Another Brief Hello

Jessica is continuing to do well. We all hold our collective breaths and keep our fingers crossed and say our prayers.

I've made a little executive decision to cut back on her Lyrica. She's currently taking Lyrica, Pamelor, and Florinef along with a ridiculous amount of supplements. Pamelor is for insomnia and migraines. Florinef is for the neurally mediated hypotension. The Lyrica is for joint and muscle pain. She's been taking it in the morning and at night, so I've cut back to just one dose a day (25mg). We'll give it a week to see if she has any side effects, but I have a feeling she'll be okay.

I think that the lifestyle we've settled on for the time being is the best for her (schooling at home so that she can have a social life). I'm not sure how we'll handle college. One day at a time, right?

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A Tiny Hello

Hello...

I hopped over to Living Chronically to catch up with my favorite blogs and noticed that I haven't posted since the broccoli & potato soup incident! That was on November 11th.

Just a little hello. Jessie continues to do well. She had a super busy week last week and needed to rest up all weekend long. But she bounced right back. I'm holding my breath, being cautious, and enjoying the good health she's experiencing.

Wesley's birthday is tomorrow (he's TWENTY and I'm feeling old). As usual, we will have a special dinner and everyone will have to suffer through my rendition of "the day you were born."

Then on Thursday we're heading out again. I'm excited to be house and pet sitting for a friend in Virginia and staying in her house for five days while she and her family are away! It'll be a FREE VACATION! The best kind. Yippee!!

I hope everyone is doing well and if I don't get the chance to post again, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Virtual {{{hugs}}}

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Gluten-Free Broccoli & Potato Soup

In my humble opinion, soup is a win/win choice. Consider the facts.

It's usually cheap, filling, easy to make, serious comfort food, and finally, soup is a one-dish-wonder. I can't tell you how many variations I've come up with over the years.

Last night we had gluten-free broccoli & potato soup. I would guess that it took about an hour to make, start to finish. It was a winner (except for the constant steady stream of "food critique of the day" that my family has yet to put a stop to. See the other blog for my family gripes).

Let's get started:

Gluten-Free Broccoli & Potato Soup

You will need:

3 tbs. butter

1-2 tbs. olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 potatoes, diced

(Add a few diced carrots if you'd like)

chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)

salt & pepper to taste

3 tbs. gf all-purpose flour (we use bob's red mill)

4 cups of gf chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup cream (either light cream or half & half)

Directions:

Combine butter & olive oil in stock pot over medium heat.

Add about 2/3 of the broccoli (keep the rest to add after pureeing if you like a few chunks), and all of the onion, carrot, potatoes, salt and pepper. Saute for, hmm... about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour reaches a blonde color. Add stock and bring to boil.

Simmer uncovered until the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Pour in cream. With a blender, puree about half of the soup. Add salt and pepper, to taste and ENJOY!

Of course, you may want to add a little shredded cheddar to top it off. :)

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Need An End-Of-The-Week Brainless Laugh?

Okay, it's the end of the week. I've been driving for 4.5 hours ending in ATLANTA hellish traffic. Need a laugh, or maybe just a little Friday giggle? Watch this. It's too cute. Keep a CLOSE eye on the kitty. Oh, and have a good weekend.

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A Road Trip, A Gluten-Free Recipe, and Medicine Avoidance

Here we go again - this time to North Carolina to deliver a portrait I've been working on. (That would be my other job.) Jessie and I will also get to visit my dear mom.

Jes has continued to do well except that, true to her irritatingly teenage tendencies, she did NOT take any of her medication yesterday. Where was the medication-watching ogre? Hello, she was doing her other job! Anyway, needless to say the little brat, um...girl, slept terribly last night. Here's hoping that missing two doses won't create too much of a problem. Medicine ogre will be sure to give the little *&^%* melatonin tonight to get the ball rolling.

Moving along...

Below is a super easy steak marinade that has become one of our favorites. It was originally written to be used with flank steak, but I've used it with london broil and tonight with a thick sirloin. It goes great with rice pilaf.

Shucks! Where was my motherly ESP when I needed it? Had I known that Jessie needed melatonin, I would have cooked turkey tonight instead. Over-anxious mom here is beginning to fall down on the job. Shame. Shame. :)

Soy, Ketchup, and Sesame Marinade

3/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 1/2 tbs. sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a large zip-top bag; add 1 lb. flank steak trimmed of excess fat. Seal bag, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, remove steak from bag, and discard marinade. Grill steak 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill, and cut diagonally across the grain into 1/4 - 1/2 inch-thick slices.

Enjoy!

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Why Not a Little Bit of Silly for Halloween?

After my serious video in the last post, I thought I'd add a funny one in honor of Halloween. Who doesn't remember Batman doing the batman dance? Enjoy! Oh, and Happy Halloween!

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Testimony from Annette Whittemore - XMRV Retrovirus

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