Achoo!

It’s just a little cold, but I’m a bad patient. Why is it these things happen at the worst possible time? Of course, I have my own thoughts on that… we work ourselves into the ground, past the point of common sense, and so, when little bugs come around, blammo! If I was getting enough sleep and relaxation, maybe I’d be better prepared.

But, no sick days for me. And cooking? Not so much. Though, these really are the times when it’s best to have something good and healthy. So far, I’ve compromised and gone for good and healthy, but with minimal effort, like sandwiches. I still need to roast some veggies, and knock a few thousand things off of my to-do list. I’ve mostly done raw foods. I tried a grilled cheese, but let’s just say it was not blog-worthy. I don’t cook well when I’m sick.

So for tonight, maybe get those veggies prepped with as minimal effort as possible, maybe some long grain rice or some such to go with it, and that’s all folks. Now, if I could just get some elves to help me with the to-do list…

Peppers and Blogiversary!

I made these. They were awesome.

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And look!:

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!

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Can you believe it’s been a year already? WOW!

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Have a wonderful week!

Wordless Wednesday: Stir Fry and Bread

Special Soup

Thank you all for your concern! I did eventually heal, it just took a little longer than I would’ve liked. Was it the flu? Who knows… Folk wisdom says that if there’s no fever, and your stomach is ok, then it’s just a cold. But, whatever you want to call it, it had me in its throes for about 2 weeks, which was flu enough for me.

I need to go back to the health food store and re-find the cough syrup I used to take years ago. This time around, the illness came so suddenly that I was just scrambling for whatever was around. So, I ended up trying just about anything and everything, depending on where I was and what was happening with my body. I *hate* cough syrup. So much. But, I drank it because I felt that lousy. There used to be a natural cough syrup out there that tasted good and worked. I have no idea what this mystery product was, or who made it, but I’m hoping I can recognize it by sight. Is this too much to ask years later? Possibly. But, I figure it’s worth trying.

When I thought I was well enough, I did (what was supposed to be) a little grocery shopping. Of course, I came back with what felt like half the store, and I completely over-exerted myself before I was ready. Yeah, that thing about medicine masking symptoms? True. Soup didn’t happen that day, needless to say. But, the next day, I just took my time and tried my memory, and made my special soup.

I am especially picky when it comes to soup, or rather, my stomach is extremely sensitive when it comes to soup. Commercial soups make me sick. I suspect it’s the preservatives, but it may also be the high sodium content. When I make soup for myself, it’s completely from scratch. Pre-packaged broth generally does not sit well. So, insofar as the general public goes, my soups are probably a little bland. But, for me, they’re perfect.

There’s no recipe for my special soup. I make it depending on what I am in the mood for, or what I have around. This time, there was a smidge of kale, a potato, some carrot shreds, some celery, some squash, some onion, some nutritional yeast, and probably a few other things that I’m forgetting. A perfect veggie counterpart to the traditional chicken soup.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Bowtie Pasta

Have you ever been so sick that cooking was just not an option? Well, that was last week for me. By the end of it, I was craving veggies like you wouldn’t believe, but was still not up to a trip to the grocery store. Solution? This quick and easy pasta.

1/2 box pasta, diced mozzarella, some garlic, olive oil, and spices, with steam in the bag veggies. It took maybe 20 minutes, tops, to make, and there was enough for several days.

Wordless Wednesday: Italian Sandwich

Mozzarella, Nutritional Yeast, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasonings and Tomato Sauce on whole grain bread. Yum!

Pasta in Progress

This recipe is not yet perfected, but that’s the fun of it. I wanted pasta. I did not want to shop. So, I made this.

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I used:

1/2 box of penne

1 bag of frozen steam in the microwave vegetables

nutritional yeast

rice milk

1/4 stick of cheese

ground pepper

pecorino romano

stovetop and pots, mixing bowl, and food processor

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I was trying to make a pseudo-alfredo with the nutritional yeast, cheese, and rice milk. I am lacto-ovo, but my stomach can’t take real alfredo (milk/cream issues), and I’m allergic to the most common vegetarian/vegan substitutes (soy/nut issues), so I was trying to make a version I can actually eat.

I steamed the veggies and then processed them, and added them to the sauce. No problem there. If the sauce had been cheesier, this would’ve been even better. So, it’s almost there, but not quite. Because of the veggies and high quantity of nutritional yeast, this felt like good fuel. Plus, I had enough for days, which is always nice.

This was a lot of fun for me- one of those puzzles that requires ingenuity.

I can’t wait to figure this one out!

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Wordless Wednesday: Mozzarella Bagel

Wordless Wednesday: Red Peppers

Rosemary and Cheese Bagel

Like I said, quick and easy this time of year.

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Rosemary and Cheese Bagel

Utensils:

A pair of scissors

An oven

A cake pan

Cooking spray

Aluminum foil

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Ingredients:

Dried rosemary leaves, to taste

4 slices American cheese

Nutritional Yeast to taste, not too much

Gouda to taste

Pecorino Romano to taste, not too much

(Did I add Italian Seasoning? Let’s just say I did.)

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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Broil/HI if electric. If not, hopefully you can figure it out. Regular broilers are tricky. This would take far less time under one of those, and could easily burn, so be careful. You should also find another way to set these up instead of using a cake pan.

2. Line your cake pan with foil and spray it. Slice your bagel carefully, and place in pan. Then, place one slice of American cheese over each half.

3. Dice your Gouda. Set little piles on top of each bagel.

4. Sprinkle nutritional yeast, Pecorino Romano, and cut up rosemary leaves on Gouda.

5. Place one slice of American cheese over each bagel. Add Italian seasoning to top, sparingly.

6. Place in oven for about 5 minutes or less. Switch to LOW when needed. This only took about 5 minutes to cook when I did it.

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Enjoy!