(no subject)

So, i think i'm "sick" (which i continue to believe really means so ill that one cannot move even if one desperately needs to move). All over body ache, sore throat, and sinus woes. Oh, and my asthmatic cough is back, and Christine occasionally coughs, too.

I feel so very very tired, and i recognize some of it is the extra delight yet stress of having my brother visit. He was on his usual impossible schedule, No plan was settled until you actually saw him, but he spent the night at our place for three nights. (One night i woke up to an email saying he'd sleep on the floor of his office, but i was pretty sure there was a breathing pile of blankets on the couch.) The additional stress of just trying to coordinate with him, worrying whether his presence was affecting Christine's exam prep, Christine having her graduate midterm....

I'm pretty sure some of this is allergies related, but i'm somewhat peeved that my regular dose of allegra-equivalent isn't having the effect needed. I took a claritin-equivalent this morning and, with the doubled up drugs, feel a little less congested. Maybe self medicating in this way for a few days would be OK?

... definitely not up to speed today. Now taking a few hours out for rest.....

Purple Cabbage & Plantain

So i should fix something to eat: Christine's out of the house today and i've just interspersed some work calls and email with identifying flowers from a walk last Saturday: i decided i would use my pinterest account to "collect" the identifying images: http://pinterest.com/elainegrey/northern-california-environment/ I expect it will be easier to page through that than evernote, although i've also started pages in evernote for ID'ed flowers.

Hungry, i didn't see anything to eat, so clearly i'd have to cook. I had earlier planned to do something with rice, but when i opened the fridge i saw the ripe plantain. It probably won't be any good when i come back from my travels, so now is a good time to eat it. I skimmed through the wikipedia article to see if there was anything to do but fry it. " In Ghana, boiled plantain is eaten with ... cabbage stew. " Hmm. I have a red cabbage (which might be fine when i get back). A search for cabbage and plantain recipes turned up an easy recipe, Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Plantains. My variation went something like:


gurgles of balsamic vinegar
scoop of a sweet jalapeno relish
couple dashes of dried onion
some water
some cornstarch

mix in bowl and reserve

couple tablespoons of cooking oil

put in cast iron frying pan, turn heat to high

Slice plantain into "coins." Carefully arrange all the slices in the frying pan. Cut up red cabbage, about the same volume as the plantain. Turn plantain. Once plantain is golden or a little dark toss cabbage on top, then toss. Add cornstarch mixture and toss until cabbage seems done and sauce is thickened.

Eat.

It's not bad at all. I can't imagine adding any sugar: it's plenty sweet. The colors and textures are nice compliments. I don't know what it would go with in a "normal" meal, but it suits me right now.