Damn this nice weather!!! (Plus French Dip Sandwiches)

No.  Not really!!!  I freaking LOVE it!  But it is totally cutting down on my Kitchen-Witchery/Creativity/Indoor-Chores/Ceramic Artistry!!!

Yeah, I picked a boatload of green tomatoes, and still have a handful of "colored" nearly-usable tomatoes...  My PLAN was to make a soup from the roasted colored tomatoes (plus carrots, plus onions, plus garlic, plus a big ol' honkin' fennel-root I got from the farm-share).  But - truth be told - as long as it's Sunny and Nice outside - to HELL with the kitchen, right?!!

I also have a FULL basket of greenie 'maters which are destined to become Farm-Girl's Green Tomato Relish at some point (unless they manage to ripen, in the meantime!).  Oh, crap!  I just realized that I don't have any fresh cilantro so...  Must go back to the store :::sigh:::

Then I ALSO wanted to make a fresh, home-grown apple pie.  But the apples will be fine for another week or so.  Annnnd...  I'm still contemplating Cranberry Apple Chutney...  Again, the core-ingredients will keep!

I've got a metric ton o' laundry piled up in the garage (Ooooops!), and - as long as it's sunny/warm out - I have ZERO motivation to do anything about it!  In fact, I even left the clean dishes in the dishwasher LONG ENOUGH for Hubs to feel compelled to empty it ("Thanks, Darling!!!").

Ditto the "Works in Progress" in the Tiki Shack/Ceramic Studio!

Yep.  The place is completely going to hell in a handbasket - and I don't freaking care!  Temps outside are in the mid-80's -- IN NOVEMBER?!!  Damn Skippy I'm gonna sit my butt outside at the Tiki Bar!!! (I even let WORK fall to the wayside today.  BAD, BAD QT!!!)

Well, the weather prognosticators are calling for a "Cooling Trend" starting tomorrow (including something called  ...  Starts with an 'R' I think ...  "Rah-een?!").  They're calling for "rain" starting tomorrow afternoon ("NNNNOOOOOO!!!!!").  Honestly, given how ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS today is, it is damned difficult to believe that tomorrow is gonna be Suck-Tastic!  So I am embracing my Inner Cleopatra and sticking with my beloved State of De-Nile!

I fully intend to soak-up EVERY AVAILABLE MINUTE of Nice Weather, dammit!!!  Because the Dark, Dreary Days of Winter will be upon us in NO TIME!!! (Let the whining commence, right?!!).

So, today's nod to Domesticity DID include a Crock-Pot French-Dip Sandwich Recipe.  I started with this recipe and wandered off-path (Really?!!).

QT's Crock-Pot French Dip Sandwiches
Yields - appx 6-8 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb Sirloin Roast
• 1 medium-to-large fresh onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 @ ~10 oz can of Beef Broth
• 1 @ ~10 oz can of French Onion Soup (condensed - do not add more water)
• 1 @ 12oz. can or bottle of beer (I used Gordon Biersch Märzen)
• 1 envelope Swanson Beef Flavor Boost
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Generous sprinkling of Prime Rib Seasoning (I used this - you can use whatever you like)
• 6-8 sourdough rolls + butter

Instructions

1. Cut off any excess fat, if your roast is at all fatty (mine wasn't).
2. You may, or may not, choose to marinade your meat before cooking (I chose not to.  Had I chosen to marinade it, I would have used McCormick/Grill-Mates Montreal Steak Marinade).
3. Thinly slice an onion, and place it in the bottom of your crock pot (mine is a 5 qt "oblong" model).
4. Coarsely chop two cloves of garlic and place on top of the onion slices
5. Coat the roast with a light sprinkling of Prime Rib Seasoning (or skip the seasoning, if you chose to marinade instead).  Place the roast on top of the onions/garlic
6. Pour in two cans of soup:  Beef Broth and French Onion
7. Top it off with 1 can or bottle of beer.
8. Add thyme and bay leaf.
9. Cook on "low" for 7-8 hours.
10. Remove the roast and confirm done-ness
11. Remove the broth mixture.  If the onions/garlic haven't completely dissolved, you might want to hit it with an immersion blender to make a smooth au jus.  
12. If it seems too salty, add some sweetener (Splenda or sugar)

Sandwich Prep:

1. You can either pre-heat your oven to 350* or just use a toaster-oven (I went for the toaster oven!).
2. Butter your sourdough rolls and toast them in the oven for 10 minutes (or Toaster Oven for however long!).
3. Ladle a scoopful of au jus to one half of the sourdough roll...
4. Thinly slice the beef and pile it onto the roll
5. Serve warm with a bowl-full of au jus for dipping
6. ENJOY!!!

If I end up with anything photo-worthy, I'll update this post later (Right now, the roast is still in the crock-pot and none-too attractive!).

Okay, here's a photo-worthy pic of dinner:

Confirmed: "Yummm!!!"

In Other News:

I went to see the dermatologist today and - no surprise - she attributes my "Huge Improvement" to the Humira.  I certainly couldn't DENY that there has been a huge improvement - since my last visit.  I have actually been GLOVE-FREE for three days now.  And I am up to day #81 of being able to WALK.  I'll definitely "Take it!"

But...  What I find "interesting" is the fact that I have been on Humira since Sept 13, with no real "dramatic" improvements.  However, since I started my topical ointments - with Medical Cannabis - I actually did SEE a dramatic improvement - in a matter of DAYS!  Seriously!!!

Yes, it absolutely COULD be "coincidental" and yes, the Humira MAY HAVE decided to "kick-in" at the same time, right?!  

So...  I did do the "full disclosure" thing to the doc and admitted that I had decided to try "Cannabis Alternatives" to her treatment regimen.  Surprisingly, she did not go off the deep-end with that revelation, but (not so surprisingly) she DID choose to believe that it was the Humira "doing the job" and, in fact, she went on to suggest that I give Humira AT LEAST three months - preferably SIX months - before I consider stopping it.

Additional Food For Thought:  Evidently, if you choose to "stop Humira" and then re-start it later, you *might* not achieve the same results...  Hmmmm....

So, when I suggested that I wanted to experiment further with this, she didn't disagree - but she definitely voted AGAINST stopping the Humira.  If anything, maybe I should try continuing my Cannabis Regimen on ONE SIDE of my body, and stick with "traditional treatments" (Steroid Creams) on the other side...

That seems reasonable enough, I suppose...

The part that killed me was when she suggested that, maybe, the Cannabis treatment was giving me a "Placebo Effect."  Uhhhmmm, NO!  If I were gonna achieve a "Placebo Effect" on anything, it would've been my own home-made lotions, thankyouverymuch!!!  I have (ALMOST) no doubt that the cannabis IS helping.  And I absolutely DO intend to continue "experimenting" with it.  In fact, I think I'll brew up another batch of home-made hard-lotion(s) using hash-oil (or, ideally, CBD oil - if I can find it!).  I do NOT get "high" from topical medications.  And - even the small qty of "Indica" I use, nightly - for sleep, does NOT get me "high."  It just knocks me out (and STOPS the friggin' itching!!!).

No.  I don't think that the recent improvements with my skin-condition are related to "Placebo Effect" - I absolutely DO think that there is "something" to this cannabis-as-a-valid-medical-treatment idea!