Oh how I was not looking forward to this day. Actually it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Do you remember my dental PSA post I wrote? That was almost three years ago. I started on that path with a new dentist and a renewed sense of hope that we could work down the list of ‘things to do’ in my mouth. Six months later my world came crashing down with Lily’s accident. I remember the next time being in the dental chair crying through my story about what happened. Then the hygienist started to cry. It as miserable. It was obvious I had a few more important things than a crown that needed attention. I had more things go wrong and it seemed that every time they opened a tooth they sealed it back up only to send me back to my husband for a root canal. I took some time away from the chair and it came back to haunt me. January of 2012 I found myself in a dental surgeons office with an infected impacted wisdom tooth. Good times. After I recovered from that (and the flu that brought me close to the light) I took a break and my dentist made sure I knew he didn’t like it. Needless to say that relationship ended.
Last April, a year later. I met a new naturopath and I asked if she could refer me to a dentist. Turns out hers is just across the hallway. I walked out of her office and straight into theirs. 2 weeks later my consultation turned into deep gum scaling, ouch but hey I was on my way to recovery. Summer came and I abandoned all appointment like I always do. I needed a few months to scrape up some cash for that shiny new porcelain crown. One of many to come. When I finally showed up turns out my new dentist sold the practice. Not to be derailed I said fine book me with the new dentist and there I was last Monday. One crown down, 3 more to go. The moral of the story don’t put off your dental appointment.
After that the rest of the week was a cake walk.
Not much happening, just the usual work and kids stuff. Stress levels have been high. Don’t let the pretty photos fool you, we’ve been oscillating somewhere between defcon level 4 and 5. If its not the IRS, its the disappointing progress report that just came in the mail, or the child that sounds like she is coughing up a lung for 3 weeks. I’ve been reading about other parents of seniors who are riding the same rollercoaster of college app hell, I am no exception, I’m just paying someone else to handle it for me. I have enough on my plate.
Speaking of plates. I cooked a bit this week.
Sorry that’s a craptastic photo but the dish is delish, my friends will remember it from back in the day – Bon Appetit. I will try and add it to the Recipe List but until then here you go.
Chicken with Asiago, Prosciutto and Sage
4 small skinless boneless chicken breasts (halve them down the middle = 2 thin pcs.)
4 TBL flour (add salt and pepper) into resealable bag
6 TBL unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup asiago cheese
8 thin prosciutto slices,
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
4 whole sage leaves (for garnish)
Preheat oven 375 F
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Drip chicken breasts into flour mixture in bag, shake off extra (you want as little flour as possible (or your pan will SMOKE.)
- Melt half the butter and maybe a dash of canola oil in saute pan over med-high heat.
- Add 2-3 chicken breasts – do not overcrowd, you want the pan to remain sizzling hot. Turn chicken over once it has reached golden brown (approx 3-5 min per side)
- Remove and let chicken rest on a paper towel lined plate. Finish cooking remaining breasts. Transfer cooked chicken to a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese, top each with a prosciutto slice. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place pan back on med-high heat. add wine, minced sage, and 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, scraping up browned bits, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer chicken breasts to platter. Top each with sage leaf drizzle pan sauce over, and serve.
Tastes like chicken pizza. Mmmmmmmn.
And because love for all things breaded or just bread itself was Parmesan and Sage Crusted Pork Chops (Cooking Light) and Vanilla Bean Pound Cake << box mix (King Arthur)
Sunrise and sunset.
Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at dawn sailor’s be warned.
Kids had Halloween festivities since they are out of school on Friday.
I’ was actually looking forward to just hanging out with the kids Friday, cooking and carving. I’m always stressed out Halloween don’t ask me why, probably because I usually work on that day so having it off is a big deal to me. I’m thankful, then I can binge eat all the Butterfingers and wash them down with a good beer all before 3 pm. Yey me.
Started Friday with the picking up of my first CSA box from Tanaka Farms, go read about that place in Week 41.
I started my chili not long after that. It sits on the stove for 4 hrs and its soooooo so so GOOD. The recipe is here.
We picked out our pumpkin stencils on Zombie Pumpkin, I paid my 2 bucks and downloaded her choice, a seagull. (she is slightly obsessed with gulls) I found mine on BHG.com – you can pretty much find any cat breed here. Its borderline crazy cat lady-ish I know.
Man am I in trouble or what. I’m just beginning to get a glimpse of my future dressed in throwback 80’s garb. Where’s that beer?
LOL. My kids, my props.
My dinner. My tradition continues… grabbing my chili, beer and NOT butterfinger because I can’t find them (its official I am old.) I sat outside in my beach chair and passed out candy to 10 of my trick o’ treaters and then 
packed in in because it started raining but not before I snagged a bag of Fritos for my second bowl from the neighbor who was kind enough to think, hey someone might want a snack. That reminds me, the other neighbor who I most look forward to seeing lives two doors down in the one story with the rose garden in front that is in dire need of a good trim. She loves her roses but she can’t take care of them, she can barely walk now, she’s 99. I have photos from 2012 that I have been meaning to share, just as I have been meaning to write about her. Last year she didn’t sit in her garage next to a folding table and a large bowl of full sized candy bars. She must have been ill. But she was back this year with her caregiver and grandson, although she doesn’t know who I am anymore. We’ve been neighbors for almost 15 years. She was 85 when I met her, living alone and traveling solo to places like Moscow. She told me about a boss who scolded her for stepping on top of a 1 cent stamp. She said she learned that day to never forget the value of something even as small as a penny. She went on to be an entrepreneur herself, owning several nursing schools up and down the state of California. She becomes a centenarian in January.
Saturday I worked hard to finish up the newest part of my photography website – the Shop!
I added all the print work I had done for the RAW show I did back in June, oh yeah I never blogged about that either. Well I did a show it was awesome and I will post a recap one of these days. yadda yadda yadda. I am offering FREE SHIPPING on all the pieces through Nov. 20th CODE: FBFREESHIP. .. the shop is here.
After 8 hrs on the computer, I ruined perfectly good (almost GF) healthy cookies by adding smashed up Heath bars from the Halloween candy stash. #notsorry
Good TV night … watched last nights Sonic Highways (why can’t TV be good like this ALL THE TIME!?!?) So far DC has been my favorite, I am in love with that GoGo beat.
I stayed up for Prince. Did NOT disappoint. Time to start up the concert fund.
and speaking of fun size … I found my butterfingers.
10 am snack again #notsorry (but will be when I try to zip pants)
Super A and I went out shopping where I proceeded to impulsively buy a car coat off the SALE rack at Nordstrom. Maybe I will get a chance to wear it in February, weather app says 90 next week. I rounded out that purchase with my 6 dollar purchase for pizza seasonings at SLT. We stopped in at The Melt, she tried her first grilled cheese sandwich ever. She told me she wouldn’t like, turns out, she loved it.
Made carrot soup Sunday. (feeling a bit guilty about the breakfast of Butterfingers perhaps or maybe it was Fridays downpour and crisp morning after I can’t say. We used the CSA carrots and thyme from what’s left of my dwindling garden ( I let it go this year.) Still need to figure out what to do with all the lettuce. Too bad our bearded dragon is in hibernation mode, he would be in heaven. Anyway I will leave you with that thought and the recipe.
Carrot & Ginger Soup
- Roast 8-10 medium Carrots in oven 45 minutes (covered with a little water) 350
- saute 1 large Sweet Onion, 2 chunks of fresh ginger (I like Dorot’s cubed) and fresh thyme for 10 minutes until translucent and soft.
- Add 2 cups of chicken broth and simmer for a minute.
- Add everything including carrots into blender. Run on high until smooth. Use caution contents are hot.
- Pour into pan add a dash of half and half, white pepper and salt to season (I used spicy curry salt) and bring to simmer.
yum! i want to try that carrot ginger soup!
and i’m going to msg you about that print. xoxo
So, just wondering, and not trying to be rude or disrespectful in ANY way, do you have any sense as to whether or not some of your health issues have anything to do with the root canals? I know your husband does this for a living, and the research is not conclusive, but from the research I’ve seen, there may be a small hint at the long term health effects of root canals vs pulling teeth. But obviously, I am not an expert and just thought I’d ask if you considered that?
Yes, most definitely Peggy. 😀 We have that discussion ALL time. I usually lead in with “you know you can’t completely sterilize a root canal right?…essentially you are sealing in some bacteria.” He acknowledges (usually rolling his eyes at me because boy does he love my armchair dentistry) and points out that our bodies immune system does its job of quelling bacteria. We are going to take a look at my 3 existing root canals with his new ct scan machine and see if they are suspicious. One of the biggest reasons I am back in the chair is to remove all the amalgam in my teeth when I was a teen I had my share f large silver fillings and I have rather high levels of mercury in my blood, even on a fish restrictive diet.
All the things that can go wrong, do. Ok, not always, but sometimes. I have a lot of health issues and have now developed severe allergies to a lot of antibiotics, which is kind of scary. I just read an article today about flu shots and that they do cause more harm than good in a lot of cases.
Here’s the link: http://yournewswire.com/johns-hopkins-scientist-reveals-shocking-report-on-flu-vaccines/
I pray you find some relief and get the answers you seek.
we do’t do flu vaccinations, the doc did until one year they doctors could only point to the flu shot to explain the joint pain and partial paralysis in his left hand, talk about scary. We have a saying around our house, “watch out for the doctors”