I Have An Emergen-C

It's THAT time of year..

It's inevitable. The temperatures are changing which means that sure as sh*t-we are all gonna get sick. And sure as sh*t, Monday night, on my drive home from work I noticed I had sprouted a sore throat that wasn't letting up. Christ! I can't get sick this week! My store manager is on vacation which means I HAVE to be at work for the next 8 days-sick or not. I had to think fast. If gone unattended, this could be an emergency of epic proportions.

Did I just say emergency? I think I did and that is exactly what came to mind when I decided Mr. Cold was asking to come into my body from the cold. I had some Emergen-C  at home and I knew this would be weapon of choice against the dastardly cold knocking at my door. I made the Emergen-C with hot water, because by now, not only is my throat sore but I am feeling a chill down to my bones.

It tasted good.
It made my throat feel better.
All of a sudden I wasn't so cold anymore.
The question was-did I kill the cold?

1000 mg of Vitamin C is no joke, (besides all the other sugar and crap that it is comprised of) and two days later I am still hitting the Emergen-C two times a day. But am I sick with a cold? A little.. slight congestion, sore throat gone...no fever and I'm up and feeling OK. I think it may have worked to shorten the duration of this cold. Hey! How about that?

I'm not taking any chances though. I figure a day or two more of this remedy, rest and taking it easy and we may not have an emergency on our hands.

I've Just About Had It....

"Due to social anxiety and inclement weather conditions, outside is closed until further notice."-

Nick.@SocialExtortion

Baby It's Cold Outside

So I built my house precisely 13 years ago. At the time I was a bright eyed, young ingenue with nothing but hope and pride for my new project. I had a great general contractor and a great architect and I was able to incorporate some fabulous design elements into the home. We sub-contracted everything out, so I was mulling over every bid for every job daily. It was a wonderful experience.

Did I mention that I was young and bright eyed?

Ya, cuz they saw me coming a mile away...I'm talking about my Viessman heating system. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't say I wasn't smart, I just said I was young and hopeful. At the time I chose the Viessmann European system, I had done my research. It was the newest, brightest, most energy efficient system money could buy and I drank the Viesmann Kool Aid heartily. When my shiny new system was installed into my fabulous new home I practically patted myself on the back!

If I remember correctly, it wasn't until the second or third year I began to run into some serious problems with my Golden Boy system.

• Problem: When the temps outside reach epic numbers, ie: -Minus Zero or above 100 degrees, the system struggles to keep up with the demand. And I mean struggles. 
• Problem: The original guy that installed it quickly went away...he closed up shop and moved to God knows where, leaving me to find a new repair service. Easy enough right? Wrong. I cant tell you how UN-funny it is to have service company after service company tell me, "Golly gee lady, that boiler sure is pur-tee, but I reckon I ain't knowin how 'ter fix it."

Long story short, about 9 years ago I found a company that works with the system. They have only one guy that works with Viessman, and he comes to my home twice a year to maintain my unit. 95 percent of the time I am in good shape, but the other 5 percent is a bitch and only happens when the temps get extreme. Like this past week in frigid cold temps.

Efficient my ass...

Tell that to the pockets of cold areas in my house. 

PT Barnum would have LOVED me......

Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Nothing says lovin like a heapin, hot bowl of chili. I love all kinds of chili, as long as it's got a kick to it, and when the weather gets cold and icy, there's no better time for some hot lovin.

I'm always trying new kinds of chili, too. I just got a new recipe for chili that looks easy, but the recipe makes 16 gallons of chili, and I'm not sure I could feed that many people in my house. I'll keep you posted on how that one turns out.

While I love a good beef chili, the past few years have seen me coming back to my new favorite recipe, and it's not the chili of my dreams. Nope, its a vegetarian chili that is every bit as rib stickin', tummy satisfying as it's older brother, and it comes from Emeril Lagasse.

I stumbled upon the recipe a couple of years ago when I had been served a delightful bowl of veggie chili that had me yearning for more. I think I googled vegetarian chili recipe and his was the first to come up. A Food Network 5 out of 5 stars recipe, it's tattered and stained print out has been my go to chili for the past few years because it never disappoints.

Do your tummy a favor and give it some warm lovin. Cuz Baby it's cold outside...

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup chopped red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 to 3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced, depending upon taste
• 1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
• 1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (about 5 large), stemmed, wiped clean and cubed
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespooon ground cumin
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 3 cups cooked black beans, or canned beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock, or water
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Cooked brown rice, accompaniment
• Sour cream or strained plain yogurt, garnish
• Diced avocado, garnish
• Essence, recipe follows, garnish
• Chopped green onions, garnish

Directions

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, corn, and mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning, to taste.

To serve, place 1/4 cup of brown rice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the chili into the bowls over the rice. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and spoonful of avocado. Sprinkle with Essence and green onions and serve.

I Just Want To Curl Up In My Bed And Die

I did something today I NEVER do.

I got my kids off to school, then I went back to bed.

I NEVER do that. EVER. But today is different. Today, I have a terrible cold and as I said, I just want to curl up in my bed and die. But I can't because I'm at work.

Home remedies? Bring it people.
I wanna take a nap.