Stuff I am learning

1. A roasted parsnip, in the company of carrots, potatoes, and onions, is tasty, and worth repeating.

2. I do not loathe ginger. Now I've always loved gingersnaps; they're one of my favorite cookies. But actual ginger, fresh or candied, has not been at the top of my list. Until I brought home the dark chocolate covered ginger from Trader Joe's. The first time I tried it, I could not taste anything but the chocolate. Since then, I've become able to distinguish the ginger, and I really truly like it. I bought it for its anti-inflammatory properties, and I'm eating it for the taste. At great personal sacrifice, I have not emptied the entire container down the hatch at one go.

3. I made my first wrap tonight. Ultra-thin whole grain tortilla, lump crabmeat, romaine, a thin layer of balsamic mayo. Not pretty, but also not bad. It needed something. But for a first effort it was acceptable. And you can learn just about anything on YouTube.

4. Neil Sperry (the Texas gardening guru) says that rhubarb does not do well here in the Lone Star State. The googling I did beyond his website, says that rhubarb likes temperatures well under 80. Yeah. Not happening here, except maybe in February.

5. The rhubarb sauce that I made when I was home on Friday, was so good that I wept when I tasted it.

6. I'm braver than I generally give myself credit for. I brought home a small bag of Brussels sprouts and will try them roasted. I had hoped to be able to only buy three or four of them, in case they are as awful when roasted as they are when steamed or boiled. My mother was a fantastic cook. But Brussels sprouts and broccoli and cauliflower and cabbage all smell wet and metallic to me when they are steamed or boiled. I am trying to make friends with cruciferous vegetables, because they fight inflammation. I can eat broccoli without gagging. That is major progress. I will concede that the little heads of raw Brussels sprouts are very pretty.

7. I was craving an artichoke, so I bought one. Steamed it over water liberally laced with balsamic vinegar, and in lieu of hollandaise or melted butter, threw together a sauce of Greek yogurt, a couple of splashes of balsamic, some dried dill, and a whisper of dried thyme. Since I'd already eaten my wrap, I did not have enough appetite for the whole artichoke. What's left is hanging out in the fridge in a Ziploc bag, as is the jollop. They were really good together.

8. I made a batch of sun herb tea yesterday afternoon from the gold-plated tea bags I brought home from my first massage in April. Aveda. Which is ayurvedic for spendy. Put some into one of those little mason jars with a handle and took it to work this morning. So. Good.

9. My energy levels were fairly stable all day. I did not run out of things to eat. I had no particular cravings. My left ankle, which is the more cankle-y of the two, is relatively normal in size, and the habitual heat and redness is almost entirely absent. If it had not taken so long to fix dinner (and then eat it), I would go walk in the pool tonight, but I can feel myself gently winding down, and I think I will be horizontal and unconscious in half an hour or so. I need to check my email first, to see if I have the topics for the rest of this month's sacrament meetings.

Night, y'all.