the spark is gone

I have had an on and off love affair for years...pretty much the entire time I've known Mister, to be honest.  He was the one who introduced us, even.  But I have to admit, the romance is going in the "off" direction again... I am losing interest in Yogi Detox Tea.

My basic strategy for handling illness is to try to force it out with foul-smelling, strong-tasting tea, while nurturing my little inner warriors (aka Antibodies) with particularly nutritious food.  As you've probably noticed if you've been reading for, well, let's say a month or more, I generally stuff Good-For-Me things down my gullet, but when I get sick (or perceive a threat of becoming so), I up the ante a little.  Anyway, I have relied on Yogi Detox Tea for nearly a decade - it's meant to detox the liver, but I swear it speeds up my recovery time when I get sick, possibly because a detoxed, clean liver allows for quicker clean-up?

The two things that alternately make me love and despise my detox tea are the taste and the hang-tags.  The ingredients are impressive and might give a little bit of insight into the bizarre flavor of this tea:  indian sarsaparilla root, cinnamon bark, ginger root, licorice root, burdock root, dandelion root, cardamom seed, clove bud, black pepper, long pepper berry, chinese amur cork tree bark, japanese honeysuckle flower, forsythia fruit, gardenia flower, skullcap leaf, chinese goldenthread root, rhubarb root, wax gourd, and juniper berry extract.  mmmm....tasty.  However, once you drink it frequently enough, you get used to the flavor and it does actually taste....well, palatable, as opposed to OMG-drink-it-fast-so-you-don't-taste-it.

And then there's the transcendental, inspirational, feel-good hang-tags.  I've been presenting them as little moments of zen because the first few were really pretty and did actually make me feel good, despite feeling so bad.  Then they started getting super-fruity, and will probably continue to, since we're on that downward trend.

Tonight's moment of zen?

Wow.  Really?  Thanks for letting me know, Yogi.  I've also gotten such gems as "Be your own best friend" and some other ridiculous piece of fortune cookie wisdom.  We had such a good thing going for a while... I guess all good things must eventually end.  Unlike the truth, which is everlasting.

I'm tired of being sick.  Yesterday was awful and I went to bed way before I usually do, fell asleep immediately, slept for nearly 10 hours and still needed my second alarm to get me out of bed this morning.  However, once I got going, I felt fine!  I coughed all day, but I only sneezed a few times and was sniffly once.  Then I waited 30 minutes for the train in 30-something degree weather (it was only supposed to be a 10 minute wait) and walked home through the same temperature.  I couldn't even feel my legs by the time I got home and my feet had frozen and were very angry with me.  Now?  I've been sneezing in patterns of four to ten sneezes in a row and blowing my nose left and right.  I really hope for the same miraculous recovery overnight because I really don't like this and I want to break it off with the Yogi before he leaves me (aka, tea runs out).

So, here's your real moment of zen:

nothing says "zen" like a peacefully sleeping kitty

victory is mine...for now

I knew it would happen eventually.  I knew if I just kept trying, plotting, scheming, and trying again that someday, I would win.  I had some strategy on my side, with plenty of time to mull over my course of action to be sure that this time I would prevail.

I beat Brown Rice.

It took some time and some of the tricks I had hiding in my sweater sleeve, but tonight, I made Mexican Rice and Bean Bake in only one hour.  Better yet, it was quite pleasing to the eye, so I took a picture this time!

It was every bit as hearty and savory as it looks.  I devoured it.  I was hungry, I was still a bit bone-chilled from the walk home, and...I think I'm getting sick.  What a time!

I have my many weapons to battle this nemesis as well, so hopefully, between my echinacea and herbal detox teas, I'll knock whatever this is out of my system before it knocks me out of commission - I absolutely cannot miss a moment at work this week.  That brings us to tonight's moment of zen:

thank you, Yogi Tea...sometimes we need remindin'

dear teacher...

...please excuse Natalie; she's been sick.

So, it looks like I used up the last of my energy on the mega-post I used to greet June!  The very next day, I developed a painfully sore throat on my way home from work.  I stubbornly resisted any/everyone's attempts to classify me as "sick," and bravely went to work again on Wednesday.  By the time I got home, it was clear that denial is not just a river in Egypt (da Nile, get it?  yes, it was stupid), it was a way of life for me.  Even though I alternated between my two health elixirs:

Yogi Tea Detox Tea (I'm sure it's not meant to eradicate colds, but it does that pretty well!)

Echinacea Tea, which is probably useless once you're already sick, but give me my sugar pills

And even though I ate my Magical Don't-Get-Sick Fruit (an orange) and made myself a healthy dinner with miso, carrots, greens, and rice:

I

I still got sick.

Being the brave and stupid stubborn soul that I am, I decided to try to "tough it out" and go to work on Thursday, despite mounting evidence that all systems were not go.  Mister was battling the same enemy and got as far as crossing the threshold at his job before giving up and coming home.  Fortunately for him, that meant trudging four blocks back.  When I made it 5 hours into my day, I couldn't take it anymore and drove 30 miles home, complaining bitterly about the fact that our sub-zero A/C at work made me cold even when I had the foresight to bring (and wear) a sweater and cover my neck.  I may have made the same bitter complaints to my boss as I was leaving...

Mister was generous enough to pick up a ready-made (by someone else) dinner from one of the fine establishments near our home, so there was no cooking Thursday, just sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and eating heartily.  I did my best to turn our home into a sweat lodge on Friday while Mister was at work and I truly think my efforts to sweat out the illness [kind of] worked.  After a short[ish] nap, I found the energy to actually make a tasty and nutritious dinner:

I made Penne with Roasted Vegetables and Garlic Puree from Vegan Italiano.   It absolutely hit the spot for me - I think Mister would have liked the flavors to be a little more pronounced and for it to have had a little less zucchini and yellow squash.  I know he doesn't care for them, but the roasting brought out a delicious sweetness, complemented by the little grape tomatoes waiting to pop in your mouth (some couldn't wait and popped in the oven).  I had a glass of Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes with mine and must admit, I was a little taken aback by the first taste.

I had done a little research about Torrontes because I had seen this specific wine so many times in my continuing attempts to find the Crios Malbec I enjoyed with my salad in October.  I've mentioned before that one of the only whites I'll drink willingly and regularly is Riesling, but I still keep an open mind.  I've liked most South American wines I've tried, though they've all been red, so I wanted to see what this Torrontes was all about.

All the descriptions emphasized the fruitiness and crispness of the wine, so I was able to completely overlook the teeny-tiny mention of the wine being "quite dry."  After that shocking first sip, I looked on the back of my bottle and found that this popular Argentine wine can most closely be compared to Sauvignon Blanc...probably the white I hate the most.

Anyway, between the one glass I drank and the effort of making dinner draining me more thoroughly than I thought, I found myself quite ready to sleep a couple of hours later.  When I woke up the following day, 12 hours later, I felt completely rested, energetic, and all-around better!  I still coughed my way through my lessons, but that was all.  I'm pretty sure my peppermint Americano aided my energy level, but either way, I was happy to flit about the kitchen last night and prepare Moroccan Chickpeas with Couscous from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals.

It did not pair especially well with the Torrontes, but it seemed to go better than it had with the pasta dish (and I did not feel like opening my new bottle of Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo just yet).  This dish is easy, but nothing special, so I will move on to two links (yes, more!) and my new menu.

First, I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this site, but I am so glad I did - I have mentioned before that all of my logical arguments about why I chose such a "difficult" diet/lifestyle tend to fall right out of my brain when someone demands I explain myself.  I don't know why - I don't actually owe anyone an explanation for MY dietary choices.  I guess I see it as my opportunity to help someone else make this amazing change and I don't want to blow it.  Regardless, How To Win an Argument with a Meat-Eater gives a great breakdown of all the knowledge I encountered that helped me make my decision.  It's a great resource and a helpful reminder of why I chose this path - give it a read, you might learn something!

The second link is an absolutely brilliant article written by Sherry F. Colb, regarding a recent petition from the dairy industry to stop labeling non-dairy dairy substitutes as the thing they are replacing.  In it, she points out that the dairy-substitutes are not actually riding the "success" of the dairy industry, as much as they are adequately labeling themselves as an alternative product for people seeking to avoid dairy for one reason or another.  The whole article is just so well written - you will seriously do yourself a disservice if you don't read it, regardless of your own [present] feelings about dairy.

It's nearly time to start dinner, so let me share the new menu that I managed to get the goods for prior to the skies opening up with the gale-force thunderstorms we aren't actually having right now (thanks for putting the fear of God and a sense of urgency in me, though, weather.com):

1. Mediterranean Rice Salad with Roasted Red Peppers from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals and also from last week's menu.  That whole getting sick thing threw a wrench in the works, but I'm pretty sure that's dinner tonight.

2. Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan.  When I was scooting through some old posts to find the information I shared in my round-up, I decided to just go back and read some of them.  My nostalgia lead to most of this menu, as well as some new treats I hope to cook up (ha, ha) for the next one.

3. Orecchiette Con Broccoli also from The Urban Vegan.  This will probably be dinner tomorrow primarily because I was wrong about the broccoli being done with being gross and I don't think the two crowns I picked up will last more than a couple of days.

4. Spaghetti Carbonara also from The Urban Vegan.  I haven't made this before, unlike 2, 3, and 5 (hang on, I'm getting there).  In fact, I've never made a carbonara sauce, so we'll see how this bacon-free one comes out!

5. Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens from Vegan Express.  I never know how long Dynise's recipes will take, but I know they don't usually go all that quickly, so I like to have one blink-and-it's-dinner recipe in my back pocket.

he's like the wind

There is no logical reason that I should be sad about Patrick Swayze's passing. I didn't know him personally and his death will have pretty much no effect on my life going forward. And yet, I feel very sad that he is gone. I guess he just seemed like a good person...I mean, really, think about it - have you ever heard someone say something bad about him?

Moving on to happier things before I jump into the pit of depression that has been singing its siren song lately... It turns out my cupcake-muffins have healing abilities! I have received a report of using the ginger-coconut-carrot muffins to cure (or at least distract from) a headache. I know ginger is used for detox and other holistic healing, so I decided to check my brand spankin' new Vegetarian Bible and surely enough, in addition to thinning the blood and stimulating circulation, or perhaps because of it, ginger can relieve headaches! Here are some more fun facts about ginger that may come in handy someday:

1. Ground ginger can calm morning and motion sickness, prevent nausea following chemotherapy, and prevent vomiting. I guess that's why my mom always fed me flat ginger ale when I was sick to my stomach as a kid.

2. Because it stimulates blood flow to the digestive system, ginger enhances the body's ability to absorb nutrients from food/fuel, meanwhile removing toxins to protect the liver and prevent ulcers.

3. Cook with fresh or ground ginger to take advantage of its preventative AND therapeutic qualities in warding off colds and flu. It can also provide relief for those suffering migraines, rheumatoid arthritis and joint stiffness, or if you want to lose weight.

I swear by Yogi Detox Tea throughout cold & flu season. It may be my own little sugar pill, but I have beaten 102 degree fever flus in only three days with its help, and I have managed to build a collaborative fan base. My husband introduced it to me, after his former roommates introduced it to him, and I've passed the love and lore along to colleagues and friends alike. No one has disagreed yet! Warning: the taste is REALLY strong until you get used to it and it'll probably make your tongue numb, too. It's totally worth it, though.

Tonight I made Tuscan Vegetable Ragout for dinner (and had a magical, cure-all cupcake for dessert!). As I mentioned before, this is such a great go-to recipe. Tonight I added smoked tofu (because I love it!) for the first time and I think the next time I make it, I will toss in a couple of cups (cooked) of pasta shells, just for fun and texture. The recipe is great on its own, but invites variation, so I'll be happy to oblige. I've made it a dozen times before so I can't think of anything terribly interesting to say about it, so I'll just show you a picture and move on to my finale:

mmm...big sauteed pile of tomatoes, zucchini, cannellini beans, artichoke hearts, and tofu...mmm...

Before I went to sleep last night, I read through the [very well-written and conversational] introduction to The Accidental Vegan. For reasons I don't think I completely understand, a lot of people seem to be offended by vegetarians/vegans. I can understand the wariness that I might try to preach the Evangelical Gospel of Herbivorism, but since I don't tell other people what to eat, I can't understand why they feel the need to tell me what to eat. At any rate, I have had people demand that I explain to them exactly why I would make such a radical choice regarding my diet, and in moments that confrontational, I tend to freeze up and forget everything I know and everything that helped me make my decision.

In a moment of voluntary self-expression, then, I would like to leave you with the author's summary of some of the things I learned 7 years ago that helped me make the choice I did:

Rising food costs all over the globe can be traced in part to rising standards of living in formerly poor countries, increasing the demand for meat, which exacts a heavy toll on the planet's resources in comparison to plant-based foods. Too much land is being used to grow feed for livestock rather than food for humans, and as a result, there isn't enough food to go around.