Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Going with the flow.

Today I tried a few new things. And for your viewing pleasure, I've included a few pictures. Just to give you a better idea...

1) I ruined 3 of these....

by adding this...

Sure, the salad wasn't exactly how I envisioned it. And yes, everything turned alarmingly pink. No...it didn't taste horrible. But. Um... As Nathaniel put it, "It was...edible."

Even the scallions and radishes didn't help. Sure the Apple-Beet salad sounded interesting, and I'm sure the salad creator had good intentions. But if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Enough said.

2) The flour substitute. Viola:

After (what felt like H.O.U.R.S - but was really less than 50 minutes of time-in-store) grocery shopping, then navigating the rain, dashing out for a forgotten ingredient (16 oz frozen corn - bastard!), unpacking everything, gathering more ingredients, cutting the pork tenderloin into pieces, turning on the stove...I realized that I had absolutely no flour.

None.

Zip. Zero. Zilch.


And sure enough, the recipe called for flour.

Maybe I could...(whispered) skip the flour?

Yes, I'll improvise - to the best of my ability. But when it comes to meat and new recipes...I'll try to follow to the "T". I'm just too afraid of poisoning myself, my family, or my friends to deviate too much. And a third trip to the store just didn't sounds all that enticing.

So I coated the uncooked pork cubes in...Blueberry Pancake Mix.

I figured that there had to be flour in the recipe...along with a few other things. And even if a few random blueberries made their way into our Southwestern Pork Stew...well, all the healthier for us. Yeah...


And in the end, we didn't really even taste the blueberries. Although - I did catch a whiff of pancake-like-smell emanating from the skillet.

3) The Onion Goggles.

Last Christmas, I gleefully got the "Onion Goggles" in my Mom's famous 'Christmas Kitchen Draw."

What are Onion Goggles?

Glad you asked...


Chopping onions has never been my forte. Not because I'm not good at chopping things - I can assure you (even though I take my time), I am. However, when my eyes are tearing up and I've got snot quivering on the edge of my nose, I've always harbored a fear of chopping off my finger.

Yuck.

And that would just be bad.

So - the glasses. Yes. They DO work! There were no tears, plenty of diced onions...and all my digits remained intact! Success!!

You want proof that I wore them?

Not a chance, my friends. Not a chance.


But I will share the foam-enforced siding...wonderful.


4) The Neti Pot.

This has been in the making for a while...

Now that I'm dealing with my third sinus infection in 12 months, I think its time... I've avoided the thing for years, because the thought of pouring water through my sinus cavities sounds just, well, yucky.

I don't even like getting water up my nose while flip turning - and that's something that I can't help during Master's Swim Practice.

Pouring - what appears to be an evil teapot - into one nostril while the saline-solution water pours out the other...

MAJOR INVOLUNTARY SHUDDER!

But I did it, because I'm committed to getting better, getting rid of my sinus infection, and back on the road to recovery. And a Marit who is training is a Happy Marit. And a Happy Marit makes life a lot easier for those living in Marit's household.

Including this Monster -

Unfortunately, during my first endeavor with the Neti Pot, I had an audience. I told Nathaniel to LOOK AWAY! But - to my horror - he didn't, and instead commented, "Oh MY GOD! Is it supposed to look like that? I can't look away!"

Which didn't help me at all - because if its one thing I learned while using the Neti Pot... if you don't want the back of your throat to burn with the saline solution - don't laugh.

And when your Other Half is standing - appalled, but unable to turn away - mere feet from your person, while you flush your sinus cavity with lukewarm water...you've got to find humor in the situation.

I did.

Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I DO have a meeting with my doctor, bright and early to address my sinusitis. Hopefully we can nip this thing in the bud and clear out my system. Otherwise, I may go back to chopping onions sans Onion Goggles, in an effort to kill the bacteria with onion fumes.

And when that happens, I'll be sure to let you know.

11 comments:

kerrie said...

feel better soon! i have wondered about those neti pot things for a long time and i have to admit that i am pretty curious...what does come out?

Nicole @ Geek Turned Athlete said...

haha. My hubby uses a baby ear dropper, shoves it up his nose, and squeezes the saline solution up there with his head over the bathtub. I can't look away when he does it either. It is really disgusting all the crap that comes out! And amazing at the same time! It looks like you scared your cat for life! Mini monster looks traumatized! :)

ADC said...

Hope the food was delicious. Bluberry pork :)))

m said...

My mom makes this at Christmas:

Finnish Beet Salad – potatoes, apples, carrots, onions, pickle, white pepper and pickled or salted herring or minced sardines or anchovies (if using them) are combined, the dressing consists of sour cream, lemon juice, beet juice, salt and sugar. Cooked peeled and sliced beets are added just before serving. But without the herring, sardines or anchovies...if she added this I'd barf. It is pretty good, I think...

Anonymous said...

Uh that Neti Pot scares me, LOL! Do you eat/drink dairy at all? I know from reading your blog for quite some time that you use a lot of soy instead of dairy, but one of my good friends is a naturopath and every time someone has recurring sinus infections she has them eliminate dairy. Good luck and i hope you feel better soon!!! Being sick is NO fun :(

Maria said...

1)...umm...eww..hats off to you for being the bigger person and trying something new because that is not my forte!
2)Genius on the flour substitute, a lesser woman would have given up.
3)I'm gonna need a pair of those things!! Good to hear they work too!
4)That does 'snot' sound like fun!
Hope you feel better soon!

Trigirlpink said...

Love the blueberry stuck to the piece of pork. That is so funny.

Go out on a limb sister,and picture DEMO the Neti Pot, ok????

Mike Russell said...

My Dad uses the Neti pot. I don't mind getting water up my nose during the swim, but putting it up there on purpose, yuck.

Kim said...

my parents swear by the neti pot! i tried it once and nearly gagged on the taste/weirdness in my mouth/nose!

ps, i have that same blueberry pancake mix! although i have never used it other than my delish prerace day breakfast (well the last 2 months i have eaten pancakes at least 10 times. gotta love the off season!)

Beth said...

Okay Marit - the onion goggles??? That just KILLS me!!! I envision just wearing regular swimming goggles. I wonder if that would work? I think I would be laughing too hard to find out... ;)

Hope you are feeling better soon! Hope the doctor appointment goes well!

Alicia Parr said...

"Oh MY GOD! Is it supposed to look like that? I can't look away!"

AWESOME.