Sailor Soldier of Love and Justice

Thanksgiving was spent all day in bed. I slept nearly the whole day.

Friday was also spent mostly in bed. Ben forced me out to dinner in the evening even though I was loaded up on cold medicine. I had barely eaten that day, so I was surprisingly hungry. Then we walked off dinner in the mall, where the nyquil dizziness made straight lines difficult. At least it wasn't very crowded.

Today I felt much better. I wasn't at 100%, but I was functional again.

Because I lack any sense of moderation, I decided today would be make-up Thanksgiving. I spent the entire day cooking.
Recipe verdicts:
- Wild rice stuffed squash - Ok, but would have been better without the squash. The rice mixture smelled nice and tasted good though. Luckily I have plenty of rice leftovers.
- Quino skillet bread - Still on the fence about this. Taste-wise, it was good. It tasted like cornbread but had a much dense texture that I'm not sure I liked. Plus the center had a weird thick cream portion that freaks me out a little. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with food texture issues.
- Vegetarian Stuffing - Bland and dry. Hopefully I can come up with creative ways to use this stuff up. Even halving the recipe, I ended up with a ton.
- Baked asparagus with balsamic butter sauce - This one is an old tried and true for me. Double the balsamic vinegar though, or the soy sauce overwhelms the dish. I'm doing my best to leave the leftovers for ben, but I don't think I'm going to be able to hold out.
- Apple galette - Somewhere between a fruit tart and a pie, galettes are awesome because they are so easy and tasty. This was the highlight of the dinner, I think. I did reduce the walnuts slightly, because I am not a huge walnut fan. But ben had two slices after saying he would only have a little bit because he was full. (And later came back for a third.)

I skipped both the salad and the mashed potatoes. I can always make them another night as we work on the leftovers.

After dinner, ben ran out for mead to go with his third slice of apple galette and evening of skyrim. I will probably go to bed soon. I don't want to push myself too hard and get sick again.

This year's theme: vegetarian

Main dish:
Wild rice stuffed squash

Sides:
Quinoa skillet bread
Vegetarian stuffing
Mixed greens with apples, carrots, and pickled beets
Baked asparagus with balsamic butter sauce
Mashed potatoes

Dessert:
Apple galette

It's been a Murphy's Law kind of day. I'm exhausted.

It started when I discovered that bean paste had gotten itself wedged up into part of my food processor, never got completely washed out, and started to rot. I had to boil the paste soft enough to scrape out, then boil the part again to disinfect it.

Then while baking the cheesecake, I lost track of time and browned the edges slightly. :( It's not as pretty now. I tried to press crumbled graham cracker around the edges, but it didn't help much. And then it developed a HUGE crack as it cooled....

I cut myself once while making the chutney and once while making dinner.

I hope tomorrow goes a bit better.

( Checklist )

Tomato Soup - To be made Thursday afternoon
- Ingredients purchased

Salad - To be made Thursday morning
- Need to buy ingredients tonight
- Need to cut bread for croutons tonight

Maple and Bacon Brussel Sprouts - To be made Thursday morning
- Ingredients purchased

Mashed Potatoes - To be made Thursday morning
- Ingredients purchased

Apple Cranberry Chutney - To be made Wednesday
- Ingredients purchased

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Ice Cream - To be completed Tuesday night/Wednesday morning
- Batter has been prepared and is cooling in fridge
- Peanut butter cups have been chopped and are in freezer
- Ice cream machine bowl is in freezer

Rainbow cheesecake - To be made Wednesday
- Ingredients purchased
- Must leave cream cheese out before bed tonight to soften

Food was achieved today, although not all at the same time. As a result, I filled up on mashed potatoes and corn bread long before the turkey was ready. That's ok though. I'm not much of a turkey fan anyway. Ben says it was delicious and I think my dog agreed. The both of them are now cuddled up together in bed, sleeping off their feast.

I watched march of the penguins while they were falling asleep. It made me want to scoop up all the penguins in the world and put them in zoos where they can be safe and warm forever. Life as a penguin is not fun.

Normally I'm falling asleep about now too. I have no clue why I'm so awake. I disapprove.

Pocket pie plan has been a success. No cooking for me today!

( Poorly taken picture of pocket pies )

Try as you might, you're not going to be able to wipe out the turkey species this way.

I fail at thanksgiving. The noodles for my lasagna weren't soft enough. :( I lose.

Ben still ate it though. He is the best boyfriend ever.

While cooking, I called my mom. She left a nasty message on my phone for not calling her earlier. I thought it would be rude to call during dinner, so I was waiting. Bah. Well, I called her and talked to my entire family. They kept asking me what was new, and there really wasn't anything to tell them. So I told them how my dog's breath stinks like butt. Perfect holiday conversation.

Ben's mommy called today too. I talked to her for a bit. She's much easier to talk to than my mommy. Probably because she doesn't get mad at me.