Do You Take Your Chocolate Hot or Cold?

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm having a new problem or a flare up from an existing one.  Whatever it is, I am unable to eat anything solid and I am only able to down small amounts of liquid.  

This started Thursday night, saw my doctor yesterday, and still feel awful today.   Perhaps a Crohn's or sarcoid flare.  Maybe muscle spasms in my esophagus.  I feel like a 90 year old.

It's also not nice when your doctor pulls her hair at the sight of you as her last patient on a Friday.  She only likes to see me when I have an ear ache, strep throat, or something NORMAL.

Since Soymilk has a fair amount of things good for you in it, I decided to make home made hot chocolate which  turns out to make kick ass chocolate milk too!

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup water

4 cups Very Vanilla Soymilk

In a medium sauce pan, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, and water.  Heat over medium low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth.

Add the Soymilk.  Continue heating and stirring until you reach desired level of hot.  Or, you can stop heating and just mix well.  

It is so smooth right off the bat that it makes great chocolate milk.  I was hoping to freeze some but I don't think it will last that long!

Cherry Slushy

Hardly a recipe but still a treat!

1 cup frozen cherries
6 ice cubes
2 tablespoons sugar
A little cold water

Put the above in your food processor or blender.  Process until slushy.  Add water if you want to drink it with a straw or eat with a spoon as is.

Easy Smoky Lentils

I decided to make this Monday like Tuesday dinner meatless.  After a long weekend, something easy and light is all I can handle.

One 15 oz can lentils
10 oz spinach
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic
Smoky paprika
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper

Cook the spinach in a skillet with the margarine and oil.  Add the lentils.  Stir until everything is heated through.  Remove from heat.  Add the spices and stir to combine.  I really think spice amounts can't be dictated.  You know what you like right?  Use as much as you enjoy.  The men who live here like garlic so I may be a little heavy handed on that.

Serve over rice, potatoes, or pasta.  A tomato salad on the side works great too!  We have lots of garden tomatoes.

Easy!  But yummy!

Garden Bounty Asian Carrots

This is the best bunch of carrots ever from Derek's garden.  They are nice size and super sweet.  Picked and cooked same day.  Doesn't get much better than that!

2 lbs peeled and sliced carrots
Enough water to just cover them
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Dash of ginger
Black pepper

In a large skillet with a lid, put the prepared carrots and water.  Bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover with lid.  Cook until desired tenderness.  My Crohn's/sarcoidosis require me to cook until pretty darn tender but still a lovely color and not mushy.  Start testing after 10 minutes.  Fresh from garden carrots cook A LOT faster than produce at the store.

Drain off the water.  You can reserve this liquid for soup making too.  The carrots right from the garden are so sweet that I always reserve the cooking liquid.  Can't buy that at the store!

Turn heat to high and add the remaining ingredients.  Cook and stir gently with a spatula until sugar caramelizes.  If I had any edamame, I'd add them in too.