The Day The Blog Stood Still - Pan Fried Cod with Sofrito Verde

Friday - So let me tell you about Thursday, the Day The Blog Stood Still.  Because I overdid on Wednesday, the Great God of Invisible Pain punished me severely. I could hear him in my head, cackling with evil joy. Or maybe that was the dog snoring. My head hurt, my eyes hurts, that part of my digestive system that used to be my stomach hurt with those stabbing pains I really dread.

                                                                               
I collect memes about fibromyalgia and chronic pain, and got a good laugh when I found these:

(Well, maybe "good laugh" is too cheerful a description of my reaction. "Wryly bitter" might be more accurate. At least I now understood why I've been dressing in size 12 pants when I normally wear size 6, my favorite denim shirt which happens to be size 22, and a 40DDD bra from the bad old days when my bustline commanded its own zip code. Sometimes it really hurts to wear clothing, and while some people do shop in Walmart less than appropriately covered, I'm not one of them.)

When I finally stumbled downstairs, I could not eat nor drink coffee. If not for the fact that I had to return books to the library, I would have crawled back upstairs and cried. But I did have to go out, so I pulled my big straw hat low so no one would recognize me and headed first to Wawa. Being able to gas up my car for $23 cheered me up somewhat, and I headed across the street to the Walmart garden department to try to find the parsley, lavender and habanero peppers I needed to finish my porch planting. No parsley - what the hell is that about? - and no lavender, but the peppers were there and best of all, okra plants, nice ones.  I grabbed four. Paid for them too. Although it is getting late in the season for okra and the Home Depot in St. Cloud had been okra-less the day before (which worried me, I cannot lie) here in Zone 9a or 9b or wherever I live, okra can be planted in the fall.  If you can find it.

I never did get the lavender, but one quick stop at the Home Depot in Kissimmee, and I scored parsley - two flat leaf, two curly - plus a spearmint and a globe basil.  By now, I was wearing down so I dropped off the books without going into the library and went straight home to where Rob was waiting to unload my car, bless him.  No transplanting.  I watered my new acquisitions, killed a few aphids, and called it a day.  No cooking.

Can I just show off the fabulous job James and Linda have been doing, creating the raised garden? The pictures don't do it justice. Besides looking great and creating a more user-friendly planting bed, it solved the problem of the excess rain water dripping off the edge of the roof.  Last season, the constant pounding from the water damaged almost all of the plants in the front row, except for okra and tomato. This set-up prevents that by absorbing the force of the water, and also stops the soil from being washed away. I had the basic idea, but it was James who figured out how to do it. I am really looking forward to putting in my garden.

Today I received the news that the State of Florida has officially declined my application for disability retirement.  No surprise there - both of my doctors were frankly terrified to state in writing that I was permanently disabled. My therapist stated quite strongly that I could not go back to work, now or ever, and one of my doctors went so far as to say I might be able to return to work in a year or two, but that wasn't enough. I will be spending some time deciding how to deal with this newest development, but at least I'm not freaking out. I am more concerned about the chest pains I woke up with.  I took my Inderal and I took a Zantac. One or the other will do the job.

Rob and Cory are headed to Bradenton for a special martial arts event, and will be staying over one night while I keep an eye on the furry kids. I know you're not supposed to put such things out there on social media, but there is always a day delay in publication, which means by the time anyone reads this, my boys will be wrapping up and getting ready to head home. Besides, I've got a nifty new security system and if I walk one short block, I can see the Kissimmee Police Department.

Because the house is virtually empty, I ran around like a lunatic doing Stuff. Went to Lowe's, went to Publix, pushed a mop around certain parts of my dining room floor, organized my fridge, packed up food for Mom and Dad, threw some lamb neck in the oven (literally), and made my Amazing Corn Muffins.

For one brief, crazy moment I considered doing the dishes, but I got over that pretty quickly. I've stood on my feet too long as is, and I'm feeling the burn. I hope I don't pay for this spurt of energy tomorrow, but that is the usual pattern, damn it all to hell.

It's been a little while since I gave you a straightforward recipe; if you like fish, you will enjoy this. I made it the other day, took nice photos, and then promptly forgot  about it.  Fibro Chef does it again.

Pan- Fried Cod with Sofrito Verde

4 pieces of cod fillet (if frozen, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator) 1/2 to 1 inch thick

milk

Crystal hot sauce

Goya Masarepa (precooked yellow cornmeal)

Paula Deen's Southern Spice Rub

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Canola oil for cooking

Sofrito Dona Lola (green sofrito from the refrigerated case)

Cotija Cheese

Rinse the fillet pieces under cool water and pat dry.  In a baking dish, mix about 1/2 cup milk with a small amount of the hot sauce.  Place the fish into the milk and soak about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Using a dinner plate, or whatever you like to use for a breading station, combine the cornmeal with the spice rub, salt, and pepper.

Heat about a half inch of oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Coat one of the fillets with the cornmeal, turning for all sides, then place it, top side down, in the hot oil.  Repeat with the remaining fillets.  Cook 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown, then carefully turn all of the fillets. Cook this side as before.

Depending on the thickness of the fillet, it may be done, but chances are it will need another minute or two, which you can do in a 350 degree oven. Spoon some of the sofrito on each fillet, and sprinkle the cheese over that.  Place in the oven just for a minute or two. Do not overcook the fish.  Serve immediately.

The fish was delicious, but I didn't care for the sofrito and cotija.  Everyone else liked it that way, however, so use your own judgment.

Cooking the Big Bird - Turkey Rebel

Wednesday - Arrgh.  I had just typed up three pithy paragraphs on preparing turkey and then lost them through my own stupidity. I was side-tracked by thinking that another reason retirement is so nice is not having to do weekend duty anymore, and pressed the wrong damn key.  (The worst part of weekend duty was not getting midnight phone calls from Orlando PIs, nor having to review badly-written petitions that had somehow passed the muster of dilatory supervisors, nor having to wake up at some obscene hour to drive to the Orange County Juvenile Courthouse, nor having to go through a really stupid security screening that would embarrass Homeland Security - no, the worst part was having to deal with strange and cranky judges who knew shit about Chapter 39 or the Rules of Juvenile Procedure and were terrified that their next bench assignment was going to be 2 years in dependency court in Osceola County, and who still hated HRS even though we changed the name in 1996 and privatized the whole frakking agency in the early 2000s.)

Back to the turkey - yes indeed, this bird is giving me a New York salute.  This morning, tired of turkey-regulatory bullshit, I decided to do it my way.  First of all, I rinsed that bird under cool water, just as I have been doing since Thanksgiving morning of 1974. In case you missed it, the government is now telling us NOT to rinse poultry before cooking it. Something about cross-contamination. So I rinsed the turkey, patted it dry, washed my hands in very hot, soapy water 20 or 100 times during the process, and when it was all over I wiped my counter tops with bleach spray.  Just like I've always done, and nobody has died yet from eating one of my turkeys.  No way am I going to shove a Dirty Bird in my oven and then serve it to people I love.  Besides, who trusts the government when it comes to germs?  Ebola, anybody?

The government and Alton Brown have also ordered us NOT to stuff our turkeys. Sorry Alton, but fuck that noise. I like stuffing in my turkey.  I also like dressing outside of my turkey. It's all about choice. I really don't want the government or the CDC or Food Network or Michelle Obama telling me what I can and can't do with my family's food.  Leave it to our government to ignore the needs of our veterans but legislate the joy out of Thanksgiving. So I not only rinsed the bird, I stuffed it. And I broke all those silly rules about "stuff it lightly because the stuffing will expand" and crammed in as much as I wanted, in the body cavity, the neck, the spaces between the leg and the breast. I like my stuffing smashed because that's the way my mother made it, and her stuffing was always the best part of the meal.  (Incidentally, I reheated that stuffing I prepared yesterday in the microwave, tasted and re-seasoned it, and stuffed the bird with nice warm stuffing, then immediately put it in the oven.  Cold stuffing, cold turkey, we'd be waiting until next Christmas.)

But wait - I went totally off the chain, and did not truss the birdie. I did not tuck the wings under the back. I don't care if the turkey doesn't look perfect - I want crispy skin all over, and besides, Norman Rockwell isn't coming to dinner.  I never present a whole turkey to company - "picture perfect" moment my ass - and chances are, I roasted, rested, and carved it the day before, reheating it under foil after a good splash of chicken stock to keep it moist.  

So this turkey has been scrubbed, overstuffed, and left to sprawl out, legs and wings akimbo, like a randy streetwalker.  It's in the convection oven at 350 degrees, covered with foil to give it a chance to heat all the way through before the skin-crisping begins. And there you have it, a turkey rebel. With a headache, a backache, and a Bad Attitude. After 4 hours, and a nice long rest to cool down (the turkey, not me.)

The bad attitude didn't last, however, because I got to spend some time in my Happy Place today, playing in the dirt. That was after the appointment with my therapist and the side trip to Trader Joe's in Dr. Phillips. While I was in Trader Joe's that stabbing pain started up, which did not stop me from buying 5 or 6 different cheeses, prosciutto, chocolate covered marshmallows, and that cookie butter my niece Rachel had been raving about. It did, however, suck every bit of joy out of the experience, and I was throwing Zantac down my throat as soon as I got back to the car.

I did some more transplanting, and then baked some beer cheese dinner muffins, and so totally overdid that there was no blog published on Thursday. I was too tired and too achy to finish the writing and add the photos regarding my Wednesday. I also woke up with one of the worst headaches I've had in a while and had to take some Advil before I could even get out of bed at what was frankly a slothful hour.

Fibromyalgia - can't live with it, can't kill anything to stop it.

Hell NO, Joe - Turkey Stuffing

Linda did a fabulous job trimming hibiscus and bougainvillea

Tuesday - Having been incapacitated for the best part of a day, it is a relief that I was able to get out of bed this morning and pursue at least some of the tasks on my list.

I love lists. I love making them, and I love deleting items from them. Shopping lists, packing lists, to-do lists, I'm all about lists. I always had a list at work on the corner of my desk, and I have alway kept a small stalk of lists on my kitchen counter. I don't know if other people keep written lists, especially these days when your iPhone can make your list for you, but that's the way my grandmother did it and so do I. Many years ago, while visiting her son, my Uncle Marty, over Thanksgiving at his home in Cape Coral, I noticed that he too kept lists and other small, important scraps of paper in the corner of his kitchen counter.  Good thing I developed the family habit, otherwise at this point in my post-menopausal fibromyalgic life, I would forget everything.

Time to carpet-bomb Aphidistan

One item on my list was "aphid tonic" which is not as weird as it sounds. I officially declared war on the aphids that have been destroying my pepper plants, as well as damaging my tomato plants.  War means ordnance, and I have taken up the challenge.  No half measures here.  Aphid tonic is a cocktail of Murphy's Oil Soap, vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol and good old water, created by the Garden Rebel. Follow the link, he's an interesting guy. I made up a small amount and sprayed my slightly denuded pepper plants and my big jalapeño plant, early this morning before the sun had a chance to interfere. Now I have to wait and see if the little buggers return.

I had to trim off the really badly affected leaves

                                      

I froze the pork belly, flanken, and pork chops because there is enough food in my refrigerator to feed the neighborhood.  Another day, another month, when I am having a good day, I will cook them. Today, all I am cooking is the stuffing for the turkey.  No need to use up the benefit of yesterday's long rest on a turkey. Besides, the stuffing will taste better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.

These are the ingredients for the stuffing - you know how to make stuffing, right?  easiest thing in the world. Sauté some of the stuff, add the rest of the stuff and then smush it all together. Bake it outside or inside a turkey. Enjoy.

1-8 oz. chorizo sausage, peeled and chopped fine
4 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 very large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
 4 or more cloves garlic, chopped
1 Gala apple, cored and chopped
1-14 oz. bag stuffing cubes
1 can Campbell's chicken broth
1 soup can water

kosher salt
ground black pepper
dried thyme
ground sage (plus 6 fresh leaves, chopped)
dried rosemary (plus a small amount of fresh leaves, chopped)
granulated garlic
Hungarian sweet paprika
ground ginger
ground cinnamon

Marigolds!

One other thing I did get done, although it wore me out I cannot lie, was a shopping trip to the garden department at Home Depot.  This was for herbs and pepper plants only. I'm not ready to plant directly into the garden, but I think I can manage the porch rail planters. Well, some of them. If my pictures ever transfer from the iPhone to the iPad, I'll be glad to show you.  I've even got marigolds to attract more bees.

More peppers - green, red, and poblano

Lemon thyme, and the oregano I salvaged from the garden

Onion chives, fernleaf dill, cilantro

Rosemary, sage, purple basil - still missing Italian parsley

Finally, the first Democratic Presidential debate occurred tonight. I hope you all watched it. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, as you know. At this point in my life, I am politically conservative except when I am liberal. In my opinion, Hillary Clinton rocked that debate. I can also see why so many people like Bernie Sanders. Doesn't mean I would vote for him, but he's charismatic for sure.

Joe Biden, still "agonizing" over whether to run, did not appear. Having bypassed this critical first debate, he needs to stay out for good. If you screw this up for Hillary, old man, an awful lot of Democrats are going to be voting for Donald Trump. Don't be a spoiler, Joe - retire gracefully, be the elder statesman, help your party and its rightful candidate. In other words, sit down and shut up.

Tears for Fears

Monday - Waking up to another day of intense pain and depression.  Not sure why I bothered to wake up at all. Whatever tasks I had planned for today are not going to happen. I feel like I have been body slammed, and I am in tears.

I can''t eat. The extra pills I took - 2 Advil and 1 Zantac - have taken up all the available room in what I still refer to as my stomach.  When I have a fibro flair, I suffer with small muscle spasms that not only cause the body pain, but interfere with my ability to swallow and digest.

So I am spending the day in bed, according to my own rules for such dilatory behavior. Rule #1 - I am dressed, albeit casual. Rule #2 - I am sitting on top of the covers.  If I get chilly, cold feet, whatever, I throw a small afghan (a knit blanket, not an Afghani child) or some other kind of blanket over my feet. Today it is Cory's Thomas the Tank Engine sleeping bag.  Rule #3 - I forbid myself to feel guilty. Shit happens. Rule #4 - I am not going to search through my bucket of discarded prescription medications in the hope of finding an opioid or two. Between pain and addiction, I choose pain. The day may come when that is a moot point, but thankfully that day is not today.

Chelsea keeping me company

The turkey, the stuffing, the corn muffins, the kasha varnishkes, and the rest of the stuff on my cooking list are going to have to wait. I'm not going to try to pretend I can stand at the kitchen counter for several hours chopping onions and celery and onions and garlic and onions. I am not preheating my oven or wrestling with a 14 pound galliform, who although deceased is resistant to the idea of having bread stuffing shoved up his butt.  I am not going to bend and stretch and cuss like a mule skinner to empty the dishwasher so I can fill it again. I am not going to mix up a tonic of Murphy's Oil Soap, rubbing alcohol and vegetable oil for spraying my pepper plants against those frakking aphids. I am not going to do any of these things because I can't. Today, I'm no hero. As Judge Carsten once said to me, "you don't have to take one for the team."

           
So I finally took his advice - he gave it to me over a year ago, but I'm a slow learner - and stayed upstairs, feet up, knitting needles in hand. I did not watch TV; I did listen to music. I spent time with my furry kids, and let Anakin fuss over me. I did manage to eat a little, and I watered my avocado pits.

I hope tomorrow is a better day. For all of us.

Soupy Sails - The Perfect Split Pea Soup

Magenta Bougainvillea in my front yard

Sunday - Joe Biden is really beginning to piss me off. Fish or cut bait, old man. I think there is something really cheap about his "will he or won't he?" bullshit. But being a power-hungry sociopath like almost every other politician on Planet Earth, he is loving the media attention, he is loving all the begging from his brain-dead supporters, and he is loving poking a stick at Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  He's what we call a spoiler, and if the Democratic Party has one brain in its collective head, it will tell him to back off.

Yesterday, while I was kvetching about my aches and pains, James and Linda were working to create my dream garden with two tiers, one of them being well-protected against the occasional monsoon.  I am so very pleased with how James is always able to take my ideas and turn them into something really nice.

It's also nice that James has lots of creative ideas of his own, which compliment and enhance whatever hare-brained scheme I happen to be working on at the time.

Believe it or not, that side garden will provide 172 square feet (give or take a few) of planting area.  And this time, the rain is not going to able to wash away all our efforts.

Still kvetching about pain. This is wearing me down and making me a tad grumpy.. But I did manage to finish the split pea soup.

When I took it out of the fridge, the soup was very thick and pretty tasty, but not quite where I wanted  it. First I removed the neckbone, stripped it of the meat, chopped the meat fine, and added it to the soup. Next I sliced an onion and cooked it in 2 tablespoons of butter. I sliced two Hebrew National knockwurst - all this slicing was on the thin side - and added them to the onions. When everything was nicely browned, I added the onions, knockwurst, and the butter they were cooked in into the soup. 

Three more Knorr cubes, and two cups of boiling water, a little more salt and dried thyme. I placed it back into the cooker unit and set it on high, brought it to a simmer, then reduced it to low and left the house for a few things. And when I got back -

It was perfect. Not too thick, not too thin, not too salty, not too bland. Perfect. And yes, it took two days, but so what? Contrary to those endless game shows and competitions on Food Network, cooking is an art, not a triathlon. There is no need for speed. Cooking for people you love, or at least like, is a very special act of giving. It comes from the heart, and it is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, especially the one doing the cooking.

So slow down and smell the caramelized onions.

Let the Ravelry Begin! - Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Knockwurst

Stay off your feet, Mom. I'll take care of you.

Saturday - I have lost my knitting mojo and I've got to get it back.  Yesterday, I made a deliberate plan to spend some quality time with my circular needles, and brought my project downstairs with me.  And then, despite the fact that it would have done me a lot of good, I did not pick up the knitting even once.

This has been a problem for over a year, since about the time we moved to this house.  So I am wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I haven't managed to organize my stash. When   we first moved here, I went through all of the yarn, sorted out the stuff I knew I would never use, packed it up and passed it on to someone who is involved in knitting for the troops.  I have a good idea of what I have in both yarn and UFOs (unfinished objects).  I sort of have a plan as to which of the UFOs I am going to finish first.  Except I am finishing nothing. Scarves, shawls, socks - all my favorites - and I can't seem to get a damn thing done.

Well, that has to change. I need inspiration and a big kick in the ass. I started that process by heading over to Ravelry, the best fiber-related site on the Web:

Ravelry is a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration. The content here is all user- driven; we as a community make the site what it is. Ravelry is a great place for you to keep notes about your projects, see what other people are making, find the perfect pattern and connect with people who love to play with yarn from all over the world in our forums.

I have been a member for years, and have built up a pretty impressive library of free and paid-for knitting patterns. I used to check in every few days, but when my life started to unravel, so did my knitting mojo.  It's a great place for inspiration, so I'm putting it back on my list of Things To Do.  I have lists for everything, and this is a worthy addition.

In addition to that addition, I have to get back to the Yarn Harlot. Besides all those socks she knocks off every few hours (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little - but just a little), the Harlot also knits sweaters.  I used to knit sweaters, but then I moved to Florida, turned 40, and decided I didn't have to knit anything I didn't really enjoy knitting and had no need for. But Stephanie - the Harlot - lives in Canada, Toronto I think, and there is a constant need for sweaters. And not only does she do gorgeous work, she actually likes knitting sweaters. So next on my list of Things To Do is keeping up with the Harlot. I know how that sounds, but you know what I mean.

I am really, truly feeling grim today. This is one of those days when all I can do is declare fibromyalgia to be the winner and go back to bed. I feel wretched enough that I am going to have to miss a wedding, and I feel bad about that. 

I need soup, so I need to throw a few things in the crockpot. There will be no standing in front of the stove for 8 or 12 hours today.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Knockwurst

2 cups frozen tricolor pepper and onion blend
1 pound green split peas, rinsed in colander  
1 piece smoked pork neck bone (mine happened to be frozzen)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
9 cups water
2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes, broken up
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon Emeril's Cajun Essence
1 bay leaf

Add the ingredients to the crockpot in the order given. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

So, after 7 hours, those damn peas were still almost rock-hard. I should have soaked them, but there you are. I threw it on the high setting and sincerely hope it will be done before midnight.

Another 90 minutes on high, the equivalent of three hours on low, and the peas were perfect. I let the soup cool to room temperature and moved the covered crock to the refrigerator for an overnight rest. Tune in tomorrow for the stunning soup-conclusion.

But first ...

Another version of the pinwheel rolls: Ken's Honey Mustard, thinly sliced ham and turkey, well-drained salsa, shredded Swiss cheese, dried chives, black pepper. Bake for 8 minutes, reverse pan, bake 8 more minutes. Let these cool on the silpat-lined baking pan.