spinnerdell Member

I hope your vehicle and health issues get sort out soon, Ann. That hoya is a stunner!

Yes, I feel your pain. My spouse has had dementia for four years, and for me it's a rough go dealing with family members who get upset or offended when he doesn't remember or understand what they've just told him.

I'm so intrigued by the DiGiorno Thanksgiving pizza. A pizza topped with all the Thanksgiving dinner highlights sounds delicious and so easy. My son-in-law pointed out that I could make such a pizza with the leftovers from our traditional Thanksgiving dinner- nooooooo! Where's the "easy" in that?

Such nice, lush plants! I'm always shocked by the quantity of basil required for a batch of pesto- what looks like enough to feed the whole village magically shrinks to a tiny amount after grinding.

My mimosa has looked like a lost cause several times over its 14 year tenure in my yard, but it has come back better than ever after a hard pruning. I live in southern Nevada, a much hotter and drier climate than yours, so there may be hope yet for your tree.

Over 50 years ago, I adopted a beautiful baby girl of European, Native Hawaiian, and SE African ancestry. My case worker at the adoption agency paired us because of the Hawaiian connection, my birthplace. A recent DNA test showed my daughter has no Native Hawaiian ancestry. I'm grateful for everything that facilitated the…

I cook the beans first for chili so that I can control how much liquid is in the final product. I'm usually all for dumping everything together, but some dishes come out better with a little fiddling. The half-cooked idea sounds worth trying.

I soak larger beans (pintos and such) overnight, drain them and put them in the Instant Pot with 5 to 6 cups fresh water, a bay leaf or two, and a handful of herbs from my garden, bring to pressure on high, cook for 20 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Split peas cook to silky smoothness in 15 minutes with…

I've had mixed success getting dry beans as soft as I like them by soaking and boiling them, and I think our hard water may be partially to blame. The Instant Pot I was gifted for Christmas does a great job cooking them evenly. I agree that fresh, high quality beans will give the best results, but my bottom-of-the-line…

The isolation and stress brought about by the COVID crisis might not have directly impacted our health, but the situation certainly didn't help the general decline my husband and I (both in our mid-70's) have been experiencing. My husband had a devastating heart attack in 2021 that left him with physical and cognitive…

Those beets are such a gorgeous color! Little gems of deliciousness.

I dearly love a lively discussion and was sad when such give-and-take was corralled into one area. Yes, it's probably easier to monitor flouting of guidelines this way, but I've learned a lot wandering in the weeds.

Such an inspiring, health-giving feast!

Yay! More sickly sweet sweet potatoes for me! While I like them best chopped up, tossed with olive oil and savory seasonings, then baked until crispy, I have fond memories of syrupy sweet potato casseroles topped wall-to-wall with marshmallows.

I confess to envy over all the awesome Hawaiian adventures. I was born there when it was still a territory, but only made it back once in my adult life. Kudos for maintaining a healthy vacation.

So much to love about that picture!

I feel your pain about readjusting your goals due to height shrinkage. I was 5'4" most of my adult life, and that's how I calculated my optimal weight. It was oddly disturbing to find I'd shrunk 2" by my late 60's, and now, at 75, I'm 5'1.5". Just a few extra pounds makes a noticeable difference at this height, both in how…

Acpgee, this isn't the first time you've lured me down a google rabbit hole to a wonderful new (to me) recipe. Thank you!

I'm an avid garden grazer, too. Mostly I pretend my gardening activity cancels out the munching, but with fruit I take a wild guess and log that.

I enjoy eating okra roasted, fried, steamed, and raw straight off the plant, but the bonus is its majestic presence in the garden, especially the older, really tall varieties (Cow Horn, Long Pod). The hibiscus-like flowers have an amazing ornamental wow factor. The okra also seems less bothered by the rabbits, ground…

Count me in on the curbside shopping trend. I'm old, slow, and indecisive, so my would-be fellow shoppers are better off without me.

The Great British Bake Off is one of my favorites, and I agree that the whole show should probably be avoided by those who would find "worth the calories" triggering. As a small, elderly woman, I weigh the merits of all my food to maintain a healthy weight while getting maximum enjoyment. Prue Leith fills Mary Berry's…

Multiple hugs to you, Jenilla. I admire your compassion. Anger still dominates my own views of my family's covid vaccine responses.

My mom used to saute shad roe in butter and serve it with a squeeze of lemon. A favorite food memory!

I like to eat chocolate chip cookies at each stage from hot lava to room temperature, just for scientific comparison.

Raw oysters=yum!

Funny thing about climate zones- my southern Nevada zone 8b is a much different growing environment from mtaratoot's western Oregon zone 8b. Okra grows beautifully here, artichokes not so much.

Instant mashed potatoes are a great shortcut for potato bread, and the finished product actually has a better texture than dough made with scratch-mashed potatoes, in my opinion.

Julienned jicama, maybe?

Yes, I'm embarrassed about my focus on food, but all roads seem to lead to food for me. I've tried to get into a food-as-fuel mindset without success. Other than the ten pounds I've packed on in this past year, I've been able to maintain my weight loss in spite of the fascination with food- just gotta keep track of those…