Steak bearnaise and allergies

Well, we made this last weekend (and by weekend, I mean Tuesday)


it was perfect. We got a 10oz filet to split between the two of us and made a cauliflower brussels sprout fennel gratin (we added fennel to this recipe because Rainbow didn't have the appropriate number of brussels sprouts for our already halved recipe. And I had to go to rainbow because we didn't plan accordingly enough to buy the stuff at Trader Joe's. The fennel was Kyle's idea... and a brilliant one at that. What a great man.)


And really, I think my picture of the gratin, (with or without fennel) is better than the one they have on the website. Um... maybe Gourmet should hire me to take pictures of their food? HINT HINT!

So back on good ole' Obama day... er, Election day Kyle and I drove down to LaCrosse to get our allergies checked out. We're both VERY sensitive people, and quite honestly, I hate that I get rashes, hives, and all other malady my body gives me on frequent and random occasions (I literally had a customer ask me if I had a hicky the other day... a hicky. I mean, seriously!)

Anyway, 20 pin pricks to the arm and a vile of blood later I am, in decending order of seriousness, allergic to:

Lobster
Crab
Shrimp
Dustmites
Cockroaches
Mice
Grass
Mussels (I am interpreting for this to include all mollusks)
Candida
Egg White
Wheat
Milk



In other words: Just fucking kill me already.

The good news is these are all supposedly treatable. I'm taking 6 doses of sublingual immunotherapy everyday. It tastes like glycerine, which is kinda gross.

I am not going to unincorporate wine (candida is yeast) eggs, wheat or milk from my life, but I do think it will be challenging for me to stop eating coachroaches and mice. Apparently these two creatures shed grossness in places like warehouses.... which oddly enough is where most Tr@der Joe's products are located. Awesome. That means I get exposure to things that make me sick every day that I am at work. And most old homes have history of rodents. Did I mention our house is 112 years old?