Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, readers! I am thankful for each of you taking the time to read my posts and commenting. I hope you have a delicious day ahead!

The secret ingredient is...

... red cabbage!  My bf's mom dropped off some Korean food (cuz we all know I can't pull that off) this week as well as some miscellaneous produce.  When I saw the cabbage I was taken back to the last time we squared off: junior year of college in my organic chemistry lab.  The task: isolate the essential oil.  The challenge: gagging my way through each noxious step at 8:00 in the morning.  Yep, that day red cabbage won and since then I've kept my distance.
Well, I have a hard time throwing away perfectly good food (except for the red onion; had NO problem throwing that monster away) so I turned to my trusty sous chef, allrecipes.com, and tried to find a way to even out the Erica-Cabbage score.  I present:


Sausage Smothered in Red Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 small head red cabbage, shredded
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• 3 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter (didn't need because I skipped the next ingredient)
• 1 small onion, chopped (definitely omitted)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 1 pound kielbasa sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions

1. Place the cabbage in a large kettle, and add the diced apple, 2 teaspoons of the salt, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. In hot butter, saute the onion until golden. Add the onion to the cabbage along with 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, vinegar and sausage. Cook, covered, 20 to 30 minutes until sausage is heated through. To serve, spoon the cabbage onto a heated platter, topping it with the sausage.

I expected a bitter-tasting dish so I doubled the vinegar and used apple cider vinegar instead because I thought that would tie in the apple flavor well. It did, but came out a little salty so I would cut back to maybe 1-2 teaspoons salt and probably add another apple. (Korean mom practically gave us a bushel.) I served this alongside smashed potatoes (too lazy to peel them) and voila! Dinner is served :)

Mad scientist makeup

The longer I work in oncology, the more suspicious I am about everyday items contributing to cancer development.  It just doesn't make sense why young people have advanced forms of cancer or really rare forms of cancer that doctors don't know how to best treat.  You can't blame the patient- it's not like they intentionally messed up their DNA or swallowed the tumor whole- so what gives?
The state of medicine and health seems to prioritize treatment rather than prevention.  I appreciate the advances thus far after reading The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and understanding the horrific surgeries and excruciating chemical cocktails used to treat cancer in the past.  Yet that big question- WHY- has largely been ignored. 
One reason why I participated in Breast Cancer Fund's hike last month was because they are committed to identifying and advocating for the removal of environmental exposures to prevent the disease.  While we may choose to eat organic foods and watch the alcohol intake, lather on sunscreen, and exercise diligently to take care of ourselves we don't consider the carcinogens found in personal care/beauty products.  Starting with bright purple j.a.n.e. eyeshadow and frosted pink Bonne Bell lipstick in 7th grade, who knows what's accumulated in my body over the years or why I got my period when I was 10 (a risk factor for breast cancer)!
I've spent hours looking up the insanely long chemical names in my beauty products and I am *so* glad that I did.  I've basically scrapped all my hair, nail, shower, makeup, and body products in favor of alternatives that don't contain parabens, phthalates, lead, or triclosan, among other nasty ingredients.  I think the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database should win a Nobel Prize for making this information readily available.  I've searched by brand name (shame on you, MAC!), ingredient (see above list of nasty names), and by product type (i.e. foundation, deodorant) to find the lowest rated health hazards. 
Fortunately, Bare Escentuals is a low risk product line easily found at Sephora and lots of acceptable cosmetic, hair, and body products can be found on drugstore.com and beauty.com.  I've been introduced to the wide array of products from Maia's Mineral Galaxy and Honeybee Gardens by the EWG database.  I am proud to support their company's efforts at making people feel happier and having fun with their appearance without jeopardizing their health in the process.

Lead used to be an ingredient in lipstick.  Not cool.

Peekaboo

It's hard to love your body when it's bursting at the seams of your pants. Good thing today is the first day I can use my $30 off a $100 purchase at Banana Republic. I'm on the hunt for stretch-blend trousers!

Reaching the peak with a pain in the arse

Ugh. I've been sick all week and haven't formally exercised since Monday! I considered overriding my body's indications that we are not alright (breathing out of one nostril while the other alternates dry spells with snot faucets) but backed out. Still went into work though ;)

So I have been left reminiscing about recent physical accomplishments and the Peak Hike for Prevention, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Fund, was a bright spot.
It took place in October on Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley, north of San Francisco. My vibrantly young aunt, Angela, survived breast cancer last year and recently finished surgical reconstruction (yay!). She assembled a team, Angela's Angels, and we took off for the peak on a cold Sunday morning. Within 15 minutes we encountered a disaster: a yellowjacket nest on the ground that must have been disturbed by the people before us on the trail. They were not buzzing happily.
The leader of our group, my sister-in-law, was stung all along her backside and I, second in the line, just froze in place and took it. I covered my ears, neck and face thinking my long sleeves and pants would protect me. Ha. In seconds I felt sharp pains along my forearms and one my left buttcheek. Score: angry yellowjackets: 7, Erica: 0.
The first aid tent didn't help much but I was determined to finish what I started. So a steep 3 mile climb up and 3 mile zig zag hike down was in order. As active as I am I figured I could pull this off without training and while yes, I did survive the hike, I had to take frequent breaks on the way up to catch my breath.  Perhaps I should add altitude to my fitness mix.
It was well worth it, though.  What I experienced that cold morning was nothing in comparison to what my aunt has faced undergoing bilateral mastectomies, adriamycin/cytoxan/taxol chemotherapy, radiation and the fear of cancer returning in the the future.  She's always in my prayers.
Here we are on the summit: