Sylvia's Scenario

We've made this recipe quite a few times since fall and it keeps getting better each time I make it.  It is originally from  Hannah Freese, RD  except I've added a few changes like the addition of mushrooms which makes it a little more substantial and adds more liquid for the sauce as the mushrooms cook down.  I only have two other pork chop recipes on my blog and I'm not sure which one I like best.  They are all different so it just depends on what you feel like.  This one is a nice rich and creamy recipe with a Thai flare from the coconut milk, ginger and cilantro.  You can even spice it up more than that by adding a bit of pepper flakes, fish sauce or soy sauce.  Another pork chop recipe is the Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce  that I made in October that adds some heat to the chops with a creamy sauce that adds some bite.  The one I made a lot in Idaho was my  Plum Good Pork Chops  because we always had so many plums around. ...

You can probably guess we are back on the healthy eating wagon after a busy holiday of indulgence.  Despite not really entertaining that much, I still did all my usual Christmas decorating and baking this year.  In fact, I had time to do more!  We quarantined for 10 days before Christmas Eve so we could get together with my sister and her husband who did the same.  It's really nice to have a "normal" evening once in awhile like we did for  Thanksgiving .  I try to make it special with decorations and lovely table settings since we don't get to do this type of thing very often anymore.  And with all my extra time, why not?   The next day on Christmas is when our kids and grandkids came over for our first Christmas with Nick's family since they moved back from Japan after 7 years.  We had a quick turn-around time to put the board extensions in the table so we could all spread out and re-set the place settings.         ...

We wish everyone a very joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2021, from our family to yours.  I don't think there is anybody who isn't looking forward to saying goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021.  We even thought about skipping doing a Christmas card this year after so many depressing things happening in 2020 but to be perfectly honest, our lives changed for the better this year.  We became Grandma and Grandpa in July when Nick and Sachiyo moved back to the U.S. from Japan after seven years.  Suddenly, we have two precious grandchildren in our lives and they have brought us so much joy.  They never cease to amaze us and every visit with them is a day full of wonderment.   Bruce and I have turned into the typical Grandma and Grandpa that you always hear about.  I completely understand it now.  We have had so much fun with them since July.  Pandemic?  What pandemic?  No, not really.  We've had to follow precautions just like...

Are you looking for a red soup to serve for the holidays?  If you like to color-coordinate your holiday menu, I have the soup for you!  We had this one last night and it was so good.  We are in the midst of another self-quarantine so I have lots of time to try new recipes.  We will do the same thing we did for Thanksgiving .  We're having my sister and her husband over for Christmas Eve and then the kids/grandkids will come over on Christmas.  In the meantime, the presents continue to pile up under the tree. This soup recipe is from  Hannah Freese, RD .  I'm now done with her 12-week program so will continue in the alumni group who meet once/month via zoom to keep on track.  I lost 8 pounds and hope to keep going.  Most people in the group lose 1-2 pounds/per week so my weight loss was pretty minimal but I'm thrilled with losing weight instead of gaining weight which is usually the case during this time of year.  Aside from losing w...

Last night, we had a dessert after dinner that everyone loved and I even had a few requests for seconds so I decided this was a keeper.  I wanted a Christmas-type dessert that wasn't too filling or sweet but would really hit the spot for this festive time of year.  So, gingerbread it was.  But I wanted a light and mild gingerbread that wasn't too heavy and this little snacking cake from  Martha Stewart  was perfect.  We had the kids and grandkids over which was our last get-together before Christmas because Bruce and I are doing another self-quarantine for Christmas.  We'll have my sister and her husband over for Christmas Eve dinner and then on Christmas, we'll have the kids and grandkids over like we did for Thanksgiving .  That worked out really well, so we plan to do it again.  While they were here yesterday, we made Christmas cookies; one of my favorite Christmas traditions.                   ...