A Flood. Borscht. And Homemade Apple Pie?

It didn't seem fair. A pot of homemade borscht was simmering on the stove while the apple pie baked in the oven. My day seemed to be going pretty well, until it happened. ... Next to the kitchen, water-world, a flood of unknown origin and dimension, began to unleash its awesome power, a trail of destruction, into the adjacent room, making its way towards our Mr. Wiggles and Miss S, his sister. Would the fireplace be hit? My quick action helped to slow the river, in its track. Only then did I realize what a lousy day I was about to have.

There were lessons here, amongst the watery mess of that Sunday afternoon. I wasn't sure what this 'current event' was going to teach me. I would have to wait and see. We'd had a Mr. Wiggles medical emergency last week. Its resolution was still preying on my mind more than this newest twist on an old time favourite: a flooded room. One emergency at a time, please. At least our dinner time meal had been prepared, ahead of time. We waited for the help that was supposed to arrive, in a timely fashion or soon, whatever that meant. Ten hours later at 10:00 p.m. came the quick response to our earlier flood emergency. (We'd been playing phone tag with many companies whose 'return policies' were dismal.) ... Throughout the day, I removed as much water from the carpets as I could, then sat down to think, soon realizing, the carpet would have to go. ...


As hunger bore down on us, we began to eat the borscht with caraway rye bread/butter and its dinner-time companion, homemade apple pie. By the next day, I had lost two pounds, simply eating homemade nutrient dense soup and apple pie, festooned with lemon juice and organic sugar. (Not bad for a sluggish thyroid, I thought.) With osteoporosis and an underactive thyroid gland, I must keep active and watch what I eat to assuage these two chronic medical conditions. There was no sitting around, that day, with a flood in our midst! Since the water emergency was uppermost in my mind, it was gratifying that food had been prepared beforehand. I shudder to think what shortcuts I might have taken had the emergency arrived first. This latest event taught me two things. It is possible to lose weight when you least expect it and when you eat homemade food, weight loss can happen. ...


We ate when we were hungry and stopped when our bodies told us to stop. What a revolutionary thought!  Wholesome food made the difference. Minimally processed /mother nature's foods, in any combination that fits, in the correct carbohydrate concentration, will help us maintain good health and a healthy weight. Diets can be crazy and a waste of time, I learned again on that soggy warm Sunday. ... Eat good stuff and the other stuff will eventually go away. ...(And fat does not make you fat!) ... Diets are stark reminders of what we are not doing or ignoring. We must keep in mind that a flood of any sort can be just around the corner. So be prepared with homemade soup, wholesome bread with butter and any pie you want, as long as it is made in the kitchen. ... 


We have a world-wide obesity epidemic. We are becoming addicted to processed foods, in all guises, whose 'recipes' have been modified, many times, to cause us to eat, mindlessly, in untold quantities. We can't seem to shut off our hunger hormone. Our body is talking to us. We should be listening and acting accordingly. The type of calories we eat matter most, not the number of calories we eat. (When momsey eats low salt chips with only 3 ingredients, she eats a handful. That is all her body wants and it tells her so.) The lesson? Do not eat the wrong things in the first place and if we do, eat a salad and drink lots of water to remove the evidence of our wrongdoing! Eating at home, even during an unplanned flood event, forces us to stop and re-examine what we are doing, on all levels. While waiting for the plumber, we were reminded of what we had not done to put us in this unsettling predicament. We would have to examine the pipes, the septic tank and anything else to make sure this did not happen again.


Eating the wrong things is a choice. Emergencies are not. They happen without warning. Thank goodness, the soup and pie were ready. They made for a delicious and unbeatable 'comfort' duo, an answer to a period of great stress. The borscht was made from both a 'homemade' chicken and beef stock with water, tomato juice, beet juice,(iodized) sea salt and pepper added next. Then came the grated cooked beets, with its finely diced tops and carrots, onions, bay leaf - all simmering on the stove. (Use spinach or kale if tops are unavailable) We lose our appetite when bad things happen. When the desire returns, let the soup and pie be waiting to help keep us healthy and strong, ready to do battle with life's next unplanned event. ...