Straight Stitches

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

That which Makes us Stronger

Heather January 18, 2012 1 Comments

Over the past several days - I have heard on more than one occasion that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

And I wholeheartedly believe this as well, but this also prompted a facebook status from me that if that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger then by the end of this week I'm going to be stronger than freaking Hercules.

People 'liked' it and it made me feel better.

Then came news this morning.....but I am getting ahead of myself.

Remember my last post where I said the hubs was having surgery this week and H had pneumonia.

Our follow-up visit with our GP ended up with us going over to the ER to get some fluids. He's not eating or drinking. Well not much and even then we have to force - and I do mean force him.

Well in the ER things went down hill, Harrison was admitted to the hospital because his blood oxygen level was averaging about 88. Its supposed to be 98/100, but anything over 95 is good. His level dropped as low as 83 last night, which prompted the obnoxious screaming from his monitors.

They put him on oxygen after doing one course with the nebulizer, and with the oxygen he was doing fine, but what toddler wants to haul around an oxygen tank. So we were admitted, and here we still are.

We met with the pediatrician this morning and because he's still oxygen dependent to get to 96/97 we're staying at least another night, but she did warn us that it could be several days. Fun.

So I've called my family and friends and the enforcements are coming in to help me juggle everything. Hubs comes in tomorrow for his surgery, which is thankfully in the same hospital so I will be volleying between H's room and the waiting room and then hub's room. I am hoping that H and I will be sent home tomorrow so that I can see Dev, but if not - well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Here's my little guy right now -

When he wakes up, his brother has left him a cookie that he insisted upon sharing with him, even though I told him that he could eat the cookie. I did, after all, buy them for him, but he insisted upon sharing with his brother. That, along with all the other kindnesses shown us these last few days, has really humbled me, and I am truly and fully thankful for all the gifts that have been bestowed on my family.

Heather

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

What a Week

Heather January 17, 2012 0 Comments

Hey guys!

How was everyone's long weekend?

I'm glad that school is back in session, but I'm not looking forward to this week.

Why, you ask? Well for starters - Harrison has pneumonia, again. This time its been accompanied by a swollen airway. He's been given steroids to help with that but his breathing is still off. Right now he's dozing on my left arm while Disney is on. This makes typing difficult as I'm sure you can imagine.

Secondly, the hubs is having surgery this week. So Harrison can't be around him afterwards, or at least we've been advised to have limited contact between the two of them. Fun times. Hubs will also be out of commission for a few weeks.

So I doubt any creating will happen this week, but if by the off-chance it does then I'll be sure to share it!

See you guys later!
Heather

Friday, January 13, 2012

Who Needs a Recipe?

Dana January 13, 2012 0 Comments

I don't mean to brag or anything, but I'm pretty impressive in the kitchen. :-) Besides the fact that I made fabulous NY strip steaks without any kind of help besides a temperature guide, I made a new food without any help at all. How many of you all out there have ever had quinoa? Ever made it? Yeah, me neither...cooked it that is. I've eaten it once at a restaurant, and I really liked the texture of it. I do believe that once you learn a certain amount about food, you can usually wing it pretty well in most cases. I've been making risotto for a while, and I created the recipe below last week with that. That's when I decided I could do the same recipe with quinoa. It's a grain too, right? That worked for me in this case anyway.

Tomato and Onion Risotto/Quinoa
My original recipe

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
Salt
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 cup Arborio rice or quinoa
1 qrt chicken stock
1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup cubed ham (more or less to your taste
Parmesan cheese, optional

Melt the butter in a pot with the oil. Add the chopped onions when the butter and oil is hot. Season with salt and allow to cook on medium heat until the onions are just caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook one minute. Add the rice or quinoa and let cook two minutes. Add all of the ham to the pot.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, pour in one cup of the chicken stock, deglaze the bottom of the pot, and let cook until the stock is just about all absorbed. Add another cup of stock and repeat until all of the stock is gone. Pour the tomatoes, juice and all, in, stir, and let that be absorbed as well. Scrape the bottom of the pan fpr the brown bits as needed. Once all the tomato juice is absorbed, take the pot off the heat and let stand for ten minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese if desired.

I LOVE caramelizing onions. I love the smell, I love the taste, I love them! It takes a lot of time, but it is worth it.

Meet one of my top ten favorite shortcuts. Tinned tomatoes are great for pasta sauces, roasts, stews, and so much more. I prefer the Italian style over all the other varieties, but they're all good.

Quinoa has such an interesting texture. Look, it looks like birdseed when it's raw. Watch what happens over time, though.

I don't know if you can really see it here (sorry for the crappy quality), but, as the quinoa absorbs liquid, the outer part expands and becomes translucent, almost like tapioca.

Mmmm, tomatoes and ham and chickeny goodness. How can you go wrong?

I don't know because this turned out great! Mike especially liked it. Try creating some of your own original recipes using good, old staples and some new ingredients. Don't be afraid, just keep it simple and you'll be fine. :-)