Rhubarb

Last week, I was so excited to see rhubarb for sale at the local veggie store. I know, you shouldn't have to BUY rhubarb. But I don't have a rhubarb plant, and I didn't think that I knew anyone who did. So every summer, I WISH that I had rhubarb.

strawberry-rhubarb pie. stewed rhubarb and ice cream. rhubarb muffins. rhubarb sticks with a side of sugar for dipping. all real good childhood memories.

Well I snatched up two huge sticks so fast...and then they sat in the fridge for a few days...until today. First thing this morning (okay, I had breakfast first, and looked up a recipe to see how much rhubarb I would need for muffins) I sliced up those sticks. Then I loaded up the food processor for a finer chop.*

*since I was on a roll with the knife, I also sliced the tomato and onion for dinner

I made a list of the ingredients I would need. The recipe calls for whole wheat flour (which I have in the pantry, and was excited to be able to use it), rolled oats (which I didn't have), brown sugar (which I had in the form of tiny stones and pebbles so fresh was needed), cinnamon, baking soda (I had some, but just in case it was getting old, I bought fresh), one egg, milk, lemon juice and vegetable oil. As far as I'm concerned, anything that has brown sugar and cinnamon as ingredients, must be delicious.

The recipe:
Ingredients
2 cups chopped, fresh or frozen rhubarb
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 salt
Directions
In a bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, lemon juice and the vegetable oil.
In another, large bowl, with a fork, mix together the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Make a "well" in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the egg mixture in, and stir just until combined.
Gently stir in the chopped rhubarb.
Spoon the batter into muffin cups or paper lined muffin cups.
Bake in center of oven at 350° F or about 28 - 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack.
Makes about 12 - 15 muffins 

I will say, the muffins taste good, or at least the "bits" that I have had. I didn't grease my silicone pan...I didn't think that I had to (and I'm still not convinced that I do)...and the muffins fell apart when I tried to take them out.

The second batch (I got 17 muffins in total) I cooked in a greased metal pan...they stuck too. I was also short 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour (thank goodness I had white to add) AND I sprayed the stove, wall and surrounding paraphernalia with the wet mixture (I used what I thought was an electric whisk thingy, and I turned it the wrong way).

If you decide to try this recipe yourself, take note where it says to use a large bowl for the dry ingredients - use the LARGEST bowl you have. You have to stir in the wet ingredients (after making a well in the dry) and still add the rhubarb.

Avocado Bits

Here is another little tip that I learned while watching television: how to slice up avocado chunks...the easy way.

Slice the fruit in half the long way, as shown in the photo. I do this by holding the avocado in my hand and circling around (tip to tip) with a knife. You won't (and don't) go all the way through because of the large pit. Once you have a knife path all the way around, gently twist the fruit...voila, you have two nice halves to work with.

Next, run a knife from the outside of the flesh/fruit just to the inside of the skin. Do this all down the length of the fruit, and then repeat this action on the width, creating tiny squares. You can hold the fruit half in your hand for better control, just be careful not to go all the way through the fruit flesh and skin with the knife!

Once you have all of the little squares, turn the half  "inside out" or "invert the skin". The little squares should fall out, of at least come out very easily with a little help from your fingers.

Break Required

Is this what they mean when they say "unable to tolerate":

The above picture was taken exactly 2 weeks following the injection in this arm. Knowing that my arms are the least painful to inject, this wasn't a terrible injection. But the aftermath is shocking! There was no blood spill, not even a trickle. Just a little pea sized lump...how did that get there? First time for everything. This bruise in large, and it isn't getting better. I'm now at 3 weeks, and it still looks like this.

Prior to the above injection, I had taken an "injection vacation": one week of giving my skin a break, injection free. Too many red spots, faded purple blotches, and sore areas.

Last night, I checked my right arm in the mirror, looking for a spot to inject, only to discover the entire area was taken up by a red and purple tinge. Outer thighs, same thing. Back hips, same thing. So I'm on another injection vacation.

 A "normal" red mark

So I ask, is this what they mean by not tolerating the medication? Are there long term consequences to these injection reactions? They only seem to be getting worse: I have been on Rebif for 3 years.