Not a post about food...

Adenocarcinoma - I hate that word...

Non-small cell carcinoma, stage 4, inoperable, all words that are on the list of words that I never want to hear again.

This past February my family heard all those words, and it sucked. My father was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer, and it was too late for him. There were options of chemotherapy, but it would only lengthen his life by the amount of time in treatment and
it would not be a quality time.

This type of cancer is not easily detected. My father complained for a couple of years about a cough, fatigue, some tightness in his lungs, etc. However, because he was a diabetic, heart patient (who smoked most of his life), he was checked for tumors and "spots" on his lungs and his complaints were chalked up to his lifestyle and history and rightly so. He was told to lose weight, take his medicine, and quit smoking.

It was not until his lungs filled with fluid several times, (at first diagnosed as pneumonia) that he was finally tested for a reason for the massive fluid.

Drains were surgically implanted, fluid was tested and pain meds were prescribed. When the tests came back, we heard snippets of a diagnosis, "with this type of cancer", "symptoms match stage 4 cancer", "in a patient with lung cancer", etc.

All these terms were mentioned in passing and never fully explained. Unfortunately my sister had already been down this road with her mother 18 months ago, and she caught on to what was happening and called hospice, set up camp in dad's house and prepared for the worst. When we finally were able to see a cancer specialist, the news was confirmed and our options were limited. We had questions. Why wasn't this caught sooner, given his symptoms and complaints? The doctor was very nice, compassionate, and realistic. He answered the questions we had, most of them I had downloaded from the American Cancer Society's website.

The American Cancer Society funds research to prevent cancer, to treat patients with cancer, and hopefully one day to cure cancer.

My father passed away about 6 weeks after diagnosis… the one thing that I can do is try to prevent anyone else ever hearing those terrible words “you have cancer”. 

Help me in my fight by visiting my website at www.cookingwithtrace.com and clicking on the Relay for Life banner at the top of the page. Plus you will get to see a picture of my father, sister, and some crazy fat red haired kid circa 1992… before I knew how to use hair products…

GJ Friends for a Cure Relay for life team is hosting a fundraising lunch at Texas Roadhouse

The GJ Friends for a Cure Relay for Life team is hosting a fundraising lunch at the Texas Roadhouse in Grand Junction on June 7, 2013 from 11 am to 1 pm. 

The tickets are $10 each and include a pulled pork sandwich, baked beans, caesar salad and a soft drink. 

This delicious lunch will be served by our team of volunteers and $7 out of each ticket sold will go to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser. 

Come help us fight this terrible disease!

Contact Trace Hillman at cookingwithtrace@gmail.com or 970-234-4455 to purchase tickets. 

Delivery of 4 or more meals to one location is available.

Mike The Headless Chicken (as seen the in the May edition of the Source)

(as seen in the May edition of The Source  http://www.yvsource.com/)

What are you excited about this spring? I am gearing up for fruits and vegetables from the Grand Valley, I am stoked about picnics, festivals, outdoor concerts, and longer days.

Can you believe all that this valley has to offer? Music festivals, food festivals, headless chicken festivals… yeah you heard that right... Mike’s big day is coming soon. 

Mike the headless chicken days are May 17^th and 18^th in Fruita, Colorado. This is a great time to get out and celebrate the pluck (pun intended) of the chicken who would not go to the big fryer in the sky.

The story goes that Mike was on the menu one evening and his owner went to do the deed. Being the good son in law that he was, he attempted to leave as much of the neck intact for his wife’s mother.  Now if you have never been around someone who raises chickens for food, you might now realize the process. After you remove the head people have been known to let the fowl run around (like a chicken with his head cut off). This is strictly an adrenaline, muscle stimulation reaction. Except in Mike’s case… because so much of his neck was left, the remaining brain stem allowed him to live.

Photo linked from http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org

He had to be fed with a dropper and carefully taken care of because ummm well he didn’t have a head. (weren’t you paying attention?). So long story short is that Mike became a celebrity and toured around to sideshows and fairs until his untimely demise (again) due to choking. Makes me think about Al Capone… he was notorious as a gangster, criminal, and all around BAMF, but his down fall was tax evasion.  

I recommend you check out the site for the festival and participate in this crazy event. http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/. Maybe I will see you out there? 

It is said that the simplest and most complex dish is a roast chicken. Chefs work for years to find the perfect method for cooking this versatile protein.

This seems like a good recipe to start with…

Simple Roast Chicken (From www.realsimple.com)

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, giblets removed
• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450° F. Place the onion in a large roasting pan. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Tuck the wings under the chicken and place it on top of the onion. Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
2. Scatter the potatoes around the chicken, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
3. Roast, tossing the potatoes once, until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165°F, 50 to 60 minutes. Let the chicken rest at least 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the potatoes and onions.

Visit me at www.cookingwithtrace.com or email me at cookingwithtrace@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!