A sick day

I'm the first to admit that I am terribly accident prone. Tearing rotator cuff muscles pole dancing, breaking 3 tarsals falling of a pair of 4inch purple suede CFM's... that sort of thing. But I don't get sick very often.

Well, ok, I get sick. I bitch and moan and mainline congee. BUT.. I still keep on going. With kids and dogs and husband that like to blow shit up, I don't have much choice.

Or maybe I am just lucky enough to RARELY get sick enough to actually warrant time off.

So, today, after spending the night at Monash Medical Centre on endone and a drip or two, dealing with heart palpatations and diverticulitis. I have a real, live sick day! Apart from a quick jaunt up for a CT scan, I actually am sick enough to stay at home!!

Welcome to my first real proper sick day in 7 years! It's almost worth the photophobia.

So today's AGITK comes to you from my couch, wherein The Lima Bean (who has the day off, thank goodnesss) is feeding me ginger ale, roast chicken and tabouleh in fresh Vietnamese rolls.

And we're watching "The Dark Crystal" and a SMOKING hot Jake Gyllehaal in "Prince of Persia"

I am ALL over this sick day business!

In sickness and in health..

Call me an old hippy, but when my family get sick, I am more likely to reach into the pantry, than into the medicine cabinet. I am completely secure with Western medicine, hell, I work as a Nurse. And Furry wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for his regimen of cardiac drugs. However, for most home lurgies, I tend to use food as my first line approach. Not only is it about cooking and creating and nurturing, it's also about accessing age-old wisdom that has been pooh-poohed by science until recently.

There is a reason why Grandma's chicken soup was cooked up when we had a cold or a 'flu.

Specifically, it has anti-inflammatory properties that could explain why it soothes sore throats and eases the misery of colds and flu, Dr. Stephen Rennard and colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found.

"Chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity," the researchers wrote in their report, published in the journal Chest.

"My wife was making chicken soup one year for the Jewish holidays and we were talking about its effects on colds," Rennard, a specialist in pulmonary medicine, said.

Congee is the Asian equivalent. And while I couldn't find any online studies about the medicinal benefits, thingsasian.com says:

Congee is not just a dish served any meal; it is also a base for therapeutic treatment. It was prevalent in China as early as pre-Qin period (221-207 B.C.). Congee with asparagus is believed to be a diuretic and was also used to reduce cholesterol. Ginger congee was used to settle the stomach, and reduce nausea and considered a cure for indigestion and diarrhea. For ailments of the respiratory system and fever, one recommended medicine was Pear Congee. Congee with black sesame seeds was used to improve lactation in nursing mothers. Spinach Congee was used as a sedative, while Chicken or Lamb Congees were valued to strengthen a weakened constitution.

I have used congee several times to de-lurgify my household. And it's a staple on the menu when you've got a head cold or a sdore throat. It's easy to digest, gentle on the throat and mouth, is warming and nourishing all in one.

The other absolute staples in my home remedy kit, is tofu and ginger. Usually together. Tofu is chocked full of phytooestrogens (did you know menopause was unheard of in Asian cultures before a more Western diet was introduced?) and ginger is a well known stomach calmative. My fave ginger and tofu recipe is Dòuhuā (Chinese: 豆花) or dòufuhuā (Chinese: 豆腐花), a sweet dish made of slices of tofu in a spicy sweet ginger syrup. I was taught to make it with powdered tofu mix and the syrup with palm sugar and fresh ginger.

So, as the 'flu season descends upon us, I advise that we fill our pantries with some tofu, fresh ginger, soy sauce, rice, chicken stock, garlic, winter veggies and a good quality chook or two and rug up against the cold. Because I can guaratee that any combination of the above ingredients can only be better for you, and taste a WHOLE lot better, than a course of Flagyl.

What the Phở?

image courtesy of androog, via Wiki CC licence

Greetings. My name is pg and I'm a Phở ho. Or a "fur hur" is we're going to be a stickler for pronunciation.

There's been a lurgy going around THOFAPL over the past 10 days. And rather that put you, dear reader, off your food, let me just best describe it as "gastro"... Gastro that lead to me spending 8 hours in Rosebud Base hospital on Goodness Friday. Gastro, that like a bad house guest has sorely overstayed its welcome and is now just pissing me off.

I have, effectively, made myself lactose intolerant. Meaning much my staple menu is now out-of-bounds. I mean, really, spag bog without the Parm Reg, is really NOT worth the effort.

So we've been "dining" (for want of a better word) on rice, white bread and Maggi noodles.

However, Furry has recently been experimenting with home-made Phở and offered to cook us a pot.

Now you must all sing the "Furry's Majick Phở" song.

"Phở, Phở, Magic Phở"

This is, however, only amusing if a) you know the song I've referenced and b) if you get your pronunciation correct.

Furry slow bakes osso bucco until the fat is rendered and the bones are browned. The bones are then scrubbed under running water and placed in a pot of fresh, cold, water and simmered for several hours. He doesn't seem to worry too much about skimming, and the stock turns out pretty clear. He adds a cinnamon quill, some garlic, some ginger, a few Schezhuan peppercorns, cardamon, coriander and a clove.

Once the broth is fragrant, he adds finely sliced steak and diced chicken. A block of silken tofu always gets diced and added, too.

because this was a sickness Phở, he left off the seafood and the fish balls which I usually love. When I dine out for Phở, I love the tendons and the pizzle and the fatty brisket bits, but this is medicinal Phở, and we thought, under the intestinal circumstances, that it would be best to leave them out. We also eschewed the vinegary white onions. and the fried whitebait that I usually love to add.

Vietnamese dishes are meals typically served with lots of greens, herbs, vegetables and various other accompaniments such as dipping sauces, hot and spicy pastes, and flavor enhancements such as a squeeze of lime or lemon. The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, coriander, Thai basil (húng quế) (should not be confused with sweet basil - Vietnamese: húng chó or húng dổi), fresh Thai chili peppers, lemon or lime wedges, bean sprouts, and cilantro (ngò rí) or culantro (ngò gai). Although cilantro and culantro have similar names and similar flavors, they are completely different plants.

I like my Phở with bean sprouts, basil, mint, coriander, lime and Hoi Sin sauce. (i usually add a fair dollop of siracha, as well.. but under the circumstances.....) The Phở toppings (Phởppings?) are what makes the dish, making every mouthful a different textural and taste experience. Many an heated discussion has been entered into on "traditional" Phở, in both ingredients and pronunciation, but suffice it to say, that while Furry's Majik Phở (furryfur?) may not win any authenticity competitions, it is nourishing and easily digested. Phở is also an awesome excuse to get into growing herbs, coriander and mint pretty much grow on the back of your neck, here in the Melbourne climate. Both Thai and Vietnamese mint grow well also. There is nothing more satisfying than not just making your own Phở, but pottering down the back steps to pick your own herbs for the Phởppings.

The other secret benefit of Phở, is seeing how many puns you can make on the name.. pho shiz, what the pho, Mo Pho, pho king, absolutely ph0-bulous, 9021 pho... oh, the puns just keep on coming!

Hard to be sick, with a bowl of majick pho in front of you, and your punster son making the above cracks!

The House of the Lurgy.

Yup. The kids have it. That's the beauty of having kids.. when you get sick, they become the gift that keeps on giving. And as I get over the lurgy from Hell, Furry's kids have come down with it. Well, actually Ya-Ya Superstar has glandular fever.. it's Els who has the lurgy. And Madame Mouse. Without putting too fine a point on it, we're the House of Snot. Of discarded tissues and Dimetapp. Of middle-of-the-night coughing fits and knocks at the bedroom door asking for Codral. No-one has slept much, and everyone is a leeetle cranky.

So I pulled out another old stand by. I am a huge fan of congee when I am sick, but the kids don't like the porridge consistency, so my other old stand by is chicken and sweetcorn soup. It goes down a sore throat nice and easy, and contains enough nourishment to sustain the sickest of kids. And it just tastes bloody good, too!

(I know this looks a little like something you'd find INSIDE a used tissue, but a close-up of the end texture is important!)

pg's Asian Penicillin.

soak 3 ears of corn (leaving on the husks) in cold water for 30 minutes. Remove a couple of the outer husks and set aside. Peel the rest of the husks back and remove the silks. Re-wrap the corn in the husks and use the discarded ones to tie a knot in the top of the husks. Roast, steam or grill for 30 mins until cooked.

Remove the corn kernels.

Roast a whole chook. Don't get too fancy.. it's ending up in soup. I just stuff the cavity with a couple of orange halves to impart a flavour and keep it moist. Set aside until cool enough to touch. Remove all the meat and skin from the carcass. Roughly chop meat and skin.

Into a large pot place 2-3 litres of water. Dice an onion or leek and place into the water, along with a good knob of ginger, a star anise some Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry), a couple of Schezhuan peppercorns, the chicken and the sweetcorn. Add a goodly slurp of light soy.

Simmer for about 2 hours, or until the chicken flesh breaks down into individual fibres.

Remove the knob of ginger and the star anise.

Make an egg flower by mixing 3 eggs in a bowl with a splash of light soy and a couple of drops of sesame oil. Turn the soup off the heat, give it a swirl and slowly dribble the egg mix in.

(another trick is to add a can of creamed sweet corn at this point, which further thickens the soup)

Serve with soft bread sticks, or slurpy noodles, and you've got the cure-all for the lurgy.