Old Age

I stayed with my mom for the last week and it was an experience. It's odd to be the one in charge, like a parent to your parent.  She needs a lot of help getting around the house and with meals.  She sits on this old love seat for most of the day watching lots of PBS. She feels depressed and ready to die.  As her daughter it's hard to hear her say these things because I'm afraid to have her die. On the other hand realistically she is exhausted and tired of feeling like crap because of her MDS  diagnosis.  It's stolen some good years away from her; like her body and her abilities look more like she's a fragile 100 year old human. 

During the week she blew up about something little more than once and that was hard to deal with for me. Truthfully she's always let her temper get the best of her but this seemed like more. Is it because she's in pain or is it just getting older? She's very stuck in her ways and this is getting worse as the days go by. She likes to wear certain shirts and sweaters, she likes her things set up on the sofa seat next to her, and she likes to be set up in bed exactly the same every night. She still loves to eat really good food even if it's super small portions. She loves her coffee in the morning. This week we had pasta with shrimp, fresh fried eggs, lovely little salads, and an un-spicy chili.  We had a small glass of champagne while we played cards to celebrate our last night together. 

I'm glad I have this time with her and hope she can make it until Spring. She loves the flowers, the sunshine, and sitting on a pretty patio. It’s hard watching your parent age and I have a front row seat. The week exhausted me - I was sleeping on a sofa-and listening to her cough and gasp all night. She was cranky with me but overall a good week together. I know I'll appreciate it down the road. 

Cooking with Love

 

One of my favorite things is to make food whether it be just for me or for friends here for dinner.  I like both the complicated and the uncomplicated recipes.  My mother and grandmother loved to cook. When I lived with my grandmother she would chide me if I didn't offer to make visitors like my uncles a sandwich.  My young brain thought "they are grown ass men; they can get their own sandwiches" and now while I still agree with that sentiment I do love to welcome people into my home with a good meal. 

My husband's job changed over the last month and we've been able to spend time with friends more in the evening because he's not in rehearsal every night. I've made a handful of great recipes that you might like.

I made this delicious Chicken Korma recipe from Tea for Turmeric a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit.  I'm technically. not a meat eater but if I can find it from a local farm then I'm okay with it. I could have substituted tofu but my husband eats many vegetarian meals for me so I decided to switch it up. He loves Indian food and he liked this dish. I served it with a side of brown rice and some roti bread. 

One night  in January I had some women friends over to play cards and I made this black bean soup from Cookie + Kate with fresh bread. It was delicious and easy and I've now made it two more times. I've really stepped into the Blue Zones idea of eating beans or lentils as much as I can. The first time I made this I used the 4 cans of beans it calls for but for the second time I actually cooked dried black beans in my slow cooker while I was laboring away at school.  It was worth it to make my own for the recipe but the cans definitely made the recipe quicker. I served this with lots of toppings like avocado, green onions, crumbled feta cheese, blue chips, and sour cream. 

Tonight I made a stir-fry that was very flavorful. I was hungry for tofu and quinoa so I Googled those two ingredients and came up with Sesame Tofu Quinoa Bowl from The Almond Eater.  I swapped the broccoli for cauliflower and adding in edamame. We had broccoli last night with some homemade mac and cheese. Also because I don't like plastic bags I used a bowl with a lid to marinate the tofu with the Tamari sauce.  It worked out great and we ate with chopsticks in front of the fire while we watched Triangle of Sadness~highly recommend the movie as well!

Good food feeds your soul! Bon Appetit! 

Oh, I forgot dessert! I'm attempting to step away from sugar but sometimes you just need a good dessert to share with friends. This S'more recipe is a perfect winter treat-I served it with a little cup of Bailey's.