So Thursday wasn’t a good day. I don’t remember what I scrounged up for breakfast and lunch, but I had an event I had to bring food to in the evening and never got myself dinner. I had brought plenty of compliant foods (ala Costco), but one non-compliant one, and it was the only one that really seemed like something satisfying in my hungry state. It was spinach artichoke parmesan dip, loaded with dairy, but smelling of garlic. I had too much, and started to feel sick instantly; maybe I was already coming down with something, but this made it worse. The nose started running (I should have been the one running – away), and within 12 hours I noticed my dairy-consumption phenomenon, my throat gets a nasty, but temporary, itch, way down inside. The type of itch that a cough would seem to help, but doesn’t really. It wasn’t worth it. If I only were a B. I can get over the carb cravings after a time, but I’ve never gotten over dairy cravings. Maybe it just takes more time.

Since then, I have had a cold coming on, so I’ve been loading up on herbal teas and trying my culinary hand at making soup. It was my son’s idea, he grabbed a can of lentil soup from the cupboard and insisted on it. I had nothing to go with my free-range ground beef, so I added that to mine. We both enjoyed the lentil soup; so I am impressed by the good ideas in this baby’s head. Today, I had some kale and some more beef to prepare, so I made a soup from the kale, and onions, and broth and beef. I kept the beef out until serving, in case my As wanted some of the soup. I think I’ll keep trying that trick with soup, make a vegetarian base, then add meat to mine. For dinner, I added some organic turkey sausage. It enabled me to finish off the whole bunch of kale (alas my As didn’t try much, but at least they took a taste). It’s quite good with some red pepper added before serving as well (for the Os). I like kale, it’s cleaner and easier to wash than spinach, and it holds it’s crunch, which is good in soup. I find if you’re new to kale, it’s best to chop it up small, that way the texture isn’t as surprising.

I did some gardening today, I’ve been a wimp with the running, due to this cold I have and my joints were all asking for a break. So, yesterday I walked up some hills with the stroller, and today I gardened. The oregano I bought from the garden center has a good deal of mint in it, I’m glad I noticed before I cooked with the mint (I don’t really like mint for cooking). Mint has a square stem, and the leaves were a bit less hairy and more pointy on the tips, than Italian oregano. Of course, smell is the best way to tell, although I can get confused on scent alone. I have been cooking with my herbs, which I’m proud of, in the past I’d forget to use them. Of course, when you’re an O nonnie, you welcome any added variety to your meals, especially the yummy green kind.