Patients For a Moment: The Recipe

I'm a day late sharing this, but Patients for a Moment, a blog carnival written by and about patients, is a good place to visit every other Wednesday. This week it's hosted at The Single Gal's Guide to Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Last week I saw Francis Collins, of The Human Genome Project and NIH fame, quoted in a tweet. I like what I think he said, so I'm passing it along:

"If you want to find a cure for cancer, you don't need to research just cancer. The answers may come from somewhere else."

I took this to mean that non-linear approaches to problem-solving have merit. Being something of a non-linear queen myself, I thought this was a good reason to share something wonderful that came from this approach. It's my recipe for The Best Meatloaf You Will Ever Eat. A bit off of the "patient safety" message, for sure, but since I'm giving a nod to the gathering of patients here, I think some comfort food may be in order.

To begin:

• Purchase more whole wheat buns and white bagels than you mean to. Just before they reach the consistency of refrigerator missiles, freeze them. Some weeks later, defrost them, cut them into cubes the size of a die, and toast them in a 350 degree oven until they are mostly done.
• Use about 1/2 in a recipe, then place the remainder in a medium sized Gladware container, seal tightly and cure on the kitchen counter for 2 days.

Shop for:

• About 1 lb of ground pork. Mine had a "Reduced for quick sale" sticker, but this is optional. (If you don't eat pork, I'm sure that another ground meat product will taste just as good. If your meat doesn't have much fat, add an extra egg)
• About 1 lb of ground turkey

Make sure you have:

• 1 egg
• some fresh Italian parsley from your garden, your neighbor's garden, a farmer's market, a food co-op, or from where I rescued mine: the bottom drawer of your refrigerator. Chop it pretty fine.
• 1 small small, single-serving size cup of horseradish in sour cream sauce (usually served along with prime rib). My little container was leftover from take-out my son refused to eat last weekend.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Wash you hands really well. Place all of these things, in no particular order, into a good sized mixing bowl, then mix thoroughly. Form into a nice oblong loaf, trying not to let the ends of the loaf be too much narrower than the midsection.

Place the loaf on a cookie sheet you couldn't really afford but felt obligated to buy because you really like the person who was hosting the party. Remember that the cookie sheet turned out to be a really reliable product and remind yourself to say "yes," the next time you're invited to another party. Bake for 60 minutes. Cut the meatloaf in half, and it will be nearly done, juices flowing. Let it stay in the oven for 5 minutes longer if you like it a little drier or take it out and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!