On the other hand, Hub and I had recently had a long discussion about whether we wanted to open the "closed" door on our "23 and Me" genetic testing results -- the door which holds the information on whether one has a genetic predisposition for late-onset Alzheimer's and/or Parkinson's disease. You can find out, but they don't make it easy. You definitely have to "opt in" at least 3 times to see the result. "Are you sure? Are you really sure? Are you super-duper really and truly sure? Do you have a genetic counselor and mental health professional standing by?" So maybe I was already primed for feeling that every lapse of memory was likely the beginning stages of the slippery slide into dementia territory, even though I don't have my results yet.
Anyway, as is my new habit I got up, dressed, headed to the kitchen and put a pan of 4 cups of water on to boil with 1-1/2 teaspoons of Indian spices thrown in to make a "detox tea". I'm following a Ayurvedic cleanse regimen that promises to cure every ailment I have and then some, plus encourages weight to fall off effortlessly. I'm 10 days into Phase 1. No weight loss yet. But maybe I'm just impatient. The entire process can take 2-4 months to complete, depending on how quickly one moves through each of the four phases.
So the ritual I've adopted is to boil the water for my tea, let it simmer and steep, then strain it into a bowl, dumping the seeds, leaves, and detritus of the spices down the sink before filling a large thermos to sip all day.
The first pan of tea boiled nearly dry as I put it on and forgot about it while I sat at my desk in another room, scrolling through Facebook. I dumped that out and started over.
I set a timer for the second pan of tea, turned off the heat, remembered I had to strain it, so turned to the sink and dumped the entire batch through the stainer and down the drain. I'd forgotten to capture it in the glass bowl. On to the third attempt.
That one was successful, but by then I was feeling rather sheepish about it taking three tries to make a batch of tea that is so easy to do I fully believe my three year old granddaughter could master it if she was allowed to be near the stove.
At dinnertime I successfully sauted some veggies, baked a piece of Mahi Mahi, and steamed some Jasmine rice -- which I also forgot and it sort of burned/stuck to the pan, but was not ruined, so Yay Me!
I have a few talents, but kitchen wizardry isn't one of them. Based on the day's fiascoes it seems I have the most problem with cooking foods in boiling water. I wonder if that's a genetic trait that will be revealed in my "23 and Me" test result? I've definitely decided not to open the scary door -- missing the cooking gene is startling enough for now.
At least, that's the view from here...©
