New Endeavor -- Yum, I Hope

Rosie has suggested that I take over cooking for us. During the day she runs a lot, virtually managing a senior assisted-living program for two 90-year-olds who happen to be her parents. She helps a dysfunctional family or two, also related. Considering that she taught herself to cook with her nurse's uniform still on from the day's work and a baby on her hip, I guess it's not too much to ask for me to help out with the meal preparation as often as possible in our senior years.

Also I have a lot more invested in proper eating now that the old ticker has given me a message. No more dashing over to Wendy's for Junior Bacon cheeseburgers or snacking on peanuts and Cheez-its. No more Krispy-Kreme doughnuts. No more quarts of Breyer's butter pecan with hot fudge topping. Paigey (my rehab counselor) said an indulgence once in a while -- a great while -- is OK. My buddy Warnie and I made an excursion to the Brick Tavern in Jonesville two months ago where we had one of their legendary cheeseburgers apiece. Two months since my last cheeseburger: that's about right. No doughnuts yet, although I am weakening.

So I went to the store last evening and shopped for our supper. Before that, I'd stopped in our most excellent library and checked out a good cookbook from the American Heart Association and sat down and studied it. I brought the groceries home and prepared supper, with just a little prepping assistance from Rosie. The two dishes were butternut squash soup and tuna bean salad. I worked with things like canellini (sp?) beans and garlic and basil and dill weed. I had to rinse foods to remove salt and measure with spoons and cups. (I'm a holdover from my college chemistry days, carefully measuring, reading liquid levels from the bottom of the meniscus, etc.) I was busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest doing everything that needed to be done to get both dishes to come out at the same time.

The dishes were satifying and tasty enough. The soup was best, even though I used yellow squash in pinwheels instead of butternut squash pureed like pumpkin. The flavor was good and even the texture wasn't bad, with a little flour to thicken it. We agreed that the tuna-bean concoction could have stood a little mayo: instead it had balsam vinegar.

Tonight we had beef-barley-vegetable soup. Didn't need a recipe; easy and delicious. We ate it with whole-grain bread and heart-smart spread.

We are in the dog days and today was the most dogged yet. I think the heat index was about 105. I didn't walk outdoors. Thank God for a-c. And electric fans.