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Before MC, I was a typical bachelor non-chef. Best I could manage on my own was bacon and eggs for breakfast and spag bol + bought ice cream and melted Mars Bars for supper.
Well, I have just sat down to a delicious prawn risotto with a touch of "Thai" washed down with a glass (cuppa - Gabes ) of Australian Shiraz.
Fry olive oil, rice, red onions, basil, parsley, some dried red currents, chopped lemon grass and seasoning in pan until brown. Add curry powder, carrots and peeled shrimps (I bought them peeled - still a bachelor at heart!) add water and boil for a few minuted. Add red wine vinegar and coconut milk (no guar gum variety). Simmer for a bit longer and Voila!!
If I did not have MC I would never have done this.
Ant, you made me think about what I have become since my dx of LC last summer. Here's my list:
a toilet bowl watcher
an obsessed label reader
a complainer to manufacturers about their product contents - enough with the soy added to everything!
a bulk cooker so there's always something in the freezer for the days I don't feel like cooking
a bulk buyer for when gf products/ingredients are on sale. Like Gabes I go to many different places around town to get the different things I need and to get the best prices.
a more adventurous eater - a surprise but true eg using Teff, quinoa, sorghum etc in bread; drinking coconut water
easily tired - but an afternoon nap helps
skinny - I always wanted to be 20 pounds lighter but but careful what you wish for .....
more assertive - standing up to patronising doctors who know nothing about MC, asking for gf meals in restaurants
I am also a bachelor but have always enjoyed cooking. Actually baking was my favorite but with my current regimen that is out of the question now.
Congratulations in jumping out of the fire and into the frying pan :-) It is really fun to go to the grocery an get all unprocessed foods and come home and find new ways to put them together that taste fantastic, look beautiful and work extremely well with my current diet.
Other members have discovered the same thing during their recovery. Polly used to consider herself cooking impaired but has found, like you , that she is a far better cook than she imagined. It is just so much easier and cheaper when I can make all my own meals. It takes some time but if I always make more than one serving I always have left overs for later or I can freeze things to have when I don’t have time to cook. Home made soups and stews are a great way for me to go about it and can simmer while I do other things. I eat a far healthier diet now than when I ate al those processed foods and enjoy it more.
The other big plus is that I don't have to read labels. Just enjoy real food.
Look forward to reading more of your kitchen adventures,
Excellent! Good for you. As they say, "there's a silver lining to every cloud".
If you should ever decide to change careers, it will be easy, now. I'll bet a chef's hat looks good on you.
You're an inspiration,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Ant - thanks for sharing the story and for the smile!
was there only one glass of wine??
Maxine i ditto your list - except the skinny thing, and i need to add, i have learnt not to be a perfectionist control freak, I am learning i dont have total control on everything.
Ant -If MC didnt come along i am sure there would be some other event or occurance that would have pushed you to embrace this wonderment!
(the fact it was MC means that we get to share these events! so yeah for that)
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
I am in awe of anyone who likes to cook. I spent more time cooking when I first got CC than I ever had in my life.. plus I was constantly hungry...LOL
grannyh
What a delightful post! Your creation sounds lovely. I actually enjoy cooking from scratch now. Please share your ideas - I always love learning new dishes.
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I still don't like to cook. Between what my husband can or will eat and what I could eat before entocort... we ended up eating chicken every night... I had it for lunch too. Boiled chicken every night with rice and cold chicken for lunch.. Guess I could have gotten inventive and cooked different meals for each of us.. but still don't even do that...LOL
grannyh
Ant, good for you! I finally jumped the ship and went Paleo (95%) so love to hear about new recipes. I just can't figure out what my "other" tolerances are so I figured I would eliminate all processed/GF flour goodies and I am beginning to feel so much better. Had to go back on Entocort a couple of weeks ago because I had starting losing weight again (5'5" 107) but that's okay. Things will get better. Keep giving us new recipes!! Ginny
Good for you Ant. Since I cook for a living, it had become rather a chore for me until I had to reinvent my life. I've found that I am loving experimenting with new flavors and especially love anything Thai. I've been doing lots of lettuce wraps w/ground chicken, cilantro, red onion, lime, fresh ginger, roasted peanuts and sweet hot chili sauce. My crews seem to have an endless appetite for anything fresh like this.
It's frustrating that galangal root is so hard to find, I can only find it in specialty stores that are out of my normal commuting/shopping path, but I could eat Tom Kah every day. I've been making it with squash instead of mushrooms and it is SO good. I don't know if I've posted the recipes here in Dee's Kitchen. I'll check there and if I haven't I'll post some more recipes.
Cooking is sexy, IMO, especially in a man. My DH is a great cook.
Connie
Resolved MC symptoms successfully w/L-Glutamine, Probiotics and Vitamins, GF since 8/'09. DX w/MC 10/'09.
I have a plaque that has hung in my kitchen since 1988 and it is my motto and I truly love to cook. It says "Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all."
And that is a fact.
Love, Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
I have a fridge magnet that says "The only reason this house had a kitchen is for resale value.":)
Don't get me wrong.. I cooked diligently when the kids were still living at home.. but once they were gone ... when I cook I make a LOT and freeze meals to eat later.. or we eat Lean Cuisine:)
grannyh
Well done Ant and there is nothing wrong with buying some things prepared (not processed, prepared), you don't have to do everything yourself!!! And great you can eat all those things without causing you any troubles. If I was living closer to you I would invite myself to dinner one time
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
) of Australian Shiraz. 
