Eric Cartman Suffering From Quantum Jitters. Classic.

I have started numerous blog posts, only to abandon them due to time constraints, lack of anything really pithy to say, or just out of a fit of pique. Isn't it fun to have a fit of pique? The next time you don't want to do dishes, have a fit of pique and leave them alone. Come back when you're ready to get sudsy. And then tell me what your fit of pique involved. I think it should involve throwing something -- in a non-injurious fashion, of course.

Speaking of fun things to say (like "fit of pique"), today's word is "infarction," as in: Husband and I and some doctors thought he might have appendicitis, but it turned out he only had an infarction of a piece of the fatty apron that surrounds the transverse section of the colon. An infarction is when some part of you lacks blood supply and dies, and in this case, a piece of that fat got twisted, which cut off its blood supply, and then died. Fortunately, while it has caused him some pain and happened to be located just by the appendix, it isn't something that requires surgery. Dodged that bullet!

Hey, if Husband can truly say that a piece of him has died inside, does that mean he's now qualified to write country music?

Though we spent some long, late hours at the ER on a Saturday night, we were highly entertained by the Irish medic. He instantly picked up on Husband's accent, and then spent a lot of time cheerfully abusing the Welsh while Husband just as cheerfully abused the Irish. They both abused the Scottish, of course, but I don't recall any abuse of the English. The English just don't have enough obvious quirks to be abused, I imagine. Or, at least, Husband and Irish Doctor simply didn't have time to get that far. Another endearing quality of Irish Doctor's was that he was amazed we had six kids and that they were all mine. Amazed! And he took a poll of all the other medics and doctors hanging around (who all happened to be 20- or 30-something males, and who all wandered in at various points to poke and prod Husband's abdomen) and came and told us they all agreed that Husband looks too young and I look to good to have had six kids. Awww, bless!! May the wind always be at his back, and may the sun shine on his shoulders wherever he travels in life.

Between PTA volunteer assignments, working, putting up the kitchen back splash, and carting children from one activity to another, I managed to invent a recipe. Well, I took one recipe I know for hot chocolate and made it different, I should say. Husband came home with some Stephen's Gourmet drink powder -- you know, the company that makes all those delicious hot chocolate mixes? A colleague of his was drinking a spiced pumpkin-coconut flavor they have out now, and Husband mentioned that I would love something like that. I believe coconut milk is a pantry staple, and I love to try exotic, non-alcoholic drinks. His colleague gave him some of the mix to bring home so I could taste it, and it was pretty good. There should have been more coconut, and the spices were a little pumpkin pie-like, but it was very creamy and warming.

I decided to make my own version. It's definitely interesting and tastes nothing like the Stephen's mix. I quite like it, but I can't think of anything to compare it to. You'll just have to try it and see if you like it. I dumped stuff in, so I'll have to approximate measurements. Play with ingredients that you like. You could go more with a more traditional pumpkin spice mixture, such as nutmeg and cinnamon, of course.

Pumpkin Coconut Kick

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (NOT coconut cream!)
1/2 can sweetened, condensed milk
3 cups regular milk
1/2 to 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (cardamom is pricey, but a little goes a long way)
1 teaspoon ginger
a dash of cayenne pepper

Mix coconut milk; sweetened, condensed milk; and regular milk in a heavy saucepan. [At this point, you could change your mind and just add 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder if you want the most delicious hot chocolate you've ever tasted] Whisk in pureed pumpkin. Combine cardamom, ginger, and cayenne in a small bowl and add a little of the milk/pumpkin mixture, mixing until smooth. Add spices to the milk mixture. Heat until just simmering, or whatever temperature you like a hot drink to be. Ladle it into mugs. I didn't try this, but a dollop of not-too-sweet whipped cream would go very nicely on top. Now, enjoy the kick in the back of your throat, and if you have a cold, this will probably help cure it.

If that drink isn't your style and you now have a bottle of cardamom you don't know what to do with, try this:

Lassi

One soda-size can fruit nectar in your choice of flavor (Kern's does a good fruit nectar)
Plain yogurt
a little sugar, to taste
1/8 tsp cardamom

Take a tall glass and fill it 1/3 full with plain yogurt. Add in as much nectar as will fit. Add the cardamom and whisk the mixture thoroughly. Add more yogurt if you like it thick, or more nectar if you like it thin. Taste and add sugar if you like it a little sweeter.

My brother made this for a group of his friends one night, and he just made pitchers of the stuff rather than individual glasses. He bought the large cans of apricot nectar, and I gave him some of my cardamom so he didn't have to splurge on an entire bottle he will never in his life use up.

....
In self-education news, I finished my bout of fiction reading (with a great deal of enjoyment) and decided to devour some non-fiction this time around. I picked up two books: Everyone Loves You When You're Dead, by Neil Strauss; and The Hidden Reality, by Brian Greene. The Strauss book is a series of portions of interviews of various musical and acting celebrities that Strauss performed and did not publish during his years as a writer for various publications. It's fascinating. There are lots of bad words (celebrities can be so foul-mouthed!), but the insights into people who have come into fame (or not come into as much fame as they think they should) are very interesting.

Greene's book is equally as fascinating in an entirely different way. It deals with quantum mechanics and cosmology in explaining the existence of parallel universes. And dang if he doesn't explain it in such a way that I can understand it! After that beautiful a-ha! moment when the first few chapters all fell into place in my head, I was able to explain it to Husband and Sian in such a way that they could understand it, as well. Greene even uses Eric Cartman from South Park (which I do not watch, but fortunately still understood the reference) as an example. Millions and millions of round Cartmans sitting on top of mountains, either affected or unaffected by quantum jitters. It's a giggle moment. I'm still working my way through the book, but mathematically, I now believe in the possibility of infinite parallel universes.

I have to grout the back splash in the kitchen, but when I do, you'll get pictures. I'm pretty proud of myself.