D is for Diner!

Angelo's Diner in Glassboro, NJ

Diners are among the most popular eating destinations in New Jersey (as well as around Philadelphia). From breakfast to dinner to homemade desserts and handmade shakes, diners offer a variety of choices unmatched by any specialty restaurant. They even offer night owls sustenance during cram sessions, after late nights out on the town, when the shift is done or after the bar closes. Diners are a commercialized "Mom's kitchen".

The 24-hr Club Diner in Bellmawr, NJ

Admittedly, there aren't quite as many round the clock diners as there used to be, but nostalgia is causing new ones to pop up where they weren't before. And, they are being styled in a glitzier version of the original. Shiny steel exteriors and neon lights harken back to their origins, but many have added bars and dance floors to steer the former bar crowds their way.

Phily Diner in Runnemede, NJ

Those of us who grew up with diners have learned over time which foods are best not ordered in a diner. Hoagies are popular in our area of New Jersey because of our proximity to Philadelphia, but diners just can't pull them off the way a hoagie shop can. However, because of increasing Greek ownership, the quality and variety of dinner options is amazing. And, breakfast all day long can't be beat! As my daughter says, it's hard to ruin bacon and eggs.

My favorite local diner

An example of portions. Eggplant Parm.

The Black Horse Diner, Mt. Ephraim, NJ

New Phone, Nice Lunch and Prescription ReNewals

Had a doctor's appointment this morning. My first in almost three years. I was long past due. My prescriptions had run out and she needed to see me before renewing them. I have Type 2 Diabetes and haven't been as good to myself as I should have been, although I'm much better than I used to be. Lifelong bad habits don't change overnight. They did a blood sugar while I was there and it was 267. Of course, I had an overfilled cream donut for breakfast, so that didn't help. (What can I say - I was hungry when I drove by the bakery. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.) I was happy to see her, though. I really do need to go more often. I just kept putting it off because I don't have insurance and I didn't want to do the paperwork I needed to go for free. But, this time I did and I'm glad. I need to start caring for myself better than I have. 


I can't do a blood sugar test on myself because I haven't found my meter since moving, so the doctor is going to give me one once I find out the cheapest test strips offered by Walmart. She'll match the meter to the strips. They're 

Different kinds of glucose meters

very pricey, I have to say. I got most of what I had used previously either through eBay or through Freecycle. Since the charity program run by the hospital doesn't include testing strips or prescriptions, I'll have to pay for them myself. Still, the overall cost will be less than out of pocket, for which I am grateful. I get my prescriptions at a local grocery pharmacy that offers FREE diabetes meds and antibiotics and virtually matches Walmart's $4/$10 program. So, a quarter of my prescriptions will be free. I really can't complain.

Yeah, I got the blue.

My daughter called me as I was leaving the doctor's office (the desk clerk loved the song I had on as a ringtone - I'm Here For The Party) to tell me that the phone I could get for my line upgrade was now on special. I should stop at the Sprint store or Radio Shack and get one while they were waiving the $10 monthly premium data add-on to encourage customers to take advantage of the eco-friendly phones Sprint was offering. The Sprint Replenish, an Android model, is made of 34.6% post-consumer recycled plastics with fully-recyclable packaging. The keyboard is larger than the one on my old phone, so there will be fewer keying errors because of my fat fingers (I hope). I have to get used to it, though. It constantly locks the screen and I have to swipe the icon to the side to unlock it. I need to see if I can disable that. So far, what little I've used it, I like it.

As for the food part of today's message, we were supposed to go for breakfast before going to the doctor. We didn't. He didn't get up until just before I needed to leave for the doctor. So, we went to lunch instead. Considering I had eaten the worst possible food for breakfast and had elevated blood sugar, I decided I would be good to myself at lunch. We went to Don Pablo's where I got their $5.99 Speedy Lunch special. I had a choice of enchiladas, tacos and tamales. I chose two different enchiladas (with corn tortillas) and black beans with my rice. I also had a cup of white chicken chili soup. Plus the chips and salsa and a diet Coke. All fairly low carb (the carbs were complex, whole grain carbs). 


Although we had at least one heavy downpour while we were out, it was a fairly productive day. I got the dishes washed (thank God for dishwashers that can do the work while you're away) and didn't have that waiting on me to start when I got home. I even got some genealogy in this morning before I left!  I'm satisfied with my day.

Light Lunch (Pancakes)

I got up late today and because I've eaten eggs every day this past week, I wasn't in the mood for another meal of eggs. The pantry is running low (a shopping trip is definitely in order) and I didn't want to thaw a complete package of meat just for me to eat something, so I decided that I would have pancakes. And, not just pancakes, but pancakes with dried cranberries in them. I had discovered a package of dried cranberries in the pantry a week or so ago (one of my daughter's hoped for concoctions for a meal she'd planned, I'm sure) and decided that would be the perfect solution to my meal dilemma.

I got out the 'complete' pancake mix, put it in the shaker container, added water and shook, added a touch of oil to the non-stick pan (pancakes on a dry non-stick pan just don't work for me), got the cranberries out and turned on the fire under the pan. When the pan was hot, I poured in the first amount of batter, grabbed a few cranberries and sprinkled them liberally over the already bubbling pancake in the pan. Then I flipped it, cooked side two and placed it on my paper plate. I did this two more times. Meanwhile, I was placing dots of butter on the hot pancakes already cooked so it would soften and meld into the cake before I poured the little syrup I use on the top cake only.

Once all the pancakes were plated, buttered and syruped, I took my plate to the table and sat down to enjoy the best pancakes I've had in a while. I'd made some applesauce pancakes last week, but wasn't impressed with the results. But, these were perfect. The cranberries contrasted with the other flavors perfectly. I even have batter leftover to do it again in the morning.

Which reminds me - I need to add pancake syrup to the shopping list. I'd better go do that.

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In America signs of an improving economy are evident! As with any traumatic injury, economic turnaround and recovery do not happen overnight.


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Suggested Fun Reading:


No Use Dying over Spilled Milk: A Pennsylvania-Dutch Mystery with Recipes


Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Crime: A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery with Recipes


Eat, Drink and Be Wary (Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery)