Cooking in the West

This week I am feeling particularly old. In the last two months I have officially become an old person with nothing to talk about but old people maladies. The first thing I came down with was a venous stasis dermatitis ulcer. (Yes Google the images of that and just imagine how fun that has been! When I Googled it, I stopped feeling sorry for myself for having just one on the inside of my ankle bone.) However, my ulcer grew for six weeks, because it was misdiagnosed and treated with antibiotics for six weeks while it got worse.

I ended up going to purgatory on earth, which is otherwise known as the Wound Care Clinic. This is a place where they take tools that look like those sharp pokey dental tools and do a process called debridement of the wound. (Google the images of debridement several hours before you plan to eat a meal so it will stay down.) I have to tell you in all honesty that the pain of debridement made my 56 hours of childbirth labor back in 1985 seem like child’s play.

It also made my subsequent heart procedures seem like a walk in the park. It is lucky that I found out I had a wound ulcer, because I did not know I was in Atrial Flutter until the doctor at Urgent Care said, “I am not as concerned about your leg as your heart rate. You are going to the emerThe abridged version is that after two emergency room visits and one hospitalization, my echocardiogram showed that I needed a cardioversion to shock my heart back into rhythm. That was on Halloween, and the earliest I could see a cardiologist in Bozeman was January 30--3 months out. I called Billings, and they suggested that I could try going to the Emergency Room to see if I could see a cardiologist, but it probably wouldn’t happen earlier than two months. Fortunately, several people had told me about the Missoula Heart Institute, so I called them to refer myself. They looked at my records and said, “We need to see you right away.”

So this is a Public Service Announcement: Do not wait around to die in Billings or Bozeman-- get on the phone and call the MIssoula Heart Institute!

Another long story short: the Atrial Flutter returned, so they did an angiogram, which was a fun way to spend my Christmas vacation, but fortunately it showed no blockages. Now, I am looking forward to a cardiac ablation this week, which is a procedure that uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in the heart to block irregular electrical signals and restore a typical heartbeat. The procedure is used to correct heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) using thin, flexible tubes called catheters inserted through the veins or arteries.

Sounds like fun, right? Especially when compared to wound debridement, because everything is relative. So I am off to Missoula to take a nap and hopefully wake up in perpetual rhythm. At least I have something to talk/write about in my old age! Remember to tell all your friends about the Missoula Heart Institute and maybe say a little prayer for Dr. Mantini and me!

I have recipes this week to help shorten this winter that has been a little late in making an appearance but seems to be coming with a vengeance for the next few days!

Grape Salad

2 lbs. green seedless grapes

2 lbs. red seedless grapes

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 t. vanilla

Topping:

1 C. brown sugar, packed

1 C. crushed pecans

Wash grapes. Mix sour cream, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Stir into grapes in a large bowl. Combine brown sugar and pecans and sprinkle over bowl of grape salad. Chill overnight before serving.

Croissant Breakfast Casserole

8 plain croissants

2 C. cooked diced ham or browned pork sausage

2 T. butter

4 C. sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 C. sliced green onions

8 eggs

2 C. milk

2 C. Swiss cheese, shredded

2 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 C.Parmesan cheese, shredded

Split croissants in half. Place bottoms of croissants cut side up in a rectangular baking dish. Saute mushrooms and green onions in melted butter. Drain. Add cooked diced or crumbled meat to mushrooms. Whisk eggs and milk together. Pour half of egg/milk mixture over croissants. Put meat/mushroom mixture and cheese on top. Pour remaining egg/milk mixture over top. Position croissant tops over bottoms cut side down. Let casserole stand overnight in the refrigerator. The nest morning, bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Cover with foil during baking process if the casserole is browning too quickly.

Raspberry Heaven

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 C. lemon juice

12 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

1 large Angel food cake, cut into 1 inch cubes

4 C. raspberries (could use sliced strawberries if you wish)

Mix sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Fold in the Cool Whip. Set aside. Put half of Angel food cubes in a 9 X 13 pan. Top with half of the raspberries (or strawberries) and half of the Cool Whip mixture. Repeat again with a layer of cake, berries, and Cool Whip mixture. Garnish top with fresh raspberries or strawberry slices. Chill before serving.