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My oldest nephew looked at me intently. "Portobello mushrooms? Raw or cooked?" he asked.
it was clear I was going to have to give him the entire recipe. "Okay. You take some steamed rice, portobello mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, salt and pepper, cumin. Oh... and mint. Then I wrap the grape leaves really tight. Then I have this electric steamer that my mother-in-law gave me. That works really well... You steam them for a good 35 to 40 minutes and then the first thing they get is fresh lime or lemon juice squeezed on them..."
He worked his tongue around his mouth for a moment. "I was thinking you could use kashi, too, like for Tabbouli salad."
My nephew is a graduate of The Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu program. I figure it's a good time to pick his brain. "what I'd really love if a vegetarian version of Avgelemano Soup. It's chicken based. I just love it."
"Well have you been making vegetarian soup bases?"
"Yeah. I put in everything lettuce, potatoes..."
"Parsnips...parsnips are really great. Try roasting your veggies first. And don' t put your garlic or your parsley in too soon, makes it bitter.... Those French chefs, they say bouquet garni this, bouquet garni that..."
At that moment, my mom walked in. "He wants to see J." My nephew sprang up and left with her. I went back to piecing together the puzzle someone left one the table. We were sitting in the waiting room of the ICU. My husband had gone into screensaver mode and was snoring quietly.
It had been two years since I had previously seen my nephew. His odd working hours and our recent need to spend holidays with my husband's family due to the still-impending demise of T's grandmother had contributed. A different deathwatch brought us together now. I quietly resolved to do better. It seemed ages before I was called.
The first thing you notice is the monitors. Everywhere. Beeping, blinking, chirping, this is not a place for resting. I have done time in ICU before. It's like being on TV 24/7, inside and out. Nothing goes unnoticed. Of course, that's why they call it ICU. I looked into my dad's eye's as the nurses bustled around him. The ICU is a very noisy place, but the noise receded. What I saw hit me hard. He was in pain, he was tired of it. He wanted to die.
It's likely that if my Dad makes it, he'll come home to pain management. There won't be any more chemo. He also has the dignified option of assisted suicide because he lives in Oregon. whatever he wants, we will support him.
I had awakened that morning to NPR, as I do every morning. One of the articles was on the Oregon Death with Dignity Law now being debated in the Supreme Court. There were many dire predictions made when it was passed: that people would use it to off their rich old aunties, that depressed people would use it unnecessarily, that nursing homes would use it to get rid of poor clients. None of that has come to pass. In fact, most prescriptions for life ending meds have gone unused, and the patients in question have reported that it just meant they had peace of mind. Most ended up dying natural deaths. The other predictions of botched suicides haven't come to pass, either. In the few cases where it was used, the families have reported the deaths were peaceful.
That report was at 0620 or so, and my Dad had gone to the ER about noon. Mom had wondered why she'd had trouble getting ahold of Dad's doctor. Dr. Peter Rasmussen is one of the State's leading advocates of the Death with Dignity Law, and he was quoted in the NPR story.
it was clear I was going to have to give him the entire recipe. "Okay. You take some steamed rice, portobello mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, salt and pepper, cumin. Oh... and mint. Then I wrap the grape leaves really tight. Then I have this electric steamer that my mother-in-law gave me. That works really well... You steam them for a good 35 to 40 minutes and then the first thing they get is fresh lime or lemon juice squeezed on them..."
He worked his tongue around his mouth for a moment. "I was thinking you could use kashi, too, like for Tabbouli salad."
My nephew is a graduate of The Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu program. I figure it's a good time to pick his brain. "what I'd really love if a vegetarian version of Avgelemano Soup. It's chicken based. I just love it."
"Well have you been making vegetarian soup bases?"
"Yeah. I put in everything lettuce, potatoes..."
"Parsnips...parsnips are really great. Try roasting your veggies first. And don' t put your garlic or your parsley in too soon, makes it bitter.... Those French chefs, they say bouquet garni this, bouquet garni that..."
At that moment, my mom walked in. "He wants to see J." My nephew sprang up and left with her. I went back to piecing together the puzzle someone left one the table. We were sitting in the waiting room of the ICU. My husband had gone into screensaver mode and was snoring quietly.
It had been two years since I had previously seen my nephew. His odd working hours and our recent need to spend holidays with my husband's family due to the still-impending demise of T's grandmother had contributed. A different deathwatch brought us together now. I quietly resolved to do better. It seemed ages before I was called.
The first thing you notice is the monitors. Everywhere. Beeping, blinking, chirping, this is not a place for resting. I have done time in ICU before. It's like being on TV 24/7, inside and out. Nothing goes unnoticed. Of course, that's why they call it ICU. I looked into my dad's eye's as the nurses bustled around him. The ICU is a very noisy place, but the noise receded. What I saw hit me hard. He was in pain, he was tired of it. He wanted to die.
It's likely that if my Dad makes it, he'll come home to pain management. There won't be any more chemo. He also has the dignified option of assisted suicide because he lives in Oregon. whatever he wants, we will support him.
I had awakened that morning to NPR, as I do every morning. One of the articles was on the Oregon Death with Dignity Law now being debated in the Supreme Court. There were many dire predictions made when it was passed: that people would use it to off their rich old aunties, that depressed people would use it unnecessarily, that nursing homes would use it to get rid of poor clients. None of that has come to pass. In fact, most prescriptions for life ending meds have gone unused, and the patients in question have reported that it just meant they had peace of mind. Most ended up dying natural deaths. The other predictions of botched suicides haven't come to pass, either. In the few cases where it was used, the families have reported the deaths were peaceful.
That report was at 0620 or so, and my Dad had gone to the ER about noon. Mom had wondered why she'd had trouble getting ahold of Dad's doctor. Dr. Peter Rasmussen is one of the State's leading advocates of the Death with Dignity Law, and he was quoted in the NPR story.
