Dave's coming home!

I actually like cooking . . . now my DH has incentive to eat some of the things I make (and not just eat meat and potatoes)

Michaela, I had no idea! So glad he is feeling better. Best wishes.
Dave

So happy for you both!!

Yeah! It's great that he is home - It's even better that we are staying home and not going to New York.

I wonder what a cardiac diet Thanksgiving dinner will be like . . . better start looking for recipes!

Thank you everyone for your support :-) I am lucky in my friends and family :-)

Seandor, so glad that you will be having Thanksgiving at home with your Dave. RE: heart-healthy Thanksgiving recipes--try the following website.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/healthydiet

Wow! what a super site! I bookmarked it right away, thanks, CapeCodGardener :-)

Another good one is:
http://eatingwell.com

I get a lot of low-sodium, and low-fat recipes from there. It takes some looking, but you can find some great meal ideas!!

You are right Candyce . . . I just saw a great recipe for maple-pumpkin custards with crytalized ginger!

THAT sounds yummy!!!

yes . . . and I am stuck at the college waiting for my last class to start - and it won't end until 5 pm. Then 5 days off to cook, clean, and mark, mark, mark. And spend quality time with My Dave.

Are there any good movies playing now - not slasher movies, or movies about teenage male hormones raging - you know, a quality, memorable movie?

Most of my quality memories involved my teenage male hormones.

Well,we went to see American Gangster and we left about 15 minutes in-too much graphic drug use for our taste. Then we saw the movie with Dustin Hoffman-Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and it just missed the mark. Even the kids in the theater didn't seem impressed. Too bad the commercials made it look like it was going to be 'magical'. Sorry don't know any good ones but hopefully this will help you make a decision! I'm excited about the Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts movie that opens on Christmas day-can't remember the name though!

Oh Michaela, how scary, I didn't know either! I'm so glad he'll be home and you'll be together! You could just rent "Brassed Off", which I think we are going to do. DH got approved some sort of independent study on brass bands in England, AND we got the financial aid package back (finally) so this semester actually exists now. But Michaela, at least you (and he) found out NOW and not after something truly horrible happening. xxxx, C

You're better off renting something you know will be good.

Plus you get to be cozy and warm. xx, Carrie

the Tom Hanks movie is Charlie Wilson's War - the story is something about rich people who funded the war in Afghanistan in the 80s.

So glad to hear DH is on the mend.There are some yummy cardiac recipes out there these days,Lemon Mustard Chicken is Excellent. You make this sauce with melted margarine and add Tarragon to it,Dijon mustard and lemon juice and drizzle it over the chicken,bake it for 45 minutes and it is delicious,very low fat grams:))

Posy do you think you could substitute olive oil for the margarine?

Sure can saan! I keep toying with this recipe all the time and it is delicious and heart happy no matter what you do to it. I add onions too sometimes. I use "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"(light).

When my DH had this same thing happen to him, I found this cook book "Eater's Choice" by Dr. Ron Goor & Nancy Goor and it has wonderful recipes. Yummy Chicken nuggets,Pineapple Chicken, and my DH hated chicken, but he loves these easy home cooked meals.Plus it gives all the total calories and sat-fats for every recipe as well as other "happy heart" advice.

Hope you like the recipe, LU

Now, there's another book to add to my collection!

I love tarragon! I am definitely going to try the recipe - probably with olive oil.

I think a night out would be nice - but renting movies might be the only option if what is available is "iffy"

Thanks for your kind thoughts, Carrie . . . I am glad he is home (kinda grouchy though - doesn't like to feel vulnerable) Anyway, we are off to the local museum - and maybe to the archives to check out Our Old House.

I use olive oil instead of butter when roasting chicken-the skin comes out sooo good(I know you shouldn't eat the skin, but at least it's abit healthier!) Not sure if I should use it on the turkey tomorrow though; I don't want it to brown up too fast.

I'll be adding that book to my collection too! Love collecting cookbooks!

Michaela, If you love tarragon, my father used to grow it and send it around it little pouches as Christmas gifts which made me learn NOT to like tarragon! Now that he didn't eat ANY animal fat for ten years and still had a totally debilitating stroke last year I beginning to feel more sympathetically toward him and thus toward tarragon! So consider growing it! I don't even know - is it an annual or perennial? xxxxx, Carrie

Michaela - I don't know how I missed the news about your DH's heart attacks! OMG! How frightening that must have been for you and for him! I'm so happy to hear that he is home and on the mend. Cranky is the best evidence of that, I guess. Best of luck with your new food plans and exercise. I'm so glad that Dave was home with you for Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for!! Blessings to you both!

Carrie - Tarragon comes back every year for me.

it REALLY came back for me - i grew a tarragon shrub.

Tarragon seems to do great for a good number of years then up and dies on me. It was very happy this year too. It has out grown its spot and will need to be moved in the spring unless I keep it trimmed. And I forgot to make tarragon vinegar this fall. Amethystsm, did you get any of those Maureen tulips on sale? I ordered 20. Now we actually have some cold temperatures but I am hoping it is a little warmer by next weekend so I can finish planting them all. Patti

i ended up ordering 20 from bulbsdirect - the $10 shipping on top of a $10 or $15 order was too much for me. thanks for the info though, it was very thoughtful of you!
: )

amy
*

Thanks, DonnieBrook. He's a lot calmer now - maybe it's the decaffinated coffee - or all the pills lol.

Regarding buying bulbs . . . next year I will probably use a grant to buy bulbs for the terrace - but I am going to wait until the sales . . . my gosh - I can buy twice as much for the same amount of money - just have to round up some willing folks to plant them.

I understand that plants and bulbs could be a lot more expensive in the future, given the rise in energy costs.

Remember, Michaela ~ you have a couple of willing folk up here in NH to help.

Hey - we could make a party out of it - invite a bunch of DGs for a sleep-over, rent movies, eat pizza, and plant stuff. It could be a fun weekend!

ummmm . . . this really has possibilities 'cause Our Old House is big!

I wonder if we could do this in late spring when we start planting the terrace - well, that might be tricky, 'cause everyone will be planting their gardens as well.

Maybe the 2nd weekend in May?

Sounds like a great plan to me.

I haven't tried this, but I will. My herb book (The Pleasure of Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys) says the following:

"French Tarragon;
Sun;part-sun.Propagate established F. Tarragon plants by root divisions in the spring. Survives best with good drainage. It is difficult to grow in warm climates because it needs a cold spell for dormancy between seasons."

You mean we can grow tarragon here? Wow!

Seandor, Here is a tarragon plant in my garden that I have had for quite a few years. It is the taller one just beyond the hydrangea in the lower left. I cut it back each fall, but it usually comes back. I love fresh tarragon. Patti

Michaela, are you talking about planting tulips/bulbs in the spring? I wanted to do that, but you can't buy them then! x, Carrie

maybe it works if you chill them?

No, Carrie, I am already planning for fall 2008! This spring I have to build the gardens, then treat the soil, then plant the baby perennials and the annuals I will have winter sown, etc., plus relocate all the daylilies and irises dg members have given me - then I will know where we can plant bulbs. :-)

Luckily, my summer courses are on-line, so I can do those from my air-conditioned bedroom. That will give me from dawn to about 10 am each day to work in gardens. :-)

Patti - that is such a lovely garden!

DonnieBrook, Thank you, but today it sure is a different story. It is just cool, windy and rainy and generally a great day to sit by the wood stove and start looking at seed catalogs. I'll bet you are out birding or taking a nice walk about under the palms.

Seandor, So I think having a planting party in Springfield could be fun. I could sneak off for a bad cardio-dog at that old place in W.Springfield with all those onions piled on it. Then I could hit Sixteen Acres garden center, which I like a lot, as well as a stop at Baystate Perennials in Whately on the way back to Vt which I love. I always have areas in my gardens that need thinning so I would be happy to get a wish list from you for your new garden. I always seem to have too many of some seedlings that I grow and too few of others that I start. And always the least of the ones I really want. But I would be happy to share if I could bring them to you. I don't do well at shipping. Too many years of having to deal with too many packages for my customers at the bookstores. Patti.