My plans are on hold...

I have not meant to disappear this week. I had some meals in mind, actually... but that was before Bob got sick. He's had this nasty sore throat for several days now--much worse than my recent bout. He doesn't want to swallow anything at all, much less anything solid. The poor guy... I've been keeping him full of ginger tea, and gargling salt water. I hope it passes soon. It's extremely rare for him to get this ill.

He has been requesting the Cure What Ails Ya Garlic Soup from LDV constantly, so I have tried to make sure there's always some at the ready. It seems to pick him up whenever he eats it, I guess just because he's so hungry--though garlic is known to be high in antibacterial and antiviral compounds that I know cannot hurt. I wish I could enjoy this soup too, but I had an incident several years ago that involved large quantities of garlic and I have only been able to stomach it in modest doses since.


Bob loves this soup with a slice of toasted spelt bread and a little dab of Earth Balance.

This morning as he was leaving for work, I had a feeling he would be coming home soon so I made this sore throat-friendly porridge that he could enjoy when he came back. Sure enough, he never even clocked in before he turned around and came home.


Barley and quinoa porridge (recipe follows). Bob really liked it, so that was wonderful. I loved it too, despite that it was a very warm first morning of summer. The porridge is smooth and creamy, and has a wonderfully delicate vanilla aroma and flavor.

I made this for lunch, thinking that Bob might eat it. He didn't, but it was no loss for him, really.


There is a recipe in LDV for Lentil Dip... The idea is similar to hummus, but with red lentils rather than chickpeas--which sounded like an interesting idea. The copious quantities of oil that the recipe called for freaked me out, so I cut it way down. The resulting flavor was bland--even though I kicked up the spices a good bit. It made an okay lunch with some toasted pita wedges and cucumber slices, but I'm not going to be able to eat the rest in its present form. And it made quite a bit. I have an idea on how to use up the leftovers so that it might not be a total waste, but I shall not be making this recipe again.

As soon as Bob's feeling well enough to eat regular food, I have some recipes I want to try... but until then, please think happy thoughts for him. And for me too--I don't want any part of whatever this is! Take care... I'll be back around soon.


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Barley-Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

1/2 cup pearled barley
1/2 cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain soy milk
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

Combine grains, water, cinnamon, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring 2-3 times. Increase heat to medium-low; add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, for another 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until barley is soft. Serve with additional agave nectar and milk, if desired.