Snuffle snuffle.  When colds and flues set in and we employ our favorite home remedies.  Everyone knows the wisdom of drinking lots of fluids when ill.  Eating fluids proves to be a smart therapy too.

When ill we want the body to devote its energy to healing.  Avoid heavy fat and protein foods like dairy and meat and stick with broths, soups, juices and teas.  Some people find the time of illness shortened if they partially fast for a day or two, taking in only liquids.

My mom kind of got the idea and bundled me in on the living room couch with a TV tray sporting a bowl of Campbell’s tomato soup and a tumbler of 7-up.  Like I said – she kind of got the idea.   Nowadays I’m more likely to sip on Miso Happy Broth. But my daughter, when ill,  always begged for Homemade Chicken Soup.

I always figured soup’s healing properties came from draining all of the nutrients out of bones and vegetables and whatever into the liquid surrounding it.  So that when you ingest soup, you’re getting a motherload of nutrients with each swallow.  I mean there’s a reason it’s called stock, right?  I’m pretty sure the easily-digested, wildly bio-available theory about eating soup holds water but it seems there’s more to homemade chicken soup than just mmm-good.

Irwin Ziment, MD, pulmonary specialist and professor at UCLA School of Medicine, says chicken soup contains drug-like agents similar to those in modern cold medicine. For example, an amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcystein, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems.

To further substantiate I found this gem while perusing around the Tufts Health & Nutrition Newsletter :
Stephen Rennard, MD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center published research on this topic in “Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro,” (Chest,  2000, volume 118, pages 1150-1157) Yes, chicken soup contains a number of substances—including an anti-inflammatory mechanism—that could ease the symptoms of upper-respiratory-tract infections such as the common cold. Specifically, Dr. Rennard demonstrated that chicken soup reduces the movement of neutrophils, the most common white cells in the blood that defend against infection. This in turn decreases activity in the upper respiratory tract that can cause symptoms associated with suffering from a cold. The study was unable to identify the exact ingredients in chicken soup that relieve cold symptoms, but plain chicken broth did not affect neutrophil activity. Dr. Rennard’s grandmother-in-law’s recipe proved effective, as did several commercial chicken soups.  Rennard’s study also noted that that aromatic seasonings enhanced opening and removal of purulent mucous. The active ingredients in traditional recipes include celery, onions, carrots, parsley,
mushrooms and parsnips.

I say make your own and put the love in it. Here’s a recipe from my out-of-print but soon to be back in print (! More on that later) Feeding the Young Athlete.

Simple Herbed Chicken Stock
This nutritious stock can be used to cook rice, simmer vegetables, thin sauces and make super soups.  I have used chicken breasts to make the stock because I like to remove the flavorful meat off the bone and use it to add to 110% Chicken Noodle Soup (see below).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 carrots, chopped in large chunks
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
2 teaspoons salt

3 quarts water
2 bay leaves
4  4-inch sprigs rosemary
4 4-inch sprigs marjoram
4 4-inch sprigs thyme
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 lb. chicken breasts (or other parts)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1. Heat oil and butter in a large soup pot.
2. Add carrots, celery, leek, onion. turnip and salt and sauté until all vegetables are soft and juicy.
3. Add water, all herbs, chicken and vinegar and bring to a low boil.
4. Lower heat  and simmer for 30 minutes until meat is tender but not overcooked.
5. Remove the breast.  As soon as meat is cool enough to handle using a knife and fork, remove the meat and toss the bones back into the pot.
6. Let bone and broth with vegetables simmer another 30 minutes.
7. Allow stock to cool then strain into glass jars, and store in the refrigerator until needed.
8. Meat from chicken can be removed, sliced and used in soups (below), pasta or rice dishes.
9. Stock will keep at least a week or slip ½ in in a ziplock freezer bag (after it cools of course) and freeze for later.

Preparation time:  1 1/4  hour
Makes 3 quarts stock

110% Chicken Noodle Soup
I use the chicken breast from making the stock in the recipe above because I’m ridiculously frugal.  Any type of noodle works – whole grain, gluten-free or traditional white flour.

1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, diced
5 leaves bok choy, cut into ribbons
1 ½ quarts chicken stock
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups cooked noodles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1.    Heat butter in a soup pot.
2.    Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft.
3.    Add carrot and celery and continue sautéing.
4.    Cut white part of bok choy leaves into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll dark green part of leaves and slice into thin strips and set aside.  Add white part of bok choy to onion-carrot-celery mixture.
5.    Add stock, chicken, and noodles and raise the heat until soup comes to a boil.
6.    Turn the heat off, add fresh herbs and strips of bok choy, cover, and let sit 15 minutes.
7.    Taste soup and add salt and freshly ground pepper to bring up the flavor.

Preparation time:  30 minutes
Makes 6 big bowls of soup

After dinner, Bob (my Dad) would snatch the Wichita Eagle & Beacon newspaper and disappear into the inner sanctum of the master bathroom. He would be there for a minimum of a half hour each evening. Luckily all we could hear was a distant hum of the exhaust fan as he sat and waited for his bowels to move. My mother and my mother-in-law had no time for such nonsense and instead aided their infrequent bowel movements with a laxative addiction. Maybe they were the Greatest Generation, but from my point of view many of them were the Greatest Constipated Generation. I’ve been around people with chronic constipation. But luckily most of them have been adults.

The other night after speaking to a large group of preschool parents one of the teachers in the audience came up to talk. Seems many of the preschool children she teaches are being given Metamucil on a regular basis. “What?”, I said, “How often? How often are they giving the kids Metamucil???”. “Everyday.” she flatly told me. “What!” I shrieked.

I’m picturing grumpy 4-year-old perched on the potty. The parent reading Goodnight Moon over and over waiting for the plop. Exasperated parent now insisting on the Metamucil Fiber Multi-Grain wafer as part of the child’s morning meal. Next I see the child as a teenager with a major Dulcolax habit. Then an adult with their own personal colonic therapist and a closet full of Fleet enemas. I’m worried.

Have we so lost touch with common sense that we are giving laxatives to kids barely out of diapers? I mean I guess I could understand it in an extreme case scenario. But everyday?

The colon is a muscular tube that is about 5-6 feet long in adults.  To work right it needs to be strong and flexible. If we abuse fiber supplements and laxatives, the colon won’t get any exercise and will lose its ability to function just like any unused muscle. We have to start examine our daily habits to discover the cause of our ills, not just treat the symptoms. Right? Don’t be lazy colon enablers. If your preschooler is constipated please try these things first.

Take a walk everyday with your child. You’ll both discover all kinds of benefits.

Make drinking water a regular routine. First thing in the morning and again when coming home from preschool are two logical times.

Serve your child whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and beautiful beans. (Steve gives the bean talk in this video). Because cereal bars, chicken nuggets, French fries, mac and cheese and pizza don’t have any natural fiber to speak of. Or orange juice. I don’t care what it says on the label.

Back off giving your child cow’s milk and/or sugary foods. Both can constipate and neither is particularly health-giving. Even Harvard’s School of Nutrition took milk off My Plate and replaced it with water recommending that 1-2 glasses of milk was not necessary, definitely ample. Don’t get me started on sugar.

Check in on the family stress level. Negative emotions play a role in keeping bowel movements healthy.

Read up on the side effects of any other medications you might be giving your child on a regular basis. Even stuff like cold remedies can sometimes be constipating.

Holy toilet bowl.  I never thought I’d be writing about this.  Let’s make sure our children are fed well enough to have an easy poo each day.  Shouldn’t that be some kind of innate right?

What to serve with this week’s new recipe video - Roasted Kabocha and Chicken with Chocolate Enchilada Sauce?

I noticed that I had a head of savoy cabbage that needed a slice and dice.  There was 1/2 an apple sitting on the counter waiting for somebody, anybody to claim it.  And I had recently roasted some almonds sprinkled with cumin, cayenne and tamari.  When I opened the refrigerator and a 1/2 lime kind of scowling at me (angry about being left to dry up is my guess) I thought - duh, let’s make some slaw.  So I did an ever so slight twist on the Nappa Cabbage Slaw we have posted.  That particular slaw has kind of an Asian taste happening with the toasted sesame oil but I was pretty sure with some quick edits I could make it a beautiful escort for this yummy SW flavored entree.

If you have forgotten the best way to cut up a head of cabbage, watch How To … that’s right  Cut Up a Cabbage.  This video shows the safest technique.

Lime Cabbage Slaw with Toasted Almonds and Apple

Cabbage is a big ol power house of vitamin C.  Even more impressive, cabbage is famous for a specialized, naturally-occurring nitrogenous compound known as indoles. Research indicates that indoles can lower the risk of various forms of cancer, including breast cancer.  Chopping and chewing releases the enzyme (myrosinase) that helps form the indoles.  Let’s shred!

Ancient Greeks and Romans used a preparation of lard and burnt cabbage leaves as an ointment for disinfecting wounds.  Rub it on after your next jousting match.  You laugh, but it holds up in a court of science.  Cabbage extracts have been proven to kill certain viruses and bacteria in the laboratory setting. This humble vegetable boosts our immune system’s ability to produce more antibodies. It also provides high levels of iron and sulphur; minerals that work as cleansing agents for the digestive system.   Fifteen calories per cup. Holy cabbage leaf!

Salad:
1/3 cup raw almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
½  napa or savoy cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced (~ 4 cups)
2 scallions, chopped fine
1/2 apple, cut into small pieces
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Dressing:
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

To toast almonds, place whole almonds in a baking pan and toast in a 300-325 degree F. oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the color
begins to darken and they give off a rich nutty aroma.  Use our Tamari Roasted Nuts if you would like to add another layer of flavor to this salad.

Combine lime juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and salt in a salad bowl.  Whisk to incorporate.
Prepare cabbage, scallions, apple and cilantro and chop almonds.  Put vegetables, fruit and almonds in the bowl and toss gently until evenly mixed with dressing.  Taste for salt and adjust if necessary.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes 4 servings

p.s. I was going to take a picture of this handsome slaw but forgot before I consumed the leftovers for lunch.  My bad and my good simultaneously.

Local yoga teacher Annie Stocker is a poetry lover.  Often in class she will read  a short verse or two.  The words stick with me.  I’m not sure if her taste in literature just resonates with me or if she is totally in tune with what needs to be said that day.  Probably both.

In her recent e-newsletter this Mary Oliver poem was reprinted.  It has haunted me for many days.  Seems like good advice for the new year as we shake off the sleepy gift-food crazed holidays and peer into the new year.  What will it bring?  What are my intentions for this new year?

What I Have Learned So Far
by Mary Oliver

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world?  Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause?  I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance.  The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

How do you tell when a pear is perfectly ripe?

I know.  I wasn’t sure myself.

You give the neck of the pear a little squeeze.  If there’s some give, it’s time to eat the pear.  Store unripe pears on the counter top (or in a paper bag if you want to hurry up the ripening process).  Once they are ripe, store them in the refrigerator.

DId you know a melon baller works perfectly to remove the core from a pear half?

Want to keep the pears on your fruit plate from browning?  Dip them in a solution of 50% water and 50% lemon juice.

From the nutrition standpoint pears are pretty much “just what the doctor ordered” combining an excellent source of fiber and very few calories.

December is (who knew) PEAR month.  So I’ve copied and pasted some information that I discovered on www.usapears.com about the different varieties.  Sweet!

Many fascinating recollections about coffee drinking.  Lots of grandparents initiating young children begin their relationship with caffeine.

Number 19 won the coffee grinder.

Shauna from Portland, Oregon graced us with this poetic story:

“My romance with coffee started on a rainy November afternoon on a dark blue velvet banquette seat at Cafe Moliere in Nantes, France. I was 20. It was a cafe au lait. Steamy, sweet, hot. I went back every day, enticed, addicted, wanting more. Now, 21 years later, I’m still hooked, still in love, still enraptured.”

Have a cup on us Shauna.

Want your cup of Joe fresh as new fallen snow?  Our generous friends at Krups are offering up the powerful GVX2 coffee grinder to giveaway to a happy, caffeine-loving Cookus fan.  This baby is worth around 60 bucks and here are some of its powerhouse features:

• Burr milling system avoids overheating, preserves aroma and has a grind fineness selector.
• Fineness selector has 17 positions from fine to coarse.
• Quantity selector from 2-12 cups. Shuts off automatically after grinding the right amount of beans.
• Anti-static bean container with lid holds up to 8 oz. of ground coffee.
• Special safety features - Unit will not operate unless lid of hopper and coffee container are in place.
• Removable Burrs for cleaning. Cleaning brush also included.
• Blue illuminated on/off light.
• 8oz. Air tight bean hopper keeps beans fresh

Pour me a cup!

ENTER TO WIN!

For a chance to buzz up beans like the pros do -

1. Be a subscriber of Cookus Interruptus  Not a subscriber yet? Type your email address in the subscribe box right up there on the right above the blue navigation box.   There’s also a place to subscribe on our home page (upper  left).

2. Be a friend on  Cookus Interruptus facebook.  Not our facebook friend?  Easy.  Go to the Cookus Facebook page and click the thumbs up “like”.

3. Add a comment to this blog post (not facebook)  telling us ( in a few sentences ) how old you were the first time you tried a cup of coffee?  Where were you?  Was it a good cup of coffee?

I had my first cup when I was 19.  As a theater major at Wichita State University rehearsals often ran late into the night.  If I had a smaller role, I sometimes had time to kill.  So one chilly night I tried a cup of coffee out of the ancient vending machine with non-dairy creamer and extra sugar of course.  Horrid brown sugary liquid.  Yeesh.  I don’t think I had a really fine cup of coffee until I moved to New York and lived across the street from the little Italian coffeehouse, Cafe Dante.

Okay, now it’s your turn.  Only ONE entry per person please.  Multiples will be deleted.

4. Contest ends at 5pm on Friday December 16th.  Check your email on December 17th .   The  winners will be chosen by random.org.  If you don’t respond to your “winner” email by Monday the 19th @ 5pm , we will choose a new winner.

I always get a little flummoxed around Christmas when it comes to gift buying.  Being terribly practical, it bothers me to buy trinkets for people that have so many trinkets they need to make trips to Good Will donation centers once a month.  And yet, it is the season of giving and sometimes a simple way to express our love is with a present.  I’m always game for giving homemade food gifts and in the past have given away homemade:

• Curry Paste
• Vanilla Extract
• Sweet Glazed Nuts
• Applesauce
• and Chai Tea Mix.

Bringing someone some freshly baked Cranberry Lemon Zest Scones or Gingerbread Molasses Cookies brings smiles too.  When there’s not time to make something for everyone on your list, consider one of these four friendly foodie ideas.  And goodness, we’re always up for more ideas so please share yours!

1. Theo Chocolates

The more we explored the details of Theo Chocolates the more impressed we were with their scruples.  And who doesn’t love chocolate? No one that watches Cookus Interruptus based on 192 entries attempting to win a few bites.

2. Chico Bags

Chico Bags is renowned for more than just sturdy  reusable grocery bags from recycled materials.  This is another  company with impeccable scruples.    We are liking this new micro tango red bag they are sporting on the site.  It has a happy Christmas-y look doesn’t it?

3.  Good Fish

Becky Selengut’s new book Good Fish explaining  sustainable practices when purchasing fish and extraordinary tips on cooking fish is one of the best new cookbooks for 2011.  Recipes carefully crafted so that flavor is king.  Order a copy through us and everybody wins.  Click here.

4. Hands of Hope

Hands of Hope is a community of women helping women and children in crisis, with a current focus on Africa. In the late 1990s, Vicky Wauterlek founded the organization believing, “If women in our local community hear about how

women and children are suffering, they will respond and want to do something about it.” Today, that something is a highly motivated group of Chicago area women who have built their grassroots efforts into ongoing, sustainable systems in the African countries of Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and most recently, Zambia.  Totally volunteer-organization.  Buy a chicken, goat, water or seeds card for someone and more than just you and your loved one get a gift.

Random.org gave us #31 which is the sweet Sara.
She gave up her friend Hilary as the sweetest with this comment,

“My friend Hillary is the sweetest person I know. Sick? The soup and homemade bread on your doorstep is from her. Your birthday? She will rally your friends, whether she knows them or not, to help celebrate with you. Sad? There she is. Happy? She laughs the loudest with you.”

Do we know Hilary? I’m thinking maybe yes. If not would she like some more friends?  Congrats Sara!

CONTEST CLOSED!  Thanks everyone.

Wendy Vigdor-Hess, RD has rolled up her sleeves and done the hard work of demystifying our sugar obsession in her book Sweetness Without Sugar.  I communicated with Wendy about the title, because the book is not really about WITHOUT but more about understanding how to manage the quality and quantity of your sugar intake.  Most apropos as we head into the sugar craziest time of year.  The book is likely to appeal to many folks out there because Wendy has several dozen dessert recipes to offer which are allergen-free hence the subtitle: A Resource Guide for Delicious Dairy, Egg and Gluten-Free Treats Made with Healthy Sweeteners. Wow.  That’s a mouthful of sweet hope for those of you with multiple food sensitivities.

Within this 380-page book, Ms. Vigdor-Hess includes a detailed glossary of all the sweeteners on the market, a guide for replacing refined sugar with more natural sweeteners, tips on reading food labels and over 60 recipes.  Molasses Truffles sound nice to me.  Cakes, frostings, puddings - she’s got the how-to.  I’m in awe.

ENTER THE DRAWING!

For a chance to add this original, insightful book to your collection, do this:

1. Be a subscriber of Cookus Interruptus  Not a subscriber yet? Type your email address in the subscribe box right up there on the right above the blue navigation box.   There’s also a place to subscribe on our home page (upper  left).

2. Be a friend on  Cookus Interruptus facebook.  Not our facebook friend?  Easy.  Go to the Cookus Facebook page and click the thumbs up “like”.

3. Add a comment to this blog post (not facebook)  telling us ( in a sentence or two) the name of the sweetest person you know and why you say that.  My Aunt Phyllis is one of the sweetest gals I ever had the pleasure to know.  She always has a smile and never hesitates to remind me of what a waste of time it is to worry.  Phyllis (we called her Aunt Phiz) laughed at the dumbest jokes my Uncle Bill could muster.  Okay, now it’s your turn.  Only ONE entry per person please.  Multiples will be deleted.

4. Contest ends at 5pm on Friday December 2nd.  Check your email on December 3rd .   The  winners will be chosen by random.org.  If you don’t respond to your “winner” email by Monday the 5th @ 5pm , we will choose a new winner.