Vegetable Lo Mein

I’m finally back with a post, yay! I have finished all my testing and dr/hospital appts until mid August. Hooray. My lip is healing nicely, and it looks like, as of now, I do not have sjogren’s syndrome (thank God). But since I’m borderline on the test results for sjogren’s, I have to go see the rheumatologist every 6 months for blood work to make sure I don’t develop it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. There’s another autoimmune disease to check off on the list. I wonder what they’ll test for next.

After all of the tests and appointments, I’m slowly easing my way back into the kitchen, starting with simple, all-in-one meals. I have a whole list of delicious-sounding recipes that I want to make; hopefully I can get them knocked out soon.

This recipe originally comes from a Cook’s Illustrated cookbook from a recipe for pork lo mein. Mr. Surly and I love veggie lo mein noodles, but the local Chinese take out lo mein makes us both horribly sick. So for the past year I have been trying in vain to find a decent recipe for lo mein noodles. Some recipes call for oyster sauce or fish sauce. I don’t know why, but just the sound of those sauces grosses me out. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a big fan of sea food that tastes fishy. Yuk. It goes back to my childhood and a mini shark fish named Sharky, that my dad loved and us kids hated, who came back from the dead . *shiver* But that’s another story, perhaps for another day.

Vegan Berry Cobbler

My wonderful sister has once again rescued me this week with a guest post. I'm still recovering from my minor surgery last Friday. It really made my week horrible. I woke up each morning with puffy lips, it hurt to talk because the knots/stitches rub against my bottom teeth and gums. My energy is so low, I'm barely able to make dinner for Mr.Surly. And I have to rinse my mouth out with this nasty prescription rinse to keep infection from setting in. I can't wait to get the stitches out tomorrow and return to the kitchen to bake up some yummy treats; perhaps even this delectable looking berry cobbler.

There was a special on berries at my grocery store, so I didn’t have to resort using any frozen. The berries this year (especially the strawberries) have been very sweet, which made this cobbler a delectable treat.

This cobbler is nice because it is neither complicated nor time consuming. I did have some problems keeping the whipped “cream” from being too runny, but it did turn out to be a nice dairy-free alternative. We did top some of them with vanilla ice cream (not vegan) and that was good too.

Keepin' it Real

Sorry if you have a squeamish stomach and this photo makes you nauseous. I talk all the time about my doctor visits and tests. Well, this is one of my tests. I went to the hospital this morning to have some salivary glands removed for testing to see if I have Sjogren's syndrome. I thought I'd share my battle wounds with you.

I go back next week to the ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) doctor to have the stitches removed and learn the pathology results. Then, I go to my rheumatologist next week to discuss all my test results (including this one) to determine if it's Sjogrens. Of course, with my luck, there is no definitive test for Sjogrens; each patient is different. It depends on many factors and tests the doctor takes into account before making a diagnosis.

I hope to get a food post up soon, but right now I'm on a liquid diet, so I'm not sure when I will be up for cooking. My doctor told me to take it easy until the stitches come out and I plan on being an obedient patient.

Now that the local anesthetic has worn off it hurts. The stitches rub against my gums and teeth and its not a good feeling; it really hurts. I just hope I don't start bleeding thru my stitches nor get an infection. That would really suck.