Annie, you're the best! Really, you do what I did for many years, draft the family to help with big events. At this age, who cares what Mom eats, as long as she's eating. She's so lucky to have you!

Annie how about a recipe for the three bean salad?

Annie - that bean salad looks so delicious! I love yellow wax beans. They're practically non-existent in farmer's markets here. We have planted them from seed in our minuscule garden in the past. DH would harvest them a few at a time and when we had a handful would cook them to go with a meal. The last time we planted them (maybe 2 years ago) not only did the critters eat the beans but they pulled the whole plants out of the bed.

@Annie You do so much for everyone else, I hope you get some help on Tuesday.

Today was 'Viva La Fiesta' at our home. Our community (Santa Barbara) has been celebrating "Old Spanish Days" the first week in August since the 1920s. It is a 5 day celebration with parades, dancing and food. Sadly, it was not to be this year.

We had our own celebration tonight with pork carnitas, which I slow cooked all day.

Well, heck, I just did an entire post, with pictures, and now it's gone. Dang it.

Bragu, it's just the recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation except I leave out the oil, we don't like the oil in there. I also add a tablespoon of mustard seeds, that's from the Ball Blue Book Recipe, but we do like those so I add them in. The recipe is meant for canning, so it makes a lot, but it's here: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/bean_salad.html

Lynda, that festival looks like so much fun, I hope you get to have it next year! The carnitas look perfect.

Seagrass, I like the yellow beans too, but everyone else in the family seems to want the green ones, except in that pickled bean salad. It's handy to have on the shelf for a quick side dish.

Jasdip, I like rice a lot, so I'd love having all that leftover for my own use. Elery won't eat it because "it has too many carbs" and Mother says she HATES rice except in rice pudding. So, very little rice gets used here, unfortunately.

Walnutcreek, that really is a perfect Saturday night meal, and I like my fries crunchy, so I'd be happy with those.

Ellen, I do not hesitate to "draft" family members to help me. Bud especially likes to "babysit" with Great Grandma, with all his limitations it makes him feel helpful and I pay him so he gets a little extra pocket money, he'll be starting high school this year and a guy needs a little cash, you know? (grin)

Here I decided we needed leftovers for a couple of days, so I made chicken and dumplings for Mother:

I had a plate full of leaves with a hard boiled egg, I already made two meals, I wasn't making another one!

After supper I made cinnamon rolls for Mother. I made a double batch so I could take some to the hall for the election workers. I frosted them, but Mother prefers hers without frosting:

Annie

Annie - the yellow beans are so tender. I always cook them whole, not even taking the tails off because we pick them young. Or, I should say "picked". There is a pickled bean salad I love to buy when I go to Ohio to see my mom. Made by Paisley Farms in Willoughby where I lived when I was young. It's a 4 bean salad that includes garbanzos.

Annie, I never thought of that! Thanks for the work around. :)

Jasdip, coleslaw comes from the Dutch, as a compound word, literally meaning "cabbage salad" (I'm not sure if the word that developed into kool (cabbage in Dutch, a Germanic language) came from the Latin ( the original Romance), or if both came alongside each other from a prior Indoeurpean source. The double "oo" in Dutch is literally a long "o" in that you can kind of hear two "o's" pronounced, sounding more like our long "o" but with a little of our "u" sound written "oo". In trying to find out, just now, I ran across a derivation that said after the English had borrowed the Dutch word, they started saying "cold slaw" and then recorrected it to cole based on the Latin. That wasn't a sourced reference, however, though it sounds quite plausible, and it's all probably a lot more than you wanted to know. ;)

Today, I was trying to make another special dinner for my mother. I was going to take some of the slaw, but forgot. :) It wasn't missed.

The star was her recipe for "chickie loaf", which she'd been saying she was missing. I couldn't get chicken or turkey Italian sausage, however, and used pork. I could tell the difference because I knew it was there--it was subtle--and in all it tasted like chickie loaf.

She'd also been asking to try my sourdough, so I made crostini with roasted eggplant salad (with lots of lemon juice, plus a many aliums seasoning blend). I was going to top with fioretto cauliflower (broccoli-cauliflower cross). I grilled them, and the color came up on the green, but it was too chew-worthy for the crostini, so I put them around the outside of the plate, with the toasts in the middle. Very pretty, assemble how you will.

Mother really loved the zucchini pickles I made from the same recipe, with red bell pepper, red onion and shishto peppers, as I posted awhile ago. Just done this afternoon--I guess this is what's meant by "quick pickle"? She really liked the crispness as well as the flavor.

Dessert was finger limes and the chocolate butterscotch almond cookies I invented. I was going to make strawberry cake, which she really likes, but would have been rushing like mad and was too tired. She's not a big chocolate fan. But did save the last cookie for later. ;)

Tomorrow, it's back to salads and popsicles. And the duck tacos if I have the energy. :)

Plllog, I had also heard that it was a derivation of "cold" slaw, because it's made with vegetables that grow well in cool weather. At least that's what Grandma told me. We were having a Johnny Cake/Journey Cake discussion and it wandered off into names for foods, like Shoo Fly Pie and cobblers/grunts.

Seagrass, that recipe for 3 bean salad is actually "pickled bean salad" and the original recipe has garbanzo beans in it. I have a couple of family members who don't like them, so I leave them out. I ought to put them in and just let everyone pick out what they don't like!

Annie

That's a great folk derivation, Annie!

My mother used to make a pickled bean salad, which had way too much vinegar (vinegar makes me cough uncontrollably), but I'd pick out the garbanzo beans, which don't absorb much. They were awesome. :) If you put them in, you might have a taker!

I'm seeing lots of chips/fries. The ultimate in comfort food.

Prepping for the tropical storm tomorrow. They don't think it will weaken much. If we loose power we will have, drum roll,....salads. Thai Chicken salad, grain/bean salad, Potato. Soaking some garbanzos. Making a kimchi/sesame slaw. Charcuterie options. Prepping sourdough to bake in the morning.

We can cook having a transfer switch but may not feel like it. Many freezer options.

We had a giant pork shoulder BoSaam. Two nights in row having made so many sides/toppings. Three nice packs in the freezer.

Stuffed zucchini flowers every couple days.

Disaster trying to make pickled/marinated eggs, 😂😜

Made a nice egg salad using an iced teaspoon to scoop. (I tried three times using three different methods), Steam, boil, ice bath....etc

Last night was DosPerros. (Braised chicken thighs). And a nice salad.

Beautiful carnitas, Lynda!! I've made tortillas too......so easy, and taste so good!

Annie, chicken and dumplings! Yum! And you make the dumplings like; the big fluffy ones. Noodles aren't dumplings, in my mind.

Plllog interesting broccoli/cauliflower hybrid.

Sleeve.....oh no!! All those eggs!!! I hate making boiled eggs, it's always a mystery if they'll turn out, and I love hard-boiled eggs in a salad.

Tonight's dinner is not a keeper.

Back when all the stores still had flyers, one of our national grocers would publish a recipe in the flyer. I've had this to try for a while......browned chicken then braised in the oven with a honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lemon mixture. Everything I love. Meh, not worth putting in my binder. But the crashed potatoes are always good!!! LOL

So many great meals and photos since I was here last.

Back to a more traditional dinner. Lamb chops, veg, cauliflower cheese and those peculiar stuffing ball things are my version of a biscuit without the layers. I can’t get potatoes so made these as a carb substitute.... were just OK.

Lamb is a favorite here. Thankful to have a couple small rib racks in the freezer.

Bruschetta, fennel radish golden beet salad

Miso sesame ginger chicken

Had a very satisfying meal last night. Had some leftover gravy made with a beef roast, it was so good I didn't want to toss. So, decided to bake a hamburger steak in the gravy. It was very successful. Cooked a steam baked potato and green beans in the Instant Pot and biscuits in the smart oven.

Dinner tonight ought to be interesting. It is a quiche/frittata hybrid. Frittata in that the filling is a lot of bits and pieces of leftovers; quiche in that it has a custard to hold the filling together. I used leftover asparagus, leftover baked potato, some green onions, about 4 ounces of ham, chopped, and some grape tomatoes that were languishing on the counter. That was all topped with a couple of varieties of shredded cheeses, heavy on the cheddar. Then I poured a egg and cream custard over the whole thing. If it is awful, there are always tortilla bar pizzas.

@bbstx I always say that if you don't experiment you miss out on finding something amazing. About half the time, I experiment and think meh not worth doing again....but occasionally the result is something we love.

Tonight, dinner was Thai green curry pork over jasmine rice with our homegrown Thai peppers and basil. This is an old standby for us, perfect for an easy mid week dinner. My son likes the curry, but won't eat the rice, which makes no sense to me.

The results of my crustless quiche-not-quite-frittata were pretty good! The flavor was definitely good. The custard was a little loose; it would not hold its shape as a wedge. I probably should have sautéed the grape tomatoes and perhaps the asparagus, too, to dry them out a bit. There is enough left for lunch today! Hooray!

I think I just figured out how to make a frittata on the stove top. Tomorrow mornings challenge.

Day three without power but we have a transfer switch.

Nice sausage/pasta,

Lots of options again with salads/grains/beans

Then MISFITS managed the storm and delivered, woot-woot.

Wow - Romanesco!! And everything looks great.

Sorry, Jasdip. Too much business and taking care of people to spend time prepping. No tacos to show. The duck has just been food. There was one sorta-stuffed-quesadilla-if-you-squint, with a flour tortilla, green chili salsa and cheddar, steamed, not grilled, but that's the closest. :)

Sleevendog, impressive aftermath meals!

Mmm the sausage and pasta looks so good Sleeve, topped off with pickled mustard seeds.

I’ve been baking bread on and off, mainly some version of ‘no knead’ leaving it over night. Anyway pulled a bit of the dough off and made a pizza. Love a pizza now and again.

I baked the pizza on baking paper as the dough was very wet.

Well, I know what I'm having for dinner either tonite or tomorrow, Neely!!! That looks wonderful!

GREAT misfits box, Sleeve!

Walnut, roast beef and gravy! My favourite.

Good looking pork currry, Lynda. Whaddya mean your son doesn't like rice??

Last night decided to make my granddaughter's iteration of hash which I forgot to add squash to and forgot to sprinkle top with feta cheese, but will do so the next time (gotta use up that squash), did poach two eggs to put on top of the hash, and baked biscuits. Ended up adding apple butter to the last biscuit as a nice sweet ending to a wonderfully satisfying meal.

Wow, and yum, hash!

Day three tempting to do similar. but with the power out I keep planning ways to do that...

Good food does not stop me.

I'll try tomorrow morning...and I keep saying that, 😂

No oven, no steam oven, but gas top stove is a storm 'comfort'. FU induction, 😂

Thought we might grill...too much effort.

salads. All day salads.

FU induction!!! 🤣🤣

Spaghetti and meatballs on the plate tonight

I made one of our favorites tonight - Pad Thai. I discovered Pad Thai on a surprise proposal trip to Thailand. We had been together almost a decade by the time we got married. The venue was booked and the invitations sent when I reminded my now husband that he did need to actually propose. He told me to pack for warm weather and schedule time off work. I thought he was taking me to a tropical island and was really not prepared for Bangkok. We have been back 4 times since. I now have a great affinity for SE Asia, but I was pretty shell shocked on that first trip.

@Neely Your pizza looks so good. Now I am craving pizza.

@Jadsip Yes, my son loves Sushi but wont eat rice. It makes no sense. Tonight he tried the shrimp from the pad Thai and admitted that they tasted much better than the plain ones he asked me to make for him.

Lynda, my brother and SIL make Pad Thai regularly and gave me the recipe. I've never had it before, and it's a peanut butter sauce. I made it once and it was just so-so. If I make it again (certainly easy and creates leftovers, which I love) I'll cut back on the pb, sugar and add red pepper flakes or some hot chili paste for some heat.

Today I was craving pizza, but I should have known better. I made my pizza in my 10" skillet instead of my usual 12". I wanted to use the counter-top oven instead of the regular one, and the 10" fits.

My pizza turned into a deep-dish. Flavour was still good.....hey it's pizza!!! But I typically like the thinner crusts. I guess it's testament to my dough which had a great oven-spring.😋

@Jadsip between you and Neely, I am really craving pizza. I've never made it in a cast iron skillet before. Do I need to do anything special to cook it that way? Does the pan have to be heated first?

No Lynda, don't preheat the skillet. It just makes it hard to form the pizza.

Just form the crust in either a 10 or 12" skillet, top and bake. If the bottom of the crust isn't crisp, you can heat the skillet on the stove for a couple of minutes. That's a popular way of ensuring the bottom is cooked. You can also cook it on the lowest rack, just make sure it doesn't get too dark. :-)

For dinner last night had a chicken thigh (cooked 2, but ate
only 1), baked beans, mustard greens, and macaroni salad. It is strange what
combinations one can come up with when trying to use up leftovers. Taking the
pictures has made me realize that I am putting way too much on the plates. Will
have to cut back on portions. So this taking pictures has had an unexpected
benefit.

Thanks for the tip Jadsip, I am looking forward to making my next pizza that way.

Tonight's dinner was filet ($10 a pound at costco!) topped with a whiskey peppercorn sauce with yukon gold potatoes, and salad from the garden with creamy balsamic dressing. A good mid week meal - easy, healthy & tasty.

You've got will-power, Walnut, to eat only 1 thigh. Anytime I put a small portion on my plate, I just go back for seconds! :-(

Lynda, don't forget to oil your skillet before putting the dough in for pizza. Otherwise, it might stick. Your meal looks great!

I didn't have a healthy meal last night. It was 35°C (95F) and I felt like loaded potato soup. A member on the cast iron cooking group made it and I couldn't get it out of my head. I normally don't make soup in the summer, but at least I didn't have the oven on!

Jasdip, I’ve loved seeing your yummy meals and Yes to the soup even if the weather is hot.

Sleevendog, perfect salad.

Lynda, such terrific meals and photos, Pad Thai looks amazing as does the salad and fillet.

Walnut Creek, your portions look good to me.

A stir fry with steak and noodles for dinner for us. Flavoured mostly with hoisin sauce.

Jasdip, I can't find the cast iron cooking group. Will you help me find it, please.

Neely, I love hoisin sauce; it adds so much good flavor to noodles.

Delicious looking stir-fry Neely, and yes to hoisin sauce!!

WC, the cast iron group is a Facebook group.

Thank you for the info.

I experimented with dinner last night and I won't repeat what I did. I never knew that cooking avocado made it so sweet and totally ruined the enjoyment of it for me. This is what I did. On a corn tortilla lay down shredded cheese, an egg on top, sliced avocado, salsa, corn tortilla. Put a bit of butter in a hot skillet and put the tortilla with the cheese on it down first to melt the cheese and cook the egg. When that was nice and golden brown, used a large spatula to pick up and put a bit more butter in skillet, then flipped. The flip was a mess. The uncooked tortilla which was not on the bottom folded in half when I flipped and I could not get it undone. Regardless, everything cooked and I was looking forward to a good meal. With fork and knife, cut my first bite and was totally shocked at the sweetness. I didn't want sweet, I wanted savory. No more cooking avocado. But I have experimented my entire cooking life and will continue to do so.

We're going to eat our first large ripe tomato from the garden. Tonight's dinner is quintessential summer - tomato sandwiches and local corn on the cob.

WalnutCreek, that sounds like the kind of think I'd do. :) What I'd think to do--then probably not if it were just for me--is toast the tortilla, lightly, dry in the skillet first, then remove it and saute some chopped onions/peppers/tomatoes, or just put some nice salsa in the pan. When that was warm, add the egg and let it cook, like for rancheros, meanwhile melting the cheese in the tortilla on a screen over the egg pan, or in another, pan, slide the egg mixture onto the tortilla, add the avocado, and fold up, let warm and marry a few seconds more and slide onto the plate. No flipping. You need more glue to flip. But having said all that, I'd probably do exactly what you did, and it would be fine, if scrambled. :) Sounds good to me, except for the cooked avocado, as you said.

I've been waiting all year to have this dinner tonight. From out of the garden tomatoes, squash, fresh basil and parsley oven roasted with olive oil. Tossed with spaghetti and topped with fresh grated parm. My taste buds think they've died and gone to heaven!

Bread is not homemade but it was very, very good. White Mountain Italian.

Plllog, thanks for the ideas.

Edie, looks so good. Love fresh from the garden anything.

For dinner last night it was Spaghetti with Tomato/Basil Sauce, Salad, and Garlic Toast made from a 12 Grain Bread. Really good. Had not had spaghetti in months.

Edie, that's much like the pasta primavera that I make. Roasted zucchini, peppers, grape tomatoes, carrots, onions (pretty much anything I have on hand). I love it. I can just hear your tummy thanking you!

Walnut Creek, I had spaghetti and meatballs last week, the first time in a long time, and I enjoyed every bite! It had been a long time.

I read recently to cook your mushrooms in a dry skillet. The moisture comes out on its own and cooks them a delicious brown, without any butter needed. You can add some, with a splash of wine, balsamic or whatever you want of course, but you don't need the butter to cook them initially. Look at these awesome nuggets of deliciousness.

I was outside and ran into the landlord and she handed me a bag of some lovely yellow beans (pole beans) out of their garden. I was craving some, she must have read my mind.

So leftover chicken with fried potatoes, mushrooms and yellow beans, sliced tomatoes on a small dish that I didn't have room on the plate for.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the end times of this thread ...