March 31, 2019 - Elisa Dealing with Dad's Hospital Stay & Weekly Vegan Recipe and Tanya goes on a road trip to Arizona and Utah - Day 9

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CURRENTLY IN:  LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
​NEXT TRIP: 89 DAYS: SICILY

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
Covering the West Coast & the World
CURRENTLY IN:   UTAH

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Dealing with Dad's Hospital Stay and Weekly Vegan Recipe

Hey there and happy Sunday

So sorry about my being MIA for a number of days, but, I've been dealing with some health issues with my dad.  He's been in the hospital since Thursday night and we've all been taking turns staying with him as he is in tremendous pain.

The problem is he is suffering from a number of herniated discs in his back and neck and as a result, he is barely able to sit up straight or walk well,  After getting his pain managed (and a number of imaging tests), they will then begin some treatment.

As a result, I've not had much time (or energy) to blog. Please be patient with me over the next few weeks, as I'm sure this is going to be a slow process with his recovery.

The good news is that, now that we know what he is dealing with, the doctors can begin to implement a pain management protocol as well as treatment plan.

Thursday night, I actually stayed all night in the emergency room with him, which was not easy having to see him in so much pain.  However, I volunteered to stay, to give my mom a break to go home and rest.  My sister didn't get much rest, because even though she went home, she was unable to sleep much, constantly texting with me to check the status as doctors and nurses treated him throughout the night and wee hours of the morning.  

Thankfully, my mom spent the night at my house with my girls, and my sister drove all the kids to school Friday.  It's been a rough weekend for everyone, to say the least.

In other news...
I have been doing my darndest to keep myself healthy, in spite of the lack of sleep and stress.  In fact, I've managed to make a vegan meal today...Pasta with homemade tomato sauce and Vegan (Almond) Ricotta.

I know I said I would be sharing a new recipe each Friday, but since I was MIA - allow me to share part of our vegan meal recipe with you today:

Pasta with almond ricotta (c) travelincousins.com

Ricotta cheese is one of those dairy items that has always been a favorite of ours. Now that we are dairy free, and vegan, we are still able to enjoy this creaming Italian cheese using plant-based ingredients.

Here's the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups slivered blanched almonds
• 2-3 tsp nutritional yeast (plus more to taste)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2-3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 dash garlic powder
• 3/4 - 1 cup water
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh basil, oregano or parsley (optional)

Directions:

• Add all ricotta ingredients (starting with the lesser amount of water (3/4 cup/180 ml and salt (1/2 tsp) as original recipe is written) to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed (~2 minutes). You are looking for a well-puréed mixture with only very small bits of almonds intact. Add a bit more water a little at a time if the mixture is having a hard time blending until smooth.
• Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt for overall flavor, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and lemon juice for acidity. For even more flavor, you can add in some fresh basil, oregano, or parsley (optional).
• At this point, the “cheese” is ready to enjoy, especially in dishes like Lasagna, Pizza, or Stuffed Shells. However, it can also be wrapped in cheesecloth, formed into a ball, and placed into a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl up to 3 days. This will allow the “cheese” to firm up a bit. However, this is optional. You can also transfer straight from blender to a storage container and refrigerate.
• Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days.

Let us know if you try this!!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!

-Travelin' Elisa
xoxo

On a Road Trip to Arizona and Utah - Snowbird Recap

Hi out there! And one last GREETINGS from UTAH (until Friday).

DID I JUST SAY UNTIL FRIDAY???
​
Yup I sure did! 
My next trip - after I get home tomorrow, will be in 3 days - so in 4 days from now I will be heading out of town once again.  
No rest for the wicked! LOL Or for this travelin' cousin travelin' MANIAC!  

Dave and I will be heading through Las Vegas and onward to Moab for a little Weekend Warrior Mountain Biking Adventure!

Lots to do in the next few days...
Unpacking and repacking for one. LOL

But we'll worry about that after getting home.

For now I'll just do a little show and tell about our day skiing at Snowbird.

***Pictures to come later.

Up bright and early and out the door a wee bit later than I had wanted - but since we all went to sleep so late the night before. I wasn't too worried about it.

We got on the mountain and up we went taking the Peruvian Lift  and then into the only ski tunnel that I know of and one that neither Dominic or Dave have been in. So taking them through this was a priority!

The conditions at Snowbird were freakin' great!

However the visibility on top and on the back side was quite miserable.  It wasn't so much that there were white out conditions, but it was like being snow blind. We just could not see the gradient in the snow whatsoever. And we weren't the only ones. Everyone around was commenting on it. 

Luckily it didn't last the entire day and we could see again when we eventually got back over to the front side.

​Good times!

Today we are checking out Robert Redford's Sundance Ski Resort and I'll let you know all about how it is in tomorrow's blog. 

For now, I've gotta sign off and say addios,
-Travelin' Tanya