Waves,

Thank you for explaining the klonopin scripting.
I was not exactly sure what my issue is.
Yes --- I want flexibility
and
I do not want an extra bottle to deal with --- good thing that it is only one month's worth.

Mari

Hi,

I invited a work friend over for dinner Friday :eek: :D :D

Hubby and I and the cleaning lady worked last weekend to make this place presentable.
Tonight, I wiped down the kitchen again, bought some new wooden spoons for hubby because his old ones were heading toward the yucky side, and tried to put away stuff.

The kitchen and bathrooms look pretty good.
The living room is close.
I spent two hours in my computer room and am now ready to take a break until tomorrow. (But tomorrow / Thursday and Friday are full of errands and other activities so not much organizing and cleaning is going to happen after tonight.)
I might tell hubby to vacuum tomorrow / Thursday. Then I will call the place done.

Right now, I am going to eat some broccoli I microwaved a few hours ago and watch very old reruns of Friends so I can start relaxing and go to bed.

Mari

Dear Mari,

Wow, you have been really productive!

I recall your saying you wanted to get the house cleared up enough to have guests over. Sounds like you've made it, since you are having a dinner guest. :yahoo: :) I am happy for you, and congratulations on meeting this goal! :)

I hope you will want to share your menu with us. I bet hubby will cook up something scrumptious. :D

waves

great job mari!
I know how much better you must feel having some control over your environment...instead of it controlling you.
Have fun with your friend.
bizi

Yeah, but not really about control.
I hope for stress free days.

I was awakened this morning by thunderstorms. . . . do not think I will have a chance to get back to sleep before our guest comes tonight because I have an appt in the early afternoon.

The living room, bathrooms, and kitchen look good although I still have to set the table.

My computer room looks like a "work room" . . . or rather a big mess because I moved living room stuff into here.

M

My friend told me to let hubby cook whatever he wants (my friend is flexible and wants hubby to be comfortable) but I told hubby to cook his lima bean and rice dish with chicken.

Hubby makes this dish using mostly the same steps as here. He uses potatoes on the bottom to make a crispy crust.
http://theshiksa.com/2012/01/26/pers...ima-bean-rice/

He just come in the door from the store --- various pickles, vegetables, sweets, rotisserie chicken, and some new clear glass tea cups.

I do not like the table cloth I started ironing -- will pull out a different one when I get home.

Mari

Dinner plans!
 

This looks wonderful! I just finished reading the entire recipe with keen interest. My father does not like basmati but he loves fava/lima beans. I am debating whether I could attempt this sometime... It is elaborate enough that he might just go for it. He enjoys things that have a crispyness to them, too. I think my mother will like it (she loves basmati and dill). I have some concern about the amount of oil that goes into this. Maybe later you could ask hubby if he thinks I could get away with using less oil, or if it would not turn out.

Your hubby's variation of using potatoes for the tahdig sounds very appealing - if I do attempt this, I think I might try that too.

That's great! :) It sounds like your hubby really geared up for this dinner. :)

Wow... you are really gearing up too! :)

I hope you all enjoy a splendid dinner and a fun evening! (I look forward to hearing how it all turned out, if you wish to share.)

:hug::hug:
waves

dinner went well
 

Hi,

My friend got here at 6:00 and he left at 12:30 --- the three of us talked and talked. We had much to say and and will do it gain.
He texted me nice things after he got home about how lovely the evening was.

That recipe probably includes a typo. Hubby (who apparently does not measure exactly said that for two to three cups of rice he used two tablespoons of oil. Sometimes he adds butter to his rice dishes at the table. He had it out and offered in case we wanted it but no one added the butter tonight.

This recipe with three cups of rice uses three tablespoons of oil.
http://persiankitchen.wordpress.com/...th-fava-beans/

Hubby used frozen fava beans that had been de-skinned and cut in half. They were tender.

He also had
~ rotisserie chicken -- prepared plain at the store except for salt and pepper
~ tomato and lettuce salad that was served with cut up lemons and olive oil on the side.
~ pickled baby eggplants
~ Kookoo Sabzi --- (Herb Fritatta)
http://familyspice.com/recipes/recipe/?recipe_id=140 He cooks this first and serves it room temperature. He has learned to use much less oil than he used to. He used about four tablespoons of oil for a recipe with 6 eggs. (He does not use the nuts and cranberries that this recipe mentions although I might teach him to try using baking powder next time.)
~ cantaloupe
~ Pistachio Nougat that he purchased. This candy has rose water and is not my favorite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaz_(candy)
~ Saffron Brittle Toffe http://www.foodwonkblog.com/2010/09/...ffron-brittle/ The rose water is less noticeable. This has more flavor than the nougat.

Hubby timed the tea drinking with the desert --- I was really impressed.
He served Jasmine tea with the nougat first
Then he served a strong Twinings Tea with the Brittle.
He used tiny tea cups.
====
I threw clothes and sundries into closets and drawers and small bins ten minutes before six in order to have the computer room presentable before company arrived. I will probably need the whole weekend to make sense of everything.
I can report that my meds are not part of that fiasco and are safe and orderly in a bin with a handle kind of like this: http://www.target.com/p/interdesign-...lot=large_1_19
I can keep it out on the kitchen table most of the time and move it back to a shelf in the bed room when people come over.
+++++
During the meal my friend mentioned he has diabetes! What!
He said that he has told me that before.
It is possible that he mentioned it but not probable.
I would have coached hubby to skip the rice entirely or at least use it in a smaller proportion in the fava bean dish.
And instead of candy (TWO KINDS!!?) we would have had the strawberries and blue berries that happened to be in the fridge but were not part of hubby's plan.


Mari

sounds like an awesome night!
 

I am happy that you had such a nice time! :):)
Ahh, ok... what a relief! :)
Oh my, what a banquet! The pickled baby eggplants sound really enticing. The pistachio nougat sounds interesting but I too don't know how I'd feel about the rose essence in it. I like rose essence but I can't imagine the taste of it combined with pistachio. I'd have to try it to know.

Oh my, what elegance! :) I am enjoying your dinner just at the thought of all this. :)
LOL. I am familiar with this kind of urgent measure... and the fallout of having to look for everything afterwards. Good job, keeping your meds separate!

The rice is not a problem in the context of this meal. The chicken and even the fava beans would render the glycemic load of the meal entirely adequate. Just the presence of the oil with the rice significantly lowers the glycemic load.
It's ok. After a balanced meal like that, the candy was probably doable. In any case, candy is the kind of thing that can easily be declined; your guest could have chosen just to have the tea if he needed to. I do understand how you feel as I too would have chosen to serve the fruit if I had known about the diabetes, but I am sure it was fine. You both did great! :hug::hug:

waves

sounds wonderful meal mari.
glad that your hubby likes to cook.
It sounds like you enjoyed yourself?
I get very anxious to have company over.
You did good!
bizi