I haven't written lately because I've really been having problems with my LPR. The treatment doesn't seem to be working, and to be honest, I've been very blue. I miss cooking and exploring new foods. The food in the LPR cookbook I got just sort of disgusted me. I don't even take pleasure in the irony of a bland-food cookbook.
Today, my voice was really bad even though I have been VERY good and sticking to the diet. Today is my friend Ken's birthday, and it's been a tradition with us to go out for supper on his birthday. After cajoling him several weeks ago, he finally relented and agreed to go to La Chiesa with me. I figured what the hell, my voice is already screwed up. What would it matter if I enjoyed some good food for once.
And it was sooooo good. Ken had "Forever Roasted Pork." Apparently Jeremy roasted it for like 12 hours. It was served with pumpkin polenta and pear compote. I would have ordered that myself, but I've tried to make polenta for myself in the past, and frankly, it sucked. Well, I sampled Ken's pumpkin polenta, and it was divine!! I'm going to have to wheedle Jeremy and see if he can share some of his secrets for good polenta. I didn't sample the pork, but Ken said it was really good. And I did sample the pear compote and it was a really lovely addition.
I had the rigatoni with sautéed shrimp, Yukon potatoes, spinach, and spicy chili oil. I'm a sucker for seafood. And it had just the right flavor and warm spiciness to fill that void that's been there so long.
We wrapped it up by sharing a pumpkin Brulee. Tomorrow, I might be entirely mute, but it was so worth it. I left the restaurant feeling content and satisfied. It wasn't just the delicious food. I also fed my soul again for the first time in a long time.
We also had excellent service at La Chiesa as well. But then, I'm a bit partial. Our waitress just happened to be one of my former students, Ryanne. She steered us through the menu beautifully and it was fun catching up with her.
By the way, Ken is converted. He's already talking about going again soon. Probably for my birthday which is next month.
On Tuesday I'm seeing my otologist and I am going to see if it's possible to have the surgery that'll fix my condition. I can live with eating my meals through a straw for even a couple of a weeks, as long as I know, eventually, I can be who I am, someone who enjoys eating and cooking good interesting foods. I was apprehensive about signing up for Jeremy's Holiday cooking class on the November 20th because of my LPR...it felt futile. But when Ryanne told me that there were only 3 spots left, I jumped on it.
