several airports and long flights with this flu bug that is getting really bad in the UK. But I'm so glad that I can have a video conference every week with my daughters and brother to keep in touch. And okay about the diet....it's working and I've lost 3 kilos in 10 days. Looking forward to getting into all those vintage clothes I have saved from my former life and refuse to give away. :-)

SharonCb

Sharon, pita chips are easy. Just make pita bread or buy some. Split it in half and cut into wedges. I spray mine with cooking spray or brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with chili powder or an herb mixture, spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer and bake them until they are crisp.

Voila! Pita chips with little or no fat, and they're good with that hummus, especially if I make my own pita bread with some whole grain flours.

That sole looks yummy....

Annie

Okay thanks Annie! That sounds good and I look forward to being able to try that out soon.

SharonCb

Sunday dinner was out at one of the little inexpensive neighbourhood terrace cafes. Wolf was having withdrawals for lack of his pepper escalope with swim-in-it gravy and I was getting a little tired of chicken and fish with greens, so I had a lean sirloin with lettuce and he had his gravy fix for the day, together with salad and Canary wrinkled potatoes.

I lugged my treadmill into the living room to see if it were possible to go walking while watching the evening movie on TV, rather than being in couch potato position.
I have a long cord on my TV earphones so will try it out tonight LOL!

SharonCb

Sharon, you're going to be so svelte!! Those video conferences better show the "whole you"! LOL
I'm sorry you won't be making the trip this year, but I understand. Isn't it about time that they came to see you in paradise-- especially during the cold winters?

Oh yes, Ellen, that's a great idea, Sharon's family should visit her there. About February, LOL, and I'll come along!

Yesterday Elery and I went to Grand Rapids to do some shopping and stopped here for lunch:

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I've tried pad thai and that chicken soup with coconut and didn't really like either, so we ordered something different. I had Mee Kuorn (I think), with squid, a mixture of broccoli, squid, bean sprouts over noodles. I liked it because it didn't have rice noodles, which I don't care for. the sauce was not at all spicy, and very good:

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Elery had something that included "almond" in the name, it wasn't as good as mine, but still good. It had pork in it, all entrees come with a choice of tofu, chicken, beef, pork or extra vegetables. For an extra dollar you can get squid, shrimp or scallops, which is why mine had squid.

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We both had soup to start, it comes with the entree, a light vegetable broth with egg threads, very nice:

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Both meals, a Diet Coke for me and a Sam Adams for Elery came to less than $20, and it was a good meal.

For dessert on the way home we stopped at a roadside stand and got these local raspberries:

today at the farm we picked these, so I've been snacking on them. They're Dad's gooseberries, he loved 'em and so I planted two bushes. By the time you tip and tail them, they are a PIA, but he loved them:

Annie

Oh boy, miss a few weeks and it's hard to catch up! Everything looks so good, it'll take me a week to go thru the pictures in detail and save recipes!

Last nights dinner was

brats with sauerkraut and yellow mustard, local corn, Bushs beans and onion rings.

Thanks for the help on the onion ring thread ladies.

Di

Ellen and Annie....wouldn't I just love a visit from my family! My sister has never been here, not have my two sons-in-law, nor three of my four grandchildren. Can you imagine them never having been to grandma's house? What a shame. But they work, (one has a restaurant) are paying mortgages or going to school, so they're planning on coming as soon as they win a lottery! LOL.

Annie I am wishing I could eat those raspberries and gooseberries right off the screen. And Di the same goes for your corn on the cob and onion rings!

It's interesting what one can invent as "food" when one has to eat 5 times per day! And is not allowed nearly everything. I have learned that cool skim milk is delightful and about the most refreshing drink I've tasted. And I used to ignore it as something I didn't care for much. Now it has become the mainstay of one of my (obligatory) between meal snacks, along with a small cube of goat cheese and white asparagus stalk, and I really enjoy it.

The other item quite new to me except for trying them once at Christmas are quail eggs, which I can eat sparingly two at a time.
They're so tiny I feel like Gulliver with a plate of Lilliputian food....a tiny square of cheese and these miniature eggs, LOL.
And quail eggs are cheap here...US $1.62 for a dozen,

Dinner today was turkey-chicken sausages with steamed Swiss chard for me, with Wolf having squash, leek and potatoes as well.
Sausages not beautiful to look at but they were nicely seasoned and tasted good!

SharonCb

Yay! I survived a week at the beach in beautiful, historic Cape May with the kids and grands - 13 of us together in a big house for 7 days and we're all still friends LOL.

I made Ginger's Crockpot French Dip and it was a really big hit with everybody except the vegetarian 16 y/o. Also Kathleenca's "Joans On Third" mac and cheese - I think you should call it the adult's mac and cheese - it was over the top delicious and creamy - the gouda ($15.99/lb yikes) is what makes it sooooo special (I cheated and only used the pricey Gouda on top and some cheddar and jack inside) - hey, half of my audience was kids!) DD made a Rachael Ray recipe for turkey spinach meatballs with pasta and a light Alfredo sauce that was delicious. DDIL made chicken enchiladas and another night stuffed shells with meatballs. DS made a great baked yogurt 'tandoori' chicken dish one night with mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and salad - about the healthiest meal we ate all week :) On my second night to cook, I ordered in pizza and got a standing ovation from the kids, LOL. We had mojitos and margaritas and lots of wine and munchies before dinner every night on the front porch - we had peel and eat shrimp (fun to see the little ones peel their first shrimp) and I made a crab meat spread with cocktail sauce poured over the top and DD provided lots of fresh veggies with different dips every night. Had a great lunch out with conch chowder and cod sandwiches and then a fantastic breakfast out where I had a very delicious creamed chicken and mushrooms on a biscuit - very nicely seasoned and delicate, not a thick, heavy cream sauce.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. (Every day there was a trip to an ice cream parlor, we tried each and every one in town. All within walking distance, so you can walk off the calories and not have any guilt at all.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mangia Mangia

Oh Woodie it sounds like you had great feasts and plenty of fun. Thirteen of you all together! Being at the beach surrounded by family is a great way to spend a holiday.
And to finish every day with ice cream sounds just perfect!
I can only enjoy it vicariously.

Yesterday I made baked salmon with mixed spinach and Swiss chard. Wolf had his baked in teriyaki sauce with extra vegetables and fried potatoes. Mine had Old Bay sprinkled on top.
As he was sitting patiently at the table outside waiting, I gave him his dinner plate and just took a photo of mine.

I'm adapting to life without butter, cheese (except a smidgeon of goat cheese), bread (except 2 tiny squares at breakfast), wine, fruit, salads, sauces, potatoes, most veg except a few greens, and I have to say I'm neither hungry nor missing any of the food I just listed. Funny how the body adapts to what you give it.
I've lost 8.8 lbs (4 kilos) since I started two weeks ago tomorrow. I'm beginning to feel looseness in my waistbands....yeah!

SharonCb

Annie, I love Thai Food. But like you Pad Thai doesn't do it for me. I usually get one of the curries. Either green or red with chicken.

Sharon, congratulations on the weight loss. I need to get serious one of these days about losing 20 pounds. I'll do it like you by reducing calories. The only difference is I won't eliminate all the foods that I enjoy. I'll just eat less of them. I could never stick to a diet that was limited. I applaud your will power.

Playing catch up with what I've made this week:

Saturday night we had Chinese. I made Ken Hom's Classic Lemon Chicken again and served it with Baby Shanghai with garlic and ginger.

Sunday night I grilled Pork Chops, served with a potato gratin and steamed broccoli. We had dinner with Clif.

Monday night was Asian again. I winged a Black Pepper Prawn dish.

Dinner last night turned out to be really simple. I had baked french baguettes earlier in the day and made my favourite - tuna pate and that ended up being dinner. Along with a glass of wine.

Ann, I agree, I'd go right off a diet that made me give up everything I liked. Sharon, you have a great deal more will power than I do, and I also need to lose about 20 pounds, so I ought to get serious about it.

Instead, I went to supper last night with my cousin Becky and her husband, Harlan. It was their 35th wedding anniversary and I was the Maid of Honor at their wedding, LOL. They picked the restaurant, so we went to Logan's Roadhouse, a local steak place. Of course, steak is no big deal to me, so I had the "porkies", three small pulled pork sandwiches with BBQ sauce and cole slaw on the yeast dinner rolls the place is "famous" for. Elery had blackened tilapia and said it wasn't very good. I think that's what he gets for ordering fish at a steak place. (grin) Becky had the grilled ribeye with loaded mashed potatoes, Harlan had beer battered fish and baked sweet potatoes. Elery and I both had fries. We were stuffed. We took the opportunity to run to the hospital since we were in Grand Rapids and visit Aunt Midge, she's having a gall stone removed today.

Anyway, today I was still stuffed and Elery was kind of unsettled, we're not used to eating that much or that type of food. I decided to start a crockpot full of Michigan cranberry beans in the morning, with some onion, celery and carrots, lots of fresh herbs from my herb garden. When I got home I made cornbread, the white southern kind that Elery likes.

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Because I like mine sweeter, I had sorghum molasses on mine:

We'd gotten some fresh beets from the garden, so I cooked those, just plain with salt and pepper:

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Of course, you know I had to cook the greens, also plain with just salt and pepper:

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I also have the first picking of local beans. I planted green beans, but had to buy the yellow ones at my local farmer's market. I added a can of kidney beans and a chopped Vidalia onion and made marinated bean salad. It'll be ready to eat tomorrow night, but it's sure pretty:

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Right now I have some high fiber whole grain bread in the oven, Elery is leaving tomorrow and works for 3 weeks without a break, so I'm sending eggs and homemade bread home with him!

Annie

Ann I wish I could say it was the will power that moves me to stop eating favourite foods, but it's more because I have a weekly appointment with the dietitian who measures my percentage of body fat with an electronic device (the ugly truth comes out) then weighs me to see my progress. Although the first week was draconian since virtually all carbohydrates (excepting lettuce and cucumber) were prohibited, it gets better every week as newly allowed vegetables are added. It's a Portuguese diet with specific foods for every week and it seems to be working quickly for me. Once I reach my ideal weight then comes the portion control to maintain it. I hope I get to that point anyway....sigh. :-)

Ann your food looks delicious as always. Would love some of that Oriental lemon chicken!

Annie just pass me some fresh beets and greens please....and a bit of that cornbread too.

Yesterday I bought cod and since my new food this week is mushrooms, I sauteed some together with Swiss chard.
Wolf had ground almond on his fish as well as potatoes, yam, squash and chard.

Today we went out to eat and I'm sorry I forgot my camera because I had 12 wonderful king prawns artfully arranged on the plate with lettuce and Wolf had his usual green pepper escalope in a sea of gravy, as he likes it.

He drinks beer and I drink...ho hum...water!

Have a good weekend all.

SharonCb

Me again with Saturday's fare. I finally found garlic scapes which were added to my food allowance last week but didn't find until I checked the supermarket freezer. They come chopped, so I sauteed them and I had them with 2 1/2 chicken/turkey sausages and steamed chard.
Wolf had a purchased microwave lasagna as well as some of the greens. Not a memorable meal for either of us. ;-1

Since my dinner was so frugal looking, I took the photo outside on the way to the dining table, to add some ambiance. Another hot day here.

Have a good Sunday all!

SharonCb

Wow, the food looks amazing as always. Lorijean, those chicken cakes look fabulous... I'm going to have to find that recipe! I had ribs and twice baked potatoes with cheddar and bacon tonight. I tried piping the potatoes into the skin, but that has never worked well for me and didn't this time either! I made two kinds of ribs. One was just with BBQ sauce. The other I rubbed brown sugar, cinnamon, and chili powder on. I didn't boil them first, as I remembered reading a thread here before saying it's a bad thing to do.

This ribs look delicious Bobby! Boiling ribs is not at all a bad thing to do. In fact they come out flavourful, tender and with less fat on them. I have a good recipe if you're interested.
I cook ribs both ways - boiled first, then oven roasted or oven roasted but not pre boiled and they're equally good either way.

Sunday I made chicken breasts baked in a little broth, with mushrooms and coated with Montreal chicken seasoning and Old Bay, thyme and pepper, and with asparagus on the side and a slice of lime. (Diet recipe). Wolf had his with steamed potatoes and yams.

Yesterday was a plate of lettuce, cucumber and raw mushrooms while Wolf had a full mixed salad. Topping our salads were thin rounds of beef minute steaks. (Not shown.)

Whew it's warm now everywhere isn't it!

SharonCb

Yes, I've been eating dinner, mostly fresh vegetables, and I haven't taken pictures. I made some whole grain bread and I ate the last of the beets last night. Potatoes and eggs the night before, and I'm about to have some peanut butter on whole grain toast with my morning coffee.

Bobby, I don't know that boiling ribs is a bad thing, I just don't do it because it makes them TOO tender for me, I don't want them to fall off the bone when I pick them up, I like them a little chewier, so I roast them. It depends on what you like, I think.

Oh, and I've never had luck piping potatoes into anything either, so don't feel alone in that at all.

Sharon, as always your dinners look so fresh and good, it makes me want a salad even though it's only 9:30 am here.

Annie

More wonderful meals here. I could go for anyone of them!

Not a lot of dinner pictures from me for the last few days. Two nights ago I finally tried a recipe I had copied from Food Network about 8 years ago, Chicken Cutlets with Artichokes, Tomatoes & Mozzarella. It was delicious:

Last night, I wasn't in the mood to cook much, so I made a Potato, Onion & Summer Squash Frittata. Very tasty for not much effort:

VacuumFreak, I haven't made twice-baked potatoes in a long time. That's going to be on the menu soon! Here is the recipe for Linda/Doucanoe's Spicy Chicken Cakes:

Spicy Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Aioli

CAKES:
2 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole wheat bread
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons canola oil

[LINDA'S NOTES:
- I used real Hellmans, not low-fat and I added a minced garlic clove and cayenne pepper in place of the cajun seasoning.

- Made my own Aioli. A garlic Lemon Aioli using the extra egg yolks, and adding 3 large cloves of garlic, fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest salt, pepper and olive oil.]

AIOLI:
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare cakes, place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup (discard remaining breadcrumbs). Set breadcrumbs aside.

Place chicken in food processor; pulse until ground. Combine chicken, chives, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, egg whites, and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl; mix well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

Source: Linda/doucanoe

Lori

Bobby, Glad to see you back. Your ribs look great. And so does that cheesy double baked potato. I'm the one that believes that boiling ribs is a bad thing. Much of the flavour gets lost when ribs are boiled first.

Sharon, your diet chicken dish with the asparagus and mushrooms doesn't look diet it at all. Looks delicious.

Sharon I'm sure your family has told you how hot it is here on the Island. We have been having a string of days in the low to high 90°F's (33°C to 38°F) with humidity. And these temperatures are suppose to continue for at least another week.

Usually I bake bread on my days off but it is just too hot for that. I haven't been cooking much either.

I did try out the convection setting on my new stove on Sunday. I baked a batch of raspberry scones and one of savory cheddar and chive biscuits at the same time on convection. I've never been impressed with convection on any of the other stoves I've had. Maybe because they didn't have real convection just a third fan. The new stove has true convection with a third element. The scones/biscuits baked at the same time and at 350°F rather than the 425°F and 450°F that I normally bake them at.

The last time I really cooked was Friday night when I roasted a turkey breast and we had a turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, simmered green beans and a couple of small white turnips from our garden. Another first in the new oven. Roasting at 500°F.

Saturday's dinner was local corn and nothing else. We both love this kind of summer meal.

Sunday night we sat out on our neighbours front porch and had a lobster feast. Cold lobster with potato salad, chilled asparagus and a couple of bottles of chardonnay. Our neighbours Clif and Barb had been sent six cooked and frozen lobsters from the east coast. Clif gave them to me Sunday morning. I left them in the fridge to defrost and when I got home from work on Sunday I split the lobsters and cracked the claws to make it easy to eat. Made the potato salad, cooked and chilled the asparagus and made my Remoulade sauce to serve with the lobster. It was a beautiful evening. Good company, good food and good wine.

It was just too hot to cook last night so I just grilled European weiners and we had hot dogs and potato chips for dinner.

Today promises to be even hotter than yesterday so whatever we have tonight will probably be cooked outside on the grill.

Lori, we must have been posting at the same time. That chicken looks fabulous. I saved the recipe from your blog and will make it as soon as it cools off around here.

Ann

Well, carp, I'm having some trouble with this post, I hit "preview" and it was gone!

It's nearly lunch time here, I can tell because I want some of Lori's frittata, some of Sharon's salad, maybe the leftovers of Bobby's ribs, and a scone. Nope, I don't either, I want that lobster, I love lobster.

I've got to try those chicken cakes, Elery would love them. He's working for the next three weeks, so I won't see him for a while. Funny how all cooking is scheduled around Elery's time off. (grin) It's a lot more fun cooking for/with someone than by myself.

Then again, Amanda would love those chicken cakes too, maybe I'll have to make some with her. And I think lpinkmountain and I are going to be able to get together this weekend sometime. If we don't eat out, that might be a possibility too. She's "mostly" vegetarian, but she'd let it slide, I'll bet.

Annie

I knew someone said that boiling ribs was bad! I didn't remember who or why, but I remembered it. I boiled them the first time I made them about six months ago (then read that thread and felt bad for boiling them like I did it wrong!!!) and they were good both ways. Not boiling first was a lot easier and I did notice they were less tender, but that as Annie said isn't a bad thing.

Lori, thanks for that recipe. I'm printing it. I think I could do without the horseradish, but it looks awesome. I love crab cakes, so I'm sure chicken cakes are great.

Ann, as always, you have me wanting to lick the screen!

Annie, give those chicken cakes a try. I need to make them again soon. Moe loves them.

I forgot something else I made last week. Wednesday I made homemade hamburger buns. I adapted the King Arthur recipe for burger buns to suit my taste. The recipe called for 1/4 cup of sugar. I don't think that hamburger or hot dog buns should be sweet.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Hamburger Buns
==============

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
4 cups flour all-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon yeast
Egg wash ( 1 Egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water)

sesame seeds/poppyseeds

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients by hand, mixer, or bread machine to make a soft, smooth dough.
Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.

Brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

Oh great, chicken cakes with homemade buns. Sigh.....

Annie

Annie: You hit " Submit ". I saw you.

Bobbie:
The Ratio is about 50 50 on " Boiling Ribs "thing.
I don't recall anyone saying it was " bad ", just that they do it their way.
And like Frankie said " I did it my Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay "

Many CF members came back and said they Boil the Ribs.
Maybe you missed that.

Try different " Barbecue Sauce " Recipes.

I have one for you if you want.( With Fruit Preserves).

Some say it is too sweet but have never tried it.
The one's who have, say it is great and not at all, sweet.

Finger Lickin Good !!!!!
LOU

Ann you took me back to the 70's for a minute - years ago I was camping for the weekend at the race track in Lime Rock, CT. One of the other campers was a race driver and a lobster fisherman by trade and he brought a couple of coolers of cooked lobsters to share. At the end of the weekend he gave us a couple of lobsters that weren't eaten. I remember looking up recipes to use the cooked meat. I know I made a Thermidor and we had some just gently heated with butter and lemon and then we had some cold too. What a great memory, thanks!

Last night we had grilled chicken with bbq sauce and the night before we grilled a boneless, butterflied leg of lamb that was great!

For lunch today, I made myself a 'summer panini': grilled summer squash, grilled onions, tomato, grilled artichoke hearts, mozzarella, basil & a little balsamic vinaigrette on homemade bread.

For dinner, I made Pasta alla Amatriciana (Pasta with Tomato, Bacon, and Onion):

Lori

Oh man Lori, that is some fine looking food! The pics are amazing......I especially love the pasta pic....

think I better mosey over to your blog!

LoriJean,

Could you please post that recipe for the Chicken Cutlets with Artichokes, Tomatoes & Mozzarella?

That is something that I would love to try and it's no longer on the Foodnetwork site.

Magic, you can find the recipe for the chicken on Lori's Blog All That Splatters.

Ann

Thank You very much.

A few days ago, I baked bread. A nice whole grain loaf with whole wheat flour, oatmeal, 10 grain cereal, bran, flax seed.

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It sounds inordinately healthy, but it's really good, moist and wonderful toasted because the rough texture toasts up nice and crunchy:

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I had pancakes and eggs yesterday, with local Michigan maple syrup.

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My farm visit this weekend netted some of the first fresh vegetables of the year, including red potatoes, small beets, and a few Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes to occupy myself while I wait for the "big" tomatoes to ripen. I picked up some corn, some cucumbers and kohlrabi at a roadside stand. The kohlrabi was 3 for $1 and the corn was 20 cents an ear, so I couldn't pass it up, mine's not nearly ready yet. Amanda picked the first cucumber and took it home, so I ended up buying these for 10 cents each. Mine will be more prolific by next week, I think, and I'll be picking beans tomorrow.

Tonight I wanted to pick blueberries at the local blueberry farm so I went home and put a pork loin in the oven and went to pick.

I picked 12 pounds of blueberries and I've been snacking on those all evening.

Since I had fresh potatoes, I peeled and boiled some and made mashed potatoes to eat with the pork loin and that ear of fresh corn:

Yeah, I know, pale potatoes with tan pork roast with tan gravy and yellow corn on a brown plate. Not much color there, but it tasted good.

Annie

Annie I'd be happy with your roast pork dinner. Colour looks good to me.

Our dinner Tuesday night was influenced by Bobby. It was too hot to cook anything in the kitchen so I grilled some ribs and baked the potatoes on the grill.

Last night I made Pork Chili Verde and used it in a dip layered with black beans, the pork, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and black olives. Served with deep fried flour tortillas "chips".

And tonight I made Curry Potato and Chicken Roti.

Beautiful food and photos Lori, Annie and Ann. I'm missing out on fresh vegetables and fruit at the moment, and it all looks so lovely and summery.

Can't believe I haven't had a potato in over three weeks now.

Here are a couple of our recent meals. I made baked salmon and Wolf had his vegetables and salad while I had salmon with lettuce - dressed with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, a dab of spinach and prawns. I could eat only half of that, although it was good.

Yesterday we went out and Wolf had a burger pattie with Canary potatoes and eggs, while I had 1/2 a roast chicken with sauteed garlic, lettuce and lemon.
In place of wine I'm drinking a sugarless soft drink and bubbly water. (I normally never touch soft drinks.)

Me back again for Friday report. Yesterday the diet man said I could now add to my short list of foods: aubergine, bubango (a type of vine plant similar to a zucchini typical of Canary Islands), a couple of spoonfuls of cooking cream, a little grated parmesan, and for evening suppers, pineapple...one time and only pineapple for that meal, another day...honeydrew melon, the same. Well at least it's fruit...the first taste in over 3 weeks.

So today I was able to make a baked bubango stuffed with a mixture of ground turkey-chicken, the innards of the bubango, spices and herbs, parmesan, sauteed chopped garlic and topped with cream and parmesan. Food is beginning to get interesting and with more flavour. This was really good.

Wolf had his with oven roasted thyme potatoes and mine was without.

First photo is of a bubango.

I don't think I'll find aubergines at the moment as it's too hot now for many crops. Spinach, asparagus and aubergines are not in supermarkets until weather cools.
I might try the farmers' market next week.

Happy Weekend everyone!

SharonCb

OK, Sharon, you've gone and done it. I just had to have salmon. It's raining here, finally, and so I put salmon in the oven while I simmered some cranberry/gooseberry chutney for canning.

I brushed the salmon with Pomegranite Glaze I got at Trader Joe's, had an ear of local fresh corn as a side dish. I also sauteed a couple of baby zucchini from my garden with onion and garlic and mixed that with the leftover Harvest Grains that Elery and I had last week. The grain mixture is also from Trader Joe's and has couscous, baby garbanzo beans, orzo and quinoa.

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with all those fresh blueberries, I had to bake something, so I made Ann T's scones. I didn't have cream so I made them with milk, and I cut them into rounds so I could take some to a friend who's taking a road trip tomorrow. She needed road food. I sprinkled the tops with a coarsely ground sugar/basil mixture that Elery bought on a whim and I couldn't figure out what to do with it, it's pretty good on these:

Annie

I've been reading every day, although I haven't posted to WFD in ages. I am always inspired and impressed by the meals and photos.

The last couple of days have been inspired by Ann, made her Salisbury steak on Thursday and I had the leftovers on Friday when Max was gone. It is always a favorite of ours and I haven't made it since last year. Last night I grilled tuna and sauteed zucchini from Max' garden. We also had individual potato gratins, made with Ann's method of cooking the sliced potatoes in some milk and butter first (I didn't have any cream) and finished with shredded parm and baked in the toaster oven. Doing them in individual dishes really cut down on the baking time. We also had a tossed salad with lettuce, tomatoes and cukes from Max' garden.

Tonight's dinner is inspired by MichaelMaxP and Sushipup. For the first time ever, yesterday I bought tri tips at Costco. I've wanted to try them and Michael's post on grilling them made me feel I HAD to try them NOW! I used Sushi's recipe for the marinade but we had no whiskey so I used brandy and I added the zest and juice of one lone key lime languishing in the veggie drawer. Both pieces of meat (about 4 pounds total) are marinating and I'll grill one tonight and put the other in the freezer.

Lee

Ann, your ribs look sooo good. Your potatoes look so creamy - sort of like twice-baked? Yum. I had an early dinner today, and your pork chili verde would hit the spot right now. And the curry potatoes and chicken roti? Now I'm hungry for Indian food. *sigh*

Sharon, I've never seen a bubango squash (or never noticed it before...). Your stuffed bubango looks TDF! I'm sure I could do that with an eggplant, yes? Maybe I'll buy a Japanese eggplant - thinner and smaller - I could handle that. :)

Annie, your salmon looks so good. Reminds me that I haven't had salmon in awhile. I should pick some up this week. The blueberry scones look good, too. Basil sugar? Never heard of that before. Intriguing!

I made Pork Braciole for dinner last night. I heated one bracioli for dinner tonight, and it was perfect. Again! Made parmesan roasted potatoes for the side:

Lori

Oh Annie you always have such good dinners which include things fresh from your garden. Sounds so tasty and reminds me of Sunday dinners at my granparents' house when I was a kid. My grandpa had a large garden and since he had a large family as well, they lived from what they grew.

Lee that marinated beef sounds like a great dinner and I bet it was delicious off the grill!

Lori you are also producing some beautiful meals!
Yes a filled eggplant is just as easy to do as filled bubango. They are about the same size, but the bubango skin is much more tender to eat than the skin of eggplant.

I had stuffed eggplant yesterday since both that and the bubango are on my diet list this week although I had a time to find the eggplant. I think the ones I bought are from mainland Spain and not local. I stuffed it with the chopped interior, egg, garlic, chopped ham and herbs and parmesan since I have a limited choice at the moment of what I can eat.

Together with the stuffed eggplant we had mushroom coated fish fillets, a cucumber salad with a Knorr oil, vinegar and dill dressing and Wolf had potato salad.

Thank heavens the weather had changed and is finally cooler today. I have to watch the news to see the latest on the forest fires on the neighbouring island of La Palma.
I understood last night that it was under control.

SharonCb

Sharon, I was just going to ask you if "aubergine" wasn't the same as eggplant, and it appears it is. Those bubangos look a lot like our zucchini, are they similar?

You are right, I eat relatively simply much of the time, from whatever I've grown or raised, it's fast and healthy and much of the time I like it. Occasionally I want something sweet or fried or fattening, but most of the time I'm content with much simpler meals.

Here I'm still eating that local corn because I bought six ears and I'm not wasting one of them! I also did something I seldom do, I cooked a steak for supper. The girls eat most of the steaks, I have it occasionally. Since pigs are being packaged this week, I need freezer room and I've been trying to eat up what's in there, so I had steak and corn on the cob for supper, a perfect August in Michigan meal:

Annie

Sharon, I love cucumber salads. My grandmother used to make wonderful cucumber salads in the summer. Nobody makes them the way she did. :)

Annie, that corn looks great. I haven't had any great corn yet this summer. I'm hoping to find some tomorrow.

I made baguettes and homemade cheese ravioli for dinner. I hadn't made homemade pasta in awhile and LONG time since I'd made ravioli. These turned out perfectly. It renewed my pasta-making confidence! :)

Lori

Tonight I wanted soup for dinner. I made a Roasted Poblano-Cream Soup. It was good!

Lori

Just to get it off page 2, we had sausage and pepper sandwiches. Ok, someone else must have eaten since Tuesday:)
Kim

Well, yes, I have, but nothing picture worthy, LOL .

Last night I had peanut butter on toast. Tonight I made some whole wheat/sweet potato focaccia with an Asiago cheese and garlic topping, Readinglady sent me a King Arthur link about prize winning bread. I took a picture of the bread, but not the vegetable soup that went with it.

I also baked some cookies for Elery's Granddaughter Jamieson, she's having a birthday party this weekend. She'll be 4 and I think she'll like these:

Annie

Last night I had a bowl of cherries for dinner. Maybe not the most rounded meal, but they were good!

Wednesday night I made a salad, grilled tuna over a bed of baby lettuces. The dressing was a sun-dried tomato dressing that contained fresh tomatoes, as well. It was delicious.

Lori

Annie yes we don't hear of eggplants here since British folks call them aubergines, and that's what I've been hearing for years (except the Spanish name 'berenjenas') but they are one and the same. And bubangos are different from zucchini but not by much. They're very tender and the skin is easily bruised but they are a lovely, delicate vegetable.

Lori you are really putting in a lot of kitchen time with beautiful results and great photos!

We've been down in the town a couple of times for optician appointments and yesterday we stayed in the same building and had lunch. I'm lucky that most places are very happy to change their menu to suit my reduced diet requirements of the moment. I had 1/2 a small BBQ chicken with a salad of lettuce and cucumber while Wolf had a German hamburger (no bun and no trimmings) with egg and chips. Sounds like a real tourist menu! But the restaurant is an attractive one and is on the main plaza downtown so they are very busy and food is always fresh.

Today I again had chicken. This time fillets baked in onion and olive oil, coated with herbs and cooked in the toaster oven along with Wolf's baked potatoes.
Veggies were steamed cabbage and broccoli, which is what I had with my chicken while Wolf had a bit of everything.

At least I've lost over 14 lbs now in less than a month. So it has been worthwhile to go that time with zero starches and sugars. It will continue for more time.

Have a good weekend everyone!

SharonCb

Well we are definitely getting to the bottom of this thread, but the forum is busy and this was again on page two.

Today I made oven baked meatballs from a turkey/chicken mixture, with steamed spinach and cold asparagus.

Wolf had his with tomate frito ...the Spanish sauce of tomato cooked in olive oil, as well as mashed potatoes. I had mine without potatoes and tomato sauce.
Another hot day but we could sit outside for lunch as we ate late and a breeze from the sea came up to cool us off.

We're probably going out for lunch tomorrow.
Have a good Sunday everyone!

SharonCb

Well, leet's see, last night I had beets, on Saturday afternoon it was hotdogs and hamburgers at Jamieson's birthday party, along with cake and butterfly cookies.

Saturday night Elery and I had fondue with beef, shrimp and mushrooms, using a broth instead of hot oil. It was really good and I have pictures but haven't loaded them onto the computer yet.

Right now I'm off to snap beans to can, so maybe tomorrow we'll have pictures, LOL.

Annie

For the second time in ten days I grilled a tri tip; we have both decided that we like it lot. Today it was marinated in red wine for about three hours in the fridge and then rubbed with a chipotle chile, cumin and garlic rub. The rub also had a little brown sugar - not enough to taste it but enough to make a nice sear. We also had one potato and one medium sized zucchini cut in wedges and grilled and shared. They were just brushed with a little lemon and olive oil and sprinkled with oregano. The final side was Marilyn's Three Pepper Salad left over from a large bowl of it that we took to a party last night. Max picked raspberries but we were both too full for dessert.

Lee

Everyone's food looks so good. Lori those home made ravioli. Swoon material. Sharon your diet meals look pretty darn good. It does seem a bit funny not to see your normal sweet potato and veggie mixture on your plate.

Annie we have been eating quite simply too. For the past few Saturdays we've been having corn for supper. Yesterday we had our easy pork chop casserole and an ear of corn on the side. Sliced onions in a 9x13, lay some pork chops on, then scatter 2 cups of rice on top. Pour 6 cups of beef stock/broth on top, cover with foil and bake for an hour. Easy and the rice is great the next day, though not very picture worthy.

Tonight we had low cal tacos with some of the wonderful tomatoes. Tomatoes are gorgeous this year. Right now I'm using ones from my friends farm stand about a mile down the road. I browned very well some ground beef, put it into a strainer to drain grease, pat with paper towels to get more grease off, then salt the meat. When I assemble the tacos I put a couple teaspoons of meat in the bottom, then about a half ounce of cheese. Bake this in the micro/oven combo at 350 for five minutes to melt cheese. Shred bunch of lettuce and dice plenty of tomatoes. Mix them together with some salt and overfill the taco's. Sounds quite plain but is actually very delish. The fresh tomatoes make a nice sauce for the tacos with their juice after salted.

Tomorrow I'm going to use some of the browned meat with some of the tomatoes that are getting too ripe and make a simple fresh pasta sauce for some ravioli I have in the freezer. Thanks for the idea Lori. I put in my tomatoes and basil on July 4th for a fall garden but I think I can take some of the basil for this, although I do still have quite a bit of frozen left.

I had an order for a pecan pie so I made some cinnamon crisps with the leftover pie crust. I'm going to dig up the dessert thread to post those pics on. I had quite a surprise when I was taking the pics.