I’ve really enjoyed cooking with YaYu these past few weeks. She and I make a good team: I create the mise en place (i.e. do all the chopping and other prep) and then she comes in and magically puts it all together and seasons everything perfectly. All three of our daughters have become good cooks, but YaYu is the one who enjoys it the most.
With YaYu leaving at the end of the week, Brett and my new motto going forward is “use it up.” We will still shop and continue to follow a vegetarian diet, but our main goal will be to finish up the many things we have on hand in the pantry and refrigerator, like condiments or baking supplies. There’s not a lot and it’s going to take some creativity, but hopefully we will be able to use everything and not have to replace anything. I doubt we’ll be buying much at Costco before we leave other than travel supplies, produce, and a couple of other things we use regularly, but I’m still hoping we can keep to a healthy well-balanced diet while not blowing up our food budget.
Meals last week were fairly simple. The spicy Singapore noodles YaYu made were amazing, and because she and I did it together it didn’t require as much effort as it would have for either one of us on our own. The cheeseburgers and grilled ahi tacos were also exceptionally good.
Sunday: Pasta with marinara & plant-based meatballs; roasted squash
Monday: Vegetarian cheeseburgers; 3-bean salad
Tuesday: Vegan corn dogs; onion rings’ 3-bean salad
Wednesday: Spicy Singapore noodles with shrimp
Thursday: Grilled ahi tacos with fresh mango salsa
Friday: Be’f pot pies; garlic roasted cabbage
Saturday: Vegetarian meatball mini pizzas
Our dessert almost all week was the remainder of the pecan pie we started the week before. It was very delicious, but also very sweet and sticky and it will be a l-o-n-g time before we need to have one of those again. We made s’mores outside one evening, and enjoyed a Pepperidge Farm coconut cake the rest of the week (the orange cake will get made this week).
Next week’s dinners will continue to be easy to put together, with YaYu making her yummy fried rice for us one more time. Brett and I will have the spring rolls and mini pizzas after she departs. We’re going to miss our girl and all her spicy concoctions (she adds lots of red pepper flakes, sriracha, or chili crisp to every on her plate, sometimes in combination. We don’t know how she does it, but she loves the heat.
- Fried rice with imitation crab & vegetables
- Chick’n patty sandwiches
- Vegetable spring rolls with rice
- Mini pizzas
- Cheesy white bean & tomato bake
- Macaroni & cheese
- Vegetable barley soup & toasted cheese sandwiches
Breaks in the weather at the beginning of the week allowed us to walk up at the park last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. By the time we finished walking on Tuesday though I knew something was seriously wrong with my right foot and took the rest of the week off to let it rest. We went to the beach on Wednesday, and on Thursday Brett and YaYu took a hike in Waimea Canyon while I stayed home and got things accomplished. On Friday we went back to the beach at Barking Sands, but all of us took a long walk on the sand versus using the Waiokapua Trail as usual. The sand was much easier on my foot, and sand walking burns at least half again the calories of walking on a hard surface. On Saturday Brett and YaYu went for another hike, this time on the Maha’ulepu Trail while I again stayed home and continued to rest my foot. It still hurts a bit, but nothing like it did last Tuesday.
Kukuiolono was beautiful on Tuesday after all the storms. Lots of interesting and pretty mushrooms had appeared in all the damp ground around the park.
Ever since Brett and I stopped hunting for golf balls and walking the perimeter of the golf course we have been quite literally pounding the pavement doing two pavilion loops and then up the road to the clubhouse and back down. Constant soreness in my hips returned, and I apparently also developed a Morton’s neuroma in my right foot. Toward the end of our walk last Tuesday the pain was excruciating, shooting through my foot and up my ankle as we walked down the road from the clubhouse to the car – I wasn’t sure if I could finish the walk or not. I want to continue walking though so we have decided to return to perimeter walks in the park later in the day as the soft terrain is easier on my foot. We will also walk at a slower pace as the brisker walks on the (very uneven) pavement were also part of the problem, even for all the calories burned. Hopefully my foot will improve as I’m not sure what can be done otherwise in the time we have left here other than possibly a cortisone injection.
The Occasional Nomads 
I learn something new today. Thank you for mentioning about Morton’s neuroma. I went to the description link and lo and behold that was what I had for a few months last year. I couldn’t figure out what that pebble feeling was. Fortunately the pain went away on its own. Now I’ll know what it is if it will ever return. Hopefully yours will go away soon too.
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I had to do some searching to figure out what was going on, but when I found Morton’s neuroma, it described exactly what I was experiencing. I can still walk, but will stick to soft surfaces whenever possible, and overseas will shorten our walking distances (more walks but shorter distances). This is not what I needed now, but at least I know what I’m dealing with. I’m hoping it eventually fades away, but for now it’s always with me.
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Ouch. My DH has a Morton’s neuroma. He had one shot in that foot, and he isn’t keen for another. He says sleeping with a toe space (like those used for a pedicure) helps the foot feel better. And he has a forefoot cushion that the podiatrist gave him to support the front of that foot. Hope you get some relief…they are painful!
I have come to enjoy chopping vegetables and other prep work since I started listening to podcasts while I do it. The only tough bit is using my food covered fingers to pause, advance or stop the recording. But it’s made me much more willing to work in the kitchen. 😝
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I’m not eager to get a shot either for my foot or my hips – I’d rather mitigate the pain with other choices. I already use toe spacers on that foot – following my bunion surgery, the toes on my right foot never returned to a straight position, and without the spacers I cannot get my foot in a couple of pairs of shoes (well, I can but they rub uncomfortably). I am looking into forefront cushions. Painful does not describe how my foot felt last week!
I’m a better prep cook these days than a cook, I think. Great idea about listening to podcasts!!
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Oh dear. Your hip soreness brought back memories for me. I thought walking would help me but it made it worse. I quit my walk down to the overlook and got in the pool. The pool was a lifesaver and got me into good shape. Surgery ended up being easier than normal and I bounced back fast, even faster with my right hip! Aspirins kept me going, they work as remarkable anti-inflammatories for me. Hope all will be resolved for you soon. Oh, my dryer still doesn’t work, since Oct. and two parts are backordered. Luckily, a friend loaned me their drying rack. Hope it’s fixed by May.
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Joy – we are greatly looking forward to our time up on the north shore before we go, and getting together with you and Les. We will set the world straight again! We have a drying rack we don’t use much – if your dryer is still out of commission by then we may bring it along!
My hip soreness is bursitis and thankfully it’s not bad but it was getting noticeable. My right foot is a different story though – I had no problems until we stopped walking around the golf course and got back to walking on the (uneven) payment. My shoes are nearly a year old and don’t have much cushioning left; they need to be replaced, but I don’t want to buy a new pair before we leave! So, it’s back to the golf course starting today and fingers crossed I can get everything back to normal (along with some help from Aleve!) or as close as possible.
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I sure hope it all feels better soon!!! I just had bone on bone in my hip joints. No choice for me.
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