Recovery

The past couple of weeks have given me a new perspective on the whole recuperation process. As anyone who has ever had to recover from major surgery or a major injury knows, it's the recovery that is so difficult. I've been very lucky to have not experienced any of this before now, but now that my time has come, I'm finding the entire process to be as unpleasant as everyone has always said it would be.

For me, the tedium is oppressive. I have to lie strapped to the CPM machine for about 6 hours a day, although I actually only do about 4-5 because my hip really starts to hurt after a while. I've also found that it's helpful to just strap myself down for a half hour at a time from time to time so the knee keeps being mobile. The knee itself feels really weird. It's gradually getting stronger, but isn't ready to work unsupported yet. So I'll be hobbling along and then the knee kind of gives out. It's not painful, but it's a bit scary because I have a justifiable fear of tipping over.

The fact that Rob is pretty much incapacitated by his lens-less eye isn't helping much at all. We need to be driven everywhere right now. Actually, I haven't ventured out yet, but Rob can't drive because he's lost half of his field of vision and has no depth perception. Lindsay and Dena -- who have made up for all intents and purposes -- yeah!!!!! -- have been great about making sure the doggies go to the park each day and running us to the store and the pharmacy for food and pills.

The one thing that makes me feel better is cooking. I feel as though I can STILL do something that yields concrete results. The smells also make me feel safe during a time when our lives are so uncertain. Three nights after I got home, I made up some Spaghetti alla Bolognese. I had been reading recipes for years about how the tomatoes, cooked slowly with milk, form an amazing rich sauce. Most recipes call for expensive combinations of ground meats, including pork and veal. But we don't eat veal -- we have a real problem with torturing animals any more than necessary -- and the difference in taste is negligible. The cheap ground beef worked out really well, as long as you remember to drain it thoroughly.

This sauce really needs to sit and simmer for hours to get the full effect.

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

1-plus pound inexpensive ground beef
4 slices thick bacon, cut into half-inch pieces
1 medium onion chopped
4 carrots chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
4 (or more) pieces of garlic minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup dry red wine (I used Merlot)
1 can Progresso crushed tomatoes with puree

Brown the beef and bacon in a Dutch oven. Drain meat leaving only a small amount of fat for the vegetables. Add chopped onion, carrots and celery and cook until vegetables are starting to wilt. Add garlic and cook until fragrant -- about 30 seconds. Add herbs and salt, along with milk, wine and tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for at least two hours.