The Quest for the Holy Grail

Aunt Flo arrived a bit early, so I started BCPs on Monday night. This pretty much describes how I feel on the left. I tried to see if there was a way to take less BCPs, but I'm invested in the date I chose for my FET transfer, so it means taking a crap load more BCPs, as in 30+ days. So far, so good. I think either the side effects haven't really kicked in, or this is a different type of BCPs than I took at the other clinic, and it's better for me. My mood is surprisingly good. I had a few freak out moments in making the decision to go ahead now with the BCPs, as in, "OMG, this is really happening and I hope it won't be like last time" freak out.

Here I am, groveling again. I'm kinda hoping it will be like this scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail:



Sorry to beg! If any of you gals have some spare meds floating around your closet that you don't need anymore, I would very much appreciate any donations. Although FET is a lot cheaper (*cough*) than IVF, we are still feeling the squeeze with Magic out of work right now (says as she averts eyes...). I will need the following:

• Lu.pron, not generic
  
• Vi.velle 0.1mg patches
• P.IO
  
• End.ometrin

Please e-mail me at phoebephoenixtalesatgmaildotcom if you can help.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to my two angels who have already helped me out. You know who you are! Wouldn't it be cool if we had a Sal.vation Army type place that would offer to pick up your left over donated meds from your house and distribute them to those who need them?

Gluten Free Fridays: Pork & Green Chili Stew

Some of my readers have asked me what is the best diet for egg quality? I think that you have to take fertility diet recommendations and find what works for you. Listen to your body after you eat certain foods. Do they make you bloated, for example?

I have had good results with Chinese medicine for gynecological problems. In Chinese medicine, it is recommended to avoid wheat, along with other foods, for optimum fertility. Angela Wu, author of Fertility Wisdom recommends the following:

Avoid

• Wheat
• Refined Sweets
• Dairy
• Processed or bleached foods
• Coffee and soft drinks
• Alcohol
• Iced, chilled, or frozen foods or drinks
• Deep fried foods

Foods like wheat and dairy are considered "cooling" foods in Chinese medicine, and you don't want anything cooling off your reproductive organs! Wheat and dairy are also considered "damp" foods or phlem producing foods. These are kinda vague and mysterious terms to Westerners. When I stopped eating dairy, the first thing I noticed is that my nose cleared up. Very literally, dairy creates phlem. In the reproductive organs, I think excesses of these foods can exacerbate problems like fibroids and polyps. Cold, damp, and/or phlem producing foods basically restrict blood flow to the uterus and ovaries or life force energy flow to these organs, called Chi or Qi in Chinese. Wheat and dairy are staples in the average Western diet, so you can imagine what it does to our reproductive organs! When maximizing your fertility, you want to make sure you have good blood flow to your reproductive organs. Diet is only one of the key elements to improving blood flow and Qi to your girly parts. But enough blathering, let's eat!

Recipe Remodel

When I get bored with my usual meals and all my cookbooks, I get on the web and search for new recipes. This week on Gluten Free Fridays, I'll show you how to remodel a gluten laden recipe to make it gluten free and delicious. I found this recipe for Pork & Green Chili Stew on Rec.ipezaar (wwwdotrecipezaardotcom).

BEFORE RECIPE REMODEL:

Ingredients:

POTATO SOUP BASE

• 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced
  
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more!)
• 1 teaspoon oregano

PORK

• 1-2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or more)

TO FINISH

• 4-6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 (4-5 1/3 ounce) cans whole green chilies, roughly cut
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can hominy

Directions:

1. POTATO SOUP BASE: Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan, add all ingredients, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Set aside.
3. PORK Dredge pork chunks in the flour mixture, heat vegetable oil in a sturdy Dutch oven or soup pot, and cook the pork in batches till browned.
4. Once you're done, place all the pork back in the pot.
5. Add the SOUP BASE, and potatoes,chilies,chicken broth,and hominy.
6. Bring to a boil,then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Creative Additions-- For a richer flavor, add sour cream to the soup base.
8. Use shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack for garnish.
9. Serve with tortilla chips or Saltines.
10. I sometimes add Frank's Hot Sauce to MY bowl.

There are some obvious problems with this recipe, such as the flour the pork gets dredged in. I first substituted this with a gluten-free flour mix, but discovered this whole step with dredging the pork was a pain-in-the-ass, and tasted just as good without doing all that. Besides, who has time to do all that? I mean, having a baby the non-old fashion way is just plain expensive, so you have to work hard to pay off all those loans. You don't want recipes that have you laboring in the kitchen for hours. Here is my new and improved gluten-free, expedited version of this recipe:

AFTER RECIPE REMODEL:

Pork and Green Chili Stew

Ingredients:

POTATO SOUP BASE

• 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced, or more
  
• 1 Tablespoon cumin (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more!)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder (or more); note, I use straight chili powder from this company, the New Mexico red mild. I like it because there is no other crap in it. You have to be careful with spices that there are not fillers you can not pronounce or contain gluten.
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of garlic salt or salt, to taste
  

PORK

• 1-2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces (1/2" cubes); note: if you don't have time to cut up pork tenderloin, substitute with ground pork. This version is shown above in the photo.
  
• season with garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper
  

TO FINISH

• 4-6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 (4-5 1/3 ounce) cans diced green chilies
  
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
  

Directions:

1. POTATO SOUP BASE: Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan, add all ingredients, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Set aside.
3. PORK Brown pork chunks on medium heat with a little vegetable oil and season with garlic salt and ground black pepper. Cook the pork in batches till all is browned.
4. Once you're done, place all the pork back in the pot with the SOUP BASE.
   
5. Add to the SOUP BASE the potatoes, chilies, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes.
6. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour uncovered until the potatoes start breaking down. Stir hard or stir with a sturdy whisk to let the potatoes naturally thicken the green chili.
   
7. Serve with sides of your choice, like guacamole, Chocolate tortilla chips (I kid you not! Probably not the best fertility food, but it's better than a chocolate bar!), and brown rice tortillas. Don't forget some slices of fresh lime too!
   

Show & Tell: Gluten Free Fridays

On last week's Gluten Free Fridays, I featured squash in the New Mexican Stew recipe. I also shared a story about my squash purchasing adventures this past fall. Here's what's left of the 70 pounds of squash I bought. From left to right, we have butternut squash, a mixture of carnival and sweet dumpling squash, acorn squash, and one large banana squash that I have yet to figure out what I am going to do with. I've heard it tastes like pumpkin. Is that like weird meats that people say taste like chicken? In the front from left to right is the remaining pie pumpkin, a quickly shriveling buttercup squash, and one more acorn squash. Since I don't have a proper root cellar, all the green on the acorn and carnival squashes have turned orange. I've already eaten all the spaghetti squash, so they are not pictured here. Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for pasta!

It's a good thing I hauled out all the squash from the basement to photograph. A couple of these are past their prime and need to be eaten immediately. I found one pie pumpkin squash that had disintegrated into a moldy puddle. Lesson learned: the pie pumpkins do not keep and really should be eaten at Thanksgiving. That was my intention, of course. The butternut squash is holding up the best so far, as well as the acorn squash. The spaghetti squash seem to keep forever. I had one I bought in the fall of 2007 that I ate last fall, and it was fine. I'm trying to keep up on the carnival and sweet dumplings, that look exactly alike, but I bought so many of them, it's hard. These two squashes are like delicata squash, but moister, hence the reason I bought them and not the delicatas. I could not find my favorite squash this year, amber cup. It does not grow well in my state. If you ever find it, get it. It's like buttercup squash, but it's orange and tastes like pumpkin pie. Yum!

This Show and Tell is really supposed to be a shameless plug for Gluten Free Fridays. Gluten, including wheat, is often one diet item that many women are told not to eat if they want to improve their fertility. Infertility can be linked to undiagnosed celiac disease or gluten intolerance. I have the latter. My intention for Gluten Free Fridays is to offer some educational information on why gluten can be problematic for fertility and other health reasons, and to feature a gluten free recipe as well. It can be overwhelming to exclude gluten or wheat from your diet, but I'm here to tell you it's possible and you won't miss it! It took me a long time to say that, but I seriously do not miss eating gluten foods. OK, well maybe pizza, but I can't eat the cheese that goes on it anyways. My recipes are also dairy free, with options for cheese toppings. I also try to include vegetarian variations as well.

Any guesses on how many pounds of squash are left, as pictured above? I was a little surprised at the answer myself. I will reveal the answer tomorrow, so take your guesses in the comments!

Answer: And the winning number is...40 pounds!! The banana squash alone weights 10 pounds, so if you subtract that from the original 70 pounds, I've basically eaten half the squash. I've had this stash for 3 months and I still have half to go?! Oh my! I loved the commenter who guessed 75 pounds! They are multiplying like tribbles!!

Don't be scared away by Mel's Show and Tell title this week. It's really quite tasteful and touching, with a dash of humor thrown in!

The Fun Decisions Begin

I thought I would have a few more days before I would have to think about this, but on the other hand, I'm really happy that Aunt Flo is here! I have this feeling I'm going to be starting BCPs on Monday, though I don't really want to be taking them as long as I'll have to take them. I'll discuss it with the nurse on Monday. I've got all the dates worked out on a spreadsheet. You need a friggin' Ph.D. to practically figure out this FET schedule. I thought IVF was complicated! I did briefly entertain the idea of a natural FET, but I'm not taking any chances with my less than optimal hormonal output these days.

The thing that worries me the most with this FET is moving my embryos. I decided that I am going to pick them up and take them to my new clinic. If I do it by courier, they pack the embryos up the evening before at around 5pm, and then they sit around in a tank of liquid nitrogen to be delivered by 10am the next day. My clinics are only 9.2 miles apart, so I'm going to do it myself. I remember when I was a bit worried when I physically moved my husband's sperm, which was a much longer distance. Back then, I didn't give myself enough time to do it by courier, so they packed his swimmers in dry ice, and I made the hand off myself. They had to be moved once more, that time in a liquid nitrogen tank. They seemed to have survived just fine, so maybe I shouldn't worry so much about my embryos since this delivery will be much less complicated. With so much at stake, it's hard not to worry. I'm kinda attached to those little blobs of cells.

Gluten Free Fridays: New Mexican Stew

This week's Gluten Free Fridays is brought to you by Karina's Kitchen Recipes, a fabulous gluten-free blog. Karina's blog used to be called "The Gluten Free Goddess", which really, she is. I know this picture does not do this recipe justice. I usually like to actually cook a recipe before I post it on GFF. This picture was kind of an after thought, and is a picture I took at work today of leftovers from last night's dinner. Go over to Karina's blog if you want a more tantalizing picture of this recipe.

Of course, we must have a little story before we delve into the recipe. This past fall, I was on a quest to get the cheapest winter squash I could find. Our local Farmer's Market has gotten pretty pricey in the last few years. I was hoping the last one of the season would have some deals, but I ended up working that Saturday. The next day, November 2nd, I went to one local farmer's stand to see if they had any squash left. They were packing up all the squash they had left to sell off to Whole Paycheck Foods, and I asked if I could still get some. They said, sure, $30 for a box. Now this was a pretty big box. I loaded it up with butternut squash, spaghetti squash, carnival squash, sweet dumpling squash, one big banana squash that I still don't know what I'm going to do with, and one buttercup squash that I found hiding among some other funky looking squashes. I got help loading my ginormous box into my car, and the man said, "you got a good deal there. That box weighs at least 70 pounds." I though, "yeah, right." When I got home, I weighed the box. I almost threw my back out. Sure enough, it weighed 70 pounds. I probably have at least half or more of it left. If you have never seen 70 pounds of squash, let me assure you that it's a lot of squash!! I'm always looking for good squash recipes to whittle down my 70 pounds, and this is one is a keeper.

New Mexican Stew
by Karina Allrich at glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

This is verbatum from Katrina's blog, with a few edits from me in italics. You can get a nice printable copy if you go over there. Just scroll down to the bottom of the post, and it will give you an option for a printer friendly version.

I used ground turkey in this green chile stew recipe but you could also use chicken, pork, or black beans.

Turn on your slow cooker to high or low as you prefer. You can also cook this recipe on the stove top.

You'll need:

1 lb. fresh ground turkey, chicken or pork (or use 1 15-oz can organic black beans for vegan)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder- hot or mild, to taste
1 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, diced
2 large or white gold potatoes, peeled, diced
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup roasted chopped green chiles- mild or hot, to taste
1 quart chicken broth- or vegan broth
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Before serving:

Juice from 1 large juicy lime
2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1-2 teaspoons raw sugar or agave nectar, as needed

First- brown the ground turkey in a skillet and pour off the fat, if any. Add the turkey to the slow cooker/Crock Pot and add the remaining ingredients- through sea salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine. Cover and cook- on high or low- according to manufacturer's instructions until done.

To cook on the stove top:

1. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.
2. Add the squash, potatoes, carrots, and spices and give a stir.
3. Add the broth, chilis and optional black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
4. While the soup is cooking, brown the ground turkey and add to the soup.
5. I cook the soup until the squash and potatoes get so mushy, they breakdown when you stir the soup hard. This way, they thicken the soup and you don't have to add anything else to do so. This will take a minimum of 45 minutes. If you don't want the soup thick, you can cook it until the the squash and potatoes are soft, at least 20 minutes.

About 20 minutes before serving (about 10 minutes on the stove top), stir in the lime juice and cilantro; taste test (editor's note: I skipped this part, and it was fine, but probably tastes better with a little lime juice and cilantro topping. If you don't have time for this step, leave it out as optional). Add a dab of sweetener, if needed, to balance the spice. If you need a tad more liquid, add more broth. Heat through. Serve with warm gluten-free tortillas, blue corn muffins or yeasted cornbread. Serves 4.

Playback

When I got home yesterday, it was there. I waited over a month for it, the recording from The Reading. I was anxious when I started listening to it. My heart was pounding. As I listened, I heard a lot of details that I hadn't remembered. The details were important. I'm glad I got the recording. Now, I'm transcribing the whole reading.

I'm feeling a lot better about our scheduled FET. I'm feeling more clear about where our sp*rit baby is coming from. I'm feeling a lot more confident. I need to go into it feeling confident. That's what our sp*rit baby needs.

You would think this would make me less of a basket case about the whole thing. Sadly, I melted down into a woe-is-me-everyone-else-is-having-their-babies tonight. I'm still anxious and sad about the whole thing.

I talked with Michael about the kind of car I'm shopping for. "If we have a kid, we are going to need more room because we will be shleping around a lot more stuff."

"And I'm going to need a bigger car, because she's coming."

S&T: Spare a Comment?

Apparently, I missed delurking day, whenever that was. But then there was National Delurking Week, the second week of January. Oh, I missed that too. But I had fun trying to figure out when it was and looking at all the captions created for it. I'm officially extending National Delurking Day/Week to today, tomorrow, yesterday, the week after, whenever!! Do I hear a National Delurking Month for us procrastinators out there? You haven't missed your chance, if you still want to. Everybody's doing it, you know.

But seriously, I'd love to know who my readers are. We're having a party here at ToP and you're all invited!

Please don't be shy. Vote for your favorite delurking decal and say hi!


























Who else is exposing themselves at Mel's Show & Tell?