Exploring My Own Kitchen

At the beginning of the year I had made a decision to try and cook at least 2 new recipes from one of my old cookbooks every week. Well, I promptly got sick and did not continue. However, things have progressed and I have developed a lot of difficulty swallowing and lost a significant amount of weight. I have been advised to adopt a "nutrient dense" diet. No other guidelines provided- just go do it. As I wait for biopsy results and possible surgery I have begun reviewing several sources for these "nutrient-dense" foods. As part of this I am also going back to my plan for 2 new recipes per week.
Foods I need to focus on: blackberries, blueberries, dk leafy greens (hate kale), cultured milks like yogurt and kefir, oranges, pomegranates, ginger, turmeric and dried beans.
I should be able to do something with all that.

First cookbook up: The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, mostly because it is monster sized.
Recipes I have previously marked in this book:
Coleslaw with vinaigrette, p. 485, This is actually my favorite recipe in this book to date, there is no shortage of similar recipes in the world but this one has perfect proportions of slaw to vinaigrette.
Salsa Verde Enchiladas, p. 164
Pesto p. 254
Accordion potatoes p. 423
Spinach and Jack Cheese Bread Pudding p. 343, Total fail

Clearly I need to get better about making notes on recipes.

Last night I made the Pasta E Fagioli with Sausage soup. I majorly bumped up the fresh spinach and cannellini beans to meet goals but otherwise didn't change anything. I served it with my own home baked sourdough bread. It was a pleasant, warming meal for a cold night. DH enjoyed it quite a bit.

>1 catseyegreen: I am sorry to hear about your health difficulties, and I hope you find answers soon. I depend on my Vitamix for my breakfast smoothies. A great way to get kale into your body! Not sure what your dietary guidelines are, but since my chemo treatments, meat isn't very appealing to me. I have been using egg whites from the carton (pasteurized) in my smoothies for extra protein.

>1 catseyegreen: Sympathy with your health issues! Depending on how it's made, Portuguese Caldo Verde is either the best or the worst way of treating kale. There was a place in colonial Mozambique that my father loved for the fishing, that made it look and taste like dishwater, and needed ever-increasing quantities of piri-piri to make it edible. On the other hand, a Johannesburg friend makes it according to Mimi Jardim's recipe in Cooking the Portuguese Way ..., and that is superb.

>1 catseyegreen: Hi Sara, I am so sorry that you are having medical concerns and hope that you can get it figured out and treated very soon.

Your idea of looking at old cookbooks and making a few new recipes from them a week is a brilliant idea! i just got 7 cookbooks from the library today, every one about cookies.

>3 MrsLee: Thank you for the suggestion. I am currently looking for ways to bump up nutrition in an easy-to-swallow way but my blender is an Osterizer I got in the 1980's and does not have much oomph for raw ingredients. My income is limited so I don't know what I can do about this yet. Something will happen.

>4 hfglen: Thank you. I live in the desert Southwest and I have eaten a lot of caldos in the past but I am not familiar with Portuguese cuisine. It would have to be pretty stunning to make kale taste good to me.

>5 mdoris: My husband adores cookies. But 7 books of cookie recipes at once ... We would never conquer the glut.
Anything stand out as really good?

Well, Wednesday I got my biopsy and scan results and the news is all bed. I don't have an actual treatment plan yet, instead I am being sent for even more studies next week before I can see the oncologist. Today I accompanied my husband while he went for a cardiac stress test and an echocardiogram. Both days were completely consumed by these events. BUT
On Monday night I had mixed up my first ever batch of home-brewed ginger ale and left it out to ferment. Wednesday I decided it was done and stuck it in the fridge and tonight I strained and poured my first glass. Oh my.... I can tell this stuff is going to be a friend in the days to come. It is gently effervescent, not too sweet with a pronounced ginger flavor. It clears my throat and is warming all the way down even though it is chilled. This book is going to be worth it just for this recipe.

True Brews by Emma Christensen

>9 catseyegreen: *Hugs* So sorry about the news. I was given lots of bad news (melanoma stage 4) last year. This year, after some difficult treatments, there was some good news, hang in there.

True Brews looks like a great book! I'm glad the gingerale is working for you. I sometimes make a tepache when I have fruit scraps. Nice in the summertime. I mix my own herbal teas for the winter cold.

Another way I like kale is cooking it the old fashioned way of cooking greens. Better if you mix in beet, turnip, chard or some other tough greens. Fry it in a tablespoon of bacon fat. Then steam it in a little water or broth for about half an hour. Add a little vinegar, hot sauce, sugar, salt or soy sauce. Whatever makes it tasty getting that salt-sweet-sour-bitter-umami flavor.

I also like kale chopped really fine and mixed into coleslaw. That might be hard to swallow though. Veggie soup?

>10 MrsLee: I may try that, I do have some bacon in the freezer. I am debating whether the extra nutrients are worth eating kale. I do eat turnip greens so maybe stick with those and cabbage. Oh- and broccoli of course. I steamed some broccoli last night and could only get down a couple of pieces. I may need to look up some of my old pureed soup recipes. I seem to remember I had some that included dark green leafy veggies.

>8 catseyegreen: I know that is a bit excessive having all those cookbooks about one subject (cookies) home from the library all at once but it is interesting how different they are from each other I have got some startling new recipes, "repeaters" we call them and maybe a bit rich for everyday cookies but yummy.

>9 catseyegreen: I am very sorry for your medical news. If you were nearby I would be brewing you a big pot of tea and bringing some of my home made cookies. I hope that you get successful treatment quickly. Sounds like you and your husband are consumed by medical testing. I passed out in the middle of the night a month ago and broke my collar bone. I am getting heart assessments too.

Last night I made the second recipe from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Southwestern Rice and Corn Frittata, p. 232.
I did not have fresh jalapeno so I substituted a can of medium green chilies. It came out okay but I was not very excited by it.

>9 catseyegreen: All the best to you as you find out more about exactly what it is you have to fight. Congratulations on your ginger experiment. Many people are unaware that the US National Library of Medicine online has several studies documenting the infection-fighting power of the humble ginger root. When I had to have a broken tooth removed, I planned to consume as much minced fresh organic ginger root as possible post-surgery to see if it would aid in (surgical) wound healing. The oral surgeon had me return for a wound care check-up 3 days later. So when he looked in my mouth, he said in a real quiet voice, "I have never seen wound healing like this!" He asked me what I had been doing after the tooth removal 3 days ago, so I told him about all the minced fresh organic ginger root (skin removed) that I had chewed and swallowed each day. He was quite impressed.

Well, the project has not progressed very far as my time has been consumed with doctor visits and medical procedures. I am still waiting for an answer to how this is going to be treated. Meanwhile, I checked out several new cookbooks from the library and have been able to do a little experimenting with them.


I am impressed that the pantry "staples" Kimball lists are mostly things I do have in my kitchen, so often these type books have items that are not readily available to me. I am also impressed that he has chapters devoted to items like tuna, beans and tomatoes. I really like this book and I am placing it on my wanted list.
Recipes tried so far:
Egg Noodles with Cabbage, Bacon and Sour Cream-- it's a totally brown dish but has really good flavor.
Chinese-style Vegetable Omelets-- quick and easy to downsize for 2 people. They tasted really good too.
Bulgur and Chicken Salad with Pomegranate Molasses-- a definite keeper, it's fruity but also spicy with the jalapeno.

Tonight I hope to try the Hoisin Ginger Noodles but I am off to another doctor visit so who knows what will happen.

>15 catseyegreen: Understanding and empathy to you as you work your way through the maze of the medical world. So many decisions with so many complications to consider. We do the best we can with the intelligence we have and hope for the best.

Take it easy on yourself and when you are home with some energy, do what brings you joy, whether that is getting a bathroom clean, reading a book or cooking something new. Our new motto is "Do one thing." If we do one thing, the day has been a success. There have been days when the one thing was taking a shower, but it was one thing!

I love the sound of the book, and your meals sound delicious too. I read a book called The Everlasting Meal: Recipes for Leftovers A-Z, by Tamar Adler. It inspired me to look to what I have and throw less of what I used to think of as the "dross" of my cooking away. Saving special fats from roasts, water from vegetables and much more, to make other dishes rich in flavor.

>16 MrsLee: Thank you. Yesterday was a 3.5 hour marathon of a visit with a massive information dump at the end. I am still working my way through some of the information and it is a lot to process. In the meantime I have a new list of things I need to do before we can embark on the actual treatment of this. I find my time in the kitchen is soothing even though I will never be a fan of washing dishes.
Your "one thing" philosophy sounds like a very good idea. I have already had days when the doctor visit was the only thing I could cope with and nothing else got done. I will have to think about it.

>1 catseyegreen: Sending hugs and prayers.

One thing a day does sound like a good philosophy! Hope you can process all the medical information and make some very good choices for yourself. Take care!

Wow, I just dropped out of here for a full month. Okay, time to get back.
I am not going to try to play catch up on April as far as cooking. I did a lot of it but mostly items I could stock up on in the freezer. Good thing too, I had surgery 4/25, they implanted a feeding tube and portacath 4/30 and I started radiation and chemo on 5/1/2024 and promptly crashed. The radiation is not too bad-yet but the chemo is 20 times worse than I was warned. I am finally back on my feet and not throwing up. Unfortunately, I also lost a significant amount of weight again and now I am officially underweight. Tube feedings started. Enough said.
MrsLee, I really hope your chemo treatments are not this bad but if they are you have my total admiration for hanging on and still accomplishing stuff in your kitchen.

Recipe this week, skillet jambalaya from Hero Dinners. I made this for my husband and a friend who usually comes over every Friday evening. I was not able to eat this but the men seemed to enjoy it. I felt it was a little heavy on the red chili flakes but I didn't have all that much to wrap up and stash in the freezer. Probably not the best jambalaya recipe out there but perfectly adequate for an weeknight dinner.

>20 catseyegreen: I've been thinking about you and worried a bit because we hadn't seen you.

So sorry it has been this rough on you! I didn't have much nausea, at least the medicine they gave me to prevent it worked fast. Also no radiation, and immunotherapy instead of chemo. Hang in there. This is the really hard part, but hopefully it will mean a reprieve and eventual healing for you. Do what you can, but don't be afraid to ask for help. People really want to help for the most part, they just don't know what to do.

Well, once again I have been off longer than I intended. This week I will be finishing radiation and chemo and then I move into a follow-up break of 6 weeks, after that the doctors will begin to evaluate how successful the treatment has been. I still cannot swallow or eat normally so there has been no cooking to speak of going on. Instead, I have been combing through my cookbook collection and thinning out the ones I don't use or that do not meet my needs now that it is just my husband and myself at home. I mostly get my books from used sources so there is not a lot of sentiment attached to most of them. I will take the books to the used bookstore and I also cleaned out a bunch of old magazines that I think I will take to the local Little Free Library.

>23 catseyegreen: Glad to see you back. Sounds like a good project to do. I recently thinned out my cookbooks, but only sent about two or three away. Most of mine are either sentimental or used for research.

May you continue to heal.

>23 catseyegreen: and MrsLee. Prayers for both of you. Stay strong.

>24 MrsLee: Thank you, I am praying that I will be able to swallow again but the swelling can take up to 3 months to go down.
I cleaned out about a dozen, so that makes a little space on the shelves.

>25 mnleona: Thank you, prayer is always appreciated.

On Fridays my friend Tony comes over after work and well all eat dinner together. Usually I cook one week and he cooks the other. Since I have not been producing any food the last 2 months, he has brought i food for himself and my husband. I have decided that even if I cannot taste or swallow yet I should be able to porduce a few meals. I will be cooking every Friday- something easy the men will like- and at least arranging food for DH a couple of other nights.
I made a big batch of shredded pork in my crockpot and served it with barbecue sauce and buns. I made deviled eggs and purchased some potato salad. It went over very well and I have enough pork for at least 2 more meals.
Last night I made a batch of sourdough pizza dough, I am going to pre-bake a couple of shells and stash the in the freezer for the future.
DH has a few leftovers to get through before I start defrosting some of the soups etc I made in April. With a little effort his diet should improve.

>28 catseyegreen: That is a huge positive step for you and I'm glad you feel up to it.

Yesterday I made DH a quick little stir-fry with a pork chop from the freezer and random vegies. He said he enjoyed it. Today I am defrosting soup for him. I am also defrosting pulled pork, green chile and some bacon to make tacos tomorrow. I soaked pinto beans overnight and they are now cooking in the crockpot. I feel more productive today than I have all summer.

>30 catseyegreen: Good for you.
My father had his beans once a week and it was a favorite meal of his. In Minnesota, my husband called it bean soup and in Texas we said beans. I remember my mother going through the beans to make sure there were no bad ones.

>31 mnleona: I remember when you used to get a rock or two in every bag of beans, also dirt clumps. The dry beans are much cleaner now. Haven't found a rock I'm ages, but I always look!

>31 mnleona: Well, I'm in New Mexico so the beans became refried beans to go with the tacos this time. I do like to do soups too. Calico beans are another favorite.

>32 MrsLee: I found a rock in a bag of black beans a couple of years ago. Never had to deals with clumps of dirt though.

The Friday meal was shrimp scampi, which used up some frozen shrimp from the freezer.It went over well with the guys.
I have barely started being able to do a little bit of swallowing- clear liquids only but I am still hopeful it will be restored. I get to start speech therapy tomorrow and I am looking forward to finding out more about my condition.

>35 catseyegreen: Progress is good! I hope you get some answers and positive feedback.

This Friday's meal was black bean and corn salad and Enchilada casserole use items pulled from the freezer. Both are dishes I can make in my sleep so they were relatively easy to pull ff.
Last week I started speech therapy, hoping all these difficult exercises assigned to me will pay off but I will be having a swallow study done on Monday so we can see just what damage is in the throat.

Baked surprise muffins for the girls in Speech Therapy- well received.

>38 catseyegreen: That was sweet. Keep up the good work.

>38 catseyegreen: Thinking of you, hoping you are making progress towards wellness.

>40 MrsLee:
Thank you for thinking of me, 2024 was a rough year for sure. I am still unable to swallow but the doctors and therapists are working hard and there is still hope I can at least taste my cooking again.

>41 catseyegreen: Very glad to see you here again, even if the news is mixed. May 2025 be a year of improvements health wise for you.