More on Pain, Doctors, Thanksgiving, Radio.

Talking about pain and doctors, Helen Venn commented on yesterday’s  blog about needing more research on the subject. She is very right and it reminded me that our family doctor commented to us one time that there were many family doctors who were really not happy being family physicians and would be much more at home doing research except that research doesn’t pay. What an indictment on our times. We need to pay researchers more for both medical and other kinds of research. Without them, nothing will advance. It seems sad that brilliant minds are being wasted because they have to go into the wrong fields in order to provide for their lives and families. There are, of course, pain specialists but when Matt went to see one he could do nothing for him because he was on a blood thinner. So you either suffer debilitating, chronic pain or give up blood thinners and have a stroke or heart attack or something. What a choice. Doing a little research I just found an article on pain which says 1 in 5 Canadians are living with chronic pain. It also describes pain as an ‘unpleasant’ experience, I’ve got news for them, it’s a damn site worse than unpleasant.

I am not too happy with the medical profession anyway at the moment. Last time I went to the family doctor the nurse sent off a sample to the labs to get a culture done. I then phoned 3 weeks later and another nurse phoned the lab and discovered that they couldn’t do the culture because the first nurse didn’t label the sample!!!!! Honestly, and its them taken all this time to find out. Then I queried the fact that I thought a doctor I had seen early in September had sent off a sample for a culture, oh yes, they said and they had had the results and had given me Macrobid (which I had had once and which proved useless). No-one had told me this had definitely happened nor that any results had been received. I have had several more antibiotics and I still have problems. I am booked for a cystoscopy in Dec. but I need an effective antibiotic between now and then, I hurt (see first paragraph). The nurse I was talking to spoke to the doc who was right there and between them and their own pharmacist they have come up with something and are faxing it to my pharmacist. An hour later I check, no fax, phone doctor again, oh no she is doing it now. Soon their office will close and with my luck there won’t have been a fax. Its enough to drive you to drink; now that’s a good idea. OK it came through. Sorry to be ranting about this but I was very miffed to say the least.

I received the MP3 of my most recent radio broadcast – I was giving the Hallowe’en recipe for the Broken Fingers. What a mess I made of that broadcast, I couldn’t even remember my blog address, duuuh.  I stumbled through the recipe and couldn’t find the time in the oven either. Lack of preparedness all round. I am ashamed of myself. Matt said I was bad, he was right. Will do better next time. All the others I have been much better and sounded pretty good I thought.

Wishing all American friends and readers a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. Don’t eat too much LOL.

For those of you celebrating tomorrow, here is an interesting side dish which its not too late to plan to serve.

Pear and Red Onion Gratin

Source: © EatingWell Magazine

8 servings

Bosc pears are strong-flavored and hold their shape when cooked, making them well suited for this savory side dish. It's a terrific accompaniment for a glazed ham or grilled sausage or most any roasted meat or poultry.
INGREDIENTS

1 large red onion

3 ripe Bosc pears

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (see Note)

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Ingredient Note: We like to use the Ian's brand of coarse dry breadcrumbs, labeled "Panko breadcrumbs." Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets.
To make your own breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. One slice makes about 1/3 cup. Spread the breadcrumbs onto a baking sheet and bake in a 250°F oven until dry and crispy, about 15 minutes.

DIRECTIONS

Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with water; add a handful of ice cubes. Cut onion into 16 wedges, place in a strainer and lower into the water. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Halve and core each pear; cut each half into 6 slices. Drain the onion wedges well and place them in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish along with the pear slices, 1 tablespoon oil, thyme, salt and a grinding of pepper; toss to combine. Cover with foil.

Roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a small bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; stir to combine. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the gratin, return to the oven and roast until the breadcrumbs are well browned, 20 to 30 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Have a great day