Trying Peter Chang Again

Since my husband can no longer eat spicy food or tomatoes or coffee or wine or a lot of everything else he loves, we thought we would try something different from take out at Peter Chang Chinese restaurant. We used to order spicy pork along with the fried rice combo. This time we had to eliminate the spicy pork and thought we would try fried noodles and vegetables. I had a very different idea about how fried noodles looked. The fried rice and spring rolls were good, and the what you could call potstickers were also good, but we didn’t care for the egg drop soup. The fried noodles were shriveled up - sort of like chop suey noodles. We tried putting the noodles on the soupy mixture, in the soupy mixture, next to the soupy mixture. The vegetables were not familiar, but we did recognize the pea pods and the broccoli and the carrots. It actually didn’t taste too bad. I’m sure we will order most of this again, but we are still in search of the perfect non spicy option. 

Which Dinner is More Appealing?

My husband and I are different in every way - except on the most important issues. What I mean by that is he is an early riser and I am a night owl; notice everything - he doesn’t until I bring it to his attention; he likes dark meat and I like white meat; he wants to knew the detail while I just want to solve the problem; if he doesn’t know what a word means he needs to find the definition while I’m good just having a general idea; he loves the rain and I have three different types of umbrellas depending on the type of rain and I hate walking in it -  to name a few. It actually works out quite well as we benefit from each other. So when we made dinner the other day it was composed of shrimp, rice and broccoli. I ended up mixing all of the ingredients to make a casserole per se; he likes to keep all of the elements completely separate. It isn’t a big thing - just an another example of ying and yang. Somehow it all just works even though it all seems a bit odd. 

Trying Out Maman Joon

There is a Persian dish that I really like. It’s called Zershek Polo and is a mouth watering half baked chicken that comes with rice made with berberries. It is a Thursday special at Maman Joons. And since we can now order on line we thought we would try out the place. We have been going to Moby Dicks since we moved to DC eighteen years ago. So we felt a bit disloyal! The menus are typical Persian fare. Aside from the chicken we ordered the usual items that we always get. We were very impressed with the packaging of the food and my husband was very impressed with the cleanliness of the establishment. I absolutely loved the chicken - so much so that I would go there every Thursday just for that! The Koobideh kabob was also very good. As for the salad, soup, bread, baklava, and eggplant side dishes I think Moby Dick’s is better. The servings T ‘a man Joon’s are also larger than Moby Dick but they are also more expensive. So we now have two Persian places for pick up. I’m glad we tried it and look forward to going back. 

Giving Chick Fil A Another Try

My husband had a hankering for Chick Fil A yesterday for dinner. We haven’t been there for quite some time. For a particular irritating medical reason my husband can no longer eat hot and spicy along with coffee and chocolate, among other things. So we thought we would give it a try again anyway. He couldn’t get his spicy chicken sandwich so he got the regular chicken with pickles. I got the spicy salad, along with a side of macaroni and cheese, chicken soup, French fries and of course, the peach milkshake - another item he can’t eat. It was fun to go through the motions again. The app is very easy to use and curbside pickup is very straight forward. Once we got home and got everything laid out it was obvious why we haven’t been back for such a long time. Everything we get from restaurants is just too salty, and that’s not good if you have high blood pressure. Plus everything just looks so unhealthy - but also tastes quite good. But we are always sorry we go after the fact and are reminded why. It will probably be a while before we go back - if ever. We find that what we cook at home just tastes better and is better for us. But every once in a while it’s okay to “splurge” - or is it?

Too Salty for Me!

Those were the days - eating French fries and fried chicken and fish and chips without even thinking about it! Since I’ve been on blood pressure medication since my early thirties - if not younger than that - I don’t eat a lot of salt. I never add it to food. But whenever we go out to eat invariably there will be salt in it. That’s why we rarely go out to eat anymore and have gotten out of the habit since the pandemic. And if we do go out, it’s usually for brunch. Otherwise it’s once a week for pickup. Our favorite pick up is Moby Dicks’s which is Persian food and relatively healthy. We decided to try Matchbox pickup last Sunday for dinner. We used to go there when we lived on Capitol Hill but have never tried the new place here in our neighborhood. And we ordered everything that we shouldn’t have - fish and chips, crispy chicken cobb salad, miniature burgers and onion rings, cream of crab soup, and chicken pesto pizza because my husband can’t eat tomatoes anymore. It all looked so good and nicely packaged. But when I started to eat it I was overwhelmed by the taste of salt! The only item that was reasonable to eat was the pizza. I felt like a sinner eating all of that salt. My husband on the other hand loved it. He doesn’t have blood pressure concerns. I don’t think we will be going back any time soon. The brunch menu looks like it could be more promising but I’m not sure that it’s worth it. At least at home I can control the salt intake. It’s always a crap shoot when you go out. 

How About a Filet?

A couple of months ago we had an urge to get steak. We rarely eat it and never make it at home. The last time we had it was for an after Christmas celebration in 2022 at the local steak place. We picked two pieces up and weren’t terribly impressed. This week at the grocery store the meat counter was calling to us after we got some shrimp. We usually get shrimp or salmon every week but thought we could try a filet. We got an eight ounce piece cut in two for twenty-two dollars - which is quite ridiculous but definitely cheaper than at a restaurant. Last night we made baked potatoes in one air fryer and cooked the steak in the second air fryer. We seasoned it with garlic salt and olive oil. What I always liked most about steak was the charbroil and butter it sat in - but we haven’t eaten butter for centuries. My husband cooked up some onions and peppers. Both of us were really looking forward to it. But to be honest there just isn’t anything special about it. Without all of the forbidden accompaniments - like fried onion rings and such - it’s just all rather bland. And I never use salt. I’m glad we tried it - and it really looked good at the meat counter and on our plates. We are just are not in to meat that much. 

In the Mood for a Steak

Since my husband’s diet is somewhat restricted due to a medical condition, it’s been an adjustment trying to figure out what he can and cannot eat. No more tomatoes, wine, chocolate, and a lot of other things he craves. So when he said he had a taste for a steak, we took our morning walk to the neighborhood Giant to find one but we were disappointed with the selection. We rarely eat red meat and the last steak we had was over a year ago for a special occasion. So today after our morning walk we took a ride out to Amazon Fresh in Fairfax. My husband wanted to see what Amazon Fresh was all about. When we lived on Capitol Hill there was a Whole Foods in Yards Park - a few blocks away. I never cared for Whole Foods and this place looked just like While Foods. So we ended up getting bananas, pears, French bread, and two reasonably good looking tenderloin steaks. We really wanted a filet and a New York strip, but they didn’t have that either. When we got to the checkout - we don’t have the scan option to just walk in and walk out - our Apple Card couldn’t be used. I couldn’t tap with it or insert it. It just wouldn’t be read. So we needed to use another card that would be accepted. It looks like Amazon just doesn’t like anything Apple. I hope it was worth the trip as we are trying to decide if we should try to air fry or broil the steaks. I guess we will figure that out later on today. I don’t think we will ever go back, but it was worth the ride to see what it was all about. 

We Love Our Air Fryers

We got our first air fryer a few months ago. I’m not sure why it took us so long to get one. My husband loves French fries and that was the impetus. So we started out with a small four quart basket type - just to see if we liked it. And we did. It was easy to use, had a window, and is easily handled and washed. But it was a bit cumbersome because everything had to be made in batches. So we got another larger oven style type. It was not only larger but it had more functions. But you need to use oven mitts to handle the trays and the buttons are on the front rather than the top - so it is not as easy to see. But now we were able to make French fries, pizza, eggplant, and shrimp in one setting. But now since we have two appliances it is not unusual to use both of them at the same time. The air fryers have made making dinner so much easier. We also have tried combi dinners - chicken, rice and a vegetable that are all made at the same time. I am still amazed how nicely the chicken turns out. So routinely we make salmon, shrimp, hamburgers, chicken breasts, French fries, pizza, eggplant, and even pillsbury French bread, various potatoes, frozen packaged foods like Barber stuffed chicken breasts, and Phillips crab cakes. We like buying the fresh seafood and making it the same day or the day after. I don’t know why we would we use the oven - it took forever to preheat. I suppose if you have a large family the need for the traditional oven will always be there. But for two people, the air fryer is perfect! 

Last Minute Dinner Date

It’s been five years since we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill. Right after that the pandemic came and the opportunity to meet neighbors was very limited. Then last year we finally met our next door neighbors who moved in almost two years ago. During the summer months we would see each other on our balconies. Over time we saw them at condo events like outdoor barbecues and Christmas parties. Now we have had an opportunity to visit with them at their house and they at ours. We are happy to keep an eye on Mister when Mrs goes away for the weekend or on a trip. We haven’t been in contact since Christmas for a variety of reasons and Mrs recently went on a ten day trip and returned last week. I texted her to see how she was doing and she replied by asking if we would like to join them for dinner at a local restaurant. But we had just ordered pick up from Moby Dick - our go to Persian place - for later in the day. So I asked her if they could stop in here instead, since we would already have dinner prepared. She said yes and would bring the wine and a treat. So we ordered a couple more items to cover dinner for four. When we brought the dinner home we simply set up all of the containers on the island and texted them when we were ready. It was such a nice evening to spend time with people again. It’s not easy making friends in a new place. This is a great start.