Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Spinning in the Dentist Chair

For all those who just LOOOVE going to the dentist... go put a sock in it.  I don't like sitting in the dental chair of doom.  It usually means that I have a cavity or whatnot and those needles are freaky.  In fact, I dislike them so much that I go every six months.  I know, that sounds contradictory.  I'm all for prevention.  I brush and floss religiously and I schedule routine cleanings because I am that anal about my teeth.

Usually, I sit in the chair, close my eyes and go to my happy place (or at least try to).  The office knows I have Meniere's Disease and they are super nice.  About as nice as you would be to a ticking time bomb.  They cleaned me up, polished me all lovely and took a load of x-rays.  The usual stuff (they even numbed my gums so I wouldn't feel anything).

Then they wrapped up the visit, I gave them my lovely and oh so super fake smile like I enjoyed myself and sat upright.

Yeah, not a good idea.

I had an attack right there in the dentist chair.  Now, before non-spinners think that I am being silly, let me just say that when I have an attack of vertigo, I have no control over my body, where it goes or where I end up.  Imagine being on a merry-go-round with your world in a full spin and you can't get off until the danged thing decides to stop.  This was followed by instant nausea, a pounding headache and me gulping back bile that was threatening to ruin the pretty carpet.

I laugh a little now, but right then I was mortified.  And I wasn't alone.  Talk about massive freakout.  The doc panicked, the hygienist panicked and I was the only one calm enough to tell them I was fine.  In actuality, I was fine.  I knew I might have an attack so I arranged for a ride, the appointment was already paid for all in advance so, all I needed to do was walk out the door.

Ah, geez.

My life is a three ring circus.

Tonight, I felt in the mood to concoct.  My hubby, who is very good and kind, wanted to help out by getting pizza, but being on a low-sodium diet and already having a rough day, the smell of pizza is torture.  I was going to cook!

Um... I am kinda low on groceries.  Concocting is going to be interesting.  This is what I had on hand:


So it looks like I have some Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (1 cup), Chardonnay (1 1/2 cups), Idaho Potatoes (three medium thinly sliced) a half of a white onion (diced).

It's not much to go on, but it'll have to do!


I melted about a tablespoon of Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter in a deep frying pan and cooked up my onion and mushrooms (WASH THE MUSHROOMS!!! Trust me.  I have a gross story that I will never tell that has to do with unwashed mushrooms.  So, be thorough!)

I added about a teaspoon of the following to the onion mixture:

Dill
Rosemary
Basil
Parsley
Oregano

 Oh look!  My pretty onions!  I am a dab hand at dicing these suckers.  I took the picture because I bought a dough knife that I never cut dough with.  I use it to transport my cut stuff to the pan and it is AWESOME.

OXO brand has the best dough cutter, in case you were wondering.


 All my cooking MUST have some sort of blood sacrifice.  I did this little slice on my finger while cutting up my CLEAN mushrooms.  NOTE TO SELF: don't talk on the phone with a knife in hand.




Back to the food.
 I added my bone-in, skin-on, cheapest-meat-in-the-grocery-store chicken to the onion/mushroom/spice in butter mixture, doused it in Chardonnay and covered it in potato slices and brought it to a boil.

Viola!  Isn't that pretty?

Then I cover-covered it with a lid and turned the heat down to medium to simmer.  And now we wait.








I am not the best planner in the world, so when I put in the chicken it was still a little frozen.  Not rock hard, mind you, because I did have some foresight by the time half the day was over.  Pre-planning meals is not my forte.



It took about 45 minutes to cook and it sure looked pretty when it was done.  My house smells like cooked alcohol and chicken, but I was able to get the nameless concoction on the table and eaten by the time my son needed to leave for Boy Scouts.  There was only one hiccup.  It was missing a bit of a nip.  It need a punch, some flavor that would kick in my mouth.

I'm thinking I may add some lemon zest and juice to it next time.  Maybe some balsamic vinegar or ginger for a flavor lift?  What do you think?  What should I add to make it better?

Food Quote of the Day (this time from the HUBS!):  It's bland.  Not BAD-bland.  Just bland.  (yeah, he's a man of few words)


NOT REALLY A Meniere's Tip of the day:  I lived in Oklahoma for seven years and have seen many tornadoes and lived through a lot of severe weather.  EVERY time a tornado hits that great state I fear for the lives in jeopardy and my heart aches when lives are lost.  The people of Oklahoma are amazing how they band together, help each other and are incredibly organized about it.  Why?  Because this is their lives, it's what they are used to and we expect bad weather.  Never before have I seen a group of strangers be so kind, so compassionate and so amazingly generous with their time and hard work.  I may not have been born there, but I am OKIE PROUD.  The RED CROSS is taking donations.  Please open your heart to the people who have lost everything!

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