Bone marrow donation = success!

The bone marrow surgery went quickly and smoothly.

All I remember being wheeled into the operating room and staring at the big lights above me ... the rest is blackness. Suddenly I was shaken awake by some cute guy named Cody. He held my hand and talked to me about Santa Fe in the post-op room.

The nurses kept trying to give me chicken broth or some kind of creamy soup. But even though my lips were chapped and my throat was raw, I summoned up enough energy to hiss, "COFFEE."

Later, when they insisted I consume something other than coffee, I tried my best to explain that I'm vegan, I don't eat animal products and ... well, who knows what I said? I was on tons of painkillers. Luckily, I brought my own food -- a package of Imagine organic broccoli soup.

I was eventually allowed to order anything I wanted off the hospital menu, which had a surprisingly good variety. I got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat, a cup of veggie soup and fresh fruit.



Now I'm at home, minus 1.3 liters of bone marrow. I'm in pain, but it's not unbearable.

I'm trying to send all my good, healing energy to the woman who needed this donation -- hopefully she's reaping the benefits of my super awesome marrow, which was given with love.

The best part of recovery is that all my friends have been stopping by to bring me vegan goodies: Homemade potato leek soup by Judi, spicy hummus from Maria, soy ice cream from Deborah, Native Foods' sandwiches from Eileen ... and so much more. I am one lucky girl.

I also prepared for the surgery by making a couple pots of soup ahead of time. The chickpea noodle soup from Veganomicon is the classic "sick" soup, and I tore through that my first couple days of recovery.

Now I'm working on eating the roasted squash soup I froze last week. I'm calling it Dog Park Soup, because I invented it after a trip to the dog park with the new puppy.



Here's what's in it:

Olive oil
One onion, diced
One roasted butternut squash, cut into chunks
One potato, diced
Two medium carrots, diced
One Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and diced
Two chipotles, chopped finely (Or just one, if you don't want a ton of heat)
One can black beans, rinsed and drained
Big dash cumin
Cayenne (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)
Salt
Vegetable broth

First I cooked the onion in the olive oil until softened. I added a few cups of vegetable broth to the soup pot (you can add more or less, depending on how "soupy" you want it).

Bring the broth to a boil, then toss all the big stuff in together -- the black beans, the squash, carrots, potato, apple, chipotles -- and let it boil for a while. You'll know it's ready when the squash cooks down and almost melts into a creamy base.

Now add the spices. I added a big dash of cumin, because everything tastes better with cumin. I used just a teensy bit of cayenne, for the kind of heat that sneaks up on you. And even the tiniest bit of cinnamon will bring out the sweetness of the squash against the earthiness of the beans and potatoes. Don't forget salt.