22 February 2024
Yesterday started out badly. Fatigue, low energy, foot drop. I wasn’t expecting that. Usually the day after a Herceptin infusion I’m pretty stoked.
Last night was movie night with Chris and at first, I texted and canceled. She was completely understanding. Then, around 5 pm I got a second wind and asked if she and Tucker still wanted to come over. She did and they arrived around 6:30. It was her time to pick and she chose the Ryan Reynolds film definitely, maybe. This was released in 2008 and is a really nice romcom movie.
In addition to Reynolds, it also has Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Beslin, and Kevin Kline. The premise is Reynolds is trying to explain to his daughter the divorce from her mother by way of his past romantic relationships. Abigail Beslin also stars in a 2007 romcom called No Reservations with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. She’s adorable in both movies.
Today, I feel a little better, to the point that I could do my full set of physical therapy exercises assigned to do at home. I even added a couple of my yoga stretches to boot. That’s gonna be my sum total of exercise today. I don’t won’t to push it. I probably should walk but I still am experiencing a little more foot drop today than I like.
I’m still wearing those damn compression socks and as bad as I hate to admit it, I think they may be helping – at least in combination with the Gabapentin. My feet and hands don’t burn all day like before. Just before it’s time to take the Gabapentin, they start but otherwise, it’s mostly numbness. I hope this is a sign that the neuropathy is going away.
Tonight, I’m trying another Whole Foods recipe, Yucatan-Style Braised Pork. You take a 3 lb pork butt and cut it off the bone into cubes and brown that. Eventually, you add onions (white) and brown them and dress it up with vinegar, orange juice, and lime (basically a mojito sauce). The recipe is below. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Stay tuned!
Yucatan-Style Braised Pork
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds pork butt, trimmed and cut into small chunks
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ medium white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cups orange juice
Juice of 2 limes
½ cup white wine vinegar, divided
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced into rings
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Step 1 Season pork with salt and pepper; set aside.
- Step 2 Heat oil in a large pot over high heat.
- Step 3 Add pork in batches so as not to crowd the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.
- Step 4 Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork to a large plate as done.
- Step 5 Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.
- Step 6 Reduce heat to medium low and add white onions.
- Step 7 Cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes.
- Step 8 Add garlic and bay leaves and continue stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Step 9 Return pork to pot and add orange juice, lime juice and 1/4 cup of the vinegar.
- Step 10 Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 11 Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until pork is very tender and can be easily pulled into shreds.
- Step 12 Meanwhile, separate red onion slices into rings in a large bowl and season with salt.
- Step 13 Let stand for about 10 minutes, then toss with remaining 1/4 cup vinegar and oregano.
- Step 14 Set aside for another 30 minutes.
- Step 15 Discard bay leaves, then serve warm pork with pickled onions.
