In Which I am Feeling Better...

So...with 2 student doctors in the family, there was bound to be much speculation about the mysterious (and thankfully self-limited) illness. Family opinion weighed in heavily in favor of the flu (no, I have not gotten the flu shot, and no, I do not plan to, therefore the gods of illness are punishing me for my hubris) while I am slightly more undecided. Food poisoning is generally out because I am the only one that got sick; migraines etc. are a possibility, but this would be among my top 5 worst ever and didn't feel quite migrainous; flu...well, I'll grant it as a slim-to-none maybe. Again, I was the only sick one, and my immune system is not that bad. Honest. I will just repeat that I am thankful that it's over. (And hope that it doesn't happen again next year...or I will grow to hate Thanksgiving. Wahaha.)

I forgot to mention in a previous post: Guinness floats are my new favorite food. (Family opinion also weighed in heavily in favor of Guinness float-related illness. Timing very wrong...otherwise, it could be a possibility. Dairy + alcohol...fabulously delicious, but probably not so easy on my stomach. Especially since I was also eating deep-fried foods at the time. On the day before Thanksgiving. Because I am smart like that.) But anyways...few places have Guinness on tap as well as ice cream (vanilla or chocolate or coffee) but if you are ever in one, order a Guinness float. Or two. And don't forget to share with me.

So, since I am feeling better, I decided to cook my other favorite food...Broccoli Casserole. I used leftover Thanksgiving broccoli. (We vegetarians are spared the curse of the turkey soup.) The stuff needs a better name...I could call it Vegan "Quiche", since it is...or Tasty Eggless Breakfast Food, even though I usually eat it for dinner. But whatev, Broccoli Casserole it is, unless I think of something better.

Here's the original recipe, most of the way down the page. I changed it a little: eliminated the mushrooms, doubled the carrot and potato and onion, sorta "whatevered" the rest of the measurements. (I just add water to cover the veggies when they're boiling, add salt and pepper and yeast and lemon juice to taste, and blend in the whole block of tofu. Any recipe that leaves leftovers of half a block of tofu, half an onion, half a carrot, and half a potato is just dumb.) It is my most favorite comfort food ever. And looks beautiful. (Just FYI: rice wine vinegar is a pretty good sub for the lemon juice, and you can use instant white or instant brown rice, but not regular rice or it will take years to cook. And you could probably leave out the broccoli too, if you must.)

I've got a test on Friday, so I'll be in hibernation this week, but I'll post more later. It'll be winter break soon...wooo!

Thanksgiving Weight Loss

So, Thursday morning I read in the newspaper that people gain (on average) between 1 and 2 pounds over Thanksgiving weekend. In the theme of last week's pet care post, there are two ways to avoid this.

1) Eat less and/or exercise more.
2) Become violently ill on Friday, thereby both decreasing calorie consumption (since you can't keep anything down) and increasing exercise (as you run back and forth to the bathroom).

I do, of course, wholeheartedly recommend #1 (despite the temptation of several different types of pie and college football) but "chose" course #2 this year. Much love to my parents for feeding me soup and rice and not complaining about my general unpleasantness. I don't handle illness well...but I am much better now. (And mum, your soup still rocks.)

I like this one too.

Catching Up

So I've actually been cooking recently (and taking pictures) but I haven't posted anything but whines in a while.

No recipes, just pictures and a general idea of what got tossed into the pot. (As best as I can remember...)

Pumpkin seeds (October 19th): remove from pumpkin, rinse off, put onto a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 425F for 20 minutes, or until they start to burn a little. (This is about 7 pumpkins' worth of seeds, as I was the only one at the pumpkin-carving party that wanted them.)

Hot and sour soup (November 14th): This is, of course, a totally bastardized version. But I was hungry and it was cold. And the steam looks totally sweet. Let's see: veggie broth (canned), rice vinegar, garlic, thinly sliced carrot, powdered ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil, chile oil, soy sauce. Cooked rice? Onion? I can't remember.

Baked stuffed golden acorn squash (November 17th): This is them before going into the oven. First, make a pilaf: Saute onion, celery, and garlic, add veggie broth and dried shiitake mushrooms, and powdered ginger, cumin, and thyme, let it simmer for a few minutes and then add instant barley. Cook until tender. Meanwhile, split and clean an acorn squash, and bake it (cut-side down in about 1/2 inch of water) in a 400F oven for about half an hour. Pour out the water, flip the squash cut-side up, fill it with the pilaf, cover the pan with foil, and bake until the squash is tender. (Uh...about another half-hour.) I will definitely be making this again...because it is tasty. And I like to say stuffed squash. And Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, which is easier to say than to type.

I made more seitan soup but I didn't take any pictures. I've also been knitting, but I don't want to jinx anything by posting yet.

And, gratuituously, the dog:

There are several pictures in the "Dog Destroying Toy" series, but that one is my favorite.

Pet Care Advice

So there are 2 ways to help your dog get home safely if he or she escapes from your backyard.

1) ID tags, plus a chip or tattoo if you have the money/time.

2) Hope really hard that something like this happens:

The dog follows a random person, who explains this to another random person (me). I take the dog over to the street where it was first spotted wandering; you are very lucky that this is your street. A carload of more random people pulls up and tells me that the dog belongs to your neighbor, who has "Rotts". The Rotts are actually Pitts, but don't worry -- no harm done. Your neighbor calls your house, but you're not home, so your neighbor walks into your unlocked house (?!) and we drop the dog off.

I personally choose #1...but hey, to each their own. I just REALLY hope that it was actually your dog.

Why I Hate Clothes-Shopping, Reason #8,743

Because the pants that fit perfectly on Saturday are now a whole size too big. I exhale too hard, they fall down. And let me tell you, that really puts a cramp in my professionalism.

Who Is Lazy?

Me! I should be packing or studying or cleaning, but I am not. Because I am lazy.

Yay!

I take happy moments wherever I can find them...so I am triply happy to say that Watershed, the X-rated Cowboys, and Tim Easton are all on Pandora. Long live local music! Oh, and I am done with Cardiology...but have moved on to Renal. Out of the frying pan and into the fire...