Ice, Sun, and an All Clear
In the span of one week, there has been ice, sun, an electrocution (accidental), and an all clear by my oncologist. I'd say it's been a good week (the empty bag of salt and pepper kettle chips concurs).
A little note to my students, since i’ve taught pretty much every subject in school. It says ‘miss you in all the classes I see you. Today it’s construction and horticulture.’
This week Clint and I have been puttering along towards our end goal of gussying up Sarabeth the she shed, transforming her from her former existence as a chicken coop. It's been a fair amount of hard labor (mostly Clint framing the windows, working on the structure). I've been in charge of the clean, paint, and 'hold that board right there just so while I screw it in place.'
Sarabeth in all her glory. Fabulous!
Thursday was my 9 month cancer check up. There were extra precautions taken (yay! And no, there is no sarcasm) - temp taken, questions pertaining to symptoms and recent travel. My oncologist gave me the all clear…. which is AMAZING!!! I was pretty nervous about this one, I believe because I wasn't scheduled to have a pet scan with it (I'm having a CT scan today, a therapeutic scan if you will). Clint and I celebrated with him going grocery shopping and picking up Blaze pizza on Mills Civic (good vegan options) while driving home on gravel roads (I know, it's the best date ever, don't hate).
Oooh giiirl, you are looking good!
With my extremely piss poor mind set this week (helllooo chemo flashbacks, come on down), there was very little in the form of fancy hours long meal prep with three layer vanilla cake and berry compote for dessert (although I might break that recipe out soon… for blog purposes of course).
Monday was an incredibly lazy day cooking wise (I'm pretty sure we accomplished a multitude on Sarabeth...but my days are running together so don't quote me). I had some leftover, cooked lentils and rice so that was mixed with some cumin and salsa. Yay, we had Mexican lentils and rice. Bites of Wellness has a great recipe I based my laziness off. Easy, and makes great leftovers.
https://bitesofwellness.com/vegan-mexican-rice-and-lentils/
Tuesday was the infamous electrocution day. I was taking out screws on Sarabeth's backside. It just happened the hot wire (deer and rabbits are nuisances at our house) fit across the top of my hat every so nicely. I had just enough room to where my back was against the regular fence and my knees were against Sarabeth. Clint was doing something with the extension cord (cutting boards, sanding who knows).
Suddenly ZAP! When I regained consciousness (I was only out for a couple seconds..I think) my knees stung and my neck felt whiplashed. It took me another two seconds to realize what had happened. That brat of a hubby electrocuted me (accidentally of course)! Naturally, I called the ER and spoke to a nurse about symptoms and if I needed to come in (I didn't). I also may have told my parents that last summer didn't kill me so Clint had to resort to other means to receive the insurance money. It was a wash the rest of the night (and the next couple days since my neck was sore).
That night (between neck icing) I dug out the trusty Thug Kitchen cookbook used last week- Fast as F#%k. Dan Dan noodles were first up. Wherever tells you they don't like udon noodles, don't listen to them. You don't need that negativity in your life. They're slurpy, and just the right consistency. I found a recipe via pinterest from Contentedness Cooking that is alllmost the same as the one from Thug Kitchen. Chinese 5 spice seasoning makes this dish incredibly flavorful (of course I added chili garlic paste to ramp up the spice too). Tahini gives it an almost peanut butter-y yet not dimension. All in all 10/10 recommend. It's easy and it's noodles with sauce and tempeh.
https://www.contentednesscooking.com/dan-dan-noodles/
Wenesday oh Wednesday. I was still feeling off, so I broke out TKFF (Thug Kitchen) again and made skillet beer chili mac. It's exactly what it sounds like, a can of beer, mixed with chili and elbow macaroni. Comfort food. Delicious. It made enough to eat leftovers the rest of the week and then some. This recipe is from Robin Runner on Honest Cooking and it's similar to TKFF.
https://honestcooking.com/vegan-skillet-beer-chili-mac/
Fast forward to Saturday (we covered Thursday, Friday was work and leftovers). I really really wanted to try a biscuits and gravy recipe. Clint is a huge biscuits and gravy fan and, true story, I used to looove biscuits and gravy.
'I'll try anything once.' 'Usually I say I don't like it and then I try it and like it.'
This is what I hear more often than not. Clint thinks a recipe sounds weird until he tries it. FYI this recipe from Nora Cooks uses tempeh. It doesn't taste like pork sausage. You can also use Field Roast sausages or another plant based meat crumble (our local grocery stores have both). Honestly, I really enjoyed this recipe. I did use whole wheat flour (do not recommend) and I'd rather use Clint's go to drop biscuit recipe (veganized) over cutting out each biscuit (because I'm lazy).
It doesn't look pretty, but it tastes pretty…and Clint wouldn't let me stir.
The sad little whole wheat pancakes… dreaming about being all-purpose flour biscuits
https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-biscuits/
This recipe from Budget Bytes (sans picture) is the one Clint uses. Double or triple the recipe if you want and use vegan butter/oil and plant milk. Enjoy.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/rosemary-pepper-drop-biscuits/
Now, as I'm sitting here writing about recipes, I can feel myself becoming weaker and weaker (and 0% caffeinated). Time ticks slowly while waiting until 10 am for a CT scan when you're not allowed food or drink.