School starting: A blessing or a curse?

Does my post title have anything to do with What’s for dinner? No, but
Among other things, yes it does. (Shit, now I can’t use this line again, can I?) Anyway, like most everyone else’ kid, at least in Utah, school started on Monday for my son Talon (going into the 9th grade) and Brittanie (going into the 11th grade). Blessing because, a)I don’t have to worry about whether or not the house will be standing when I get home, and, b)Curse, because I have to start monitoring things like how much lunch money do I need to fork out; and is the phone call I get every day from the school regarding absences really valid (yes, I’ve gotten 2 already.. I shit you not), and a plethera of other crap that isn’t worth my time to mention, or yours, because either a)you’re there, or have been there, or b)you’re gonna be there one day and you don’t wanna hear it. Either way, it’s exhausting and if I had my way, I’d hibernate through the school year and let hubs deal. So since there’s no way around it, I’ll do as we all do, and I’ll brace myself for what I am HOPING is to be a better year than last. My husband went to Afghanistan for 6 months last December and it was quite a, well, how do I put it nicely, um, well, EXPERIENCE to be a single mother to 3 kids for that period of time. That is beside the point though.
My taste buds are still quite iffy, and my desire to cook has diminished but not escaped me completely. Last night was pathetic. Frozen fish sticks and tater tots. Not that normally I wouldn’t like that meal, because every once in a while, I dig that kinda stuff, but last night, UGH, it almost literally made me ill. So tonight we had some pasta with roasted cauliflower, red onion, and garlic. And it was a hit! I noticed the recipe had no protein, so I added some toasted pine nuts and “real” bacon bits, and yeah, even the kids dug it. (I bought a new plate for pictures.. and I decided I just might start collecting plates for the sake of “plating”..)

Oh, and the other night, I needed to do something with all of the arugula I had (have I mentioned, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ARUGULA??????) So I made a salad with It (arugula, I refer to it as It, as one may refer to Him as God), new potatoes and a rotisserie chicken. Really freaking good.. and so I decided that a picture of the preparation was prettier than the actual salad:

Unfortunately I was never able to taste that salad. Not even the next day for lunch. I have to say, this anomaly of not being able to taste my food, AND GAINING WEIGHT at the same time has me really concerned. I made an appointment with my ENT doc, but he’s booked a month out, so I can’t see him til September 24th or some shit. I guess that my love for cooking doesn’t die out with my taste buds because I still want to do it. Such is life i guess.

I’m so off, it’s not even funny

I know we all go through these periods where things just seem out of whack. For whatever reason, the fucking universe just doesn’t want to cooperate with our personal wants needs, and I really really hate that! It doesn’t sit well with me at all. A whole series of events it seems has sort of lead to a discontent I haven’t felt in a very long time. Had a great visit from my husband’s sister, whom prior to this weekend, had not spent more than a few hours with since Jas and I met over 8 years ago. It was so nice to have her here and get to know her. She’s one of those very honest people who doesn’t have any pretenses and just is who she is, and I LOVE her for that. I posted a picture or two of her on my Flickr page, check her cuteness out.
Aside from the utter bullshit at work, I have been very frequently losing my sense of taste. Not my expensive taste, but my taste buds. This is really a bitch for me because I cook for my family almost every single night of the week. You know how when you get a bad cold, you can’t smell/taste for a day or so? That’s what I’m experiencing, but it’s totally intermittent, and I KNOW first thing in the morning when I can’t taste my coffee (insert HUGE sigh) that it will be a day-long event. I had intense surgery on my sinuses last year and I can’t help but think it is related in some way. Nonetheless, it’s very frustrating to say the least. AND to make things worse, I am gaining weight like a son-of-a-bitch for reasons unknown to me other than the Paxil I’ve been on for a few months now. I can handle some vanity pounds, but now it’s getting out of control. Honestly, when I can’t taste my food, I feel like what’s the point of eating? But then I remember, OH YEAH, I’M STILL HUNGRY. It’s a strange sensation that is really messing with my mind. I have been uninspired to cook anything uber delicious, although there have been a few good meals here and there. In fact, my sis-in-law claimed the barbequed trout with an arugula salad was one of the best meals she’s ever had! (Lies to make me feel better, I’m sure):

And tonight ended up being Faco Friday, because, well I told my husband it was his turn to think of something for dinner, and as usual, he came up with tacos. Not glamorous, but they were delicious:

So if you have any ideas about the taste bud thing, let me know. My WebMD searches have told me it’s a brain tumor or schizophrenia. I can’t live with that.

Colonblow update, plus why I love summer

Well, we survived the Colonblow with no accidents, no embarassing sounds coming from our asses in public, not a single incident. Let me say, however, that our shopping day at Ikea had to be cancelled because I hate public restrooms (although, if I have to use one, Ikea’s are quite pleasant) and since that damn place is so big, I felt it to be a little too risky. So all in all, it was a success, I feel good right now except that I’m tired because I stayed out too late and Ryleigh decided that she wanted me to make her breakfast at 7:30 this morning. Oh well, that’s the beauty of having youg-ens. We went the full 24 hours without eating solid food, so last night when we got to the Rock Band party, we were absolutely starved. Starved beyond starved; to the point where I couldn’t be even a little bit social until I ate something. Anything. Had a delicious burger and lots of wine.. not the best way to end a cleanse, but what the hell.

Ok, and here is why I love summer. Besides the fact that I don’t have to wear socks, this little treat is something I only have at summer time, although I could definitely eat it year round:

Caprese salad. If you’ve never had this, you’re missing out and I suggest you get right to it! It’s absolutely mandatory to use fresh picked tomatoes, but if your garden was blown to shit by a freak storm like mine was, the next best option are Campari. I’m not kidding, these are so close to tasting like you picked em yourself, it’s crazy. Anyhow, you slice those suckers up, sprinkle some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper over them, put FRESH Mozarella cheese (this is important too, you must use fresh, not the rubbery shit they try to pass off as Mozarella) and a basil leaf on top of that. I like to pour a little extra virgin olive oil over the top, then sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar over that. Voila, it’s the most delicious snack you’ll have all summer. And the second reason why I love summer so is because I don’t have to wear socks. So do me a favor, if you’re wearing socks, at least take them off while you savor this treat. For me. Thanks.

The Cleansing

Every once in a while I feel the need to rid my body of ookieness. So last week I bought a box of Colonblow. I did this last year and felt like a million bucks afterward, and if you check out the website, there are some very graphic pictures of what you may rid your body of. Gross, I know, but the good thing is, you only have to go 24 hours without eating (which is ever so difficult for me since food is all I seem to think about). I took my first dose last night and just downed my second this morning. There is a powder made of psyllium husks and some other stuff that you pour in water and drink, then you take two capsules. You have to drink tons of water to make it work.. Here’s my dilemma though. Tonight is my brand new sister-in-laws’s sister’s wedding reception. I’m ever so worried that the effects of the Colonblow are gonna kick in either on the way there, or when we are there. Jason, my husband, is doing this with me, and we are both going to this reception, which to make things worse, is at someone’s house. AAAARGH, then after that, we are going to my brothers house for an outdoor Rock Band party, which should be a blast, but again, we don’t know what to expect in terms of what they refer to on the box as “release”. Yes, perhaps this is TMI for my fourth blog post ever, but well, that’s just how it goes.

I’m missing the Farmers Market today because the temptation to eat the delicious offerings is too great, so I opted out. Waah, and it’s such a beautiful morning; it feels a tad cooler than usual so today would have been fabulous. I will definitely go next week though, since my sister-in-law, who I haven’t seen for oh, EIGHT years, is coming out for her first visit to Utah. Yay! Should be fun, I’m so excited to see her! This weekend will consist of getting ready for her visit.. have to clean out what we refer to as the “toys room” to make way for some new stuff from Ikea (I’m really excited to do that tomorrow.. Ikea has to be my favorite place on earth) so that Cheryle will have a place to sleep.

Well, please wish us luck.. Luck that I or my husband don’t shit our pants in public…

What to do?

Ok, so I love Sunchokes, aka Jerusalem Artichokes. But so far, the only thing I have figured out to do with them is roast em with some olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Don’t get me wrong, this is delicious but I gotta figure out something else to do with these lovely little morsels. The had them on sale at my local grocery store so I bought two bags. It’s funny because whenever I buy them, the checker inevitably asks the following questions: “What the heck are these things?”, “What do they taste like?”, “Where did you find them?”, “What do you do with them?”. Any my response is, “Sunchokes”, “They taste like artichokes but have the texture of a carrot”, “Found them in YOUR produce section”, “I roast them”, respectively. It’s the same thing every time and it’s become kind of a joke. Anyway, if you’ve never had them, you ought to at least try em. I got mine at Harmons. Here’s what they look like:

So if you have any ideas what to do with these, comment me. And then come on over and have some. With a big ole glass of Pinot. Sounds good, eh?

That damn Wii

So on Monday of this week, the Wii console/Wii Fit that I bought from eBay the Sunday prior, finally arrived. Mostly I bought it because I have completely lost my motivation to exercise and I really need something fun that will get me moving. A year ago, I was waking up at 5am to do yoga, or work out on my elliptical machine, or do a variety of dvd workout videos I’ve purchased, but just in the last 6 to 8 months I’ve lost the urge to move. So the obvious has started to happen.. I’m gaining weight at an alarming rate. I realized about a week ago, that being back on Paxil is not helping the situation, but nonetheless, it’s time to get moving again. Anyway, the bottom line is, this damn Wii is TOTALLY addicting. And in a good way.. my son and husband are both into their xBox and computer games, respectively, and we pretty much have our own domains so to speak. The xBox and the gaming computer are both downstairs, so they tend to retreat to the bat cave to do their thing. BUT, since this Wii has arrived, I decided it would be a good thing to set it up upstairs (this was selfish thinking on my part, because I decided before it arrived that it was MINE), but now I realize that this is something we can all do together and have a blast doing it. So the arrival of the Wii and the birth of my blog are occurring at the same time. Gotta make time for both, and I will.

I also made a slightly boring Tuna Salad for dinner, but I used the arugula I bought from the SLC Farmers Market a couple weeks ago, and it was fabulous. God bless the woman who runs the booth who sells me that stuff. I could live off of it.  Funny thing is, last time I was there, I went to her booth (which I frequent each and every time I go there), in search of Arugula, and she was out.  But because I was the second person to ask for it, she ran home and picked a few bags of it for me. AND, she brought back the cutest baby brown chicken you’ve ever seen. One that she FOUND. Strange, I know.. she lives in North Salt Lake, and by god, she FOUND a chicken and is keeping it as a pet. In fact, she purchased another, and a pen and a run and all the stuff chickens need and I can only hope that she’ll sell the eggs those two little chicken bastards create.

Finally

Ok, I’ve done it. After months of deliberating which blog site to use, what to blog about, etc., etc., I’m finally able to post my first post. Yay! And since my world seems to revolve around food, I’ve decided that I will blog about it, among lots of other stuff I’m sure. But food, yeah, it’s become my passion. My masthead is a picture of a Bacon, Lettuce and Scallop salad I made a while back that I was particularly proud of. Now just because I love food and I love to cook, I will not boast that I am good at it. I consider myself a good recipe-finder. I think anyone can cook (if you’ve seen Rattatouille you know what I’m talking about), it’s just like anything else, you have to WANT to do it to be any good at it. I love to entertain, invite family and friends over, and cook for them. I put a lot of passion into my cooking, and I suppose it’s one way I show my love for those closest to me. One of these days, I’d like to have a job in the food industry in some capacity where I can make a little dough without sacrificing time spent with my family. Right now I have the most boring job on the planet, but I have lots of flexibility, 4 weeks of vacation, and get paid pretty well for what I do.. all stuff that I have a hard time giving up for something that may or may not work out. My ultimate dream job would be a food critic. Now who the hell wouldn’t want that job? Hmmm?