Cooking Mexicano Style

...in honour of my (nearly finished) Mexico-inspired kitchen. Last night I made a low-cal version of Chicken Mole, using chicken breasts with no skin, but still all the lovely chocolate-y chile-y goodness that is Mole. We didn't use to call it Hot Fudge Chicken for nothing!

That was a faux Mexican dish, but tonight, baby, Chile Verde! The real thing, made from scratch and currently bubbling away on my stove. Mmmmmmmmmm. Let's take a look, shall we?



Although it is relatively easy to make Chile Verde using various canned items, I usually prefer to do it all myself. That means roasting, peeling and de-seeding the chiles myself, chopping up the tomatoes and trimming my own pork. The only thing I didn't make from scratch was the chicken broth that all the good stuff is simmering in. Thank Campbell's for that.

I haven't been able to find Poblano chiles here in Canadia or Anaheim chiles, for that matter. The chiles I use are called Cubanos, who knows-- they may be Anaheims by another name, they certainly look similar. They do the job, though. These roasted up beautifully, thanks to my asador. What? you don't have an asador? You totally need to get one.



Just put this baby on your gas burner and char those peppers or tomatoes all to hell!

Okay, enough teasing. Here's what you really want to see, even if it is slightly unfinished.



In the above photo. the plant in the foreground cleverly conceals the one cabinet that doesn't currently have a door.



The microwave may not stay here, but both Grant and I like having more space around the sink.



Isn't it amazing how the tile totally matches the dishes in the open cupboard? A complete accident.

Anyway, even though it's not perfect...yet...we are pretty happy with our new kitchen.

The way to face a midlife crisis

...is probably not with all the bitching and moaning I have been doing,

My friend Carl, on the other hand, is tackling his mid-life crisis head on: by taking part in the AIDS/LifeCycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Carl has been one of my closest friends since way back in the late 70s. He has always been one of the lights of my life, someone I knew I could always depend on, someone who always makes me laugh, a port in any storm and the reason I am a published writer. But this is not about me, it's about him. If you are interested in donating to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and giving the credit to a fabulous gay guy who doesn't look a speck older than 35, then go to Carl's site and donate.

And as an added bonus; if you make a donation, I will send you your choice of a Smelly Stuff Bath Salt or Candle. Just think: you can actually do good things and smell good things too!

Sigh

So far this long weekend has not started off well at all. Last night I did a pretty stupid thing; something I didn't really want to do, but did because I thought that someone I love wanted me to do it. Unfortunately, it turns out that that loved one didn't really want me to do what I did and my decision is pretty much the reason everything got fucked up royally. Nobody is really blaming me (there were other people involved---I did not act alone), but I feel terrible about how badly I misinterpreted the situation. Is that vague enough for you all? At any rate, I was a very unhappy camper last night. Yes, there were tears and tossing and turning. Sigh.

Secondly, I have been dying to give you all photos of our kitchen, but it's not quite finished. The counter top didn't arrive until this week (a full two weeks later than the woman at Rona initially promised me) plus our installer was extra busy this week (short week due to Good Friday) and although he has finished the counter, he only got about 2/3 of the tile done. Sigh.

Then there are the cabinet doors. Grant and I started putting them up today and there was... a problem. Back in the day when they were boring melamine white, the cabinet doors had a depth of 1/2 inch. Then we made them beautiful (just like my Do It Yourself book told us) by adding moulding on the edges, which made them about 1 inch.
But... when they go back up, they have to be reinstalled flush with the other doors. And now some of them will not open, because they are jammed right next to the other door and the hinge only has allowance for the original 1/2 inch. Sigh.

We hope that all we need are new hinges that can compensate for the change in depth. We really, really hope. If not, the options are very limited. The bitch of the whole thing is that the doors we could put up look amazing. The tile is looking gorgeous. The counter is perfect. But looks are not everything. Sigh.

Thirdly, my hip and back are giving me much pain. I worked out (carefully) with my trainer today, because I know that I need to stretch and strengthen, but now I am aching. The stress from all the other crap doesn't help. Sigh.

Grant and I really need to drink tonight. At least we have lots of wine.

Desert View: Light and Dark

And they're off!!

To Tucson until the 15th.

Goodbye, snow. Goodbye, giant blizzard approaching the GTA this afternoon.

Hello, sunshine!!!!

Compassionate care

Thursday, 7:30 pm. Phone rings

Allison: Hello?
Doctor: Is that Allison?
Allison: Yes.
Doctor: Um, yes, this is Dr. G________. That x-ray of your hip shows some arthritis.
Pause
Allison: So I should take some aspirin?
Doctor: Sure.
Allison: Okay, thanks.
Doctor: You're welcome. Good-bye.
Allison: Good-bye.

Honestly, he really is a good doctor and he did call me at 7:30 pm to tell me the news. But, obviously, I won't be looking to him for a model bedside manner.

Never trust a Red State

Now, I am not pointing any fingers or anything, but every bad storm warning we have had in the last month or so has started with these words:

A winter storm is currently brewing over Texas with the potential to bring significant snow to most of southern Ontario.

Seriously, why does Texas hate us so much?

Hugs=Good

Thanks, everyone. I am feeling better today; not nearly as fragile as I did yesterday. Virtual hugs (and real hugs from my husband) make the world a much brighter place.

I have been reflecting on why I took yesterday so hard, and I realized that for most of my life, I have been a very healthy person. Sure, I get colds and stuff and I have suffered a few injuries but when it comes to those diagnostic health issues, I have never really had one. Everytime a doctor has ordered a test for me, from MRIs to dye injections to evaluate my thyroid function, the verdict has always been: nothing wrong, perfectly normal.

So I fully expected my bone density test to be completely non-eventful. But it wasn't. For the first time, the test actually revealed an actual disease. That, combined with having to have a second mammogram (a fairly normal occurrence) really sent me spinning. I think I wondered if my good luck has finally run out and from now on, the news would get even worse.

It probably won't, of course, but yesterday I felt very mortal. Today, I realize that there are people who are dealing with real health issues (hell, I read some of their blogs and so do you!) and I should not cross that particular bridge until it actually is my only option.

In other words, I am trying really hard to get over myself. Thanks again for your support.

When the age thing bites you in the ass

Today I was poked, prodded, stuck and squished.

I had to go back for a second series of mammograms on my right breast. Then my doctor told me the results of my bone density test: not so hot. I have osteoporosis in my back and osteopenia in my hip. It is possible that my eating habits over the years are to blame, but there are other, not so wonderful, possible explanations for fragile bones at a relatively young age. So, 6 different blood tests were ordered; one of which is to rule out melanoma. Let me be perfectly clear here: I realize that it is extremely unlikely that I have cancer, but to have to undergo two tests in one day to rule out cancer was the tiniest bit disturbing.

To top it all off, I have been having pain in my left hip, which, after the bone density thing, suddenly turned into cancer in my hip. Not that my doctor ever suggested such a thing, but if there is anything I am blessed with, it is a fertile imagination. So, off to the xray technician to take pictures of my hip (and my back while I was at it, you know, to get a baseline on those fragile bones). And the stupid positions they put you into just make the damn hip hurt more.

Anyway, I have to take some pill once a week now to try and make my bones stronger. I hurt pretty much all over, from right tit to left hip. And I feel old.

For Jenn

Because she's a hardware junkie!



And because my previous photo sucked donkey eggs.

Accomplished

All of my list but two. And one was not really my fault, because Grant decided to paint the frames of the cupboards. There was no way I was going to dig stuff out of cupboards that had just got paint on them! That will have to be a partial project to complete today. I also did not watch a movie. All we managed to watch yesterday was hockey and hockey-related news, which was okay, because while Grant listened to various guys discussing the pros and cons of the hockey trades, coaching changes and playoff prospects, I was busy reading Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story. I highly recommend the whole saga. I also didn't actually shovel the driveway, but it was clear when I got home, courtesy of the contractor who plows our road. So all good.

I also got the following done:

• Revised and finished the final design on the backsplash and created a complete kitchen model on the computer for the contracter. Here is a photo of the work in process:
  
  
  
  
• Attached the new hardware to the completed cabinet doors:
  
  
  
  
• Washed my gym clothes

Sorry, no photo of that! :-)

All in all, a very productive day!

Important stuff I got to do today

• Go to the gym
  
• File the bills
  
• Make bath salts
  
• Clean out the bottom cabinets
  
• Shovel the front of the house
  
• Play with the tile pattern for the backsplash
  
• Watch a movie
  
• Snuggle with my husband
  
• or perhaps....