Quinoa met groenten en fetakaas

Vandaag staat quinoa op het menu. Quinoa is heel gezond en voedzaam en een prima alternatief om rijst of aardappelen te vervangen. 

Het is een receptje van Jeroen Meus uit 'Dagelijkse Kost'. Ik heb het gemaakt zoals hieronder beschreven. Het wijkt niet zoveel af, maar ik hou me meestal niet 100% aan een recept. 

Ingrediënten voor 2 personen: 

• 120 g quinoa
• 250 ml groentebouillon (1/2 blokje + 250 ml water)
• 3 lente-uitjes
• 1,5 paprika (1/2 rood, 1/2 geel en 1/2 oranje), geschild en in blokjes
• 1/2 courgette, in kubusjes
• 1 wortel, in fijne schijfjes
• 1 rode ui, in halve ringen
• 10-tal zwarte olijven, ontpit
• 1/2 limoen
• 100 g fetakaas
• verse basilicum
• verse bladpeterselie
• verse bieslook 
• een snuifje paprikapoeder
• scheutje olijfolie
• versgemalen zwarte peper
• (zout)

Bereiding:

• Doe de quinoa in een pot en schenk er de bouillon bij. Breng de zaadjes ongeveer 12 minuten aan de kook op een zacht vuurtje. 
• Snij de ui in halve ringen. Rasp de wortel en snij hem in kleine ringen. Schil de paprika's met een dunschiller en snij ze in blokjes (mag vrij grove stukken zijn, niet te klein). 
• Verhit olijfolie in een wokpan en fruit de uiringen even aan en voeg enkele minuten later de wortelstukjes en de stukken paprika toe. 
• Snij de courgette in blokjes en laat ze meestoven met de andere groenten. Roer af en toe in de pot. 
• Kruid met paprikapoeder en peper. Voorzichtig zijn met zout want olijven en feta is al vrij zout. Ik heb er geen zout meer aan toegevoegd. 
• Snij de lente-uitjes in ringen. Snipper de basilicum, bieslook en peterselie fijn. Hak de olijven in kleine stukjes en voeg toe in de pan. 
• Voeg ook de gare quinoa toe. Proef en voeg eventueel nog wat peper of zout toe. Voeg nu ook het sap van ene halve limoen toe. 
• Verbrokkel de fetakaas en voeg hem erbij. 
• Serveer op een bord en eet smakelijk. 

Is Metastatic Breast Cancer on the Rise in Young Women?

Update: 3/2/2013: Ann Partridge, MD, director of the breast medical oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with excellent questions on the study data and findings: see below.

Update:  On Thursday, February 28, #BCSM co-moderator Deanna Attai, MD added more clarity in this appearance on @MyFoxLA

Something long noted in breast cancer circles was study coming out today in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found a very small, but statistically significant, increase in the number of young women between the ages of 25 to 39 who are diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.  

The change noted comes down to an absolute increase of 1.37 women per 100,000 women over 34 years, or approximately 2 percent per year. The same increase was not noted in older women and was consistent across all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.  One surprise is that there was a more pronounced increased in women with hormone sensitive breast cancer, rather than ER- cancer. 

Why this is happening is yet to be determined and was not the purpose of the study. We are left with more questions than answers.  

Studies are often complicated, and this one, a retrospective, observational analysis of three different sets of incidence and survvial rates from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program at the National Cancer Institute from l976 through 2009 - even more so. The collection of SEER data began in l973, yet the study years ran from 1976 - 2009.  Even the largest data set used, SEER 18, only comprises 28 percent of the US population.  SEER 9, by comparison, only includes 9.5% of the population, and the third set, SEER 13, 15 percent.  

Study author Rebecca Johnson, MD, Seattle Children's Hospital and University of Washington, wrote in the study that, "Whatever the causes - and likely there are more than 1 - the evidence we observed for the increasing incidence of advanced breast cancer in young women will require corroboration and may be best confirmed by data from other countries.  If verified, the increase is particularly concerning, because young age itself is an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer."

Vast improvements in diagnostic imaging between 1976 and now, staging work-ups and other factors come into play.  "The changes noted may be multifactorial," said Jennifer Litton, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, "with changes in rates of incidence and younger women having more aggressive underlying biologies  coupled with potentially other genetic factors. What is much more clinically important than this would be changes in overall survival."

Breast cancer advocates concur. "These numbers do not change it for anyone who dies of this disease today," said Joy Simha, co-founder of the Young Survival Coalition. "We need to focus on finding the cause of breast cancer so we can make change happen."

Another aspect confirms what was discussed in last night's #BCSM discussion. "What the study enforces to me is the need for all young women to be aware of changes and to be proactive about their health," said Deanna Attai, MD, breast surgeon and #BCSM comoderator.  "Doctors need to be educated that there's no such things as "too young for breast cancer." No such thing."

For women with breast cancer today?  Nothing changes.  If you're in treatment today? Nothing changes.  But if you're watching the larger picture of cancer incidence in the United States in a population that already suffers unduly from a breast cancer diagnosis?  Heads up.  This is a signal we need to heed. 

#   #   #

3/3/2013:  Comments from Ann Partdridge, MD:  breast medical oncologist from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and medical advisor to the Young Survival Coalition: 

It is not clear from the study "whether the overall rate of breast cancer in young women is actually increasing," said Ann Partridge, MD, a medical oncologist from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. In other words, the study does not indicate whether the increase in advanced disease means that there is an overall increase in disease in young women.

That is important because other studies using SEER data have indicated that the rate of overall disease is stable in young women, said Dr. Partridge.

She pointed out that Dr. Johnson and colleagues found that the rates of localized and regional disease held steady in young women. Therefore, because they found an increase in advanced disease, thereshould be an overall increase in young women, she said.

However, the researchers "did not show/discuss data on overall rates of breast cancer in young women," Dr. Partridge wrote in an email. This omission, combined with the fact that the study findings might be in conflict with findings from other studies using SEER data, "leads me to wonder about the article," she said.

Check out the rest of the article and others: 

From Liz Szabo, USA Today:  "Deadly Breast Cancers are Rising in Young Women"

From the NYTimes:   "Study Finds More Breast Cancer at Young Age"

From NPR:  "Younger Women Have Rising Rate of Advanced Breast Cancer Study Says" 

Portobello's met tomaat, olijven, mozzarella & prosciutto

Ingrediënten voor 2 personen:

• 2 portobello's
• enkele blaadjes verse basilicum
• 2 rijpe tomaten, ontvelt, in dikke plakken
• een klein bakje cocktail trostomaten, gehalveerd
• Een 10tal zwarte olijven, ontpit, gehalveerd
• 2 el balsamicoazijn
• 2 el olijfolie 
• fleur de sel
• versgemalen zwarte peper 
• 1 bol buffelmozzarella, in 2
• 2 dunne plakken prosciutto
• gedroogde oregano
• gedroogde basilicum
• Rucola, om te serveren
• Geroosterde pijnboompitten, om af te werken

Bereiding:

• Verwarm de oven voor op 180°C. 
• Ontvel de tomaten en snij ze in dikke plakken. Leg de 2 portobello's in een ovenschaal en kruid ze met peper & fleur de sel. Giet er een beetje olijfolie over. Leg er enkele basilicumblaadjes in en daarbovenop de plakken tomaat. Leg rondom in de ovenschotel de gehalveerde cocktailtomaten en de zwarte olijven. Besprenkel met balsamicoazijn en nog een beetje olijfolie. Kruid met oregano, basilicum, fleur de sel & peper. Bak 15 minuten in de oven tot de tomaat zacht is. 
• Verpak de 2 stukken mozzarella met een plak prosciutto en leg bovenop de tomaat. Bak nu nog eens 10 à 15 minuten tot de mozzarella gesmolten is en de prosciutto krokant is. 
• Werk af met geroosterde pijnboompitten en serveer de portobello's op een bedje van rucola. 

Cancer and My Marriage

Note: Ask any survivor about side-effects or working with an oncologist and you’ll receive a notebook’s worth of helpful information. Ditto for managing cancer on the job or with children. But ask them about their relationship and you’re apt to hear variations on this theme, “He never blinked,” or “He really showed me how strong a man he truly is.” In other words, you’re not apt to hear what it’s truly like for some women. While we celebrate relationships where love’s better nature rules, it’s also time to honestly share the kind of stress cancer and its associated treatment brings to many two-income families where jobs, children, carpools and chemotherapy all need to be balanced in the course of a day. I was asked by a woman whom I admire to publish this essay here. It is my honor to do so.

 --- Jody Schoger

I never thought I would write an anonymous blog post.

Nonetheless, here I am, writing about cancer’s impact on my marriage after my late-night Google searches only yielded stories of marital triumph, replete with images of the devoted spouse proffering a tender kiss on his partner’s bald head. My hope is that the next despondent, lonely cancer patient might feel a little less crazy reading my story

I love my husband and do not want to be disloyal to him. I will remain strategically vague on some details and alter others to shield my family’s privacy. We have had the kind of marriage people say they can bet on. Single friends confess that they hope to find a partnership like ours. Obviously, things are always messier on the inside, but we undoubtedly share a strong love for and commitment to one another.

When I was diagnosed we’d been married with children for more than a decade. Like every couple we had our strengths and weaknesses. We were strong in the communication department, which allowed us to navigate the transitions of parenthood, moves and job changes.

Even with these strengths at our disposal, nothing challenged our relationship like my cancer diagnosis. I was in treatment for almost a year, with follow-up drugs and surgeries that impacted my quality of life for a prolonged long period of time, far longer than either one of us expected. I had chemo, a mastectomy and radiation which was then followed by a series of reconstructive surgeries. All the while, I held down a job, tried to help raise my children and hold things together.

Our marital glue was communication, adventure, and sex. Chemobrain wiped out my ability to communicate, especially about emotional issues. Strong emotions made me queasy, leading me to shut down even more. Also, my forgetfulness was a constant source of frustration to my husband, who came to treat me like one of the children, nagging and cajoling me.

The painful truth was that he wasn’t totally off-base in doing this. He had to keep the household together, and I was falling apart. As for adventure, it is hard to be spontaneous when you are immunocompromised, nauseated and unprepared for the undertow of fatigue that can pull you in and wipe you out. And of course, our sex life was horribly disrupted. Given the length of our relationship and the presence of children, we were surprisingly regular in our sexual activity. Chemo brought on chemical menopause; the mastectomy took away a critical erogenous zone and left me with profound loss of body confidence. Radiation, for me, was painful and a complete energy drain. All this together is the opposite of sexy.

I have read accounts of the sympathetic, supportive husbands who wait patiently for a partner to heal. My husband was like this probably two-thirds of the time. But he is only human. All the things I couldn’t do he did ... from driving carpools, cleaning the house, doing laundry, communicating with teachers, mediating sibling spats, and tween-age drama. He was holding down his own job, and could only watch as the little energy I had energy my went to my work. By the time I arrived home I was completely spent and totally unavailable emotionally or sexually.

Plus my bitterness at the length of treatment grew as the months dragged on. If it had been a month or two, I think we could have endured it and come out relatively unscathed. But this has gone on for years. Not only was this ordeal loosening our glue, but the friction points of marriage – the ways we see things so differently –– began to push us further apart. Because of my limited energy and concentration, we couldn’t have one of our major realignment conversations that used to bring us back to a place of mutual understanding and respect about our differences. Add to this mix the financial strain of decreased income and increased expenses. A chunk of my income comes from freelance work, which was now off the table because of my illness. Even though we have good insurance, I was stunned at how quickly medication co-pays and deductibles added up to big numbers. Money is the source of conflict even in stable situations and we began to argue about purchases that never were an issue before.

Eventually we hit several crisis points. There were the periodic pity parties my husband had about his utter deprivation, emotionally, physically and sexually. It was a stretch for me to comfort him, since he was basically right. Guys really don’t reach out to other men when they are vulnerable. Where I am sure my girlfriends would have rallied to my side had our roles been reversed, he was left basically alone. None of our extended family members live near us. There wasn’t a grandparent, an aunt or even a cousin to give him a break for any length of time.  Nor did it help our bond that he was petrified at the idea of actually losing me. At his lowest moments, he would vacillate between his frustration with my helplessness and the terror of my possible death. He told me through tears one day, "I can't stand that the one person I want to talk about all this with is you, and you are really not really able to talk."

Another crisis came after my treatment was over and I started to regain my cognitive and physical energy. It would no longer do for him to treat me like his other child. But it takes more than a simply saying, “Mom’s back in business.” The children had learned that Dad was the Real Parent in the house, an idea reinforced by the ways he would second-guess my authority as a mother. It was difficult to stand up to this. How do you stake a claim to your authority when you are not the same in memory, strength, or energy? I confronted him about this. To his great credit, he has worked with me to rebalance our parenting team, with the understanding that I am still not 100 percent. Regaining authentic balance in our partnership remains an ongoing challenge.

Our sex life is on the mend but is still a source of strife. I have not figured out how to feel comfortable naked, with all the scars riddling my torso and the false breast that feels numb and dead. My energy remains unreliable. At night, once the dishes are washed and the children tucked in, I often want to crawl in the bed to sleep. We are trying to be more deliberate about carving out time for ourselves and our relationship, but it is so hard. So, so hard.

There is a lot of talk in the cancer world about survivorship plans for patients. What I really need is a survivorship plan for my marriage. In my support group, I see a lot of people getting divorced after the crisis of treatment subsides. These wounds cut deep, touching our greatest insecurities. Luckily, I do know a handful of survivors whose marriages did recover. I just wish I had more of a roadmap for how to steer my marriage toward success and away from the potential disaster.

 #    #    #

De waarheid over vetten

Gezonde vetten zijn noodzakkelijk

Vet bevat veel calorieën. In 1 gram zitten 9 calorieën. Een koffielepel olie (4 gram) bevat dus al 36 calorieën. Toch hebben we nood een kleine dosis gezond vet nodig want het bevat vetoplosbare vitamines en essentiële vetzuren. Essentieel betekent dat je lichaam ze nodig heeft, maar ze zelf niet kan aanmaken. In gezond voeding mag 20 - 35 % van de dagelijkse calorieën uit vet komen, op voorwaarde dat je gezonde, plantaardige vetten gebruikt zoals olijfolie of koolzaadolie. 

Goede vetten zijn dus: 

• Poly-onverzadigde vetten (omega 3 en omega 6): bepaalde plantaardige oliën, vis, lijnzaadolie en noten. Ze zijn goed voor hard- en bloedvaten, MAAR opletten met omega 6, die zouden dan weer het risico op bepaalde kankers verhogen. 
• Mono-onverzadigde vetten: kip, vis olijfolie, koolzaadolie, noten, avocado. Deze vetten kunnen bijdragen tot verlaging van de slechte cholesterol (LDL) in je bloed en houdt de goede cholesterol op peil. 

Bron: In lijn met je leven WeightWatchers

Social Media: Bedside Perspective

Three weeks ago today Steve underwent surgery at MD Anderson for a wide excision and immediate construction of a recurrent melanoma on his lower left ear. After the cancer was removed by Dr. Ross, Dr. Kronowitz cut and secured a skin flap that in essence connects the ear to his neck.  Now we’re waiting for two things 1) assuring that the flap remains healthy and 2) for a secure blood supply to establish from the ear to the flap, and not the other way around.  Dr. Kronowitz then removed cartilage from his good ear so it won’t look like (in our terms) a “skin blob.”  When I was able to join Steve in the recovery his entire head was bandaged but he was sitting up, blinking ointment from his eyes and eating a graham cracker.  He was calm, alert (sorta) completely without pain or nausea.  Beautifully done, I thought.

Ear Reconstruct w/flap secured.

Every hospital experience is different.  

        For Steve’s recent surgery it seemed as though we'd scored a home-run. Everything went better than expected, from the moment we hit the out-patient surgical department at MD Anderson’s Mays Clinic at 6:30 am on January 31 to the moment we left some 24 hours later. After a boatload of collective cancers I felt like the sun landed on us.

        The morning we went in was humid and warm; the day we returned home a winter storm had muscled its way throught the warm Gulf air and dropped the temperature thirty degrees. What a difference a day makes.

        What you quickly recognize as a survivor is how much surgery and hospital care spins on attentiveness and intricate detail – someone’s deft skill in starting an IV, a surgeon’s on-the-spot innovation, the tech who follows each aspect of his or her protocol right down to dotting every “I” and “t” that assures that needed medicine, supplies, or test results are in place when needed.  Many of the factors contributing to a “good outcome” aren’t immediately apparent to us as survivors or co-survivors. We know if we have to wait, if the receptionist is polite, if the physician’s nurse is someone we enjoy talking with, or if the PA cops an attitude. Experience and knowledge fill in the blanks.

        It had been eight years since either one of us has had major surgery.  Here’s what was different and how the advent of social media platforms changed my perspective.

        1) Innovation of the Obvious: Tag Team Pre-Op

        Never have I seen so many people checking, double-checking and tag-teaming each other to facilitate the pre-op process, from fellows and PA’s for both surgeons, people from anesthesiology, a tech whose sole purpose seemed to be monitoring his awesome blood pressure, to the others who poked their heads around the curtain and smiled hello.  It was such a revolving door there was no time to be nervous. This was also the first time I could clearly see how the system worked.  Each player was there to confirm the obvious: Steve’s procedure and his or her role in it, period.  

        Two things really struck me. The first was the anesthetist who came to start the IV.  First she warmed his arm with a blanket, chatting and rat-a-tat tapping his veins. What she learned in a short time is Steve’s own tale of “IV’s that failed.”  There isn’t a survivor on the planet without a collection of these little gems.  It even took me a moment to realize how much she listened, because she stepped out quickly and returned with the anesthesiologist.  He, in turn, talked  with Steve while she had the IV in on the next heartbeat.  Later, she tells me that after she'd heard what had happened before she'd already decided to only stick him once. She'd asked the anesthesiologist to step in, just in case.  How is that for patient-centered care?  Gold star.

        The other revelation was the beauty of the obvious.  When a wonderful nurse with a commanding presence, stepped in and said gently, in a matter-of fact way, "there are going to be a lot of people coming in here and asking you the same question, so bear with us” it was an Einstein moment.  Healthcare professionals should never forget how beautiful simple statements can be. Of course. A lot of people are asking me the obvious to make sure I get the best possible care.  A team that's all on the same page is the team I want working on my family.

          
           2) Out-Patient/23-Hour Admission:  Room Without a View

My 23-hour vantage point.

           Our experience as 23-hour admissions in l998 and then in 2003 were abysmal. I prepared for this one.  I packed a change of clothes to keep me comfortable and enough reading material to last me through the end of the year. I stuffed in my pillow, slippers and reading light.
            I geared up mentally. Fortunately, I need not have worried. Unlike the last time, all 23-hour admissions are now located in the same area where out patients recover from their surgery. This means the nurse to patient ratio (there were only six rooms) was absolutely stellar. Had anything been wrong -- and there wasn't - the nurses were twenty feet away, working at their computers. 
     
          3) EMR: Don't Abandon Hope, Hit Enter

          From our perspective there were glimmers of the EMR, or electronic medical record.  Most of these were apparent when something didn't work, for example, when a nurse in one department didn't record (hit enter?) the very same data the nurse in the next department wanted to know. Information like prior surgical history -- especially at the same facility - should be duck soup, wouldn't you think?

          What I noticed:  all data from the recovery room and pre-op area went directly into the computer, even tho staff in pre-op had print-outs for their own notes.  This makes sense.  In surgery, where the consequences of mistakes can be dire, everything has to be documented to protect the hospital.  And the patient.  In this arena: attorneys rule, and will continue to rule, maybe even facilitating greater and more wide-spread EMR adoption? Who knows.

           Simple things, that make the patient's life easier but have no impact on bottom line or direct quality control?  Not the same attentiveness. Different departments within the same same facility schedule and post follow-up appointments (to the patient portal) at really different rates; from the day the order is given by the physician to up to four days later.  You can call all you want to.  It still takes a person to pick up messages and respond.   

         4) How did social media impact this experience?
          In an immediate way, it didn't at all, even though it was everywhere.  

Nothing regarding the surgery, physicians or facility were influenced by social media but how I handled it certainly was, from sending messages via DM on Twitter to posting a photo of Steve's nurses on Facebook (they loved being asked for a photo, BTW).   Support for both of us rolled in
from both platforms.  Priceless.  


Steve's still prefers his own social media platform: the hospital message board.  Literally.  He filled in his own within a few hours of being transferred to his room.


Thanks for your continued support,
Jody 

Today as I was writing this the dialog on #hcsm, #EMR and health apps continued at a non-stop rate on Twitter from the irrepresible @HealthIsSocial "The Killer Healthcare App" to today's post from @KevinMD   "How EMRs are failing nurses"

             

Tip: Cantharellen schoonmaken

Cantharellen ... Ik vind ze ooo zo lekker, maar zo hatelijk om schoon te maken. Ze zitten meestal vol aarde! 
Hier een tip om ze makkelijk schoon te maken: doe 2-3 el bloem in een met water gevulde schaal. Was de paddestoelen even in dit mengsel en giet ze dan af. De bloem zorgt ervoor dat de paddestoelen zich volzuigen met water. 

Groenterol van courgette, tomaat & aubergine met zalm uit de oven

Voor 2 personen: 

De groenterol:

• 1 courgette, in schijfjes
• 1 aubergine, in schijfjes
• 2 tomaten, in schijfjes
• Geraspte Parmezaanse kaas
• Panko (Japans broodkruim)
• Pijnboompitten
• Gedroogde oregano
• Olijfolie
• Balsamico 
• Versgemalen zwarte peper
• Fleur de sel

De zalm: 

• 2 stukken zalm van elk ongeveer 150 g. 
• Gedroogde tijm
• Gedroogde oregano 
• Olijfolie
• sap van 1/2 limoen

Bereiding: 

• Snij de courgette en aubergine in plakjes met de mandoline. Doe hetzelfde met de tomaat. 
• Ik haal altijd het vocht uit de aubergine. Je doet dat best door er zout op te strooien en keukenrol tussen de laagjes aubergine te leggen. Je zet er dan best een zwaar voorwerp op ev. een bord (je kan erboven ook nog wat boeken leggen om het nog zwaarder te maken).
• Leg de groenten in laagjes naast elkaar in een ovenschaal. Strooi op elk laagje peper en fleur de sel, een beetje gedroogde oregano en pijnboompitten. Leg de rest van de groenten er bovenop en kruid opnieuw. Strooi bovenaan geraspte parmezaan, panko en kruid met oregano, peper & zout. Strooi er opnieuw wat pijnboompitten op. Doe er een goede scheut olijfolie over en balsamico-azijn bij. 
• Steek de schotel in een voorverwarmde oven van 180°C gedurende 35 minuten à 40 minuten. 
• Kruid de zalm met versgemalen zwarte peper, fleur de sel, gedroogde tijm & oregano langs beide kanten. Doe er een scheut olijfolie over en het sap van 1/2 limoen. Steek de zalm gedurende 10 à 12 minuten in een oven op 180°C. 

Ebert: He Still Speaks Volumes

Two big stories rolled through the news services and social media network this week:

• A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that aspirin may provide a  preventative quality in breast cancers that are hormone sensitive.  Why?  Researchers suspect that aspirin kicks off processes decreasing aromatase production.  This in turn suppresses estrogen, one of the hormones that fuels breast cancer.   And as these things go, today I saw an article quoting epidemiologist Dr. Susan McCann, Rosewell Park Cancer Institute, who said additional investigation was still essential before women start taking aspiring in any kind of quantity.  So we're back to where we started & you know the drill.....see what your oncologist's recommendations are.  It might now work for you -- not to mention your stomach!

An extraordinary article on Roger Ebert by journalist Chris Jones in Esquire [ http://www.esquire.com/print-this/roger-ebert-0310] came across via Slate early in the week.

The first thing you notice when you download the article is Ebert's photo. It's initially startling. But in a short moment you immediately see his eyes -- a dancing blue in a stop-time of intense curiousity, vitality, perhaps joy.  Then go on and dig in.  The quality of the prose, its magic in delving beneath the surfaces and bringing voice to a man who no long has one is something anyone who claims to love writing must study.  If I were teaching journalism it would be one of those "GET OUT YOUR HIGHLIGHTER" moments I experienced years ago reading Tom Wolfe, Capote and Joan Didion called the "new journalism."  Jones is beyond that and better.  The spirit of  Ebert evolves as you read: 

" 'These things come to us, they don't come from us,' he writes about his cancer, about sickness, on another Post-it note. 'Dreams come from us.' "

I'll also say that the article even transcends Ebert's anccer  Given what he has experienced, this is somewhat of a miracle and speaks volumes of both Ebert and Jones.

My final thought is another quote from Ebert, " 'When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be.'" 

I'll look forward to hearing what you think.

Blessings,

Jody

Preischotel met groenten, olijven en haloumi

Opnieuw één van mijn soortgelijke gerechten die elke week op mijn menu staan ... Groenteschotels :-)
Deze keer met prei, olijven en haloumi. 

Ingrediënten voor 2 personen:

• 1/2 rode paprika, geschild, in blokjes
• 1/2 gele paprika, geschild, in blokjes
• 1/2 oranje paprika, geschild, in blokjes
• 1 prei, gewassen en in halve ringen
• 3 stengels selders
• 1/4 courgette, in blokjes
• 1/4 zoete aardappel, in stukken
• een handvol shii-take, schoongemaakt
• 2 wortels, in kleine halve ringen
• 1 rode ui, gesnipperd
• 1 teentje look, geplet
• verse rozemarijn
• verse tijm
• versgemalen zwarte peper
• fleur de sel
• koolzaadolie
• balsamico
• 3 plakjes haloumi, in stukjes gesneden
• 10-tal zwarte olijven, ontpit, gehalveerd

Bereiding:

• Snij alle groenten in stukken. Ze hoeven niet in mini-stukjes gesneden te worden. Doe ze in een ovenschotel. 
• Plet het teentje look en laat het op zijn geheel en doe het erbij. 
• Doe de takjes tijm en rozemarijn erbij. 
• Kruid met peper en zout. 
• Giet er een goede scheut koolzaadolie over en een beetje balsamico. Roer de groenteschotel even om zodat alle smaken vermengd worden. 
• Zet de schotel nu in een voorverwarmde oven op 200°C. Je bedekt hem best de eerste helft van de baktijd met zilverpapier. 
• Haal er na 30 minuten het zilverpapier af en doe er dan de haloumi en olijven bij. Zet de schotel nu onbedekt in de oven op 180°C. Na ongeveer 60 minuutjes in een warme oven is de schotel klaar. Je mag hem er altijd iets langer in laten zitten. Meestal steek ik hem er 70 minuten in. Alles is wat afhankelijk hoe zacht je de groenten wil. 

Smakelijk :-)

#BCSM 2/20: Deconstructing Health Headlines with Gary Schwitzer

We're bombarded with health headlines 24/7, ranging from the latest Hollywood "alkaline diet" hyped this past week in Houston to the elevation of pop-star Adele's surgeon to miracle worker status.

           While we can shrug off an obvious fluff piece,  making important distinctions on medical studies, procedures and what truly constitutes true breakthroughs are essential when you have cancer. Were we to believe everything that's been reported, a number "highly promising" cures have been "right around the corner" on numerous occasions.  Honing a critical sense is essential for effectively managing cancer care.

           To help us separate the fact from fiction, boldface from embellished, I'm thrilled to welcome health care journalist and critic Gary Schwitzer to #BCSM tomorrow night.  The publisher of the well-respected Health News Review  will walk us through the review criteria for analyzing studies, the ABC's of health care reporting (accuracy, balance, completeness) and suggestions on making the most of reported information.
           If you aren't yet following @GarySchwitzer and @HealthNewsReview, I think you should start today. It's important for your own health and critical in becoming an effective advocate for others.
          Other important links for empowered health care:

• Foundation for Informed Decision Making, which supports Health News 
• Society for Participatory Medicine  (of which I am a member)
• PCORI, established in 2010 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

If you have specific questions you'd like addressed in tomorrow's chat please leave me a comment or drop me an email at jschoger@gmail.com.

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Gevulde Portabella's met spinazie, mozzarella & tomaat

Lekker met een gegrild stukje kipfilet

Dit is een receptje dat ik gevonden heb op de blog van 'Brenda kookt'. Daar staan altijd heel inspirerende recepten op. 

Ik heb er een beetje mijn eigen 'touch' aangegeven en opgediend met een gegrilde kipfilet. Dit weekend had ik nog een beetje tomatensaus over die ik gebruikt heb voor de pizza. Vandaag heb ik dat restje verwerkt in deze lekkere gevulde portabella's. Als je geen zin hebt om verse tomatensaus te maken, kan je ook gewoon een blik tomatenblokjes gebruiken. Gewoon het blikje tomatensaus even opwarmen, doe er wat kerstomaatjes in en je hebt ook een lekker sausje om mee te werken :-) 

Ingrediënten voor 2 personen:

• 2 portabella's
• een zakje spinazie van 200g
• 1 teentje look 
• 1 bol mozzarella (buffel)
• 1 tl Italiaanse kruiden
• versgemalen zwarte peper
• fleur de sel
• 2 kipfilets 
• 10 tal kerstomaatjes

Snel tomatensausje: 

• 1 klein sjalotje, fijngesneden
• 1 klein teentje look, geplet en fijngesneden
• half blik tomatenblokjes 
• 1 th tomatenpuree
• 1 takje verse tijm
• 1 blaadje laurier
• gedroogde kruiden: oregano, marjolein, basilicum, ev. mengeling Italiaanse kruiden. 
• olijfolie

Of gewoon een restje tomatensaus gebruiken :-) 

Bereiding: 

• Verwarm de oven voor op 180°C. 

Maak de tomatensaus:

• Stoof het sjalotje en geplet teentje look aan in olijfolie. Doe er de theelepel tomatenpuree bij en laat even meestoven. Doe de tomatenblokjes, takje tijm, blaadje laurier erbij en laat even prutelen. Kruid de saus met versgemalen zwarte peper, fleur de sel en de gedroogde kruiden. 

De gevulde portabella's:

• Borstel de portabella's schoon en verwijder de stelen, snij deze fijn en pers de teentjes look. 
• Was de spinazie.
• Bak het teentje look even aan in olijfolie en doe er de spinazie bij. Zet een deksel op de pan en laat de spinazie slinken. 
• Snij de mozzarella in plakken. 
• Vul de portabella's met een beetje tomatenmengsel, kruid tussendoor even met een beetje Italiaanse kruiden, leg er wat kerstomaatjes op, spinazie en nog een beetje tomatensaus. Leg hier een plakje mozzarella op. Kruid af met peper en Italiaanse kruiden.
• Zet de portabella's 20 minuutjes in een voorverwarmde oven op 180°C. 

Ik heb de portabella's geserveerd met een gegrild stukje kipfilet.

Home Made Pizza

Zaterdagavond ... Drukke dag gehad, weinig tijd om te koken. We zouden een kant-en-klare maaltijd in de oven kunnen steken, maar aangezien ik daar resoluut tegen ben, heb ik gekozen om pizza te maken. Snel, lekker en niet zo ongezond als die diepvriespizza's uit de winkel :-) Het enigste wat ik niet zelf heb gemaakt, is het pizzadeeg, dat komt uit de bioshop. 

De pizza heb ik belegd met restjes uit de koelkast. Ik had nog wat mozzarella, een halve paprika, rucola en een halve courgette over.

Ingrediënten voor 1 pizza:

• 1/3 rode paprika, geschild en in blokjes
• 1/3 gele paprika, geschild en in blokjes
• 2 tomaten, ontpit en ontveld, in blokjes
• 1/3 courgette, in dunne schijfjes
• enkele zwarte olijven
• 1/2 mozzarellabol, in plakken 
• 1 blik tomatenblokjes
• 1 el tomatenpuree
• 1 sjalotje, in fijne stukjes
• 1 teentje look, geplet
• snuifje paprikapoeder
• snuifje cayennepeper 
• versgemalen zwarte peper 
• fleur de sel
• gedroogde oregano
• gedroogde basilicum
• gedroogde marjolein
• een takje verse tijm
• een blaadje laurier 
• 1 bio pizzadeeg
• Gerapste Parmezaanse kaas
• Rucola (om af te werken)

Bereiding:

Verwarm de oven op 200°C. 

Maak eerst de tomatensaus. 

• Plet het teentje look en snij het sjalotje en de look fijn. Doe een scheutje olijfolie in de pan en bak de look en het sjalotje aan in de olie. Voeg een eetlepel tomatenpuree toe. 
• Voeg de tomatenblokjes toe aan de saus. Laat de saus een beetje inkoken en doe het takje tijm en blaadje laurier erbij. Kruid met peper & zout, cayennepeper (niet te veel !!), het paprikapoeder en de gedroogde kruiden. Laat de saus een 10-tal minuutjes pruttelen op een zacht vuurtje. 

De pizza: 

• Nu komt het leukste: de pizza beleggen. Je kan hem eigenlijk met alles beleggen dat je lekker vindt. 
• Doe de paprika's in kleine blokjes, ontvel en ontpit de tomaten en snij ze in kleine blokjes. Snij de courgette en mozzarella in fijne schijfjes.
• Beleg de pizza met de tomatensaus, daarbovenop de schijfjes courgette, de blokjes paprika en tomaat, de mozzarella, de olijven. Werk de pizza af met versgeraspte parmezaan en strooi er goed wat gedroogde oregano op. Steek hem in een voorverwarmde oven van 200°C gedurende 20 minuten. 
• Ik had nog wat rucola over, dus heb ik er nog wat rucola overgestrooid vooraleer ik de pizza serveerde. 

Smakelijk :-)

Newly Diagnosed? A Deep Breath & Keep Your Eye on the Horizon

Today?  Variations on a theme: a big deep breath and an eye on the horizon.

When you're newly diagnosed, the last thing you can imagine is the other side of treatment -- when you're finished with the chemo, the radiation, the surgery.  Here's another context to think about, and a story I hope you can keep in mind on tough days:

More than ten years ago three dear friends and I held what would become an annual event that's become so important in all of our lives that one of our members actually rescheduled her meeting with the chancellor of a prestigious university to meet with us. Another frets all year long until she finds EXACTLY the right gift for the EXACT amount of money -- $10.00. And it's always something we love.  We even met at the same restaurant and ordered EXACTLY the same meal until the restaurant -- the landmark "Bluebonnet Cafe" in Old Town Spring, closed.  We tried another famous haunt in Spring, Wunche Brothers Cafe, but that didn't work.  No matter, what we eat and where is not the kicker.  What has evolved over time is.

The format of the meal is always the same.  Each person says what has happened over the year and ends with usually three things the group then prays for during the year until the next lunch comes around.  That is the simple premise.  Over the decade we have prayed for:

• a loving companion for our single friend (granted); a child (not granted, but she found joy and great happiness with her adult stepchildren!); 
• continued health for a disabled sibling (he continues to hold his own); 
• ORGANIZED CLOSETS (we are still working on that one, though progress continues!); 
• continued health for all, but especially so as I recovered from cancer (I am now 11 years cancer free);
• emotional, spiritual and physical health: renewed commitments to fitness & faith (a beautiful thing to see each of us grapple with and take each on!).

We had our "Christmas Club" lunch this past Friday and talked about the "early days."  The first time we had the lunch I was taking Tamoxifen and unfit for polite society. My first months back at work were tough. My clothes didn't fit correctly and my mind did not work.  My moods traveled the scale. And I could not see the horizon, that the discomfort would pass. I couldn't see the horizon and the impact of love over time.  Look what has happened, with a small group of women who meet for lunch, talk about the "good stuff" and pray for each other throughout the year.  Incredible things have come to pass.  

So if you are newly diagnosed, and trying to walk through and on top of your fear, I hope you can take a deep breath, and for one moment, put your eye on the horizon.  Because you never know who might be praying for you.

Blessings,

Jody

Groenteschotel met haloumi en broccolivinaigrette

Ingrediënten voor 2 personen: 

De groenten:

• 3 stengels bleekselderij, in kleine stukjes
• 1/2 zoete aardappel, in stukken 
• 1/2 courgette, in stukken
• 1 orange paprika 
• 1 rode paprika
• 1 rode ui
• 1/8 knolselderij, in kleine stukjes
• 1 raapje
• 1 teentje look, geplet
• 3 takjes tijm
• 1 takje rozemarijn
• Een handje haloumi, in kleine stukjes
• Versgemalen zwarte peper
• Fleur de sel
• Koolzaadolie

De broccolivinaigrette:

• 1/2 stronk broccoli, geblancheerd
• 1 teentje look
• 1 koffielepel graanmosterd
• 1 el rijstazijn
• Een handje munt
• Olijfolie, extra vierge
• Peper & zout

Bereiding: 

De groenten:

• Snij de ui, de bleekselderij, de zoete aardappel, de paprika's, de knolselder, het raapje en de courgette in kleine stukken en doe ze in een ovenschotel. Leg er nog een 5-tal kleine geblancheerde broccoliroosjes bij. 
• Doe het takje tijm en rozemarijn erbij. Kruid met peper en zout. Voeg nog een goede scheut koolzaadolie toe en zet in een voorverwarmde oven van 200°C. 
• Laat de schotel zeker een uur in de oven. De eerste helft met zilverpapier. Na 30 à 40 minuten mag het zilverpapier van de schotel en doe er dan de stukjes haloumi erbij. 

De broccolivinaigrette:

• Doe alles in de cutter en meng. Voeg peper, zout en olijfolie naar smaak toe. 

Leg de groenten op een bord en werk af met de broccolivinaigrette.