Settling in with Pea Soup

Two Fridays ago, I worked a shift the day before movers came to whisk me away to my new house. Trying to keep dinner simple, I ordered a GF pizza from Pizza Fusion. Not too long after eating a few pieces on the way home in the car, I discovered the pizza was indeed NOT GF. Oooops. (For the record, the box was labeled GF.) I called them to let them know the obvious error. The manager told since they've never made a mistake, the pizza was most definitely GF and not accidentally glutenous. Oh, fellow Celiacs, we know that since I've been GF for 6 years and all the other food I'd eaten was prepared by Yours Truly, I know what caused the symptoms of unattended Celiac Disease.

Enough of that.

I'm all moved into my new place, and have been enjoying the granite counter tops and *gasp* space that I have in the condo. (Anything beats my former tiny urban apartment kitchen.) I just really love it here. The only thing I miss about my old apartment is the natural warmth. The skylights let the sun into the apartment and warm the space, something I like to call "the Greenhouse effect." To help defeat the lack of sunny heat, I made some very simple pea soup last night. It took a whopping 30 minutes. I stole the recipe from Martha. (Martha Stewart.)

I omitted the non-soup part. It would be great with GF grill cheese, though. It might also make a great St. Patrick's Day food. Just sayin'.
You can find the recipe here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/green-pea-soup-with-cheddar-scallion-panini?backto=true

Green Pea Soup

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 3 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen peas
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)
• 8 slices rye sandwich bread
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add scallion whites, and cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add peas, broth, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until peas are tender, about 5 minutes; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss cheddar with scallion greens. Make 4 sandwiches with cheddar mixture and bread.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low. Place sandwiches in skillet, and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding remaining tablespoon butter to skillet to cook second side.
4. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth (filling blender only halfway to prevent spattering). If necessary, adjust consistency with a little bit of water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Slice each panini into four "fingers, and serve with soup.

It's Snow My Darling!

When the northern portion of the United States is blanketed in snow, Atlanta is usually just cold and rainy. I arrived in the South at age 8, when my Dad accepted a job that took us from a place in Massachusetts where the apples grow to suburb of Atlanta that was just starting to bloom. I wondered when we moved down here if my classmates had ever seen snow before, if we could wear shorts all year round, and why the ground had clay instead of soil. One of those questions was answered when "The Blizzard of '93" hit Georgia. Unaccustomed to dealing with frozen conditions, the saltless roads turned into sheets of ice. I was snowed in a friend's house for the weekend.

A Southern "blizzard" was the best way to make me feel at home. My friend Andrea and I spent all weekend going in and out of the house, defrosting and redressing, so we could repeat an endless cycle of trudging through snow, sledding, and making snow sculptures. Every year after that, my Auntie Ann would send me a saucer sled that I didn't get to use for it's intended purpose*. (*Note: It did, however, get turned it into a nest of blankets for tv watching, and I did slide down pinestraw-covered hills on it.) The years that snow landed on our little suburb, I was happy. I loved waking up to the white silence and feeling the crunch under my feet. Although the snow usually disappears within a day or so, it makes the year feel complete.

In my young adult years, I considered moving back to snow-laden New England very seriously. There are a few things that keep me rooted here, besides friends, family, and a great job. With all my years here in Atlanta, I have truly become a Southern girl; I don't think I could handle long periods of uninterrupted freezing cold temperatures. And while I love snowdays, I don't want my fond childhood memories to be dirtied by daily routines of trucking through snow. Until things change in my life, I will be happy here in Atlanta with my one annual snow fall. Snow, for me, is still special.

Because this website is hilarious...

...I leave you this link entitled "How to Suck at Facebook." Enjoy!

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Young Frankenstein & Truva

I watched Young Frankenstein, the movie, for the first time in the 10th grade in our Intro to Theater class. A lover of Mel Brooks, this became a classic in my repertoire of movies I often quote. While the movie does drag out a bit, I definitely think you discover more jokes and nuances the more you watch it. Knowing that Young Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorites, my boyfriend got us tickets to watch the musical (also a Mel Brooks production) at the Fabulous Fox Theater.

If you have never been to the Fox, it is a magical theater built at the turn of the 1900's in a Middle Eastern style. Everything is lavish, right down to the shooting stars that cross the domed ceiling. The show aside, the theater is an experience all by itself. Naturally, I was quite excited to return to the Fox for a viewing of a great musical. The show itself was truly spectacular. It was fast paced, funny, and embellished on a few of the jokes in the movie by making them into songs. Even if you are not a musical lover (as I am not a musical lover), you will enjoy this show.

After a great theater experience, Nick and I drove a few miles over to Truva for a late lunch/early dinner. Truva opened up near-ish to Georgia State in what used to be Steak and Ale. It is a restaurant filled with Turkish cuisine and, at night, music and belly dancers. We arrived at about 4:45pm. Despite it not being filled to the seams with patrons and gorgeous women belly dancers, the atmosphere was not lacking. There is nothing reminiscent of old-world Turkish bars; Truva's decor is a modern lounge with open seating and relaxing feel.

Truva's menu is replete with choices of appetizers and entree's without being overwhelming. Truva cooks everything in olive oil. The staff was very sensitive to my food needs, and the waiter and manager made doubly sure I was well taken care of. For an appetizer, Nick and I split a Mediterranean salad. Although it was an appetizer, it was big enough for both of us to split. Nick and I each chose a lamb dish, paired with a glass of malbec. I had the chops, served with spinach and potatoes. The lamb was cooked perfectly to my specification of medium, and the side dishes were perfect as well. The food is definitely worth the price and worth a few more visits. The next time we go, we will go a bit later to enjoy the night scene with friends.

Spark People

Everyone seems to have New Year's resolutions to get in shape, eat better, etc., etc., etc. Most people don't actually keep their resolutions; therefore, I don't make an resolutions. I am a very goal oriented person, so I do set small, achievable goals. I know that eating GF means I eat healthier than most Americans, but it occurred to me I am not sure how healthy my daily intake of healthy things is. One of my friends who is making a lifestyle change to change her shape has been on SparkPeople.com. I decided to join. It's free, and you don't have to get annoying emails. What you can do is track your fitness and nutrition. You can use meal plans (I don't use them, since they aren't catered to the GF crowd), or choose what foods you want where. It's so easy and kinda fun. It takes a whopping 5 minutes out of my day. So here's to 2010 and finding new ways to challenge myself as a healthy person.

What I Do at Work

The best part of being a rehabilitation nurse is celebrating the small steps our patients make every day. Today, the best thing was having the occupational therapist hook up one of our tetraplegic patients into a mobile arm support so he can feed himself. (See photo at left- note this is NOT my patient, just a google image hit.)

After breaking his neck, my patient suffered a spinal cord injury. Now not all of the muscles in his arms work, and his fingers do not move. Although he can move his arms, he does not have the capability of getting the fork into the food and the food to his mouth without help. The mobile arm support allows him to move his arm in a robotic-looking support system suspended on the back of his wheelchair, so that he can eat without much assistance.

Can you imagine having people feed you, bathe you, dress you, and do just about everything else for you all the time? While you are recovering from a spinal cord injury, that is exactly what happens for a many people, like my patient. After a 3 weeks of this dependence, my patient took a huge step today. The first time I saw a big smile across his face was on his third bite, when the OT asked him "Doesn't this beat the heck out of having someone feed you?" He fed himself all three meals today. I asked him if his arm was tired, and my patient told me it was, as he put another bit of food in his mouth. I am so proud of him, because I know what he accomplished today was not easy.

Chiles

I actually had a not-so-exhausting day at work today. And I found out that I am working Thursday, not tomorrow. *whoa!* These two lovely things and having my roomie let out the barkers allowed me to go out to dinner with the girls after work.

When I started working at Shepherd, there was a core group of nurses. Through various circumstances- unit changes, parenthood, injuries- we have been spread out. Every few months we all come together as a group for a meal, a beverage, and a good time. Tonight the meet-up spot was Chiles. I've eaten there before, but I cannot for the life of me remember what the outcome was. Tonight was a clean plate.

Chile's has an allergen menu- fish, shellfish, dairy, peanuts, nuts, wheat/gluten, and soy. I eat GF and SF (soy-free), as I react to both. The soy-free menu was some slim pickin's. While I was surprised that Chiles has a GF/SF salad dressing, the rest was not wildly impressive. The only protein choice was a plain steak, and the choice of side items were naked veggies, naked corn, corn kernels, or mandarin oranges. Although the combo of steak + corn kernels + oranges seemed a little odd, the meal was good. My steak was cooked perfectly (I love a medium steak) and the sides were okay. If you are a Celiac out with friends, or in a chain-restaurant pinch, it's just fine. Otherwise, it won't really be my first choice for a place to grab a bite.

...but I am very glad for the safety of an allergen menu!