everyday eating during "unprecedented" times
It’s our vacation week again so of course we had to get steamed crabs. It was a little dreary out but not rainy and pretty warm. They really are the best in the fall!
For dinner we were going to make crab cakes but since we didn’t get the the crabs from our usual place (they only had mediums), we didn’t get the sides we had planned on for dinner so we pivoted and got food at the fry place. The crab will keep!
Watched GBBO which seemed pretty solid! If only they’d get rid of Noel already.
Finally returned my library book after many failed attempts!
For lunch Matt had leftover lasagna and I had the leftover halibut, sprouts and potatoes from the other night.
For dinner I made a fennel and veal stew so we can have leftovers for a day when we are on a day trip.
We are off next week so spent the evening figuring out logistics.
For lunch I made us BLTs using some yellow tomatoes I got a farm stand almost two weeks ago! Still fresh!
I tried going to a different library branch and it also didn’t have a parking lot and had paid parking! On this dinky residential street!
I like my local branch but the work they are doing on the street makes it hard to park. I’ve had issues when I use their book drop so I can’t drop off books early or late to avoid it. I don’t get physical books out a ton anyway and my favorite checkout people have switched branches so I might just stick to digital books only for a while unless it is something I really want. I’ve tried at three different libraries to return this book and am thwarted every time. I get it’s the city but not everyone is within walking distance and our public transit is a joke and would make the 2-3 mile journey a multi hour trip.
Dinner was kind of up in the air and neither of us felt awesome (no sleep, he is on call) so we got lasagna from the Italian place that does the daily $12 specials of a rotating main, salads and garlic bread. Thursday is lasagna night!
Oh and Matt found some raspberries on one of our bushes in the backyard! I wasn’t sure we had any that grew berries twice a year anymore but they were really good! I’m glad he noticed!
Had some more chili for lunch and froze a portion for another week.
For dinner we had halibut (a rare find here!) Brussels sprouts and a refrigerated au gratin potato side from Costco. It wasn’t bad but it took a lot longer to cook than expected. Why are convenience foods always more of a pain than you’d think?
Then we sort of hashed out our goals for next week when we are off. There are some house things we need to do but it’s supposed to be great weather so I’m lobbying for more out than in. Who knows what the weather is going to be like soon, I don’t want to waste a week of 80° and sunny on stuff we can do when it’s cold and rainy. Especially since we are Covid cautious, everything we do is pretty weather dependent since we aren’t eating in restaurants and can’t not eat! There are long winter stretches where day trips aren’t a great option.
I put up chili last night in the slow cooker for today’s lunch. It worked pretty well, it wasn’t a huge batch so I think next time I would prep it earlier in the day and put it right before we go to bed at more like 11pm or later because it dried out a little bit putting it up at 10 when we browned the beef. It was still fine once I stirred it but I was glad I wanted to eat an early lunch!
Matt had his volunteer work on the oyster beds and I thought he’d be home late so we planned on tots, hot dogs and roasted cauliflower.
It was a dreary day today! The dogs did nothing but snore.
Next week is our vacation I think we are going to just do day trips. We thought about spending half the week at the beach but it looks unseasonably cool. There are a lot of festivals going on the next two weekends that might be nice to be around for.
Didn’t fall asleep until like 4:45 am so didn’t feel great today! I did make it to the post office but that’s about it.
Matt made himself some fry up with the taco leftovers for lunch and I made myself some (canned) minestrone and added some blocks of cheddar to it and had a snack of lox and crackers. I had to use block cream cheese! The horror!
Matt got his Covid shot and did a little shop at Target while he was there.
For dinner we had leftover spinach mashed potatoes and leftover meatloaf.
I put up some chili in the slow cooker at around 10 to have for lunch tomorrow so I will see how that goes! I’m really trying to figure out some lunch solutions for when Matt goes to work.
Oh, I did clear out the fridge and organize it and indexed this cookbook.
We had pancakes and sausage for breakfast and then split a capicola sandwich in the afternoon. I had another migraine.
Matt went to Costco to return the popcorn maker that didn’t pop and to get a rotisserie chicken for dinner tonight and my lunches this week and they were out of chicken! He ended up getting haddock and crab and a taco kit so that was an expensive return visit.
He did meet my dad in the parking lot so he could give Matt the bill he needed me to pay so that’s something! I was not looking forward to making that drive this week and it’s due soon.
Rainy, windy day but not as bad as we thought it might be with the tropical storm.
For lunch we made sandwiches with leftover fillings from the Italian store (turkey, lean capicola, provolone—unfortunately domestic— and lingonberry jam).
I had a migraine in the afternoon but got some reading done.
For dinner we had pork tenderloin with spinach mashed potatoes made in the Multo I was sent a few months back. It’s quite a machine!
More cake before it goes bad! The plan was to see my dad today and give him some but that didn’t happen thanks to the storm.
I got a Covid shot appointment at a Target about 20 minutes away that’s near a supermarket we don’t normally shop at so I took advantage and went early and got the salsa closer stores seem to have stopped selling. Plus lettuce for BLTs and some other pantry items. I was going to get Swiss chard but it was $6! For a tiny bunch and not even organic. That’s bonkers.
The shot was uneventful, the pharmacist was nice but unmasked which always strikes me as bizarre. Matt had an appointment this evening at the same location but they called and canceled it an hour before saying they were out of vaccine. Not sure what happened there but he rescheduled it for another CVS in a Target in another location for next week. I really wanted mine now since I’m going away for a couple days in October for a class and they said it takes about 2 weeks to kick in.
We are supposed to be hit with a tropical storm (or the aftermath) this weekend so didn’t want to schedule it for then. That’s why I didn’t do a big shop or buy any expensive perishables this week just in case! My dad lives on a river and has a well so he has to do more prep than we do in the city. I did charge my kindle.
Matt picked up sandwich stuff at the Italian store for lunch and then made this dumpling filling inspired chicken meatloaf for dinner. It was pretty good we had it over rice with furikake and I had some cucumber spears. And leftover cake.
My arm is pretty sore from the shot! I can’t really lift it very high. Hopefully that’s the only side effect!
I got myself some Chinese takeout for lunch since we didn’t have anything here and Matt was in-person at work. It’s been uneven there lately but I think they are back!
After lunch I made a lemon cake adapted from a community cookbook recipe. Scheduled that post for October and indexed and wrote up a post about the book. It was good!
Matt was in orientation for a volunteer thing until 6 and he had a piano lesson at 8 so we had hot dogs topped with leftover lemon-onion salad and the leftover pattypan squash. It reheated well.
We had plans for this weekend but it seems like we might be getting a tropical storm so we will see. I hate when September weekends get ruined by weather! But heading to the Eastern Shore doesn’t sound like a good idea during a storm surge and high winds.
I have my Covid shot scheduled for tomorrow so I might do some grocery shopping after since we might be stuck inside all weekend. I bought a few things yesterday but nothing very exciting. Maybe we’d want to do a food project?
Rachel Eats Dinner 