Friday, September 28, 2007

Lasagna and more surgery



First the bad news: I need surgery to repair a meniscus tear on my left knee. Bear in mind my torn tendon is on my right foot, so basically it's going to be a little rough there for a while with both legs being gimpy.

Second: the good news. I made lasagna for dinner and lasagna, as Garfield has often noted, makes anything better.

I got a call from my doctor, himself, personally, which is never a good sign. He said there are all kinds of things going on with my knee and he's going to have to refer me to the orthopedic surgeon. My age works against me because as you get older the miniscus doesn't like to heal as well and my prognosis depends on exactly where in the minisicus the tear is. The miniscus is basically your knee cartilage that extends in a C shape around your knee.

On the plus side, I've heard great things from people who've had orthoscopic surgery on their knees. Most of them say that after years of pain, it's such a relief to have the knee working properly.

I'm sure there will come a day, a day I hope isn't too far off, when all of this is behind me and I'm back on my bike and taking my walks without the pain. But right now in the middle of it when my foot is still healing and every excursion on crutches brings excruciating pain in my bad knee, when I'm so limited in my activities that my doctor's visit, followed by some Jack in the Box by the beach is the high point of my week, I'm feeling very, very sorry for myself.

As I told Courtney, who is having her own not horrible, but not good string of luck, the wheel of kharma needs to turn a bit right now because it's stuck in a bad position.

So what do I do to nudge it along a bit? I make lasagna, that's what. My lasagna is my favorite dish. I've been making it forever and I'm always tweaking it to the next level. This time Rob found huge fresh mozzarella balls, whole milk ricotta and a big old package of provelone when he was shopping for the ingredients at Sam's Club. I've never made it with the fresh mozzarella, but that combined with the really good Chilean wine I put in the sauce, made this lasagna sublime.

My neat innovation is to not pre-boil my lasagna noodles. What I do now is make more sauce and cook it longer and the noodles stay nice and al dente (which means to the tooth, not bite-sized as Rachael Ray likes to say). I was able to put it together using the office chair that has been pressed into service as a wheelchair for around the house.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Company!!!!!!!



Rob's nephew -- yes there are a bunch of them, OK actually three, but it sure seems like a lot, and that's not a bad thing -- needed a place to stay when he came out to visit the two brothers who have already moved to Ventura.

Rob was really excited to have them here, but I was more reserved, concerned that staying in someone's house where the living room has been converted into a sick room (I can arrange the couch pillows to make raised cradles for my injured ankle, knee and back) might make them uncomfortable. They were really sweet about it, though, and were able to use us as a place to rest between rounds of drinking and catching up. Plus they get a room and bathroom to themselves upstairs where they can be on their own.

The people in the house who were really happy (and our pets ARE people) were the dogs, who LOVE LOVE LOVE company. One of the conditions for staying with us is having to put up with our menagerie, after all it is THEIR house.

Brindle, the little black poodle/shi-tzu, aka shitpoo in designer dog terms, always delights when people come over. Even though she's come to rest with us, Brindle has always been a well-loved little dog, unlike the other two rescues, so she assumes the world wants to pet her. Fuser, the little chihuahua/jack russell, rescue has learned to love people after initially being terrified of men. Now he rolls over and wants people to run his teeny little belly -- you have to use two fingers because a whole hand is too big.

But poor Rascal, the poodle/terrier who was found wandering the streets of El Rio in Oxnard, still has problems with appropriate behavior. He starts off terrified and cowering and slowly approaches when he's sure it's OK. Duncan and Mary (the nephew and his girlfriend) really showered the little guy with attention, much to Fuser's consternation and disgust. Fuser jumps up on Rascal, who is more than twice his size, and tries to intimidate him by growling in a really deep mean dog voice, and he'll bite Rascal if that doesn't work. Fuser, sadly but luckily, is unable to bite effectively with his teensie little mouth, so it never hurts despite his fiercest intentions.

Each time Duncan and Mary so much as came down the stairs the dogs went crazy, barking and whining. Fortunately both Duncan and Mary are great animal people and thought it was cute. The visit proved quite painless, especially because they went up to wine country over the weekend. As with all good things unfortunately, it came to an end and the little guys had to say goodbye with great sadness. Now they only have us to give the 24/7 attention they deserve and require.

One of the most fortunate things about moving here has been the parade of relatives who've come out to live here since we got here. First, it was just Lindsay and me, then Rob joined us a year later. A few years later Rob's nephew Sean came out and stayed with us, and despite the fact that he had to go home for about a year to get some work experience, he persevered and came back out. Now he's married to Gen and is a wonderful father to Kaia. Then Colin, the youngest nephew, came out and went to school. Now Duncan wants to join them. Duncan is an accomplished musician and is hoping to start a career. There's no better place than the L.A. area and he's very talented, so he should do well.

I've always said I'm every native California's worst nightmare, the person to comes out and has the rest of the family follow. Speaking for myself, California is the first place I've ever been where I felt at home. Even in Princeton, N.J., where I grew up, I always felt like an outsider. The minute I set foot in California, though, I felt a sense of homecoming and it's really cool to be able to share that. It's also so cool to have relatives around. It makes a place so much more comfortable when you can share holidays and special events with family.

Like yesterday, Kaia called. She was doing a "survey" for her first grade homework assignment. We had a choice: Which was our favorite, a bear, a monkey, a giraffe or an elephant? How delightful!

Fall meal


One of the things we hear out here in California is how people would "miss the seasons" if they left the God-forsaken wasteland they call home. In reality, they usually mean they'd miss the two or three golden weeks of fall and spring that -- sometimes -- occur each year. These golden weeks generally have little to no rain, temperatures ranging up to the mid-70s and down to the low 50s at night, with clear skies and gentle breezes. In other words, weather that we get year-round as a matter of course.

I suppose it's part of the Puritanical ethics of hardship and privation. Frankly, they can have their self-imposed suffering through endless gray days, frigid mornings, inferno-esque heat, while I bask in the sunshine and walk on the beach. The naysayers seem to believe that you can only enjoy beautiful weather if you've suffered through months of inhuman torment where the only air you breathe is filtered and either heated or cooled. I beg to differ. I am just as capable of enjoying the "seasons" without the pain. And I do.

This past weekend marked the first day of Fall. Like most people, I love autumn. What's not to love about pumpkins, apples and golden leaves? We were also hit by a once-in-a-lifetime September rainstorm in Southern California and it helped establish the Fall-like mood. I decided to make my Fall Meal.

When the kids were growing up I would mark the advent of autumn with a meal of roasted pork with potatoes, squash and apples. There is something about the smell of roasting pork that is quintessentially Fall. The kids used to love it when the Fall Meal was trotted out because it signalled trips to the local farm stands for hayrides and cider.

I always wondered if the kids appreciated all of my little Fall traditions. When I was a kid, we used to go out to the local cider place, which was really cool, but my mom had an unfortunate tendency of turning every family outing into a Trip from Hell, so I was always afraid to do the same with my kids. Fortunately, they seem to have loved our times out -- I guess not screaming and belittling everyone makes family trips so much more pleasant. It makes me so happy to see Courtney take her family out the way I did to the same stands and I just love that it's a fun, joyful experience for her and the grandchildren.

Fall Meal
1 large pork roast, at least 5 pounds. Sirloin is great, but pork shoulder is delicious and inexpensive.
olive oil
Penzeys' Ozarks seasoning
Garlic powder
onion powder
4 large springs fresh rosemary
salt
pepper
5 to 6 red potatoes
1 large butternut squash or two acorn squashes, cut into halves with seeds removed
cinnamon
4 large apples cored, but not all the way through(Granny Smith is good, as is Fuji and Pink Lady)
brown sugar
butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub the roast with olive oil. (Note: Despite what Rachael Ray says, extra virgin olive oil is only necessary to use when making a dish where the flavor is going to be dominant in the dish. Regular olive oil is just fine for roasting.) Sprinkle with seasonings. Rub the potatoes with olive oil also and prick all over and place in roasting pan -- make sure you use a large one -- along with the roast. Tuck the rosemary sprigs around the roast and potatoes. Place squash halves rubbed with olive in the dish and sprinkle all over with cinnamon. Cook for an hour and a half. Add apples stuffed with a dab of butter, brown sugar and sprinkled with cinnamon. Add a dab of butter into the cups of the squash halves and top with brown sugar. Cook for another half hour. Remove from oven and check the roast for doneness. Although pork no longer has to be cooked until well-done, I find my preference for well-done pork to be too ingrained to change. You can place the roast back in the oven to cook until well-done if necessary, then return it to the original pan with the veggies and fruit snd return to the oven for 15 minutes to warm. I love to put big globs of sour cream on the potatoes and mush all of the ingredients together.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Stir-crazy

I've been to see the doctor and he was very, very pleased with how well the operation went. He said it was a good a scenario as one could have hoped for, as far as the tear being clean and the tendon being in good shape. But I'm still off the foot for another couple (yes that would be TWO) weeks.

I don't know about anyone else, but being restricted like this is painful. It's really hard to get out and to the car on crutches. I have to go out the back and around the house and crutches are a lot more awkward than they look. Cooking is also limited, although Rob has been great about getting food to make and helping me put it together. We've had roast chicken and pot roast, which is great, low-fat comfort food.

But I'm bored silly. It's pone of those things that feeds on itself; the more you stay still, the less you want to move. Oh well. The surgery appears to have been successful and I should regain full movement in my foot. Yee. Ha.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Fried green tomatoes and recovery

 

 
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It's been quite a week, with my operation countdown, insurance problems and, finally, the start of my recovery.

Two days before the scehduled surgery we received a call that there were problems with our insurance. It's not that it wasn't an easy problem to resolve, but it had to be resolved quickly and bureaucracies don't tend to move quickly, so it was stressful. I was already freaked out by my impending surgery -- as a naturally healthy person, I have little experience with illness or injury.

I did some cooking, making more zucchini bread and for dinner I decided to make fried green tomatoes, just because Rob had the idea of making a dinner/breakfast with steak and eggs. I've never actually made them, and my tomatoes were a little red, so they didn't come out too well becasue I generally don't likle the taste of cooked tomatoes that much.

My surgery went fine and I'm recovering. I can't put amy weight on my foot, which means I have to use crutches and my left knee is swollen and sore so it's hard to put all my weight on it. I discovered the office chair for the computer works as a good wheelchair and I'm scootching around in it. Rob is discovering why he never pursued a career in the helping fields as his having to wait on me is truly getting on his nerves. But he's really been great about the surgery and has been supportive and wonderful to have around. And, frankly I don't think I'd be as patient as he has been considering how much I have to ask him to do.

Fried green tomatoes

1 cup canola oil
4 green tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 slices
1 cup milk
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet until hot (it will be moving in the pan, but not smoking)
Dip tomato slices in milk and then in mixture of cornmeal, flour and seasonings. Fry on both sides until browned. Drain on paper towls and serve.

Friday, September 07, 2007

The Dog Days of Summer

 

 

 
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The title for this post has been running through my head during this past week. It probably has to do with the fact that we're babysitting Keba, Sean and Gen's German Shepherd mix dog, for the week and the weather around here was really hot -- especially during Labor Day weekend.

Keba is a good dog. She's a big baby who lets herself be bossed around by Fuser and wants to be a lap dog like the little doggies. Even though her head is as big as Fuser's whole self, the first time she came over, she tried to climb into Gen's lap for safety because she was afraid of the little doggies. Since then she's adjusted to the beasts, although Meepee (aka Mythos) -- the big cat -- has decided to go on strike while Keba is here. Mythos sits upstairs, which is blocked off because the dogs think it's a great place to go poopie, and screams for food to be delivered to him. He also yells when his litter is too full. Lily, the other cat, comes downstairs as much as she used to, but Meepee has decided he's making his point.

The end result of all of this, however, is the sense that our house has been overrun by animals. We now have four dogs and two cats hanging around and they're ALL demanding divas. We also had a record-breaking hot spell here in Southern California, which actually affected us here in Ventura during its waning days. Hanging around with panting dogs, sweating, has been miserable, although it does cool down at night.

I'm in my surgery countdown, which is a lot less fun than it seems. I've had to give up ibuprophen, which I live by, to make me less likely to bleed. I tend to bleed a lot anyway, so it's probably a good idea, but it makes me cranky because the aching is so much worse. I had my blood work and now I just wait ... and wait.

The one bright note to all of this has been my garden. I've been picking cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. We're just about done with peaches -- I made some turnovers with the last of them -- so that's a relief. And Tony the Nosy Neighbor has already been over to give me his advice on clipping the tree back, telling me to get Sunset's Western Gardens, which I have ... and use regularly. Thanks Tony.

I've been able to make all kinds of food with the veggies, but my favorite so far has been my faux Greek salad with cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese and Kalamata olives. Have you ever noticed that on TV shows when characters have to be in a scene where they're "cooking" they always chop up pretty, colorful veggies? I've always supposed that handling a pallid, slimy chicken or fatty ground beef is distracting to the scene. Anyway, I've been feeling like a TV character, chopping my veggies, except for the 800 dogs, billion degree heat and broken foot.

Greek-style veggie salad
1 small cucumber
1-2 smallish ripe tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
1-2 cups fresh baby lettuce leaves
1/2 to 3/4 cups feta cheese -- I prefer Trader Joe's Mediterranean-seasoned feta cheese
handful kalamata olives
6-8 melba toast rounds, coarsely crushed
Greek or Italian dressing

Cut all the veggies, except the lettuce leaves, coarsely into bite-sized pieces. Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate. Top with veggies, feta cheese, olives and Melba rounds (I prefer melba rounds as croutons because they don't have the extra fat or overwhelming flavoring that most croutons have, including the croutons made by Old London, which use small melba rounds. I'm also a huge fan of using Trader Joe's garlic flavored pita crisps as croutons). Serve with dressing.

Greek salad dressing
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup Star red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
dried oregano, to taste
dried basil, to taste

Whisk together well and let sit for about an hour before serving.