The Good Life Despite a Tooth Extraction

Physically, all of Flagstaff seems to be falling victim to horrible set of flu-like symptoms, primarily chest and head congestion, with active symptoms that drag on for at least two weeks and require antibiotics, followed by many additional weeks of intense fatigue. The Planner-Guy was hit hard this past week with coughing fits that lead him to sleep in the old, faithful Lazy Boy that I regulated to his Man Cave.


Although flu-free, my on-going tooth ache ultimately turned into a total dental odyssey, propelling me to the dentist, to the endodonist, and then to the oral surgeon. Perhaps a root canal but I actually stood a chance of just loosing the back molar, which was deeply cracked. To make a long story short, having a tooth pulled could require pharmacological interventions more mind-altering than those adequate for a root canal. Even, if the oral surgeon does not suggest going under anesthesia, DEMAND it. If secret agent Jack Bauer threatens to pull teeth in order to secure the cooperation of Legislative Aides gone bad, then you can be sure that having a tooth extracted could reasonably be classified as torture. My husband will tell you, the procedure involves screaming, even when the patient popped a happy pill, accepted nitrixoxyde, and was shot up with plenty of novocaine. My oral surgeon, having no interest in extracting municipal secrets from this Executive Assistant rescheduled my tooth extraction to the next day, when at that point the procedure was seemingly over in seconds once an IV was inserted in my vein.



Three days later, I have a chipmunk cheek and am eating soft food. Luckily, part of our new "slow" lifestyle is cooking at home. With my aching jaw and my husband's unrelenting cough, we needed comfort food. Coincidentally, the April issue of Cooking Light arrived in our mailbox Friday, the very day of my tooth extraction. Hurray! On page 154 I found just the dinner for Saturday night - soft and easy to chew for me, a symphony of flavor for Bob. Planner-Guy (aka Chef Bob) has a hard time letting go in the kitchen and just giving me my space in the kitchen so the fact that he was too ill to seriously interfere meant the timing couldn't be better.

I am happy to report, the results could not have been more satisfying. The crust is made from a mixture of brown rice, egg, pesto, and parmesan cheese. The filling is mostly egg substitute, skim milk, prosciutto ham, plum tomatoes, a dash of crushed red pepper, mozzarella, and fresh basil. If you like quiche, this is a wonderful alternative.

Despite my aching jaw, thanks to the power of Advil and some good weather, I road the Expedition in to work three days last week (twice peddling up to the dentist and the endodontist for mid-day appointments) During the day, I managed to capture a few shots of people and their bikes in downtown Flagstaff. As you can see, the look is very casual, very mountain-chic, characterized by chunky knit hats, heavy boots for foul weather, and Teva sandals. Though comfortable, I am not a big fan of Teva sandals, unless of course I need to traverse a creek or shallow river (which I have not done in some years), I do own Teva water and casual shoes and find them to be very mountain-chic.