Fall Fruit and One Furry Fella

Yikes.  It’s been over two months since I’ve last written on this blog.  Once I stopped writing for a while, the idea of posting another update or recipe became more and more daunting.  On top of that, I wasn’t sure what to write about.  I wasn’t cooking much.

The past few months have had their share of highs and lows.  Being admitted to the hospital three times within a three week period was definitely a low.  So was spending a consecutive 25 days there and missing my sister’s wedding.  But my family visited frequently, I saw friends I hadn’t seen in a long while, and… (drumroll please!) I finished intensive chemotherapy!!

Huh?

Since last January, my chemo schedule has been pretty rough.  I hadn’t had too many healthy days, and I constantly camped out in bed.  Many weeks included 3 or 4 trips to outpatient therapy for chemo or blood, and I think we all know how prone to fevers I am.  Lots of time spent in the hospital.  Even when I was given drugs that normally help or don’t hurt too much, my reaction was quite the opposite.  So I’m glad to have that chapter behind me.

Now, once my counts recover and I can resume treatment, I will have two years of maintenance therapy to get through before I can say, “Phew!”  This treatment isn’t meant to bring down my blood counts or make me feel ill, so if it does either of these things, I will most likely take lower doses.  Unfortunately, some of the main drugs I will be taking are ones to which I respond poorly.  I’m hoping that taking lower doses will mitigate those side effects.  Because this therapy is primarily meant to maintain my remission, I get to regain my strength, grow my hair out, eventually go back to work, and travel a bit.  I have never been (and never will be) more excited to spend Christmas in Schenectady.

But in the meantime, I’m happy to hang out with Winston a.k.a. Mr. Wubbie a.k.a. Bubba Ghanouj.  This is what he’s been up to lately:

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It’s a pretty chill hangout.

I’ve had a nice break from chemo now, and I have a few more days to enjoy it (my treatment resumes this Thursday!)  So I’ve gone back to the kitchen, trying out some Fall-inspired recipes and drinking lots of cinnamon tea.  Below are a few ideas that make eating a neutropenic diet a lot more enjoyable this time of year.

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One of my favorite things about Fall is the abundance of apples.  They’re my favorite fruit, hands-down.  The season brings so many different types, you could cut up one of each and serve an apple fruit salad.  Southwestern PA has its share of tasty varieties, but nothing compares to an apple from Western NY.  I’m sorry folks, it’s true.  My mom recently brought down a bag of baking apples, and the minute I sliced into the first one, I did the happy dance.  They smell so floral, yet earthy.  Basically the best thing ever.

Right now, as my counts recover, I’m slightly neutropenic.  I’ll eat a raw apple here and there (very well scrubbed!!), but I want to be cautious because, as I’ve learned time and time again, hospital bills are expensive.  So apple sauce; apples, sausage, and cabbage; and baked apples are my go-to’s.  I made the latter a few nights ago, just using whatever I had around.  Here’s a rough recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 baking apples (I used a few different green varieties)
• 2 handfuls of raw walnuts, about 1/2 cup
• 2-3 handfuls of Quaker oatmeal squares (Yes, the cereal.  I only had steel-cut oats, and that didn’t seem appetizing.)
• 3-4 tbsp. maple sugar (Brown sugar is fine, but again, I had none on-hand.)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of allspice
• 2 tbsp. butter

1. Preheat oven to 375, and put on water to boil.
2. Slice apples in half and scoop out core.  Arrange them in a shallow glass or Corningware dish, skin facing down.
3. Roughly pulse dry ingredients in a food processor.
4. Pour mixture into apple halves, heaping any extra on top.
5. Top each half with 1/2 tbsp. butter.
6. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water into the bottom of the pan.  Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, or until apple is soft, but not falling apart.

Perfect with a good book.

The crunch of the topping contrasts the apple’s soft texture so well.  Don’t overdo the nutmeg and allspice, or else it will taste bitter, but I say add more cinnamon if you want!  ‘Tis the season.

If you really want some fresh fruit and are really tired of eating bananas and oranges, as I certainly am, eat a pomegranate.

Supposedly, every pomegranate has 613 seeds. I don’t know if I believe that.

The thick skin makes it neutropenic-friendly.  I know what you’re thinking- easier said than done.  That’s because you’ve been deseeding your pomegranates by breaking them apart in a bowl of water and sifting the flesh off the top.  Well, be glad you’ve read this post this far, because boy, do I have a treat for you.  I found this video about a month ago and haven’t feared picking up the fruit at the market since. Just score it around the center, pull it apart, and smack it with a spoon until all the seeds fall out.

I leave you with the simplest pizza ever, as shared with me by my friend Christina.  My boyfriend and I made it a few weeks ago, and it’s definitely our new favorite.  And it involves two things not often allowed in a neutropenic diet: pears and gorgonzola!  I am a HUGE fan of all blue cheeses and have missed them dearly over the year.  But since this pizza is baked, it’s safe to eat.

Just layer gorgonzola, pear, then gorgonzola again. Bake at 400 for 10-13 minutes, then add walnut pieces for the last few minutes.

We waited to take it out of the oven until all of the cheese was bubbly.  There were no leftovers.

I will plan to write an update shortly after my maintenance phase begins.  Thanks for reading, and enjoy these Fall fruits!

 

Don’t Buy…DIY!

I’ll be honest- I’ve just started to cook again these last several days, after a horrible phase of treatment and a trip to the hospital.  Methotrexate is my biggest rival, and if you don’t know what it is, I hope you never have to. Hint #1 that it will make you feel like curling up and hibernating: the IV infusion looks like lemon-lime Gatorade is about to run through your veins. Funny, because I often count on Gatorade to make me feel better.

HOWEVER, I did make two snacks that I would normally buy from the store: popsicles and crackers. That about evens it out, right? They are so easy to make, and doing it yourself means that you only have yourself to blame when they aren’t sweet/savory/creamy/crunchy enough!

Also, popsicles and crackers happen to be the world’s top go-to foods when someone’s sick.*

*Not a fact, but probably.

My birthday was on the 4th, and my wonderful boyfriend bought me a Zoku popsicle maker. I’ve been crazy about popsicles my whole life and have fond memories of sharing one with my childhood dog on super hot days (like you never did the same thing…)  After a few discouraging tries- you really have to blend the ingredients and store the pop maker in the back of your freezer– I made a delicious frozen treat from fresh, local ingredients, and with a secret helping of protein!  The best part is, you can just use whatever’s lying around.

With just a few ingredients…

I made a wonderful peach, basil, and goat cheese popsicle!  Adding a bit of almond milk keeps it creamy.

This has been a saving grace because most store-bought popsicles have too much citric acid in it, and they irritate an already sensitive GI tract.  If you like a bit of decadence, try blending some cocoa, milk, peanut butter, a dash of salt, and your favorite sweetener.  It makes for a nice fudge pop!

Since I had chemo on my birthday, we stayed in that night and made pizzas.  Super fancy delicious pizzas because I was feeling well enough to eat something flavorful. We topped them with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, ramp leaves (had some in the freezer), mushrooms, garlic, onion, prosciutto, and truffle oil!  I ate the leftovers for breakfast.

But we still had a small ball of dough left, so I decided to make some homemade crackers!  All you have to do is roll the dough out SUPER thin and bake it at 400º until golden brown and crispy.  Keep watching them, though- those suckers can go from perfection to overdone in seconds.

Rustic beauties.

As I wasn’t too keen on protein this week, I hid some extra grams in the crackers, too.  I shredded about an ounce of cheese and folded it into the dough with some sage and thyme.  Before putting it in the oven, I sprinkled some sea salt and fresh ground pepper over the sheet.  I did cut lines in the dough, so that they’d easily break into squares.  However, the outside cooked much faster.  Next time, I will separate the squares for more even baking.

If you’re not into cheese, try adding nutritional yeast instead.  It will give you that same nutty flavor and a nice helping of protein.  In a few months, it will be pumpkin season- adding a few spoonfuls of canned pumpkin, a bit of brown sugar, and your favorite winter spices, will turn this snack into a sweet treat.

So there you have it:

• No more spending tons of money on these easy-to-make snacks.
• You can finally eat popsicles without irritating your stomach.
• Don’t want to eat tons of protein?  That’s OK- you can get protein, anyway!

Well, I shall leave you with a bit of bragging: I’m not neutropenic right now!  I have been going crazy over fresh produce.  Here’s what I had for lunch today:

Zucchini baba ghannouj with little toasts, fresh veggies, and a nectarine sprinkled with chili powder for dessert.  The baba ghannouj can be made neutropenic-friendly quite easily.  Stay tuned for the recipe!

 

I’m 24 Years Old, and I Have Hot Flashes.

My body tends to overheat.  Even in the Winter, I often keep a fan on while I sleep.  I daydream about being back in Western New York, where things are much cooler than they are here.  On top of this predisposition, my chemo gives me hot flashes.  In short, I am constantly trying to cool down.

I’ve noticed that the most effective methods are those that bring my internal temperature down.  One method is pretty kooky: I actually will close my eyes and pretend I’m skiing in the Alps or on an expedition to Mt. Everest’s highest peak.  This seriously works.  When it’s freezing out, I think about lying on a hot Mediterranean beach.  I think maybe it just calms me down.

The other is eating frozen stuff.  All the time.  Iced is not good enough for me.  So I thought I’d share some of the things I freeze:

• Fruit puree and bananas: I explained the purees in my first blog post.  By freezing everything that would go in a smoothie, and adding a ton of ice, I get all the taste while going on a short vacation to Antarctica, too.  Also, using less ice yields a thicker, creamier treat, much like sorbet.
• Lemon water: After juicing and zesting lemons for lemonade/future cooking, I boil the leftover scraps for about 10 minutes.  It doesn’t get bitter, and it adds a soft tang to the water.  Just freeze in your ice tray, and either pop them in the blender with some sweetener, or add them to a glass of water.
• Coffee and tea: Who doesn’t like a Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Coolatta?  They’re so creamy and refreshing!  But also full of fat, served in throwaway plastic cups, and in a public place you probably have to drive to.  The trick to making one at home is not to add ice to cold coffee, but to freeze coffee in an ice tray and blend it up with a banana (not frozen) and some milk.  Just make sure to chop up the ice in the blender first.  I only drink tea these days, so I use that instead.  Yesterday, I brewed 2 cups using 2 heaping spoonfuls of Earl Grey and 1 of dried lavender.  This morning, I blended it with a banana and some almond milk.  A perfect way to wake up.

Other ideas: hot chocolate, nut butter and banana puree, vegetable juice, infused simple syrups…

Let me know what you do when you get hot flashes!

Also, I wonder if this could be a good way to store a large batch of compost tea?

One more thing: I am just now discovering the world of PICC line couture.  I was so tired of that itchy gauze that was NOT helping my skin rashes from the dressings.  So I started wrapping my extensions in my Lululemon wristband keyholder.  Then I found an old hair band and decided, hey, that would be a nice cover!  I’m going to start making some new ones from fabric ends and elastic.  They let the site breathe so much more, and I can move it down my arm to give my skin a break.  If you’re on Pinterest, search ‘PICC line covers’, and you’ll see all sorts of creative stuff!

A nice little bow over my dressing 😀

A Freezer Full of Berries

My parents visited from NY this past weekend, just in time to take me home from the hospital. Due to a neutropenic fever and low blood counts, I was there for about two weeks.  For those of you who haven’t experienced neutropenia, these fevers happen when someone with a low neutrophil count gets an infection.  I’ve been in the hospital 5 or 6 times since the 5-week initial stay, and all but one was because of a fever.  They’re very annoying and usually come at night, when the E.R. is most crowded.

My parents go grocery shopping for me when they ‘re in town.  They fill our freezer with frozen meals, popsicles, and frozen fruits and veggies that I can easily heat up when chemo gets the best of me.  This time, I forgot to remind them that frozen berries are a no-no (stone fruits like peaches and mangoes are fine) and consequently ended up with 3 or 4 bags of them.  It doesn’t hurt to save them for when I’m healthy, but boy do I want strawberries!

I think all the planets aligned because I was also given a bag of rhubarb from my parents’ garden.  And I just bought a new blender.  My mom, The Cook, put two and two together and saved the day.  She threw the bag of strawberries in a big pot with the rhubarb, a little water to get it going, and some honey, then let it boil.  After only 10-15 minutes on the stove and some mashing with a potato masher, it turned nice and thick.

I blended half of it and poured it in an ice cube tray to freeze.  Now, whenever I want a strawberry rhubarb smoothie, I just have to pop a few cubes in the blender, add a banana, some plain yogurt, and maybe a little more honey, and voila!  Springtime smoothie!  **You can also get a secret helping of protein in by adding some nut or seed butter.**

About to get Ninja’d.

Smooth as a baby’s bottom.

I might use the other half on pancakes, or better yet, in a pie.  But right now, I don’t have much energy, so an easy smoothie is perfect.  The strawberries are thoroughly cooked and bacteria-free.  Time to add a bit of edible sunshine to my day!

Two fruit cubes, two ice cubes, 1/2 banana, spoonful of yogurt, and a generous squeeze of the honey bear!