Is it bad when your eyes are already burning by the time you get home? Don't answer that. Actually, John's been sick, and I had an idea that I was catching his sick too. Then we put it together. That grey on the horizon? That's from the fires. That's why John is sick and I have burning eyes. That's it. Fortunately, the air is supposed to be getting better now.

So. Sickness makes John not hungry at all. That's how I ended up eating an entire batch of Vcon spicy tempeh rotelle with broccoli rabe (or in my case actual broccoli) over the course of three days. It's a good thing it's DELICIOUS. The tempeh marinade was done in a totally ingenious way: by braise! No marinade! You have to admit that this business looks disturbingly like very seedy marinade (if, you know, seedy marinade disturbs you), BUT NO. It is very seedy braising liquid instead.

The especially genius part of this was the fennel seeds. If you ever want to make anything resemble sausage, I now recommend fennel seeds. The finished product actually resembled my muscular pasta with fake sausage crumbles pretty closely: pasta, olive oil, spicy protein. The Vcon business was a lot less oily, though.

All of my pictures of the finished product are muddy and unremarkable, but look at the delicious tempeh!




When John did want food, he wanted soothing and indulgent business. I gave him a list to choose from, and he circled this.

Pea and cheese risotto

onion/garlic
olive oil/butter
arborio rice
hot broth on the stove
frozen peas
salt, pepper
grating cheese if you want it

I made this one with half a red onion, some garlic, and romano cheese.

Chop the onion/etc and soften it in olive oil or butter. When it's starting to turn gold and melty, throw in a cup of rice and a cup of hot broth. You want a thick, sloppy liquid. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently but not necessarily 100% of the time. Add more cups of broth as the previous cups absorb into the rice. This should take four or five cups at least. When the rice grains don't have a hard white core anymore, taste one. If it's cooked, or near enough, dump a bunch of peas and a last half cup of broth into the pot. When the peas are warm and the broth is absorbed, take everything off the heat. If you want cheese, grate it into the pot. Add a pinch of salt and lots of fresh ground pepper, stir the business up, and eat it.

Afterward, have tea and lie down on the couch to watch Battlestar Galactica.