Almond Panna Cotta

Since nearly the beginning of 2018, I have been suffering from shoulder pain.  What began as stiffness, which I attributed to sleeping funny, turned out to be the beginning of adhesive capsulitis, aka "frozen shoulder".  Over the course of 4 months, my shoulder when from slightly stiff to absolutely painful upon certain motions.  I have had surgeries, sprains, fractures, ischemic colitis, and a bunch of other painful things, but nothing compares to the pain from frozen shoulder.  Nothing.

While the pain didn't start off as all-consuming, it gradually caused a few lifestyle changes which really put a damper on comfort.  I had to resort to sleeping flat on my back; any degree of rotation caused pain, either from direct pressure on my shoulder or from my shoulder being unsupported.  At some point, I reached for the Aleve, but it wasn't very helpful.  I blame the combination of Aleve and sleeping flat on my back as the cause of my GERD.

So in addition to restricted movement/motion while I was awake, I had some difficulty eating, fearing the resulting heartburn and gas which followed.  As I mentioned before, sleep was out of the question.  This was my life for the second half of April and all of May.

MMM suggested that consuming yogurt might be soothing.  The Help had no problem going to the market and buying tons of one of my favorites.  My yogurt jag failed to remedy my stomach ills, but it did contribute to my growing war chest of cover-less, smallish glass jars.  A work friend, who also had an affinity for that brand of yogurt, and I talked about what we could possibly do with all of the jars.  We both thought it would be a shame to throw them out, as the jars were sturdy and cute.

On a hot day in May, I had D2 make jello for dessert, and she poured them into those jars since they were out on the counter already.  She stacked them in the fridge (our fridge real estate is always limited) since the bottom of the jar is larger than the top.  That's when it occurred to me that the jars would be perfect for panna cotta, a dessert I've enjoyed at Noodle Club and some other restaurants.  And being able to stack the jars meant I wouldn't need too much space in the fridge.

I tried a few different recipes, but some were too firm, and some did not set up adequately.  A few recipes also called for odd amounts of not-usually-in-my-fridge milk varieties.  After some trial and error, the recipe with this post is what turned out to be a good texture (to me).  Reduce or increase the amount of milk to get the texture you prefer.  Although this recipe is for almond panna cotta, there is a small amount of vanilla extract in the recipe.  I find that adding a bit of vanilla nicely softens the almond flavor, which can sometimes be very bold (think Chinese almond float).

Because cherries are now in season, I made a topping with fresh cherries (thank you Ds for pitting and halving all the cherries).  I hope The Help can come up with a summery drink using the cherry syrup.  Any type of fruit can be used as a topping.  I've had this at a restaurant with some lavender syrup and it was delicious.  I think chocolate lovers might enjoy it with a spoonful of Nutella.

Now that June is nearly over, my shoulder is almost back to normal, thanks to the MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) I underwent just after Memorial Day.  I am able to sleep on my side, my GERD is gone, and I can actually straighten my arm and lift it over my head.

Best of all, my MUA was done on Oahu, so I got to check out the Memorial Day sales at the Waikele Outlets and Nordstrom Rack. And the Rack just happened to be having a fabulous sale on boots.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Almond Panna Cotta

     2 c heavy cream

     1 c milk, divided

     1 envelope unflavored gelatin

     1/2 c sugar

     1/2 tsp almond extract

     1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Soften gelatin in 1/2 c milk.  Heat heavy cream, remaining milk, and sugar, to just below boiling.  Stir in softened gelatin and milk.  Continue stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved.  Remove frm heat and stir in extracts.  Pour into small containers.  Chill until set.  If not serving within 8 hours, cover each container to avoid drying out.  If serving unmolded, lightly grease containers prior to filling.  Serve with fruit or desired topping.

Creamy Italian Dressing

I spent most of last week licking my wounds.  I guess I'm more of a Seahawks fan than I care to admit.  After all, Max Unger is from the Big Island, and Jermaine Kearse and I are both Huskies.  Maybe it's also because I do NOT like the Patriots.

In my book, the Patriots are the NFL equivalent of the Oregon Ducks.  I'd like to draw in a Joker smile on Bill Belichick's face and give Gronk a good spanking.  Don't even get me started on Tom Brady.  He is from a school in the Big 10, the sworn enemy of the Pac 12 conference.  But I have one question about Tom Brady.  Why are his teeth so nice?

I can't believe the NFL swept Deflategate under the rug.  WTF.  The NFL spends all that money on domestic violence "no more" commercials, yet they condone cheating.  Talk about messed up priorities.  Moving on. . .

I guess the next big thing for me (in terms of entertainment) is the start of the 2015 Formula One season.  I hope Lewis Hamilton can repeat as world champion.  That would be awesome.  The F1 season runs March thru November, so that should take me well into football season.  Good.  I'm so not into basketball and baseball. 

Mr. Dependable crapped out again this weekend.  Well he told me that he was going to the other side of the island for this and that and if I wanted him to take the kids (HIS kids), then he had to change his hotel reservation.  Blah, blah, blah.  Out of fairness, I asked the Ds if they wanted to go with him or stay home.  Both said they'd stay home.  I like it when they're home anyway.  I don't need to wonder what time they'll roll in on Sunday evening.

D2 invited a friend to spend the night.  That was nice. I was going to order pizza for dinner, now that D2 eats pizza (D2 used to hate pizza, but now she will eat cheese pizza, as long as it's from Domino's.  Sorry, Pizza Hut.).  But on Thursday, after eating some kind of Doritos casserole for lunch, I decided maybe I wasn't ready for pizza just yet.  So I sent The Help to the market to buy some thin sliced beef for teriyaki.  The weather had been fairly nice last week, so having hibachi food wasn't too much of a stretch.  I even managed to make some Spam musubi for the girls.

There was a cute conversation at dinner.  D2's status as picky eater extraordinaire is well known.  One of her friend's mother has a list of the foods D2 will eat...it is not a long list.  D2's friend was shocked to see D2 eating beef teriyaki.  She said, "I never saw you eat this kind of food before."  I told her she could tell her mom to add that food to her list. 

On Friday morning, D1 showed up at my room carrying a bag of lettuce.  She said it was from Ma (a beloved counselor).  Ma and 3M left on Friday night for the city of brotherly love so I inherited a nice head of lettuce from her.  Cool.  I figured I'd offer the kids a nice bowl of salad alongside the Spam musubi and beef teriyaki.  There were no takers.  The Help and I ended up eating the salad by ourselves.  I suppose things could have been worse.  The dressing was beast.

As much as possible, I try to avoid buying salad dressing.  The only exceptions are ranch dressing (I buy the bottle) and Italian dressing (I have a thing for Good Season's packet mix).  Too many times, I've been grossed out from reading the dressing ingredient label.  Many dressings contain the Devil's condiment.  Just the thought of it grosses me out.  If a recipe I come across calls for it, I will leave it out.  Ick.  Yes, I am a hater.   I am a mustard hater.  That shit is nasty!

The dressing I made for Ma's lettuce was a creamy Italian dressing.  It didn't have the robust flavor of the Good Season's mix, but it wasn't missed.  A creamy dressing should be creamy and smooth.  This dressing delivers on those points and boasts the right herb flavor.  The instructions call for blending the dressing.  I use an immersion blender for this; it's easier to wash than a traditional blender. 

click on recipe title for link to printable recipe

Creamy Italian Dressing

     1 c mayonnaise
     1/4 c onion, diced
     2 tbsp red wine vinegar
     2 tsp sugar
     3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
     1/4 tsp salt
     1/4 tsp garlic powder
     2 dashes of black pepper

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Easy Minestrone

This was certainly an adventure-filled fall break.  I'm almost looking forward to this week back at work...at least I know the bleeding ends at 3:00 pm.

On Wednesday, the Ds and I headed to Honolulu.  We were conveniently able to schedule a follow-up appointment with the allergist on Thursday.  We spent the rest of the time shopping, eating, and rubbing elbows with family at a wedding.

My "little" cousin LA and her fiancee SN tied the knot at the beautiful and classy Halekulani Hotel.  Talk about the wedding of weddings!  Every girl should want a wedding like that.  While the venue was impeccably set up, the food was absolutely delicious.  Glad the happy couple was so concerned about the guests eating well!

After all the indulgences last week, I think it's best to scale back and eat light this week.  I noticed the weather here seems cooler than it was a few weeks ago, making it good soup weather.  This recipe cheats a little and uses 2 cans of Campbell's condensed soup for the base.  But when you're pressed for time on a weeknight, the canned soup ensures everything will come together quickly.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Easy Minestrone

     3 slices bacon, chopped (or use 3 tbsp bacon bits + 2 tsp olive oil)

     1 c chopped onion

     1/2 c chopped celery

     1 can Campbell's bean & bacon soup

     1 can Campbell's beef broth

     18 oz water

     1/2 tsp salt

     1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, broken up

     1/2 c pasta

     1-2 c diced zucchini

     1-2 c shredded cabbage

     1 clove garlic, minced

     1 tsp shredded basil leaves, optional

Brown bacon (or bacon bits and olive oil), onion, celery, garlic & basil.  Add soup, broth, water, tomatoes, salt, macaroni, zucchini & cabbage.  Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes or until zucchini is cooked.