A Great Cookbook and a Trip

Yesterday a cookbook I ordered arrived. It's called The Fighting-CancerKitchen. It's the one I've been looking for! Many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks rely heavily on soy products for protein. I can't eat soy because my cancer is estrogen reactive, plus soybeans are a GMO crop. I am not interested in meat substitutes, I just want veggies, fruits, grains, beans, no processed sugar...this one is perfect. Maybe because it does have recipes with chicken and fish it doesn't rely on soy. Any recipe that uses sugar calls for blue agave syrup. I'm going to be using this one a lot. I don't know why everyone doesn't use one of the many alternatives to sugar there are out there. Yesterday at the Wellness Kitchen I asked Nancy what she uses for sugar and she showed me palm sugar, made from coconut. It's grainy like sugar and tastes like brown sugar - delicious. There are several sugar alternatives that are natural, unprocessed, and some, like stevia, are calorie free. We all know that the chemical sugar substitutes like aspartame are cancer causing. Why do they exist? Why does New Frontiers use processed, white sugar instead of a healthy alternative? Robin commented on yesterday's post that she has a vegan cake recipe. Send it to me, Robin!! Ellalina commented that Natural Harvest in Templeton has vegan cake mixes. I love that.

Sydney's spring break starts next week and she has two weeks off. She's had a difficult couple of years and she has spent every free weekend she could manage with me since September. I've been housebound for close to seven months, with the exception of the one night in Ventura. So, we are going to go to San Francisco together for a few days. I discovered last night, when insomnia was plaguing me until 2 am, that with the economy in a shambles there are lots of hotel deals. We are going to eat at vegan restaurants, go to museums, go to a Giant's game with Dani (Sydney's sister) and her family and sit in their private box! Cool. I should probably not be traveling between rounds of chemo, but I am getting cabin fever. This idea came to me when my friend Carla posted a picture of the view out of her hotel room in SF last week, and it was a gorgeous, sunny morning. I love the City. When you're from north of it, it's never San Francisco, it's simply "The City." Sydney and I have been lots of places together - Paris, Madrid - but we've never had a vacation in the City before. It wasn't insomnia last night, it was excitement. The flirts wanted Casey and I to take a vacation with some of the carnival proceeds. Well, I invited Casey but he declined. The two of us will go somewhere this summer, but for now Sydney and I need a getaway.

Carla and Susan, my friends from Eureka, want to meet in San Francisco when I'm finished with treatment. The plan is to meet at the Top of the Mark. This is still on, girls!! We'll plan when I know when I'm finished.

Delicious, yummy yoga with Cathy later this morning. Taking Bella to the vet about the weird looking growth on her back paw. Our vet is Dr. Sharon Klintworth, and she's wonderful. All of my dogs have loved her. She's another busy doctor who took the time to send me a personal note. I am just so impressed by people and their kindness.

This is me and my wonderful nurse Catherine,a day or two after my surgery in September. Catherine was my favorite of the nurses, who were all angels:

Namaste,

Jill