Cooking Class- Mood Foods

Today was another Tuesday spent at the Cancer Center doing the same ol' routine. We did add a little spice to our routine by taking a nutritional cooking class. They offer a new class every month with a different topic of focus. This month's focus was mood foods. It was a really awesome class with a ton of great recipes. I tryed a lot of things I didn't think I would like but ended up loving every recipe. They demonstrated how to cook each recipe and then we got to eat all the yummy food, and I am not just talking a little taste. I mean full size portions of each recipe. It ended up being a great lunch I didn't know I was going to have. Here is the list of foods that were in the class today.

-Beet, Chickpea, and Almond dip with Jicama

-Carrot with Toasted Almond Soup

-Spicy Asian-Style Pasta Salad

-Scallops in Orange/Ginger Sauce with Raspberries and Mint

-Roasted Chicken Breast with Salsa/Dijon Marinade

-Orange-Infused Roasted Green Beans & Red Peppers

-Poached Pears with Chocolate-Pear Sauce

-Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

I would love to share every recipe on here but that would be way too much typing, so I just thought I would share my favorite one of the bunch. It is the Poached Pears with Chocolate-Pear Sauce. This is actually one that I thought sounded not that appealing, but I ended up LOVING it!!! So here is the recipe Enjoy!!

*Melting the chocolate in the pear poaching liquid makes an instant sauce.

1 cup pear nectar

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup sugar

4 slightly under-ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored

4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Stir pear nectar, white wine and sugar in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to a boil. Add pears to syrup in saucepan. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until pears are tender, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Increase heat to medium-high and boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add Chocolate; whisk until chocolate melts and sauce is smooth.

Place 1 warm pear half, cut side up, on each plate. Top with vanilla ice cream (if desired) and warm chocolate sauce. Or cover pears and chocolate sauce separately and refrigerate up to 2 days; then serve pears cold with ice cream and sauce, rewarming sauce, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

Cancer: Good or Bad?

The past couple days have been kind of boring. I have been experiencing a lot of fatigue and because of that have been spending most of my time in bed sleeping or playing sudoku. I did make my way to the library yesterday and checked out some books and a documentary DVD. I got some fun cook books and some more material on natural eating and eating yourself healthy through cancer. I love all the resources and literature that is out there to help in this area. It is so interesting to me and hopefully I can get some good ideas and tips that I can incorporate into my life and diet. It has really developed a passion in me to try to live my life in a healthy way. We will see what happens, if you think of it keep that in your prayers for me. I know it wont be easy for this junk food junkie but I am hoping for the will and strength to transform the way I eat and exercise to keep my health and cancer on track.
The DVD that I checked out at the library is called Crazy Sexy Cancer. It is a great documentary, a little out there on some of her ideas but yet it was all about exploring alternate medicines and cures. I had watched this once before while I was in the hospital but it meant even more this time after I have experienced all my treatments and therapies. She and many others say Cancer really does suck but for some reason if they could do it over they wouldn't trade it for anything. I find myself saying the same thing all the time. I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone that is for sure but all that it has taught me and made me have such a new outlook on life, in some way I thankful. I would rather have me go through it than someone who would break down and give up right away. I am thankful for all the wonderful people I have been able to meet and my new appreciation for life. Though it is hard and cancer is defiantly considered "bad", I see the good that has come out of it for me and many other survivors. Now we can all join in on the fight to kick cancer to the curb and find a cure so no one will have to go through this anymore. Team in Training is a great organization that trains people to run marathons to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The San Diego chapter is starting their training tomorrow and wish all of them luck and strength as they take on this amazing and difficult task. You are making a huge difference and as a Leukemia survivor my heartfelt thanks go to each one of you for your commitment.

Any Given Tuesday

BMT part of the Infusion Center
My Picc line getting blood drawn

Maria trying to draw my blood but it is being

stubborn today.

Lifting my left arm trying to get the blood to flow

Changing my Picc dressing

PURELL- A Leukemia patients best friend

Lunch at the Olive Garden with my mom

YUM YUM!!

So how do most of you spend your Tuesday's? I spend my Tuesday's probably quite different than most. But really do enjoy them in some weird way. Any given Tuesday you can find me in the Moores Cancer Center giving them my wonderful blood and seeing my great team of doctors and nurses in the BMT (bone marrow transplant) clinic. It has become second nature now after having this routine for more than a year. I usually see the same people every week and have developed some really good relationships with them. I love encouraging those patients that are just starting and going through the worst of things. I try to let them know that it will get better and tell them of my experiences. It has been such a blessing to be able to meet so many great people and have a common factor. We all know what each other is going through and that is comforting knowing that you are not alone and the only one going through this.

I usually go and get anywhere from 4 to 10 tubes of blood drawn and then get the dressing on my picc line cleaned and changed. It is a great time to chat with the nurses and see what they have been up to. They become like a second family and you get to know all about their lives. It is a lot of fun and I am deeply grateful for those relationships I have. I then wait for lab results to come back and get any prescriptions I need refilled. I will then head up to the second floor to meet with my primary BMT doctor, who is such an amazing man. I love how well he listens and genuinely cares about me. We sit and talk and most the time joke around about all sorts of things.

Somewhere in the midst of this busy day my mom and I find some time to eat. We usually eat at a nearby restaurant and enjoy a little break in the middle of a long and crazy day. Today we went to Olive Garden (my favorite). It was a very lovely lunch and it is always a joy to share time with my wonderful mom. I love you mom!!! Thanks for taking care of me through all this.

New Quilt Projects

HEARTFELT

When I attended the Road to California Quilt Show I was checking out this vendor that sold miniature quilt patterns to paper piece. Since I absolutely LOVE paper piecing, I just had to stop and browse to see what they had. They had many samples up on the wall of the quilts all done up. I loved this heart pattern so decided to buy it. After getting the pattern I realized that it was the one and only one that supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A portion of the proceeds will go the organization to help find a cure. What are the odds??? I then choose these wonderfully bright colors to make this quilt. The orange is there to represent Leukemia and the Lime Green is there to represent Lymphoma. I am super excited about doing this miniature quilt. I hope to maybe donate it to the society when I finish it or I just might decide to keep this one for myself to remind me of the many hearts that are there for me as I am continuing to battle. Also everyone else that is affected by these cancers.

PINE STAR RUNNER

This Project is from one of the Thimbleberries books. It is called Pine Star Runner. It does look a little like Christmas but I think in the right home it can be put out year around. The fabrics I choose are not too Christmas like. In a home that has an outdoors decor I think it would look lovely on a table. I am not yet sure what I will do when this project is accomplished. I am sure I will soon think of someone who will appreciate and love this little quilt project. I just love making things and giving them to people. I think gifts mean so much more when time and love are put into them. When you think of that person in every cut and stitch that you make. I hope they love them as much as I love to make them. I know I absolutely love to receive things that others have made. I know how much work goes into homemade goods and it means so much more than any old thing you can buy at the store.

PEEKABOO MONKEY

This quilt is called Peekaboo Monkeys. I thought it was so adorable when I saw it in a quilt book I got at Christmas time. I have never been that fond of doing applique on quilts but have been working a lot on it with some other projects I have been doing and am starting to really get the hang of it. So I am a little less intimidated at tackling this quilt now. The second picture is the fabric that I picked out to accomplish this quilt. I am hoping to make this quilt to put in the auction at my spring quilt camp in May. We pick a theme every time we get together for these weekends and this time it is going to be Jungle. I am really not into the whole jungle fabric very much but I saw this pattern and thought it kind of goes along that topic so I might just have to enter this as my auction item.

Changing Tastes and Healthy Eating

Since being diagnosed with Leukemia back in 2008 eating has been anything but normal or easy. I immediately had to get used to being on a low microbial diet, which consists of not eating any fresh fruit or vegetables. If I wanted to eat any of these things they had to be cooked thoroughly. Also anything else I ate had to be processed and contain lots of preservatives. If I wanted to eat meat of any kind it had to be well-done.
Then once I started treatment I had to continue to follow this diet but I rarely wanted to eat going through all the treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.
After receiving my bone marrow transplant I had many
more restrictions to follow and starting a regimen of
steroids really messed up my eating habits. I would go
from being ravioness and eating everything in sight to
having to force myself to eat something so I can take
my medicine every day.
Now I am very, very close to being completely off the
steroids and am able to eat whatever I want now. Just
as long as it is washed well and not contaminated in any
way. I am pretty much having to teach myself how to
eat again. I am finding myself just grabbing and wanting
to eat all these packaged processed foods because that is
what I am used to doing for almost the past 2 years. Back
then that is what was the best for me and the only food
I was allowed to eat. Now that I am recovering and trying
to build my immune system and body back to it's old self,
I should really be working on eating fresh and healthy
foods.
I am reading this book right now, Eating Well Through
Cancer which has been a huge help in helping me understand what are the best foods for improving certain areas of my body. Also since I still occasionally struggle with nausea and certain other side affects, it gives you certain foods that are best to eat when you have these symptoms. I am also super excited because Moores Cancer Center is offering monthly cooking classes for patients and family members with a different topic and food category each month. Since I love cooking and especially love learning new things about cooking I am really excited to jump into this new adventure next month.
One last thing that has been really strange and a huge adjustment is that my taste buds have changed quite a bit since my transplant. I used to love love spicy foods. The spicier the better was my motto and I used to laugh at those that could not handle hot salsa or other hot food. Well I am now one that cannot eat ANY spicy food. Even mild things burn my mouth like crazy. I am a pretty big wuss now. This has been really disappointing for me since Mexican food is my favorite. I am experiencing all these weird cravings for foods I was never really fond of. I know there is no proven theory that you can inherit your donors likes and dislikes but after speaking with other transplant patients who have experienced the same thing I am beginning to believe that it is very possible. Crazy to think huh!!!! (:

Curious Creatures for Immature Adults

The book that gives patterns to make many

different fun creatures.

POLLY

Polly is a tea party hostess from a distant

planet. Everyone there serves tea for a living,

but none so nicely as Polly. She attributes her

success to her red and white polka dot stockings.

Beware of her tea cookies, however; just one of

those will make you silly for up to 60 days.

MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE

Monkey in the Middle is a retired world heavy-

weight champion wrestler. At the pinnacle of a

match, he would use his beefy forearms to perform

his signature headlock on his overwhelmed

opponents. Always with a head for business, Monkey

prudently squirreled away his winnings and now owns

a chain of fast-food restaurants in Buffalo, New York.

Polly and Monkey are Friends Now (:

Lately I have been taking on lots of creative projects to keep myself busy and just because I plain love making and creating new things. From baking to quilting and sewing projects. I love trying new things and expressing creativity through the things that I make. This Christmas my brother and his girlfriend bought me this book that has lots of patterns to make these crazy creatures. It is called PLUSH-O-RAMA Curious Creatures for Immature Adults. The great thing about these is that you don't really have to follow the directions exactly. It gives you freedom to add anything you desire. You can express your creativity in whatever you want to do with them. I made these two creatures for my brother and Kym to thank them for giving me the book.

Light the Night 2009

Last night my mom and I joined thousands of other people in a walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise money for blood cancer research. Every person carries around an illuminated balloon representing a color for what they represent to this cause. Red symbolizes caregivers and supporters, gold represents those that have passed away and white represents survivors and patients. It was truly amazing to see all these people get together in support of this wonderful cause. Lots of money was raised and hopefully someday all we will see is white balloons floating around representing everyone being survivors. Thanks to everyone for their support and those that donated toward the cause. You have no idea the impact you are making on others lives such as myself.