Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta

Jonathan and I have been making this dish since it was featured on the cover of a Bon Appetit magazine in the Spring of 2010.  It is such a light, refreshing dish (not exactly light in terms of calories!  just light in terms of spring veggies vs. heavy meat sauce!).  We picked up fresh English peas at the farmer's market last weekend so we couldn't NOT make this.  Oh, by the way, we did try to cut back on the fat ever so slightly by subbing half and half for the heavy cream.  But now I'm realizing we could have tried greek yogurt instead.....next time!

Easy Asian Noodle Salads

Have I mentioned that I am currently infatuated with Asian noodle salads?  I make one for lunch at least once a week.  And I'll send one along with J for lunch sometimes too!  They are good hot or cold, a good use of "leftover" veggies in your fridge, and are just so satisfying.  They often look something like this:

Rice noodles with tofu, red pepper and cucumber

Rice noodles with zucchini, red pepper, egg, and green onion

Bean noodles with tofu, red pepper, cucumber, and green onion

I had been using rice noodles, but while at Costco a couple weeks ago we spotted a HUGE bag of bean noodles (we actually thought they were rice noodles).  Both are good, I don't prefer one over the other. I usually make a soy/peanut/ginger dressing and use it coat the noodles, then drizzle a bit more over the veggies (because it's a bit difficult for me to actually incorporate the raw veggies into the noodles, they're kind of stuck together).  My dressing recipe usually goes something like this:

2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil (I just discovered that toasted is sooooo different from plain sesame oil and has so much flavor!)
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (we buy it in a tube!)
1 tbsp peanut butter
juice of half a lime
sesame seeds
chili flakes

Recently, I tried "low-fat" extra firm tofu which I'm happy to report is totally edible.  I really didn't notice a difference between it and the regular-fat version (4g vs 1.5g fat), but I'm not the world's biggest tofu connoisseur!  I usually put about a tsp of regular sesame oil in a sauté pan and fry the tofu for a few minutes on each side (add lots of pepper and some salt, also chili flakes before frying).  Again, the fried tofu is delicious hot or cold!

father's day!

still waking up from nap....

We had a really nice father's day today.  We had brunch at Foreign Cinema in the Mission and Nicholas had napped in the car on the way there so it was semi-relaxing for mom & dad.  It was so delicious.  Nicholas' had the three course kid's meal:  fresh berry medley, grilled cheese and fries, and two scoops of ice cream!  Afterwards, we were able to grocery shop and play in the afternoon and just enjoy the beautiful SF day!  

Below are some shots of the card that Nicholas and I made.  I got (uh, copied) the idea from this pin.  Those are Nicholas' little hands!   

Colors

We had a colorful Saturday.....first at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market and then finger painting for the first time!

Photo-wha?

I received the results of my skin biopsy today.  It is indeed GVHD!  This is more good than bad.  I'm "glad" I didn't have yet another biopsy just to reveal eczema.  It also shows that the graft is definitely fighting!  The skin rash isn't a huge concern for my medical team right now (although, I had quite liked being able to go out without makeup if that's what I felt like, and now I feel the need to cover up a bit).  But, they do have to treat it and don't really want to increase my steroid or immunosuppressants in order to keep it under control (those two medications would also affect the graft-vs-lymphoma and not allow the new cells to assault the disease to its full potential).  So, I'll start another new med.

There was also discussion today of photopheresis, a therapy in which my blood is taken out of my body, exposed to UV radiation, and then re-infused.  Sounds fun!  The benefit for me is that my immune system is not suppressed for photopheresis, thereby allowing the graft to keep up the good fight.  The downsides....it's a 3-4 hour weekly treatment, I'd possibly need another central line inserted in my chest (blech), and the usual nausea.  The "queue" to get access to the photopheresis machine is quite lengthy though, so there isn't even availability til September-ish.  Far enough away for me to not stress out about it right now.  But, the conversation about it today really drove home the reminder that although I may be considered "in remission," my job these days really still is to just get healthy!!

On to a more exciting topic....the cookies I made yesterday!  They are M&M cookies from the averiecooks blog.  A one-bowl-recipe and extremely easy to whip up.  The secret ingredient is cornstarch!  And oh are they are delish....chewy and thick!  I found a new assortment of M&M colors that make them look extra appealing!  Nicholas brought them to a playdate today and the kids enjoyed the new colors :)

Focus Groups + Other Work

One thing that I try to do with my "spare" time is participate in focus groups.  If you're not familiar with this type of marketing research, they are either one-on-one or interactive groups where a moderator/researcher asks questions and participants give feedback on products, services, etc.  I like giving my opinion, but even more, I like the stipend that is distributed after the discussion :)

So today I was scheduled to do a slightly different type of focus group....a shop-along and in-home visit.  The topic was.....toilet paper!  I was to meet the researcher at my local Safeway and after 45 minutes we'd come to our house for questions/visuals.  Sure, I was a little nervous about the questions getting too "personal" for comfort, but I figured that I have been in the hospital so much now that I have lost a little of my modesty and that I could handle this.  But something really great happened.  The market research company called me and told me that I had been assigned as an alternate, so I wouldn't need to meet at the store, but rather stay home during the requested time period and wait to see if I was needed.  And I wasn't!  So I'll be paid $200 for baking cookies and painting my toenails!!

I put "spare" in quotes above because there is a question on the focus group screeners that always stumps me with regard to my day-to-day time -- my employment status.  The options are usually full-time, part-time, homemaker, temporarily unemployed, etc.  There is nothing that reflects that my full-time job right now is just getting healthy.  In this article in the Life, Interrupted column in the NYT, Suleika Jaouad really articulates well how I'm feeling about not working.  I'm not really restless or bored ever (I guess I take after my mom - I can always find something to do and it's usually not watching tv!), and Nicholas is around a bit during the day for distraction/company.  Right now my focus is being well again.  I'm doing focus groups to try to earn my keep, and am envisioning the day when I can contribute in a more meaningful way.

Speaking of getting healthy, I had another skin biopsy yesterday on my neck.  Lovely.  Now just waiting to hear confirmation of whether or not this rash I have is GVHD.....

PS Nicholas will receive this Craigslist purchase when he gets home today.  It's a ride-on toy and it choo-choos and whistles!  He is going to shriek!

Asian Mango Slaw & Grilled Skirt Steak

We like to cook on Sundays....we either prep something for Nicholas for the week or make a dinner for us that will last a couple nights.  Last night we recreated this Asian Mango Cabbage Slaw and topped it with Alton Brown's Grilled Skirt Steak.  I did add ginger and crushed red chile flakes to the dressing and next time might add thinly sliced red peppers and/or jalepeno to the slaw.  For protein, I would also top with shrimp or toss in thinly sliced or shredded chicken.  Yum!  I'm on an Asian kick and it did not disappoint! 

Oh, and here are a couple pics of our little SoccerTot :)