De Niro vs. The Common Cold

I fight colds like Jake La Motta – one-two, boom!  Zicam and echinacea at the slightest sniffle.  Usually I hit the bug hard and fast and put it down before it can land even a glancing blow.  But this week I was too slow: I was flat on my back before I even saw it coming.

Unfortunately for me (in this case), I live in Oregon, where we haven’t been able to get effective cold medicine without a prescription since 2005.

In 2005, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed legislation that made Oregon the first state to require prescriptions for cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, one of the key ingredients used to make methamphetamine.   The state had previously required buyers to show ID and sign a log when buying cold medicine like Sudafed and Claritin D. The intent of the law was to reduce the number of home methamphetamine laboratories.  (Wikipedia – “Controlled substances in Oregon”)

I have been nurtured my whole life in the liberal bosom of Oregon’s green valley; my tie-dye collection is as good as the next girl’s, so I understand that we sometimes have to pass laws to protect the greater good.   But a prescription?  For decongestants?  This is, to quote The Angry Pharmacist, “so f***ing outrageous and stupid it makes my head spin.”

So last night, deep in a thick mucus-fog, I wrote a little venting note on my Facebook status…

Dear Oregon – Do you really think I could make meth with one fricking package of *real* Sudafed? Would it really upset the grand plan of the universe if you let me have some cold medicine that actually worked? This fake stuff just makes my face hurt more because it knows it should feel better, but it doesn’t… because, once again, your fake Sudafed sucks.

Sincerely, Renee (Native Oregonian & cold sufferer)

P.S.  Also, I would not blow my hand off with a fire-cracker, even though you think I would. And Washington thinks I can pump gas just fine.

And a lot of people seemed to agree with me.

But then I started wondering, just how much Sudafed does it take to make meth anyway?  Well, it turns out (if we are to put stock in the meth-making know-how of “Jimmy L” on Yahoo Answers) – not much.  You can make about 12 doses of meth (and no, I have no idea how much that is) with a pack of Sudafed.  Which surprised me.  Enough for one person for about a week (says Jimmy).  And statistics don’t lie – crime definitely goes down when pseudoephedrine is more difficult to obtain.  But a prescription?  Come on!!

Especially when right across the river in Washington, I can get me some bona fide pseudoephedrine in the form of those dependable little red Sudafed pills anytime I want to.  I mean, yeah, I still have to jump through hoops:  go to the shelves, take one of the nifty little Suda-slips, give it to the pharmacist.  Then present my ID and sign the Sudafed Registry before I can pay.  But I can live with that.  I’ll even support that if it takes a bite out of crime.

But a doctor’s prescription?  Really, Oregon?  In a state that is all about providing reasonable and affordable health care for all.  Should it really require roughly the same amount of effort to obtain a freaking cold decongestant as it does to get medical marijuana? Really?  So you want me to go lay down my $30 co-pay (and thank you very much, I do have health insurance or it would be more) so that my doctor can tell me I have a cold and give me a prescription?  Ladies, remember when you used to have to go to the doctor for you-know-what to clear up you-know-where?  Like you didn’t know you had it before the doctor told you.  Are you kidding me?

Oh for Pete’s sakes, you say.  Just get over it and call the doctor – he’ll probably hook you up over the phone, you say.  Hmmm.  Maybe.  But what about people who don’t have a regular primary care physician?  What about people whose primary care physician recently died?  (Me.)  So all of a sudden, the out-of-pocket for what should be an OTC medication is $35 or $40 bucks minimum, plus time spent.  I smell conspiracy.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s time to pull off the gloves, Oregon, and take back a few of our rights.  In the meantime, I’ll just sit here in the gas line with my stuffy nose, waving an unlit sparkler in the rain.

 Forty-one states have laws requiring pharmacies to sell pseudoephedrine “behind the counter” and to collect personal information from purchasers.  Only Oregon and Mississippi require a prescription for the purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine.

Vegan MoFo: TASTE ORANGE ~ Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is a really versatile main dish that cooks up in about 45 minutes.  You can change up the veggies, the starch (couscous or quinoa anyone?), the seasonings…just about everything really.  And no matter what you choose to do, when all is said and done, the sweet, creamy flavor of the acorn squash will hold the whole thing together and people will think you spent hours creating something delicious and lovely.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 medium acorn squash
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter substitute
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 links vegan sausage (This time I used Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage), chopped fine
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup orzo, uncooked
1/3 cup white rice, uncooked
2 cups vegetable stock
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 small zucchini, shredded

1. Cut squash in half stem to end.  Clean out cavity.  Melt Earth Balance in microwave.  Stir in brown sugar and brush both halves of squash all over with butter & brown sugar.

2. Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Line baking dish or pan with parchment. Put squash cut side down on parchment and bake squash for about 40 minutes, or until very tender.  Prepare filling while squash cooks.

3. Saute onion and sausage in olive oil until onion is soft and beginning to brown.  Add rice and orzo and stir until orzo begins to turn golden.  Add water or stock, cover and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium-low heat until rice is cooked through (about 20 minutes.)  Remove from heat.

4. Stir in grated carrot and zucchini.  Season to taste. (I just throw in whatever sounds good at the time; parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme… whatever.  Maybe even a teaspoon of brown sugar, which my kids know as “the secret ingredient in everything.”)  Let everything set for a few minutes to allow grated vegetables to steam and flavors to mix.

5. Remove squash from oven.  Turn cut side up, and spoon stuffing into cavities.  You will probably have a little extra stuffing – that’s OK.

Servings: 4

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:  Calories 346, Fat 13g, Carbohydrates 41g, Fiber 5g, Protein 17g

Vegan MoFo: TASTE ORANGE ~ Butternut Ravioli Bliss

I’ve been a bad MoFo-er  this week – the last few days have been a complete bust, blog-wise.  So to make up for my lack of dedication, I decided to create something really special for today’s post, and to do so, I enlisted the help of some of my favorite sous-chef’s – one  daughter, two nieces, and my favorite sister.  We don’t have a pasta maker between us, so this was definitely a labor of love (and brute strength – thanks Mikaela!)  In the end, we produced a pretty magnificent offering that was well worth the effort… a little something I’m going to call Butternut Ravioli Bliss.

Butternut Ravioli
with Sage, Squash & Pine Nut Pasta Sauce

Butternut Ravioli Filling
1 cup roasted butternut squash
2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter substitute
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup ground cashews

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.    Slice squash in half horizontally and scrape out all the seeds.   Place one of the halves cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for about an hour, or until very tender.  Scrape flesh away from skin.  You will use the other uncooked half of the squash for the sauce.

Melt Earth Balance over medium heat in a large saucepan.  Add nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, salt and ground cashews.  Stir in 1 cup of cooked butternut squash.  (Only use 1 cup!  Reserve the remaining part of this half of the squash for the sauce.)  Stir and mash until the mixture is about the consistency of good mashed potatoes.  Turn off heat and set aside.

Sage Pasta Dough
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
About 3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sift together flours and salt.  Sprinkle in chopped sage.  Add oil and just enough water to make it all hold together.  Tip the dough on to a work surface and knead about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes. (Resting is important!)

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface.  Divide into two portions, and roll the first on into a very thin sheet with a rolling pin or pasta maker.  Put filling onto the sheet by the teaspoonful, leaving enough room between to cut and seal ravioli later – don’t cut this sheet at this time!

Roll the portion of dough into an equally thin sheet, and cut out ravioli pieces with the ravioli cutter or knife.

With your finger, wet the spaces around each dollop of filling, and press and seal the ravioli top onto it the bottom.  Cut out ravioli with knife or ravioli cutter.

Place ravioli on parchment paper to prevent sticking.  At this point, ravioli can be cooked for eating, or frozen for later.  (Right, like that’s going to happen!)

Ravioli Notes:  I have a ravioli cutter/sealer which makes this job much easier; they come in square and round varieties, and are only about $4 at your local specialty kitchen doo-dad store.  (OR you can just click on the picture to the left and buy it at my Amazon store.)  You can also get a ravioli tray, but they are much more expensive, and unless you make ravioli all the time, not necessary.

Also if you can, try to always use freshly grated nutmeg.  A nutmeg grater is uber-inexpensive, and so worth the investment!  While whole nutmegs are available just about anywhere, I buy them very cheaply in bulk at the local Indian grocery – in the nut, they last a very long time, and the contrast between freshly grated nutmeg and the stuff that is sitting in your cupboard is amazing.  Once you go fresh, you’ll never go back.

If you are cooking the ravioli the same night you make them, let them rest while you bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Gently drop ravioli into boiling water and cook about 3-4 minutes.  Remove and carefully drain.  Serve with something awesome… like this:

Butternut, Sage & Pine Nut Pasta Sauce
½ medium butternut squash
½ large sweet onion, sliced thin from end to end
One head garlic
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves
¼ cup Chardonnay (or any slightly sweet white wine, or white grape juice)
2/3 cup light coconut milk
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat the oven to 375°.  Peel the remaining half of the squash and cut into ¾ inch cubes.  Toss with sliced onion and chopped sage.  Slice 2 cloves of garlic very thin and toss in, drizzle on a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.   Cut about 1/2″ off of the top off the rest of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the remaining cloves and put cut side up in a corner of a roasting pan or large baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.   Spread the cut-up squash mixture in a thin layer on the same roasting pan and roast everything for about 40 minutes or until the squash is tender.

(Need a little more advice on peeling and cubing that darn hard-as-a-rock butternut squash?  Make Your Own Fun has a few tips that will help make the process just a little easier!)

In a blender or some such device, pour in coconut milk and add cooked butternut squash leftover from the half the was used to make the filling – you only used a cup of it for the filling, right?  Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the blender and blend until smooth.

Roasted Garlic Notes:  Just hold the whole head at the bottom and squeeze, and the roasted garlic will pop out like toothpaste.  You can add a little at a time if you are afraid of that much garlic, but roasting dramatically subdues the garlicky bite, and enhances the sweet qualities.  If you have never cooked with roasted garlic, you are in for a treat.  Also, if the garlic doesn’t squeeze out easily, it needs to roast longer.

Heat a heavy skillet on medium and briefly sauté roasted veggies in a little olive oil.  Add wine or juice and reduce, and then stir in the blended squash mixture.  Heat through.

Toast the pine nuts in a small dry pan over medium heat, shaking every couple of minutes until they are browned to your taste.  Remove from heat and add most of them to the pasta sauce.  (Use the reserve for garnish.)

Plate ravioli and dress with sauce, sprinkle with pine nuts and a little chopped sage, and VIOLA!
~ You’ll be a freaking vegan genius, just like us!!!

Vegan MoFo: TASTE ORANGE ~ Warm & Wonderful Fall Veggies

Roasting root vegetables together creates a rich, savory-sweet medley for the senses that will wrap you up like grandma’s quilt on a cold autumn evening.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

This recipe reflects my current preferred mix, but you can change up the veggies to suit your tastes.  (A word of advice: don’t leave out the sweet potatoes.)   Once roasted, these veggies can be served as a side dish or a main entry, or used as an ingredient in a multitude of other dishes, from soups to pan-fries to my all-time favorite – veggie pot pie!!

** All veggies except onions & garlic should be peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 medium russet potatoes
1 very large or 2 medium sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups pie pumpkin  (1/4 of a 4 lb pumpkin)
1 large sweet onion, cut in half & sliced lengthwise
4 medium carrots
5 cloves garlic, sliced very thin
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable stock or broth

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Spray a 17 x 11-inch pan with the cooking spray.  (I use a large glass roasting pan.)

2. Toss all ingredients with oil in the prepared pan. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes. Pour the soup stock or broth over the vegetables and stir.

3. Roast for 30 minutes more or until the vegetables are fork-tender.

Servings: 8

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:  Calories 100, Fat 4g, Carbohydrates 14g, Fiber 2g, Protein 2.5g