Recipes for shmoopy-ness

I did not accomplish one single thing today. I'm planning on checking my email and have of course made and fielded some calls, but other than that, nada. The remains of the makings of last nights' amazing low-fat apple crisp* are still in the sink. Laundry is emphatically not being folded or put away. (Yet I find myself writing...how telling, no?)
*Recipe for amazing low-fat apple crisp: Do the usual peel/chop/spice of the apples.
Mix flour, granola and oatmeal in a quest for the perfect texture for the top. Totally forget to chop in the cold butter and instead toss a few thin token slices of it over the top of crisp. Note that the amazing low-fat bit goes right out the window when you *cough, I* go and buy Ben & Jerry's America Pie Ice Cream for a la mode purposes.

No, I have higher priorities, for there is a charming man lying on my couch, wrapped in blankets, freezing, burning and aching with what I am fairly certain is the dreaded flu. In a little while, I'll see if he's resting well and try and give him another aspirin and rub his head, in hopes of getting him to sleep a bit. I have actually promised to make my orzo recipe specially for him tonight - a big deal for me only because I'm shamefully out of the habit of cooking much of anything for dinner.

My patient is a sweet, albeit needy one - this entry will be quick or he'll start calling for me in a little hoarse voi- ..oh, there's the call. He's sick so rarely that I try my best to accommodate his various whims as best I can. After all, it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was more or less out of my head with pain from my wretched teeth. He dropped everything to get me the pain relief and headed straight to the border (dentist). Even when I was crying, mainlining Darvocet and being impossible, he was trying his best to comfort me.

I think this is what they mean by "...and cherish" and "in sickness and in health". Now if we could just get to the health bit. Wish him well, OK?

Orzo Recipe - A One Pot recipe
-1/2 cup orzo, rizo or other teeeeny-tiny pasta
-1 small onion
-1 large carrot, julienned or 1 cup baby carrots, rough chopped
-2 cups/half carton of chicken broth
-1 can white (northern) beans
-1-2 chicken breasts, thawed and cubed
-crushed garlic
-1 tsp. paprika (approximate)
-1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
-1 tsp. curry powder
-cayenne powder to taste (optional - I love using this as a pretty, spicy garnish as well)

-Chop onion, saute in olive/vegetable oil of your choice and a tiny bit of butter over medium heat, add chicken after about 3 minutes. Turn heat to high, searing the outside of the chicken. Add about a tsp. of crushed garlic (I love garlic, you may not) and finish cooking the chicken.
-Add orzo and make sure it gets coated with liquid - I add a little bit of the bean juice here if it seems to dry. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes.
-Drain beans, add. Toss in spices and most of chicken broth, stir and bring to a light boil, stirring continually.
-Add carrots and the remainder of the broth, turn heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

It should be a little brothy, not dry. I toss it in wide-rimmed bowls and add a little paprika on top for color.