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Adventures in Rx drugs

I started taking Pristiq last week. It’s an SNRI – actually it’s Effexor XR repackaged. I’ve never taken antidepressants before, so it’s been, uh, interesting. The second day I rolled all day. Not like a hard roll, but like a medium roll with dilated pupils, euphoria, hot/cold temp spikes, dry mouth, even a tish of jitters, jaw clenching and bouncy eyes. I certainly did not expect that!

But since then it’s been more of a speedy feeling one day and a crash the next. I’m not particularly happy with how I feel, however, I have ZERO appetite. I mean, ZERO. I got sick to my stomach last night because I hadn’t eaten and I still didn’t really want anything. Now that I can get behind. I’ll put up with weird seratonin spikes if I can keep the zero appetite. That will certainly kick start my dieting efforts! I’ll even pay the $200 a month for the shit if it continues to douse my appetite. It’s totally worth it to me for that benefit alone.

Now, on to today’s cuteness! BABY NIBBLER!! Yes, Nibbler (who I’ve determined is a girl) has a little Nibbler who we are calling Son of Nibbler although we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl. Below is Nibbler and Son of Nibbler (sorry for the slight blur in the baby pic, but it was full zoom):

Our Yard Bunny Nibbler
Our Yard Bunny Nibbler


Son of Nibbler!
Son of Nibbler!

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Angela’s FAST Carnitas

Two words: pressure cooker! Braising for the impatient! This is a pressure cooker recipe, but it would work just fine in the regular oven (350ºF for 1 hour per pound should do it). Also note that this recipe does NOT cook the meat in lard, which is traditional carnitas. I find the flavour to be just as good and of course, not NEARLY as fatty. This recipe is NOT written for lard! No substitutions!

Angela's Carnitas
Angela’s Carnitas (slow cooked)

2-3# Pork roast (tenderloin is good or shoulder if you can find one small enough)
Dry Rub (Garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, ancho powder, cumin, coriander and hot paprika is mine. Equal parts.)

1 large onion, 1″ pcs
1 HEAD garlic (10-12 cloves), cracked, not cut up
1 can pineapple chunks IN JUICE not syrup
1 can mandarin oranges IN JUICE not syrup
1 small can ranchera sauce **use half if you are sensitive to spice! (Herdez makes one – look in International aisle.)
2/3 bottle of beer
salt and pepper

Rinse and DRY the pork. Cut into large chunks. Put on rub and let stand while you do the veg prep.

For Pressure cooker: Cover the bottom of the pressure cooker with olive oil and brown the chunks on all sides. Remove pork and put in the insert for meats (or use a metal steamer if your cooker does not have an insert). Put the roast back in and add the veg, fruits with juice, beer and just a little salt and pepper. Close the cooker and bring to pressure on HI. When pressure is reached, set your timer for 40 minutes. Let the cooker depressurize naturally.

For oven: Preheat oven to 350F. Brown meat in oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Add veg, fruit w/ juice, beer and a little S/P. Cook covered at 350 for one hour per each pound of meat. 3# = 3 hours. Remove the cover for the last 45 mins of baking time.

When done, remove roast, let cool and pull apart. Strain liquid from the veg/fruit sauce and put over pulled pork. Use the soft veg/fruit sauce on the pork when you serve it.

I served the lovely carnitas with yellow rice and black beans. Fetzer Gurwerztraminer was awesome with this.

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Curried Chicken and Veg Soup

I updated this recipe [April 2017] to add more veg and to streamline the process. It has a nice curry spice that you can turn up or down to your taste. The raisins add a nice little pop of sweet to break up the spicy curry. You can find garlic and ginger pastes and curry paste at the Indian or Asian market. I strongly recommend seeking them out! The prepared garlic paste is great for soups and sauces where you want the flavor, but not the pieces of garlic.

4 Boneless skinless chicken thighs seasoned with S/P (or 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 head cauliflower cut up bite sized (or one bag frozen is fine)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery diced
1/2 small box of mushrooms, diced
3 scallions sliced on the bias (white and green, reserve some for garnish)
1 can garbanzos (chick peas) drained
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dry ginger
2 Tbl garlic paste (or 5 cloves garlic minced to paste)
2 Tbl all purpose Curry paste (red Madras style; use less if you’re heat sensitive)
1 Tbl ginger paste
2 Tbl flour
2 Tbl mirin
1 small can coconut milk (or a full 14oz can if you want this creamier and less spicy)
3 cups chicken stock
Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 Tbl fresh basil, chiffonade, for garnish and toss the rest into the soup at the end

Dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper, then brown on both sides (med hi) in olive oil in the soup pot until you get a good golden sear. The chicken will not be fully cooked. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Once cooled, dice the chicken and set aside.

Mix together all the dry spices (not the flour) in a small bowl and the pastes in another.

Put the veg (except scallions) into the pot with the chicken drippings/fond over med heat and season with about 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (add a little more olive oil if needed). Cook the veg for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make a space in the middle of the pot and add about 2/3 of the powdered spices. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add in the pastes and stir with spices, cook for another couple of minutes. Stir all these spices into the veg thoroughly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in flour, stir thoroughly and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add in remaining spice mix, raisins, garbanzos, reserved chicken, coconut milk, mirin and stock. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid ajar. Turn off heat, add in scallions and check seasoning. This soup tends to thicken after it cools, so you might need extra stock to loosen it up. This soup freezes well.

Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt, scallions and fresh basil. This would pair with a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer wine.

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Music to soothe the savage beast

This week has been a whopper of bad. To counteract that, I’ve been listening to some tunes from Kate Bush’s latest record Aerial. It’s a 2 disc set and really really awesome.

Anyway, there are two songs on there that I find particularly soothing. Even just the lyrics are soothing, I think.

Could be in a dream
Our clothes are on the beach
The prints of our feet
Lead right up to the sea
No one, no one is here
No one, no one is here
We stand in the Atlantic
We become panoramic

The stars are caught in our hair
The stars are on our fingers
A veil of diamond dust
Just reach up and touch it
The sky’s above our heads
The sea’s around our legs
In milky, silky water
We swim further and further
…from Nocturn

I found a book on how to be invisible
You take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along the dotted lines
And think inside out
You jump ‘round three times
You jump into the mirror
And you’re invisible
…from How To Be Invisible

I think Kate Bush is one of the most overlooked musical talents ever. She quietly does her thing in England, never tours and is truly exceptional. If you’re not familiar, give her a listen.

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Crème Fraîche Deviled Eggs

My friend Stormy can’t have mayo, so I decided to think up a substitute for making this Southern staple. Crème Fraîche came to mind, so that’s what I used. It turned out to be BETTER than mayo! Cheers!

8 hard boiled eggs, halved
2-3 Tbs crème fraiche (the Alouette brand is thick and lovely)
1-2 tsp dijon (I actually used a “medium” German mustard. You could use yellow.)
1-2 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
2-3 dashes of lime or lemon juice
1 tsp dill
salt
garnish with capers

Put the cooked yolks in a mixing bowl. Break them up with a fork and add the crème fraiche one Tbs at a time. The measurements are not precise because it depends on the type of crème fraiche you use; some have more liquid than others. Add the rest of the ingredients except the capers. You’ll have to gauge the ratio of ingredients by the type you’re using and the consistency of the yolk filling. When the consistency and flavour is right, put into a plastic bag, snip the corner off and pipe into the egg whites. Garnish with capers and a sprinkle of dill.