Scratch Cooking October 14

Today was a lousy day. I found out why my neck is hurting so much - I have degeneration in the discs and cartilage. This doctor likes to blow up the x-rays and draw big circles around all of the areas that are abnormal. I guess knowledge is power but in this case it just bummed me out.

And on my way back from the doctor to the pharmacy to pick up my brand spanking new prescriptions of muscle relaxant and anti-inflammatory, I got distracted and rear ended the car in front of me. It was raining, there was traffic and I wasn’t thinking very clearly. Clearly. It was a young kid in an SUV and he couldn’t have been sweeter. His car had a little dent in the bumper. My Prius on the other hand has a cracked bumper and an accordion for a hood. Ugggggghhhhhhh.

Oh, and while I was at the pharmacy, I ran into a woman I know from ballet who is a total anorexic nutball and had to listen to her go off about how the antioxidants in chocolate aren't enough to justify the calories, blah, blah, blah. Now you know that I am generally a pacifist, but my neck hurt, the doctor still doesn't know what I have but for the first time said the words "borderline lupus" which I can tell you is really fun to hear and I just destroyed the front end of my car. So,don't tell anyone but I wanted to ring her scrawny little neck and throw all 72 pounds of her out the window!  Either that or force feed her chocolate like a foie gras goose! (By the way, while I was writing those words, it seemed only appropriate that I should be polishing off some fair trade chocolate that my daughter handed me. So ha!)

Life seems to be conspiring against me but for one thing. I remade Jacques and Julia’s salmon encrusted in potato last night, you know the recipe I made the first night of scratch cooking, and it came out much better. I chose a center cut piece of salmon and I sliced the potatoes super thin on the mandolin. It wasn’t perfect, some of the potatoes came off, but one side of one piece was exactly the right color and texture with buttery, golden brown potatoes. So I took a picture of it and that is what I will show you. Ta da!

Okay, I am taking my car crashing, achy, whinny, angry, unforgiving, pathetic self to bed. Tomorrow has GOT to be a better day!