Taking a break...

This evening, I met up with Random Cathy and we enjoyed a mani/pedi at Polished, then had dinner at Snappy Salads.  I like getting a mani/pedi, but it was a lot more fun with Cathy there.  I really appreciate her paying for mine, but I feel my manners were completely missing.  I should have paid for her dinner - that would have been more appropriate.  I hope she will forgive me and I will get a chance to take her out for dinner in a couple of weeks.

Yesterday, I felt so drained and really uncomfortable.  Indigestion and other ailments came upon me.  I was able to stay awake long enough to watch some of the original Frankenstein, then the beginning of the Maverick game.  I ended up sleeping pretty hard and not waking up when someone from work called at 2 AM.  Oops.

I must have had a serious blood sugar issue last night.  This weekend, I am going to cook a lot of stuff.  I will be going on-call next week and it is always easier to just throw something in the microwave or reheat in the oven.  I am not going to mention the menu because it might change.

Sort of reminds me of the conversation Cathy and I had regarding cooking.  I think we all start with some "basics" that we know we can handle.  Buying "whatever" Helper is always a good starter.  When I moved away from home, I was pretty good at making my mom's crispy herbed chicken with stewed tomatoes and pasta.  Next, was tuna noodle casserole.  I did a dinner from Cooking Light, which ultimately sucked.  I ate my mistake and forged forward with my cooking endeavors. 

When I went home, I would watch my mom cook or when she was unable to cook, I would cook a meal that she would tell me how to prepare.  It was easier to manage that because I did not have her standing over me telling me everything I was doing wrong.

Pretty soon, I was watching Food Network and really watching how the various chefs prepared meals.  The best show was How To Boil Water.  The guy on the show was really cute and he had a chef sitting on the side giving him directions on how to cook something.  It was corny, but very practical.  It was the very basics for cooking and going from that point.

When I moved into my current apartment, I had more space for cooking and that was important to me.  Around this time, in 2005, I watched an episode of How To Boil Water that featured Tyler Florence.  He was showing how kids could make "Nut Brittle."  I watch him make it and thought, "Man, that looks pretty easy."  I looked up the recipe on the internet, printed it, then proceeded to get the ingredients to make the candy.  Man - it really was easy and it was fun!  I had been baking cakes and cookies to help with stress relief.  My co-workers were reaping the benefits of that in more than one way.  LOL

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to work on more meals.  I have made different types of jambalaya, pastas, rice, and seafood meals.  I have tried my hand at quinoa and fell in love with it.  I have taken a new interest in vegetables.  For instance, heirloom tomatoes, purple, orange, and green cauliflower, red, yellow, orange, and white bell peppers.  Since the type 2 diagnosis, I have a renewed interest in fresh veggies.  I love to roast and steam.  Squash - a whole new area!  I know my mom would be very happy to know how much I have opened my mind and she was the first to start me on broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Cooking just provides me with new ways to incorporate these very interesting vegetables into my diet.  I try to make it fun to eat - the more colorful, the more interesting.

On the baking side, by making my own meals, that gives me more control.  I can have something really good and quit eating stale food from the market.  I will never forget when I tried to make banana nut bread.  It took a couple of tries, but my mom would taste it and tell me where I was going wrong.  I know she would have enjoyed the praline experiment I have been working on since my NOLA trip.  She taught me how to make really good fudge and passed down all of the secret recipes for all of the cakes and such she used to make from memory.  I find a lot of comfort in cooking - it makes the foodie in me very happy.

God's message to me today:

On this day of your life, we believe God wants you to know ... that you are blessed.

You may think you have challenges, but you have so many blessings. Sometimes it takes only a moment of conscious effort to recognize those blessings. Once you focus on the gifts instead of the problems, your whole perspective will change and you will see blessings everywhere.

 

Yes, I am blessed...in more ways than I could ever know.