Good question Stella. She posed this one at dinner tonight. It was inspired by the "silly" chemo really working a number on Jeff the past couple days.
Today at the regularly scheduled clinic visit we learned that his neutrophil count has dipped as low as ever. Remarkably, however, he still has not hit official neutropenia which means he will likely face another dose escalation for Round 5 - beginning August 8.
Jeff is amazingly strong, but it is both inspiring and gut-wrenching to see him grin and bear it through feeling so utterly crappy. I've never seen him this tired. He is totally exhausted. And an unfortunate new side effect from this latest escalation is a swollen and irritated mouth which is making it difficult for him to chew, swallow, or even talk.
My mom and I made - if I do say so myself - some pretty delectable pasta tonight. Stella proclaimed it delicious and Jeff loved it, too. But he couldn't choke down more than a couple bites. Terrible. I felt really guilty for eating my portion and one for Lydia, even though Jeff wanted someone to enjoy it. Thus, after I post this I'm going to write up a shopping list so I can cook up some good puddings and smoothies and other cold things that do not require chewing or much movement of the tongue. Here's hoping Jeff is back to his voracious appetite soon and of course, more than anything, for an excellent upcoming PET scan.
Katina
PS - The blogger who adapted the recipe we made (see link above), committed in my mind, some egregious missteps which probably compromised the deliciousness of the dish. And, she still thought it was good, so that's saying something. Still, I recommend that if you try this dish, you use fresh soft goat cheese. Also use fresh oregano, two ears of corn instead of one, and perfect cherry tomatoes from a certain friend's garden in San Leandro. If such tomatoes are not on hand, two pints of high quality cherry tomatoes will do the trick. You won't be sorry you splurged on these ingredients. Promise. Also, I think a full pound of pasta would be a bit much. I used about 3/4 of a lb of fettuccine.
7 comments:
I just realized I sound a little like the most aggravating Whole Foods customer who was in line before me this weekend. She was waxing POETIC about dry farmed tomatoes for like 5 minutes while I waited (im)patiently for her to complete her (ridiculous) transaction. Also, I am commenting on my own blog. Low points all around people.
Just wondered what you think the missteps were :) From one cook to another!
Katina and Jeff, we're still thinking of all of you. Hope you get some good smoothies going - and praying for an upcoming scan with great results! Go team.
Katina, may I humbly suggest this DELICIOUS recipe for a chilled summer squash soup. Easy to slurp and cold and refreshing.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/06/vegetarian-chilled-summer-squash-soup-recipe.html
Thank you t-dawg! We will try it. Jeff successfully downed my rendition of Bittman's chocolate tofu pudding this evening which is a small victory. I made it very simply, without the Mexican hot chocolate-esque spices called for in his original recipe.
Lauren, hello there! I noticed that you had a goat cheese hater to whom you were feeding this dish. But I thought the dish was great with goat cheese and would have been good, not great, with Parmesan. And I think your site said you used dried oregano. I used fresh oregano (for the first time ever) and it was aromatic, super bright tasting, and totally unlike what I am accustomed to with the dried version. I thought using fresh oregano made the dish really special. That's all :)
Thanks for responding! IMHO the parmesan was a misstep, too... but my boyfriend asks for fresh parmesan on everything from his eggs to his salads so who am I to argue? :) Take care!
Normally I can't argue with fresh parmesan either. It is quite tasty. Thanks Lauren - all the best to you!
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