Sweet dreams, little little one

We are so very grateful for the ten wonderful years you gave us. You may have left our lives, but you will never leave our hearts.

Abbey Rhodes Princess
May 27, 1997 - November 21, 2007

Godspeed, little one.

Abbey Rhodes Princess

That was the AKC name we gave her when we registered her. Her mom was something something Queen, and her dad was something Rhodes something. Hence, Abbey Rhodes Princess, which turned out to be a nice play on words on the Beatles' album title (Che being a big Beatles fan). She was born on May 27, 1997, and she came into our lives about 10 weeks later. She will leave it much too soon.

Unfortunately, the news today could not have been worse. The ultrasound showed a massive lesion on her spleen which has already ruptured and begun to bleed into her belly. There are also lesions all over her liver and her lungs. The oncologist was nearly certain that it is hemangiosarcoma, which has a very very poor prognosis. Surgical and chemotherapy options would buy us only months at best, and that's assuming she could even make it through surgery. She is already very anemic and would require plasma and blood transfusions to even undergo surgery. If the surgery is successful, it would stop the bleeding from the spleen lesion, but it would be just a matter of time before the other lesions would do the same. In the end, we decided that prolonging the inevitable would be more for our benefit than for hers.

So, the oncologist (who was a wonderful, wonderful woman for whom I gained the greatest respect and admiration in the short time we spoke - I am forever grateful that there are people like her in this world) sent us home with instructions to spoil her rotten in the few days we have left with her. We will be lucky to make it through Thanksgiving before we have to make the very painful decision to let her go, a decision that will be made easier by the fact that the alternative is letting her basically bleed to death internally. If we make it through the end of the week, that will be plenty enough for me to give thanks for on Thursday.

Please keep Abbey in your thoughts and prayers this week. I am not ready to let her go, but I know I have to be strong enough to spare her any pain or suffering.

They say that bad things happen in threes.

I hope that means we're due for a run of good luck. Che took two of our dogs to the vet this morning. Brandy was due for bloodwork but Abbey has been acting strangely since we got back from vacation, so she tagged along. She normally is a vacuum and will eat anything (and everything) in sight but the past few days, she hasn't wanted to eat anything. Turns out that she has a large mass in her abdomen. The x-ray shows her spleen being three times the normal size. The vet thinks the mass is in her spleen, and there's no way to tell yet if it's benign or malignant. Worse, it could be on her liver and possibly inoperable.

She is going in for an ultrasound on Monday, and in the meantime, we keep our fingers and toes crossed that (a) her spleen does not rupture before then; and (b) it turns out to be a benign mass that can simply be removed. Even though it's been more than five years since we lost our first beagle, Casey, to cancer, sometimes it still feels like yesterday and we are so not ready to go through that again.

Thank you to all my friends for your sympathies and commisseration on my injured foot and my lost job. But I can live with those things - they're nothing. I really really need my baby to be OK. Please send your good thoughts her way.

When it rains, it pours.

So I was sitting in the urgent care clinic yesterday waiting for x-ray results to tell me whether my foot was broken (after a spill down some stairs at work) when I got the call that they had offered the job to someone else. I suppose I was supposed to feel better to hear that they thought I was great, and that I made it a very tough decision for them, but I don't. Mostly because I know just enough about the other guy's qualifications to know that I could do the job better. And more importantly, I'm sure I want it more. In any event, I will keep my head up and just keep looking. The right job will come along sometime.

And no, my foot is not broken. But from what I'm hearing, I kinda wish it were. I think it would probably heal faster. It looks like I have soft tissue damage, and I have to get an MRI next week to make sure there is no ligament or tendon damage. In the meantime, I can't put any weight on it so I have a lovely walking boot and crutches.

So much for getting back to the gym pronto after vacation. And speaking of vacations, I'll have a trip report soon.

Checking in from the Islands

It's Day Four in Grand Cayman, and the weather has been a total bust. It's been rainy (and when it's not raining, it's still cloudy), windy, and the seas have been too choppy for much snorkeling or diving. But hey, I'm not in the office so I'm having a blast.

Despite the mediocre weather, we've still had a great time and are looking forward to several more days of fun activities before heading home on Saturday.

The highlight of my trip has by far been the Cayman Turtle Farm:

Unfortunately, cloud cover has put a damper on our sitting-on-the-beach-with-fruity-drinks-in-hand-and-watching-the-beautiful-sunset plan. This was the closest we've come to seeing a sunset on the beach, last night:

Goodbye Phoenix...

...Hello Grand Cayman! Well, at least for one week.

I know, you thought I was going to say that I got the job and am moving to Dallas. I wish. Hopefully by the time I return from a much-needed vacation, I will have that news. For now, I am still just waiting (after my second interview last week) and keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Easy "peas"y

Tonight's dinner was Hoisin Pork and Snow Pea Stir-Fry. Get it? "Peas"y? I know, I hate puns too.

This was delicious and super fast - on the table in less than 30 minutes, start to finish. It will definitely be making a reappearance on our menu in the future. I served the stir-fry over steamed brown rice.

Hoisin Pork and Snow Pea Stir-Fry
Cooking Light, November 2006

The slightly sweet, soy-based hoisin sauce is to Chinese food what ketchup is to American food. Look for hoisin and rice noodles with other Asian foods in most supermarkets.

4 ounces uncooked rice noodles or rice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and thinly sliced
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon honey
4 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
3 cups snow peas, trimmed (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Prepare rice noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and pork, tossing to coat. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, broth, hoisin, cornstarch, and honey in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Remove pork from pan. Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil to pan. Stir in peas, bell pepper, ginger, and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Return pork mixture to pan; stir in broth mixture. Simmer 2 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in green onions. Serve pork mixture over the noodles.

4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup noodles and about 1 cup pork mixture)

Mmmmm, mushrooms!

Like I mentioned, this month's Cooking Light has some great-looking "wild" mushroom recipes. And I had a bag of beautiful dried porcinis that my bosses brought me back from Italy last year that have been screaming to be used in something wonderful. Tonight's dinner definitely fit the bill, although it was almost a shame to grind such gorgeous, Grade A porcinis into a fine porcini powder. The rest I'm saving to go atop an elegant risotto or pasta.

Porcini-Dusted Chicken Scaloppine
Cooking Light, October 2007

This dish puts dried porcini mushroom powder to use as a flavorful coating for chicken cutlets. If fresh porcini or chanterelle mushrooms are available, use them for the sauce. Serve with steamed haricots verts and garlic mashed potatoes.

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 ounce)
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons minced shallots (about 1)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups sliced wild or cultivated mushrooms (about 1/2 pound) [I used a combo of porcini, shiitake, and oyster]
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley [I omitted]

Place porcini mushrooms in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Slice chicken breast halves in half horizontally. Sprinkle chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with porcini powder, shaking off excess powder.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken pieces to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until chicken is lightly browned and done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with 1 teaspoon oil and remaining 4 chicken pieces.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 3 cups mushrooms; cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add broth to pan; simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in sour cream; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and parsley.

4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken pieces, about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

"Wild" mushrooms that aren't so wild anymore

So it's been pointed out to me that the "wild" mushrooms in my dinner last night are not actually wild. I know, most "wild" mushrooms are now cultivated. But that's generally all I can find around here. That said, we are headed to San Francisco next weekend and have plans to visit my favorite foodie stop ever, the Ferry Building Marketplace, and I hope to bring home some REAL wild mushrooms from Far West Fungi.

Breakfast for Dinner

I'm not usually a fan of breakfast food, but I am a fan of wild mushrooms, and this month's Cooking Light had some fabulous-looking wild mushroom recipes. I picked up more than I needed at Whole Foods last weekend and decided to use the extras to make the Fines Herbes Omelet with Wild Mushrooms. It was a perfect high-protein, low calorie dinner, and I was surprised at how filling and rich it was. I'm not sure it will make our regular rotation, but it hit the spot this evening.




Fines Herbes Omelet with Wild Mushrooms
Cooking Light, October 2007


Chanterelle or oyster mushrooms would complement this omelet. Chervil is a traditional component of fines herbes; if it's available, add 1/4 teaspoon to the mix.


Cooking spray
3 cups sliced wild or cultivated mushrooms (about 1/2 pound) [I used a combo of shiitake, porcini, and oyster]
3 tablespoons fat-free milk, divided
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream [I used light]
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) fat-free cream cheese, softened [I used light]
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
[I subbed 1 tsp dried herbes de provence for the chives, parsley, and tarragon]
4 large egg whites
2 large eggs


Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until moisture evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown. Remove from heat.

Combine 1 tablespoon milk, sour cream, cream cheese, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add mushrooms to milk mixture; stir well. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons milk, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, onions, chives, parsley, tarragon, egg whites, and eggs in a bowl; stir well.

Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spread egg mixture evenly in pan; cook 3 minutes or until center is set. Top with mushroom mixture. Carefully loosen omelet with a spatula; fold in half. Cut omelet in half.

2 servings (serving size: 1/2 omelet)