Carbonara (Low-carb)

I know it's been a really long time since I posted a recipe. It's been a crazy few months! I haven't actually been doing much cooking. But now that my life is straightening out I'll try to get on here more often. Tonight, I needed to use a spaghetti squash (my now favorite pasta substitute). I was thinking tetrazzi but it took to long for me to figure out the recipe, so I settled for carbonara. (yeah, right, settled). I am a purist when it comes to carbonara. I does NOT have cream in it. It is a hunter's dish and dairy wouldn't survive hunts. So, be aware that it has slightly undercooked eggs in it and that is always a risk. (there's my disclaimer) But I've been making similar versions for decades and never had a problem. You may choose to cook it longer, but know it will resemble scrambled eggs if you do, instead of a nice creamed sauce.

 Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

•  4 slices thick-cut bacon*
•  8 oz sliced porcini mushrooms 
•  1 cup frozen peas
•  1 medium spaghetti squash*, cooked
•  1 medium onion*, diced
•  2 cloves garlic*, minced
• 3 eggs*
• salt and pepper
• 1/2cup parmesan, shredded

Cook bacon in skillet until crispy. Remove bacon, cool, and break into bite-sized pieces. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic to bacon fat. Cook until onions and mushrooms are soft. Add spaghetti squash and heat through. whip eggs with salt and pepper; add parmesan. Remove vegetables from burner. Pour eggs over vegetables and mix well. Place over low heat and cook, stirring, until parmesan is melted. Serve with additional parmesan.

*CSA ingredients 

Updates Galore

I want to apologize to my readers.  It has been a crazy few months, but things are settling in now, so I will try to be better about writing.  Where to start?

Well, let's see, to start, my boss decided to let us know at the beginning of January that he has taken a position at Johns Hopkins.  He asked that I consider going with him, which I did, but he didn't follow through with what I told him I needed, so I am not going .  Thankfully, two things happened to make this okay.  First, the pediatrics pulmonary department decided they wanted to hold onto me for the short-term.  So I have someplace to work for a while.

Second, and this is a little more convoluted: In December, before we knew that Ken was leaving, I got a phone call from Saginaw Valley State University.  I had sent an application to them in Oct or Nov, whenever Ken had told us what the deal was with his funding.  Given what he had told us, I was sure I would be without a job in June.  So I sent out a bunch of applications.  This particular application was a bit different, it was for an accounting teaching position.  There was just something about the job posting that made me think I might be a good fit for the position.  The chair of the recruiting committee was super impressed with my credentials, but there was an academic qualification issue.  He asked if I would try to write and publish 2 accounting papers in short order so they would have an argument for interviewing me.  I started them, but didn't get too far because Ken gave notice and then gave me back my first paper for revisions.

Fast forward to the end of February, I get a cryptic email with a link from SVSU.  When I checked the link, I found out that there is a program set up by the accreditation board to allow PhDs from non-related fields to become academically qualified.  I thought "what the heck" and applied to the program and within 24 hours, I had an acceptance letter.  Mark (the chair) was very impressed with my initiative, but they had had to offer the position to someone else because of a deadline.  He told me to hold off on signing up for the program until they had an answer from her.  I did, she turned them down and they set up a phone interview for me.  It went well, but I was told I absolutely had to get into the bridge program this year (which meant that weekend!).  So, I went to the program, had a great time and got real excited about continuing.

This past Monday, I went to campus for my on-campus interview and had a great time!  Met some really great people, successfully taught a financial accounting class for about 20 minutes and tried to convince the faculty that I can successfully apply my research skills to accounting (remember, I am a scientist, but I used to be an accountant).  Yesterday, they called with an offer!  So, now, I am the newest Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Accounting at SVSU!  Which means I get to go HOME!

In between all of these goings-on, I had my first anniversary of the gastric surgery.  According to my scale this morning, I have lost 146.3 lbs.  I went for my 1-year follow-up last week and was told to call them back when I get below 200lbs so we can start getting the ball rolling on the skin removal surgery.  I am hoping we can get that done before I have to move to MI. So, only 15 more pounds!!!!

Here are the latest pictures:

Last full-length picture (143 lbs down)
















                                                                                 and my latest headshot (haircut for interviews)