Back in the Groove

It's been a while...a looooooong while.  Excuses I could make include breaking an ankle, getting married, death in the family, work insanity...you know, everyone else's problems, too.  I was telling my sister about this blog, because we were having a discussion about smoked paprika, and I realized that I miss writing it.  And, that maybe I should stop reading the news, which is damned depressing, and do something that makes me feel better, which would be talking about food and poodles.

The Part Where We Catch Up:  Since I last wrote, the Poodle tribe has changed a bit.  The Goldfish and Hollywood have gone to the Rainbow Bridge.  The New Hotness is still hanging in, although he's not quite so new any more...he moves a little slower, is a little (well, a lot) deaf, and sleeps about 18 hours a day.

And, then we have the Special Dark Demon, the newest addition to the family.  Why I thought having a puppy was a grand idea when I'd never had an actual puppy before...she's 9 months old now and a righteous terror.  She's definitely got personality in spades.  But she's cute...so very cute, which keeps her alive most of the time.

I've been trying to branch out with the cookery into some "flexitarian," possibly "veganish" types of things.  (We all know that bacon is the reason I could never be a total vegetarian, but slowing down on the consumption is probably better for me.  How old did that make me feel to type that?!)

A friend's husband started a new diet in January that is plant-based, with no oil or sugar.  It's extremely challenging to try and cook without oil of some form or fashion, but I like a challenge.  They came for the 4th of July cookout, and I managed to make some sides that he could eat, namely spicy baked potato fries.

Spicy Baked Fries
makes 24-32 fries; ready in about an hour

1 Tbs onion powder
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp smoked paprika (you can use sweet paprika, but where's the fun in that?)
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander
.25 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
1.5 lbs russet potatoes (3-4 med-small), scrubbed and cut in to 1-inch thick wedges
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) (optional)
Ketchup and djion mustard for serving (optional)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F; line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place a steamer basket in a large pot and add about 2 inches of water.  Place the potatoes on the steamer, cover and steam on high heat for about 5-7 minutes.

While the potatoes steam, combine the spices and the lemon juice in a large bowl.  (I did not use the lemon juice because I forgot, and they were perfectly fine.)

Transfer the potatoes to the bowl with spices and toss gently to coat the potatoes evenly.  Arrange potatoes on baking sheet, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve hot with ketchup and mustard for dipping.
(inspired by a recipe from Forks over Knives)

She also made some carrot "hotdogs," which were actually really good.  Yes, we knew they weren't actually hotdogs, but were tasty in spite of that.  I'm going to attempt to make some myself for Labor Day.

I've also experimented with that newish vegan darling, jackfruit.  Barbecued jackfruit is pretty darn tasty, even though you know damn well that it is not meat.  I'm trying to get in the mindset of enjoying something a little different and not trying to make it replace or compare it to another dish.

I mostly used this recipe from Love & Lemons, https://www.loveandlemons.com/bbq-jackfruit/, for the barbecue sauce and technique.  I made a simple slaw and used the King's Hawaiian slider buns (https://www.kingshawaiian.com/products/original-hawaiian-sweet-slider-buns), which were perfect.  Very tasty little treats they were.  I found canned jackfruit in an Asian market, which also had fresh jackfruit, but that sucker was intimidating.  Plus, I wasn't cooking jackfruit for an army.  However, breaking down a whole one is on the list.

So, here we are...several years later.  I'm still cooking and trying new things...I still have poodles, so some things do remain the same...probably my sporadic method of posting will also remain the same, because I have to go play with this cuteness right now:

Time for a Re-check

It's been over 10 months since I got the No Bacon Death Sentence (tm), and today I went for the blood test that will tell me whether or not my alpha gal number has receded and possibly be at zero.  I should know within the next week what the results are, and I've got my fingers crossed and a frying pan at the ready.

During my visit to the allergist yesterday, we discussed what re-testing actually means.  She told me that quite honestly, she felt like she could never tell anyone that they were home free to go back to their carnivorous ways, because the medical community was still learning about the whackadooiness of this disease.

The biggest problem is that it doesn't have a readily repeatable reaction for everyone.  For some people, they can eat bacon every day for weeks and have no reaction.  Then, on Day X, they have a severe anaphylactic reaction that requires the Epipen or two, a trip to the emergency room, etc.  There are folks who can't even smell meat cooking without having an issue.

I'm kind of on the fence about it, because part of me cannot wait to have steak...especially since I've been hanging out in the Great Midwest for quite a bit of this year, and it's hard to get away from beef and pork when you are there.  On my last trip to South Dakota, I ate the Ruby Tuesdays salad bar twice because I couldn't find a local place that served anything exciting in the poultry range.

I would look at the menus online for the local joints, and they would have PAGES of steak and pork options, and then there were the 3 chicken items:  1) grilled chicken salad, 2) grilled chicken breast and some vegetable, and 3) some chicken pasta, usually alfredo and probably had bacon thrown in for good measure.  Bah. 

The other part of me is continually wondering if I really could eat meat again and be okay. Or, will I always have that worry in the back of my head that this might be the pork chop that sends me to the hospital?

Back to the allergist. So, if the test comes back with encouraging results, she said we could do a controlled ingestion test in the office and see what happens...that means I get to eat some meat and have them watch me to see if I go into anaphylaxis.  I have already decided that if we get to that stage, I am NOT going to drag in some fast food monstrosity...if I am going down, I am going down with something AMAZINGLY tasty.  It might be the very last time I get to eat it, and it better be worthy of living on in memory.  I'm thinking something along the lines of those brontosaurus ribs that Fred Flintstone gets in the opening credits of The Flintstones. 

Yabba.  Dabba.  Doo.