My Husband, My Reason to Relay

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is more than just an event to me. It is my personal opportunity to help save lives from cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society.

It's amazing to think that millions of people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Last year, my husband was one of them. What appeared to be a blemish on his cheek was diagnosed as melanoma. We were one of the lucky ones, we had caught it early. After numerous CT scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, and lymphoscintigraphies to determine if the cancer had spread, the doctors determined it had not. They excised the melanoma on his cheek, along with a pretty large margin around the melanoma to be certain the entire cancerous area was removed. They also removed 3 lymph nodes along his jawline, the lymph nodes where the cancer would have spread firstly if it had metastasized. After a few anxiety-filled days of waiting, pathology tests confirmed the cancer had not yet spread. From finding out about his cancer, to finding the right doctor, to understanding the diagnosis and treatment, to him undergoing surgery, and to finally confirming that the cancer was no longer on his body, I couldn't fight the tears when I heard the doctor say that he was cancer-free. Throughout that entire journey, we had to think positively and take it one step at a time. To think of the worst case scenario would have been paralyzing. And so there weren't many tears, since we knew we had to do our homework and act, or perhaps we both just wanted to be strong for each other.

Since the surgery to remove the melanoma, my husband has had two reconstructive surgeries to reconstruct his cheek. He has a 10-inch scar around his right cheek, a very public testimony to his strength and resilience in his battle against cancer. I know at times his scar bothers him, that sometimes he thinks it has changed him. But when I look at him, I KNOW and I SEE the same handsome and compassionate person I fell in love with 7 years ago.

By taking part in Relay, I am helping the American Cancer Society save lives by:

• Helping people stay well by helping them take steps to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable
• Helping people get well by being in their corner around the clock to guide them through every step of their cancer experience
• Finding cures by funding groundbreaking research that helps us understand cancer’s causes, determine how best to prevent it and discover new ways to cure it
• Fighting back by working with lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and rally communities worldwide to join the fight

Please support my efforts by making a donation or by joining my Relay For Life team. Together, we have the power to help create a world where cancer can no longer claim another year of anyone’s life.

Visit my Relay for Life homepage link below.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10PL?px=14335700&pg=personal&fr_id=24003

Another Day Another Excuse

Wondering about the lack of new recipes lately? Well you see, I've been detoxing as of late, which means my opportunities for experimenting in the kitchen have been limited. I guess it's a different sort of experimentation, "I wonder how this celery would taste with some lettuce in my juice this morning?". It's only a 21-day detox, and today is day 8, so no worries. It's not the end of my adventures in the kitchen.

Ever since starting the detox, my pantry has been filled with lots of yummy healthy things like quinoa, brown rice, different kinds of legumes, raw nuts, and almond butter; while our fridge has been jam-packed with fresh fruits and vegetables, almond milk, coconut milk, and lunches I prepared in advance. I've really enjoyed this detox program so far. It's called Clean, by Dr. Alejandro Junger. What I like about his detox program is the balance of resting the digestive system, by having 2 liquid meals and 1 solid meal a day, but also ensuring your body still gets the fuel and nutrition it needs. The solid meal has to be a 'clean' meal though, meaning nothing with gluten, lactose, highly-acidic foods, sugar, and no shellfish or high-fat meats (or in my case, no meat at all). These are all on the no-no list since the detox is trying to eliminate those foods which are known to be common allergens for a lot of people and that are known to be difficult for our body to digest. I'm really learning a lot about my own body and learning how to listen to it and care for it properly. It's been such a great experience so far, I'm thinking this could be the start of a transition into a more natural and organic way of eating and living.

A 3-Month Fast

No, I haven't REALLY been fasting for the last 3 months. But I did take a 3-week hiatus from my kitchen in the month of December. Being thousands of miles away from your kitchen will force you to do that you know.

My husband and I took a nice long 18-day trip to the Philippines in December, during which I cooked nothing, yet ate EVERYthing. Be thankful I didn't take pictures of everything I ate while I was there, or this post would be pages and pages long. Here are a few mouth-watering snapshots of our [food] vacation in the Philippines.

The Philippine mangoes that are like no other mango in this world

Savory garlic rice, sweet Filipino sausages, and sweet pork cutlets... and that's just breakfast!

Breakfast meats to-order

Yummy carbohydrate goodness!

Pear Almond Tart

Pear Almond Tart, not yet removed from the pan or sprinkled with the final touch of confectioner's sugar

I bought a new baking pan, a tart pan actually, one that I did not yet have in my baking supplies repertoire. Well there's no reason to add a new pan to my stock of baking supplies unless I use it. So what do I do? I start scavenging the Internet for great tart recipes. I've made a couple things in my mighty fine tart pan, but this is the only one I've taken a picture of and also captured the recipe to post in this blog. It's adapted pretty loosely from another blog called Living Tastefully, mostly due to the fact that I like to create (i.e. take risks on) new recipes from what I already have in my pantry and I don't happen to carry cherries, heavy cream, blanched almonds, or kirsch in my everyday pantry (what's wrong with me, right?).

Pear Almond Tart (serves 6)
Ingredients:
For the pastry crust:
8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for preparing tart pan
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup flour

For the filling:
1 egg, beaten
5 tbsp nonfat milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 large can pears, sliced lengthwise about 1/2" thick

Topping:
Confectioner's sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare round tart pan by buttering the pan surface.
2. To make the pastry crust, combine butter, sugar, almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt in a bowl. Add flour gradually until a ball of pastry dough develops.
3. Place dough in prepared tart pan and spread evenly on the bottom surface and up the sides of the tart pan. You can do this by hand, flattening and spreading the dough with your palms and fingers. To keep your hands from being a greasy mess, cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap first and then spread the dough with your hands over the plastic wrap.
4. Pre-bake the pastry crust in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until the crust turns a light golden color.
5. To make the filling, beat all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and put aside.
6. When the pastry crust has finished baking. Remove from oven and arrange sliced pears in a circular pattern over the pastry crust, covering the entire surface of the crust. Pour filling onto arranged pears.
7. Continue to bake for another 45 minutes, or until the custard is set and the pastry crust turns a darker golden brown color.
8. Allow to cool in room temperature. When cooled, refrigerate until ready to serve. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar just before serving.

Equipment Tip: The tart pan helps make this dessert look so good. There's just something so French and so elegant about a variegated crust edge. Ahhhh yes. Most tart pans will come with a removable bottom so you can easily remove the prepared tart from the pan (and witness those beautiful edges, hehe). It's not necessary of course, but it IS pretty. You could use a regular straight edged cake pan, you just won't be able to remove it from the pan without it falling apart.

Sauteed Butternut Squash and Green Beans

Butternut squash makes for the perfect fall dish

Sauteed Butternut Squash (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups frozen green beans

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pan, preheat vegetable oil over medium heat.

2. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and butternut squash. Cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add vegetable broth and continue to cook until squash is fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.

4. Add green beans, fish sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes, just until green beans are warmed through, and serve.

Bruschetta

I served this tasty bruschetta during our last get-together with family and friends and it was a hit. It's easy to prepare and has few ingredients, make it a staple at your next get-together.

Bruschetta (serves about 15 people as light hors d’oeuvres)

2 french baguettes, sliced on a bias into 3/4" inch thick pieces

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

8 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced

1/4 cup basil, cut into thin strips

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread a single layer of baguette slices on 2 baking sheets. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and place in serving basket.

4. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in serving bowl.

Cheese Enchiladas with Verde Sauce

Another one of my pantry staples is whole wheat tortillas and enchilada sauce. Red enchilada sauce is what you’ll see used most often in Mexican restaurants, but you have to try the green enchilada sauce. When it comes to the ready-to-use, canned enchilada sauces, green is the way to go. The red seems to always have an overpowering taste to it that dominates the rest of the dish, that you might as well be sipping the red sauce straight from the can. Ugh!

Try this quick recipe for cheese enchiladas with verde sauce. It’s yummy and super simple!

Cheese Enchiladas with Verde Sauce (serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 large can of green enchilada sauce

4 whole wheat tortillas

1 small can of black olives, sliced

Block of sharp cheddar cheese, sliced into 1/4" thick slices (8 total slices needed)

1 can of white northern beans, rinsed

1 cup muenster cheese, shredded

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour 1/2 cup of green enchilada sauce into a square baking dish and spread evenly on the bottom of the pan.

3. Pour 1 cup of green enchilada sauce on a pie plate. Take a tortilla and dip both sides into enchilada sauce. In the center of the dipped tortilla, add 2 slices of cheddar cheese, 1 tsp of black olives, and 2 tbsp of northern beans. Roll tortilla from one edge to the other, in the shape of a burrito and place edge-side down in the square baking dish. Repeat this step for the remaining tortillas.

4. Pour remaining green enchilada sauce on top of the rolled tortillas. Make sure you pour the sauce on the ends of the tortillas as well, or the edges will get crunchy in the oven. Sprinkle muenster cheese evenly over the tortillas.

5. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese topping is melted completely.

Serving Tip:

For a healthier and super easy side dish alternative to the usual refried beans and Mexican rice, place some frozen corn in a bowl, season with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, and microwave until corn is just heated through.