Food blogging when you're ill

Every other year, I catch a cold.

Although this will hardly surprise anyone who's been reading my blog, I tend to be rather self-indulgent. Multiply that times ten when I am not feeling well. I crawl under my thick comforter and curl up catlike for long naps, only coming up for air when the impulse strikes to watch a Woody Allen movie or an episode of "The Kumars at No. 42" on my iBook.

Because my wife N spends her days taming 7-year-olds, the season's virus du jour lays siege to her at least 4 times per year. At those times, I gladly spoil her, serving as her personal chef and support staff. During the relatively rare occasions when I get to play the role of indulgee, I do not hesitate to cash in my favors Godfather-style.

N knows exactly what I will be requesting, so she hardly bothers to ask any more. I suppose that's a perk of a dozen years of marriage.

Thursday after work, she headed straight to Irving Street to pick up two orders of chicken pho' from Loi's, one for our dinner and one for my lunch Friday. Then she stopped by New Cheung Hing for an order of duck jook for Friday's breakfast. Finally she went back up the block to the grocery store to pick up a few chicken legs and thighs so that I could make stock when I was feeling better. It’s good to be loved.

Yesterday, I felt well enough to simmer up that batch of chicken broth.

The best broths are made with a good proportion of meat to bones. I often use a whole chicken per gallon of water, but this time I opted to augment the stash of bones that waited in my freezer with a few extra legs. I removed a couple of thighs after an hour so that I would have meat for my soup. I like to simmer my chicken broth for 3 or 4 hours to extract the most flavor.

The easiest soup for a sick person to make is the polentina from the Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook. I find it incredibly soothing to prepare and eat, and believe it should be in every busy cook's repertory.

The recipe is just a few lines long. In a medium pot, stew a diced small onion or a leek and a slivered clove or two of garlic in duck fat or butter, pour in a quart of chicken broth, bring to a boil, stir in ⅓ cup polenta (preferably stone-ground), toss in a few leaves of sage, a sprig of thyme and a teaspoon of salt, and simmer the soup for 20-30 minutes. The polenta slightly thickens the broth and imparts a comforting corn flavor.

While the soup is cooking, cook and then chop whatever greens are in your fridge {I’ve used broccoli rabe, arugula, turnip greens, chard and even watercress with equal success in the past. This time I used some gorgeous red Russian kale - pictured left}. When the soup is ready, stir in the cooked greens and add a few grindings of pepper. This time, I added some shredded meat from one of the chicken thighs I removed from the stock. Garnish each serving with some shavings of parmigiano reggiano and a drizzle of your best olive oil.

Depending on how I feel, I may post one of my other favorite chicken soup recipes later in the week. Until then, take care good care of yourselves and try to stay healthy!

Food|and Drink|Recipes|Chicken|Soup

Comments

[SFFoodie]

I am sorry you are not feeling so well, Brett. When I was a kid, my grandmother would make me a bowl of lugau (pronounced "loo-gow") when I got sick. It's sort of a Filipino porridge, a la jook. If I had thought of it sooner, perhaps I would have brought you a soon-dubu chigae from My Tofu House. Get better soon...so we can have a great meal together.

[sam]

Although I genuinely want you to get better, for your sake, I can't help but think that being sick Chez Brett, isn't such a bad thing after all. In fact it sounds quite delicious.

When I am sick I just want toast and butter and marmite and tea and angel delight which doesn't sound very healthy at all and probably not too good at aiding the recovery.

Hope you feel tip-top soon. You sound like you are already on the mend, so that's good.

[Melissa]

Lucky you - I'd get sick all the time if I knew I had such great food to look forward to! And that soup looks heavenly - am I allowed to make it even if I'm not sick? ;)

Get well soon!

[mona]

Wow, that looks way better than Lipton's chicken noodle. I'm also feelin a little bit under the weather, sniffling and using toilet paper at my desk for kleenex...yuck! Everyone always tells me to eat soup but I can't STAND chicken noodle. It's so un-American of me I know. I'd much rather have French onion soup or better yet, this one that you've posted for us. Thanks Brett!

[cookiecrumb]

Oh, you made antioxidant-rich gruel! How clever.
(Please, sir, I want some more.)
Be well.

[Lindy]

I may have to rethink my cold remedy soup.Or maybe I should just fix this to prevent future colds. Good idea.It will be worth it, even if it doesn't work.

Generally, I go with a semiclassic...traditional steamy,full flavored homemade chicken broth with mazoh balls ,wonton, or tortellini, with the addition of a generous amout of lemongrass and pepper. For some reason, this just seems to be what I want to eat when a cold is very bad.Usually I wind up sloshing it over whatever I'm reading when I sneeze.

Feel better soon. This winter's colds have been mean.

[The Bachelor Cook]

when I get the feeling that I migth get sick, i eat lost of garlic ith my food, it really reinforces the immune system, Pepper is good for the cold....

[SFFoodie]

I made your polentina soup last night for my wife and I. Not because either one of us was sick...but because it looked quick, easy, and delicious. When I told her that we were having soup with polenta...there was a long silence on the other phone line. However, by the end of dinner, a skeptic turned to a true believer. I had also made some grilled sandwiches for us but I never got to eating mine because I just kept enjoying the soup. Thanks for adding it to my repetoire.

[Gini]

Hope you feel better..

[shauna]

Oh, I empathize. And pretty easily, since I'm home from work today with some vile virus. Raw throat -- I sound like Lauren Bacall at 80 after 52 cigarettes. Yikes. I made up a quick batch of chicken-millet soup, which seems to be staving off the worst of it. But still, I wish i had me some of that pho!

Feel better, Brett.

[Greg]

I feel fine.I still could use a little of that good lookin soup.

[melissa_cookingdiva]

I hope you get better soon! Hugs,
M

[Brett]

Thank you to everyone for all the well-wishing! It seems to have paid off, as I'm feeling much better now! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my little iBook. It appears to be d-e-a-d. Blogging may be a bit of a challenge until I can get a replacement.

Mona and Shauna, I hope you feel better soon, too. Chicken-millet? You're so gluten-free, Shauna! Hey, I just realized the polentina is gluten-free, too.

SFFoodie, I'm glad you and the Mrs. enjoyed the polentina. Glad to have converted the skeptic. Hallelujah!