Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Blanch THIS

I'll tell ya what, this illness has been such a learning experience for me. Up until a week ago, the only reference to Blanch I knew was a saucy character on a favorite tv show. I now not only know it's cooking definition, but have successfully used it (and only slightly burned myself in the process).

I went to a friend's sushi birthday party on Friday. I don't even really like sushi, but I wanted to come up with something comparable. I saw a recipe for veggie spring rolls where they used cabbage and stole that idea.

I blanched some cabbage (boil in water for 2 minutes then immediately throw into pot of iced water). This makes is somewhat pliable so you can roll them and tacky so they stick to themselves.



Throw in some quinoa and sliced vegetables.



Roll those suckers up and there ya go!



My friend tried one and commented on how bland it was...my response: "welcome to my life."

In other news: I made 3 dozen cupcakes for a double-bachelorette party and I did not die. Who would've thought such things possible? Not I.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Help, I'm Alive

I've been feeing more like an actual human being lately and able to actually function in society. I'm still running at about 60%, when I'm used to running at 115%, but I know slowing down is actually really good for me and I wouldn't have done it unless forced to do so. So, thank you Aspergillis, for forcing me to cool my jets and stop running at the speed of sound. I mean that with 73% sincerity and only 17% facetiously. I'm supposed to be two days into a three week trip to The East Coast right now, but I'm not going to be bitter about that (ok, maybe a little). I'm also not going to be bitter about the fact that it's prime hiking weather and I'm not in hike-able condition (actually, that's a downright lie, but I'm trying).

Here's what I was eating one year ago, on a camping trip to Oregon and Redwood National Park (I'm also pretending I'm not bitter about not being able to camp this year. NEXT year, it's on!):



And what I'm eating this year:



That last one is about 3 days worth of food for me. Which pretty literally equates to about 20 lbs of veggies.

In other news: my friend did Reiki on me and it has significantly helped with my pain management. Unfortunately it only lasts 1-3 weeks and she lives in LA. I'm currently seeking someone else that can do more on me.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Stevia fail

I just learned the hard way that you can't bake with Stevia.

Never in my life have I had such a violent reaction to something being in my mouth. I tried substituting Stevia for sugar in a recipe and please take me on my word: IT. WAS. VILE. Bitter and metallic and sour are the tastes that erupted in my mouth when I took a bite of the desert I'd made. I immediately spat it right back into the dish, something I've never done before...I've been known to be a pretty finicky eater, and used to reject most every new thing I tried, but I'd usually finish the first bite and refuse more. So you can imagine just how horrible this really tasted.

Back to the drawing board!