Winners. Ebola (no). Giveaway. Staph. (maybe). Pumpkin (no latte)

So.  This is what happens when you go to Urgent Care in these times.

“Huh.  Yeah.  Could be an allergic reaction/contact dermatitis.  Could be staph.  They (the ick on my back & neck) kinda look similar.”   Well alrighty then!

So.  A topical antibiotic (because I am NOT going to rip up my bio on a ‘maybe’)

Staph.  Yeah.  Wow.  Do you know how many different types of staph there are?  Some (like this one may be) are largely benign.  Some are lethal.  This one isn’t.  Luckily it’s not Ebola, which is pretty much a 1 size will KILL you thing ( I was reading about Ebola (because of the Nollywood film “93 Days” – oddly lax safety protocols – apparently Ebola is not airborne but….I dunno… what if it changes its mind???) – apparently 2 in 10 survive.  No cure – just a crapshoot in the Universe.

So I’m glad it’s not Ebola.

But it’s still kinda itchy & hurty (though it’s healing up – AGAIN (this comes and goes in waves).  But NO spraying perfume anywhere near anything related to me cuz OW!  So I’ve got nothing.  But!  I will shortly – I’ve got a ton of new releases sitting here, just waiting for me to review and share samples in giveaways, so WATCH THIS SPACE!

In the meantime, I have a couple of winners!

Nailed It:  Taxi

The Quiet Ones:  Kathy Larson

gmail your evilauntieanita(AT) with your deets – I’ll get some fun stuff out to you pdq (I’m feeling very smug about my ability to actually get stuff out, so !  let’s strike while the iron is, shall we? ?

Also.  Thanks to Netflix’s The Final Table, I’ve been introduced to chef Amninder Sandhu, who introduced me to the idea of pumpkin as a savory, beyond soup.  I’ve not been a fan of squash-ish veg, mostly because 80% of the recipes and dishes I’ve been exposed to trend sweet – and I do not like sweet veg (and pumpkin in pie or cake, etc, give me the flux) ?. Chef Sandhu, in a flash, changed all that.  She had an hour to prepare a dish for Chef Grant Achatz using pumpkin  – she chose her mother’s recipe for Khatta Meetha Kaddu (sweet & sour pumpkin) – and it looked as if the emphasis was on the sour.  I tried it using both green & orange pumpkin (green was frozen (with the fabulous peel), blessed be, because Lemmetellyou:  cutting up orange pumpkin (commercial food type, not decorative) is …….. jeebus!  Takes forever!  I have decent knife skills but this pumpkin fought me like a velociraptor!!!  Anyhoo, it’s a curry-ish dish (it uses turmeric) and I think I would amp up the heat a bit (I only used 2 Serranos) – but omg!  SO good!  I bloomed the spices and took The Girl for a walk before I added the rest of the ingredients – and you could smell the gorgeousness a half-block away!

This is not Chef Sandhu’s mother’s recipe but it’s the one I used.  Minus the hing, as it’s an acquired taste and one I’ve yet to acquire.  I used both amchoor and tamarind, to great success, though.  I’ll be making this again!

SO good!

Btw:  She Wuz Robbed.  Just sayin’

Y’all want to tell me a story?  About Pumpkin? Chefs? Staph?  Pick something.  The Girl just got her nails clipped so she’s ready to poke the hell out of randomDOTorg.  We’ll pick someone from the stories and send you fun stuff  – we love doing that!

my nails are FAB!!!

 

  • March says:

    WAAAAAAH it won’t let me reply!

  • Tara C says:

    Not a squash fan here, although I will eat pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream. As for doctors, it seems they know basically nothing nowadays. You have to use Google to figure it out yourself and tell them what medicine you need. I rarely bother any more.

    • Musette says:

      I’m not a squash fan, either, Tara C, which is why I so wanted to try this dish – I feel like I’ve been talking a good food game but really hadn’t moved out of my ‘stuff I like’ zone. I’m so glad I did – it’s still a bit of a sideways taste for me but I could see myself making – and eating – this again

      oh, the Medicos! we should just back sloooowly out of the room, lest we get a migraine.

      xoxoxo

  • Jennifer S says:

    Lol at the big girl lolling on the lawn. Cutie pie!
    Don’t ya hate when strange stuff decides to pay you a visit? I went through a ‘skin thing’ bout two years ago that cleared up sloooowly after treatments with a powerful drug. It may decide to pay me a visit again in the future….but God I hope not. That was brutal enough for me to deal with just the once. Hope you’re feeling better soon enough!
    Oh. I love pumpkin too but never actually made anything with one? I have a hard enough time just wrestling with squash!

  • rosarita says:

    I have a staph story although it’s just a sad experience. I had worst case scenario cystic acne in my teens and 20s and when I was 21, got a staph infection on my face – the side of my nose to be exact. I had moved 1200 miles away from home a few months before and was a waitress living in a tiny efficiency apartment with no phone yet and the only people I knew were the people I worked with. This Thing on my nose got monstrous and so painful; my boss sent me to his doctor who diagnosed staph, shot me full of penicillin and put me in quarantine for a week. Another waitress saved me, she would come by and check on me through the door and bring groceries. I still have a scar. See, I told you it was just sad! I did end up managing the restaurant and was a bridesmaid in the other waitress’s wedding. Hope your itchy and hurty stuff goes away soon, Ms A!

    • Musette says:

      are you kidding me? Nothing sad about that story (except for the resulting scar and I’ll bet it gives you character ;-). You had a new boss who gave a damb enough to send you to his doctor, a relative stranger who took the time to take care of your needs and make sure you weren’t dead on the other side of that door – and it sounds as if you made lifelong friends! WIN!

      xoxoxo

  • Dina C. says:

    I just bought a doggie nail clipper yesterday so we can clip our one-year-old pup’s nails. He’s got white nails, so I’m told it will be easy to see the quick and not hurt him. Right now he’s sliding around on the hardwood floors a bit. Owning a (first-time) dog has been a fun, adorable adventure.
    I’m wearing Arpege today since our weather has finally, finally decided to comply with the calendar and get cooler. Yay! It smells amazing.
    I hope your skin crud heals up quickly now that you’ve got the powerful skin cream.
    I’m not a fan of pumpkin, even in pies, though I do like pumpkin seeds. I always rescue them from the Jack-o-Lantern making and then roast them.

    • Musette says:

      lol, Dina. It takes the BIG clippers for TG – and it takes a steady hand and steadier nerves (one of the techs hit a quick and you’d thought we were slaughtering a goat in there – took 10 mins to stop the bleeding)

      You should try this recipe – I would’ve never voluntarily tried it, except for Chef Sandhu’s amazing-looking dish (and Chef Achatz loved the taste, complimenting her mother. I thought she was going to faint!). It’s an easy-peas recipe – once the spices are bloomed, just dump the pumpkin in, add a bit of water, put a top on it and 20 mins later you have FABULOUS! I just tweaked the seasoning and that was that!

      xoxoxo

  • Kathleen says:

    Your Girl is adorable, kiss her sweet face from me!
    I love all squash and pumpkin, and will be making this recipe. I also prefer savory over sweet. Thanks for sharing recipe.
    Best wishes for resolution of your skin issue soon!

    • Musette says:

      isn’t she, though? I think it’s stunning how such a stone killer can look so….. squishy-adorable!

      I think you will really love this recipe, Kathleen – I didn’t think I would (I thought it would be just okay because..pumpkin) but I really did. If you have access to the thin-skinned green pumpkin, get that! Makes a HUGE difference and makes you hate the pumpkin process a whole lot less 😉 xoxoxo

  • FoodTrails says:

    Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and linking here!! glad you liked it.. and yes Hing/asafeotida has an acquired taste, but we use it in very minute amount and it nullifies the gastric effect that pumpkin has on stomach/flatulence, which is good for people with digestive problems!!

    • Musette says:

      is this your recipe? If so, thank YOU! It’s amazing! I took it to a very conservative party, and was stunned at what a hit it was! I will try the asafeotida – to be honest, I didn’t try it because I don’t have any (which is weird, considering that I have nearly every other spice known to man)

      xoxoox

  • Portia says:

    PUMPKIN IS MY FAVOURITE!!
    Do you ever roast it in small cubes, drizzle it in olive oil and salt, let it cool and put it in a garden salad? OR serve it with baby beets? O M G! So freaking delicious.
    Portia xx