Deceptively Energetic

Nothing for you today, I'm afraid; I'm knee-deep in rice balls. Yep, I'm in full-on 50's housewife mode, cooking meals ahead of time and being all Betty Crocker about it. I came to the conclusion that I'm lucky enough to be able to be home with Bambina (even though I feel a little stab of pain every time I have to convince her that Mama used to put on a suit, fly on airplanes, and carry a briefcase too...No really! Mama had a job! Mama made money! Mama knew every Delta Club lounge in every airport!) But lucky I am. So I've decided to embrace it, and how.

I may have written about the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook before, but if not, it's called Deceptively Delicious. It is a bunch of recipes wherein mac and cheese is not just mac and cheese: it is mac and cheese and butternut squash puree. I love this book, first because it actually makes it possible to get Bambina to eat vegetables (fruit is not an issue; she'll eat any kind of fruit all day long. But if it's green and starts with "v" she's not havin' it on a visceral level). Second, because the recipes actually work, and once she eats it and likes it, I tell her that there is squash in there, have her help me make it with the squash in there, and voila--she couldn't care less about squash in her mac. So I guess you could say I'm being deceptive with my kid about her food in the first instance. And I guess I could say that I don't happen to give a squash. So today is rice balls day. They are fried (check!), they are cheesy (check!) and they have spinach, squash and sweet potato in them (check?). The only danger is that *I* like them too...

The other reason I've been embracing my inner June Cleaver is prednisone. Damn, y'all. I cannot sleep! Last night I actually talked myself down from getting out of bed at 1:30am and going downstairs to reorganize the kitchen cabinets. I'm not kidding. That is messed up, especially if you know how domestically-challenged I tend to be. Luckily, I'm starting to taper the drug as of today. So as long as the "center" holds and no untoward stuff starts happening again gastrointestinally over the next week, I may be on the road to trying to get off this prednisone ride. I was warned by the doctor that I should expect fatigue and mood swings since he's dropping me a decent-sized dose before my Dana Farber appointment next week. The BBDD will therefore be accepting charitable donations of fine bourbon at the address at the bottom of your screen...

So in the meantime I have the most organized filing system, the most organized kitchen cabinets, the most organized pre-printed shopping list, the most organized 6-day hence dinner menu...and a world of fatigue no doubt about to come flying down upon me. But no matter! Press On Regardless, as they say. I'm going to make rice balls and tofu nuggets and "mac" and cheese while the getting is good. And, post-crash, whenever that may be, I'll just send Bambina out to the 7-11 for some pork rinds and a coke for her dinner while mommy watches Dr. Phil on the couch.