Pumpkin Recipes

Amy bought me a pumpkin!

You have no idea how excited this makes me, having grown up in Circleville, home of the Pumpkin Show, where no part of the pumpkin is wasted.

So as I was gutting the pumpkin this morning, Papa Cam asked me what I thought I was doing.

"I am gutting a Pumpkin."
\
"I see that, but WHY?"

"I'm going to make chili-lime pumpkin seeds, pumpkin burgers, and chocolate-pumpkin pudding."

"Wow, that's ambitious."


So here are my recipes. This is the first time I have made these recipes the way they appear here - inspired by recipes from my childhood they are my own inventions.

Chili-Lime Pumpkin Seeds

You need:

Chili powder
Pumpkin Seeds from one large pumpkin
Juice of One Lime
Olive oil or grapeseed oil (about a tablespoon)

Wash and dry the pumpkin seeds. Put them in a bowl with the oil. Sprinkle on chili powder to taste (I like things on the spicy side and used about a tablespoon, but I also had TONS of seeds - about 3 cups of seeds. So about a teaspoon of chili powder per cup of seeds?) add the lime juice. Mix well. Spread on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper) and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.



Pumpkin Burgers

Despite being called a burger, these are traditionally made similarly to sloppy joes.

You will need:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves
1 can of condensed tomato soup

Brown the beef. Add in the pumpkin puree and spices, cook until warmed through. Add the tomato soup and cook until thickened. Serve on toasted buns with fries.


Chocolate-Pumpkin Pudding

This is an American-style pudding, not a British pudding.

1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup baking cocoa 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
4 cups milk 
2 tablespoons butter 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, spices, and salt. gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in butter, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix well. Spoon into individual serving dishes. Chill.

Energy, or lack thereof.

So I'm sitting in the library, Amy is across from me studying her psychology text for a quiz tomorrow. And it occurred to me, I have slept away most of my days for the past couple of weeks, seldom having energy for anything, what on Earth could be making me so tired? It can't be something I'm doing. Earlier today I got up in the late afternoon, ate some mac and cheese and some roasted red pepper crackers, and went downstairs to the bedroom again where I read for a good hour or so, then watched Chasing Rainbows, an hour long documentary by the BC Cancer Agency about young adults with cancer. I recommend it. But even just that, a good two and a half to three hours of barely anything, tired me out. Of course I can't just go back to sleep, by this time Amy has come home and wants to spend time with me, and I with her. But I am EXHAUSTED.

What can I possibly do to bring my energy levels back up? I'm trying desperately to eat right, but there is only so much I can do when everything tastes off and eating more than a tiny amount makes me want to puke and I feel overfull. I'm craving carbs because I need the quick energy. It's terrible.

And that's the thing - food tastes different to me right now. I am hyper sensitive to salt - the mac and cheese, basic Kraft Dinner stuff, was so salty I had to force it down because I needed to eat something other than crackers and candies. Water tastes oddly metallic. Pop always seems flat to me though I still enjoy the flavours. Chocolate tastes metallic. I am relying on my baking class this month - the theme of which is hiding healthy things in traditionally unhealthy foods - to get nutrition, which is not good. Sugar has been my main source of energy for over a week now because I just can't stand the tastes of anything that is not sweet in some way.

I wonder how things will be for this year's national novel writing month. I have so little energy that I wonder if I will be a good Municipal Liaison. I may have to organise things from the background this year and let Leanna and Kali do most of the other work. And thank God we have Kali this year!

I also wonder if I will be able to go to school next year. If it's cancer I will likely still be in chemo when classes start. I will probably not have the energy or strength to do it next year. But that's a fair way away right now, one day at a time right?

One more week until my hematologist appointment.

This weekend according to Mallow

Friday:

Amy took Papa Cam and me to a hockey game. It was Victoria vs. Powell River. It was a very eventful game! Here are the highlights of the evening:

- I got my foot stuck climbing over a seat and badly bruised my ankle.
-I saw my first hockey fight. Amy says I am a real Canadian now.
- Amy and I both won bags of food from Fairway Market
- The Victoria Grizzlies scored the winning goal with 0.6 second left in the game!


Saturday:

Fairly uneventful. It was Mum Lily's birthday so we went out to dinner. As usual I ate very little, but it was good food. Back at home Amy and I watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. It was a good fun movie.


Sunday:

Amy and I went bowling with Alan and Kate. It was lots of fun, but very, very tiring. I think I've lost more weight because my pants kept trying to fall down, and Amy won the game.




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On my mind right now:

1. Do people really think that it's comforting, when you tell them you may have leukemia, to tell you about someone they knew who died of it? When this was all starting out, a friend of ours told me about a girl she knew in grade 3 who died of leukemia despite 3 bone marrow transplants. That instills all kinds of hope, doesn't it?!

2. When I was in grade 5, there was a grade 4 girl who had cancer. I saw her at school once, wearing her bald head bravely. I wonder what happened to her, and where she is now.

3. I miss having the energy to do beadwork. Nowadays it seems like even trying to come up with new ideas for pieces takes too much energy out of me.

4. Chocolate covered cranberries are delicious.

Looks like we're back!

Chemo Curls? was offline for about 24 hours. Apparently Blogger's anti-spam robots flagged my blog! I hope we're good to go from now on.

Anyway, how did today go? It was all right. I went to see Dr. Immelman, and she seemed concerned about the level of anxiety I have, especially at night, and the fact that I'm still not eating. But otherwise, she thinks I'm doing well.

After that, and picking up my medication refills, I went home and napped for a couple hours before going to meet one of the other NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaisons, Leanna. We chatted for a good three hours about what we're going to be doing for this year's National Novel Writing Month, and got a lot of work done in that regard.

Then I went home, had some toast and a cup of coffee, and went to take a nap. Now it's nearly 11PM and I am still tired, probably going to go back to sleep. I'm really worried about my energy levels lately.

MishiMallow's Reading List

This is just a collection of books and materials I have found interesting or useful in my quest for knowledge about Leukemia. As I find more valuable resources I will add to the list!

100 Questions and Answers about Leukemia (Book) by Edward Ball
ChemoBrain (Book) by Ellen Clegg
www.WebMD.com search leukemia, they have a whole section dedicated to it
www.stupidcancer.org they have a forum dedicated to young adults with cancer


Also: I recommend Immerman's Angels (search them on Facebook) I haven't participated in their program yet, as I don't have a final diagnosis, but I have been watching them on FB and they seem to have a good thing going on.

Some good news

Yesterday my wig came in. It looks all right, not too much like doll hair (which I was worried about). It fits snug over my hair, and is adjustable so when I lose my hair, I can tighten it, which is good.

Today I called my new hematologist, and when they called me back about an hour and a half later or so, the receptionist pulled some strings for me and got me in on the 25th of this month. That's only two weeks away! I'm so glad to be one step closer to beating this thing, whatever it turns out to be.

Right now I am sitting in the library next to Amy, who is busy doing her Japanese homework. She's having trouble memorizing Hiragana, and I can't blame her. She has to have it all memorized by the end of the week! All 40 characters, how to pronounce them, AND how to write them. I couldn't do that.

Cabbit continues to be a little Nurse Kitty. He is very loving and cuddly and always there with a headbonk when I'm feeling bad.

Amy and I have decided we are going to make Hiragana flash cards for her to study with.

I've just put a hold on My Sister's Keeper, which I've been wanting to read for a while now. I've heard it's really good.

Anyway, I'm going to start on that reading list I promised in an earlier post. I will update again soon!

150 BPM

Amy and I didn't get to go camping - we couldn't find the tent. But we did clean out the sunroom, much to Mum Lily's annoyance!

Also, Grandpa changed his mind about the Christmas gift.

Amy was just laying on me and said my heart is beating at about 150 beats per minute, which is very fast. Normal is about 60-100 BPM. But my heart has always beat fast.

Cabbit has been a good kitty today. It was one of those days when I just didn't have any energy, and Cabbit stayed next to me cuddling the whole time. Except for one point when Mum Lily opened the window, not realizing the screen was gone, and Cabbit tried to jump out to explore the back yard.

Anyway, that's about it. I have to go to the clinic tomorrow to ask if they found me a hematologist yet, since they aren't answering their phone.