Monday Make Me Wanna Puke

ADDENDA:
Got to bed around 11, had slight difficulty falling asleep, then had the craziest dreams again. On the sick-couch, I watched the movie 'Deep Impact' then an episode of the L Word, and in my dream I was running away from a giant wave with the characters from the L Word. Also dreamt that I inherited a really old, broken-down car from my father (a black Studebaker with lots of leaves piled up in side, something my dad never had) and I was driving it around Staten Island, trying to clear the leaves off the steering wheel while staying in control.

AM DRUGGING: 7:45am, dirtpill, 500mg Vitamin C, 2 extra strength Tylenol
Woke up several times to blow my nose, very stuffed up.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, 1 wholewheat saltless pretzel, hunger 3/5
I got up off the couch because I started to feel queezy, then attempted to throw up in the sink - I think the pills on on an empty stomach was a bad idea. The sound of my retching threw me back to when I was living with my mom while she was in the last stages of her cancer - the chemo and pills would make her make the same exact noises. Happy morning!

LUNCH: 1:15pm, homemade mushroom & sherry risotto, 2 small chocolate ice cream bars, 3/4 bottle of seltzer
Spent the morning doing laundry, food shopping, missing my parents, feeling sorry for myself, so I collected ingredients for a challenging afternoon of cooking. Following Batali's recipe with some necessary adjustments (double the shiitakes, dried porcini for fresh, sherry instead of Vin Canto, vegetable stock instead of chicken stock), and though he calls for 18 minutes of stirring while ladling in stock, to reach the proper creaminess and al denteness of the rice, took an arm-bending 45 minutes. (This would be a great recipe for those with OCD) A lot of cooking involves putting stuff on heat and walking away, this was 1 & 1/4 solid hours of chopping, sweating, browning, stirring then mixing - good for the soul. Even before I tasted it, I was glad to have the distraction.

So I ladled it out, took a picture and ate. I'm not a huge fan of risotto, but I have enjoyed it before. I was surprised by the creamy consistency (as no creamy ingredients were used), the rice-pudding like consistency of the rice, and the fantastic mushroomy funkiness set off perfectly by the sherry. That said, if I was served this in a restaurant, I'd probably not be impressed - but I wouldn't send it back, either! I look forward to Betsy trying it, as I have a small bucket of it left over.

DINNER: 7pm, reheated left over baked potato with sauteed broccoli, mushroom and garlic, 1 small chocolate ice cream bar, hunger 4/5
I'm a bit afraid of the left over risotto, it looks a bit like paste.... so I prepped the other left overs, threw hot sauce & soy sauce on the veg and came out nicely.

Feeling too healthy and craving sugar (baked potatoes have that effect on me), I scarfed my 2nd desert of the day. These ice cream bars are kinda like the Haagen Daaz all-chocolate bars, but smaller and all-organic and less crippity crappity stuff in it. I remember the H.D. bars as a snack making me feel ill, so I skipped them for this brand. Didn't make me fill skanky but wasn't that great, either. Gotta make my own ice cream again, soon.

EVENING SNACK: 11:15pm, small bowl of risotto, hunger 4/5
Feeling nippy - desiring....meat. But this is available. Reheated in the microwave, good, but surprisingly thick and pudding like. Taste the sherry a bit too strongly. Next time I make this it's gonna kick ass!