Dehydrated Citrus Wheels

 This has been a tough week in Recovery Land. My six week x-ray is quickly approaching. I'm feeling both anxious and hopeful about that. I've also been feeling cooped up, frustrated and in low spirits. I had mastered being stuck in the house during pandemic times. At least I had regular rides with friends to look forward to. This is a whole new level of being stuck in the house that I haven't figured out, nor do I really want to if I'm honest. I have no idea what to expect in the coming weeks in terms of what I will and won't be able to do.

It seems that at least several times so far during this process, someone has come along and said just the thing I needed to hear at that time. Recently, in a text exchange, Rachel said to me "you have so many firsts to look forward to!" What a helpful way to re-frame things. As a person who has had several injuries herself, she gets that the ups and downs are inevitable. So, I have in moments of taking pity on myself, tried to halt that line of thinking and either reflect on a recent first I've had, or ponder the next one I will be experiencing. I'm finding this conducive to the emotional aspect of healing. It's essential to have things to look forward to. More importantly, it helps to feel like I'm accomplishing something rather than fixate on all the things I am currently unable to do. 

Recently I went for my first walk outside alone with one crutch. It was slow and short, but exhilarating. I have done others since. The next first I am aware of will occur on May 8. I think I've mentioned that I've abstained from drinking any cocktails during my recovery process. This is for many reasons. For one, I'd like to focus on proper nutrition to keep my bone healing on track. Secondly, given my lack of activity, I don't need the extra calories. But, most importantly, I'd like to remain stable and not risk any other kind of fall! May 8th will be the day I become "fully baked" from my second vaccination and I think this is cause to celebrate. I will raise a glass to honor this moment in my personal pandemic experience. 

Now, the all important question. Which cocktail do I have on this momentous occasion? It may be the only one I have for another chunk of time, so I need to make it good. Do I go with an old standby? A Paper Plane? A Last Word? A martini? Or do I choose from one of the drinks I've been bookmarking to try in the future? I have time to think about this, but one of the deciding factors will be whether it lends itself well to one of the dehydrated citrus wheels I made yesterday. (I just realized this was also a first. The first time I've played in the kitchen since this happened.) I'm so excited to use these. Some of them are so pretty and I think the aesthetics will elevate the drinking experience!

Dried Citrus Wheels

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Slice the fruit thin. Somewhere between 1/8 to 1/4". I used lemon, lime, orange, blood orange, cara cara navel.

3. Lay in single layers on lined baking sheets. Put in oven. Flip each slice over after 2 hours. 

4. Lemons and limes take about 3-4 hours. Oranges about 6 hours. You want them to be brittle, with no moisture left in them.

5. Store in an airtight container in your fridge. They should last quite a while. (I read up to a year.)

Green Beans with Lemon and Pine Nuts

 I've been pondering some good slogans for PR posters on the recovery process. These would be both from 1) my own experiences thus far, and 2) the advice I've been given repeatedly. You might be able to guess which ones come from each of these categories. I imagine these posters hanging in a Physical Therapy office or being flashed in front of me on my phone as a notification from a recovery app. Maybe the app is called Get Over It! The pictures behind the slogans are peaceful landscapes or vibrant and bold backdrops, depending on the message and whether it's supposed to be calming or inspirational. 

Recovery - Some days are better than others!

Recovery - How much patience do you have? Let's find out!

Recovery - Take it day by day.

Recovery - Don't overdo it!

Recovery - You need to go slow to go fast!

Recovery - It's not linear. I hope you like roller coaster rides! 

Recovery - Be sure to stick with your physical therapy even if you're feeling good!

Recovery - Enjoy the process. What's the rush?

Recovery - Don't overdo it! (Yes, I know I already mentioned this one.)

There are so many more. Maybe I'll do a Part 2. Please feel free to submit yours. I'm not knocking the advice, by the way. I know many people are providing me with cautionary tales of how they messed up their own recovery and basically saying - "don't be me" or "here is what I learned the hard way". I'm sure I'll be offering up the same advice. I'm still early in the process, so like I said, I'm anticipating a Part 2. Maybe even a trilogy, given full recovery is supposed to take up to a year. Only 11 more months to go!

I'm hoping to be able to start doing actual cooking in the next couple of weeks, more than just heating up food that was made for me, frying an egg or making toast. I think this dish could be something I start with. It's pretty simple to put together. It will be a nice side dish for the summer months. 

Lemony green beans with pine nuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 lb green beans, trimmed

2 tblsp garlic infused olive oil (or 2 tblspsn of olive oil and 2 cloves minced garlic - I was using this as a low FODMAP recipe and fresh garlic is not allowed.)

1 tblsp lemon zest and juice from one lemon

1. Toast pine nuts either in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring and shaking fairly constantly or in a toaster oven on 350 for 5 minutes or so. DO NOT walk away. You want these lightly toasted, but not lightly burned or they will be bitter. Set aside in a different container to cool. 

2. If you're using fresh garlic sautee that in the olive oil.

3. Boil water in a saucepan big enough to fit all the green beans and have them all submerge. Drop the green beans in the boiling water to blanch them. I like mine crispy, so only keep them in there for about 2-3 minutes. Drain the beans and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. Shake out excess water. Dry a bit with dish cloth if necessary.

4. Transfer green beans to bowl. Add grated lemon zest, olive oil and pine nuts. Toss together.

Tin Lizzy (Irish Manhattan) Cocktail

As I mentioned in my last post, I am not able right now to do many of the activities I find pleasurable. If all goes well, I will have a full recovery and be able to return to my normal recreation in time, but for now I'm looking for alternate ways of adding joy to my days. During the pandemic I was gifted the novelty book "Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy." The idea is that for a year you pick one of the exercises to do each day and periodically check in on your happiness scale. Each exercise is based on a quote by a famous author, entertainer, politician, philosopher, etc. Previously I've only thumbed through the pages and read some of the quotes. I thought this would be a good time to try doing the activities. 

My first approach was to open the book to a random page to pick an exercise I could begin with. That didn't go well. I happened to choose the page with a quote from J.F.K., "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride." Then I'm supposed to describe today's ride. Seriously? On the opposite page I'm asked to list the Top 5 outdoor activities that make me happy. At least I can do that, but not without feeling a bit melancholy. Riding on trails - dirt or snow; snowshoeing; hiking to scenic summits; riding under the night sky; sitting in a shady spot on a hot summer day reading a book while drinking a cold brew coffee. There.

My next approach was to choose deliberately, based on a high ease of execution to good feelings ratio. I found one by Iris Murdoch. I don't know who she is, but will find out. She says, "One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." I totally buy into this doctrine. I often say I work well on the treat system. The exercise is to list today's small treat. That's easy. In one of the get well baskets I received, there was a box of small Italian cranberry sesame flavored biscuits. They were delicious and paired well with my afternoon tea. 

Another good cocktail I never got around to posting was the one I had for Saint Patrick's Day on a Zoom call with Tricia. I liked it and it was made even better because I drank it from the pretty glassware Tricia had sent me as a surprise gift for no reason. I enjoy pretty glassware and am hoping to build up my own collection. In addition, I used, for the first time, one of the Luxardo cherries I had splurged on and treated myself to. (Bonus points for listing a second and third small treat without even trying.)

An ingredient in this drink is Benedictine, which is a liqueur I had never heard of prior to January and now seem to be putting it in most of my cocktails. It's like farro was to me for cooking during winter 2020. Something I had never used and then ended up wondering how I ever lived without it. (I'm really knocking it out of the park here mentioning many small treats in my life, past and present. Mission accomplished. My happy meter has been taken up a notch.) 

p.s. Iris Murdoch is an Irish and British novelist and philosopher best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality and the power of the unconscious. Hmmm. Seems fitting to have chosen an Irish philosopher for my St. Patrick's day cocktail post. 

Tin Lizzy/ Irish Manhattan (inspiration from @denverbarkeep on IG)

2 oz Irish whiskey

3/4 oz Benedictine

1/4 oz Lillet Blanc

Dash of angostura bitters

1. Stir with ice, strain into glass of your choice and garnish with a Luxardo cherry or lemon peel.

Southern Baptist Cocktail

Due to an injury, I won't be doing many of the things I enjoy for a while as I recover, including shaking up an occasional cocktail. So, I'm pleased to report that the last one I tried was a keeper. I had been focusing more on fun garnishes and this one included one of the dehydrated lime wheels I made. Baking citrus slices slowly on low heat gives them a richer color that I think adds a sophisticated accent and also a deeper flavor. I had planned to try this out with a blood orange and think that will be a very nice touch on an Old Fashioned or a Mystery Man. Stay tuned!

Southern Baptist

2 oz Rye (I used Rittenhouse)

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

3/4 oz ginger simple syrup 

 

1. Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled. 

2. Pour into a coup glass and garnish with a lime wheel. 

Ginger Simple Syrup 

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1 cup sliced ginger root

1. Put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and heat on medium, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.

2. Add ginger, bring to a light boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Turn off heat , cover, and let the mixture steep for about an hour.

4. Strain out solids and store liquid in a tightly covered jar in the fridge, labeled with name and date.