ear infection

Laotian.

There was a big influx into Wisconsin after the Vietnam War. Hmong refugees were scattered all over the country (so that no state would have to bear an undue "burden" of refugees), but they were sensible about it and got in touch with each other and congregated in a few places. Wisconsin was one of them.

And they can do hot.

So can a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant, if you ask them to. They tend to tone down the spices for American mouths, though.

I knew a Nigerian woman for a while who thought the ideal level of spiciness was one that I couldn't even bear to eat. She'd bite off the tip of a habanero like it was nothing.

Eh, my friend Habte could eat a sandwich of Weber's bread (white blando, not entirely unlike the ethiopian sort of papery breads they envelope food with) with a lineup of habaneros between...

He couldn't do it any more after he was here a while.

Mmmmmmm, Ethiopian. I miss the Ethiopian restaurant south of First Hill in Seattle. Mmmmmmm..............

I really can't take HOT hot. Everyone has their own threshold past which the nose will run. Mine's pretty low.

The nose has to run. That's part of the cure.

Damn the threshold.

I'm SAYin that my nose does run at a very low threshold.

DAMN THE THRESHOLD!

You know, no one in my family has called just to see how I'm doing. My sister called to see if I'd be able to work the next day. My other sister is excused as she has a little one to care for. My brother is excused because he probably doesn't even know I'm sick (but, he's closest and could actually be of some help). My parents haven't. My mother returned my call about something else. She didn't ask how I was. This isn't terribly abnormal - she isn't a very sympathetic mom, but I am now worried that there is something wrong.

So.

Thanks to all of you who have asked how I am doing even though I am probably making you crazy with my little woes.

You want I should heave and throw up? What purpose would that serve?

Good grief, littleone, you'r us. Be well.

I think you should keep your bellyful to yourself, lil'k.

Awww, damn.



((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((('k)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

In addition to scientific proof that chicken soup has healing powers (http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/food/chickensoup/), it's also very soothing. (Note: There are many discussions of this. I picked the first one.)

The link says that some store bought brands are even better than homemade with respect to healing. It lists the brands. However, in this case, I say science, shmience. Homemade hits the spot.

BTW, I posted my recipe for homemade chicken soup on the hebonics thread and on the soup thread in the food forum. Here it is:

Ingredients
1 chicken (I prefer chicken parts, dark meat--thighs and legs)
celery (about three or four stalks cut in half and tied together)
2 or 3 whole carrots peeled and cut in half
1 or 2 onions (depending on size) peeled. Leave the onions whole, but I cut an X in the top to let the onion juices out
water
salt (I don't use pepper for this)

Optional
a bunch of parsley or dill tied together

Bring to a low boil and let simmer for at least two hours. After the first hour you'll have something that looks like soup, smells like soup, and at first sip tastes like soup, but it ain't soup yet. The second hour makes the difference.

Serve with thin egg noodles or matzoh balls.

Feel better, kid.

Ha! I was warned that you'll come speedily in defense of the chicken soup!
I've no doubt that there must be something good in it. But it can't be soothing to such people who simply hate chicken, or are vegematarian. Though I think littlek tolerates chicken broth, so it could work some, in combination with other things, maybe.
I just like chicken less and less. Used to love it, but year to year, it started to smell bad to me and I just don't find it appealing much at all anymore. Funny that, because my dad hates chicken, and I never understoon how can anyone hate chicken. It's just...chicken! But it's possible, indeed.

dag, I saw the warning too. Felt compelled to show up with soup info. Do I actually ascribe to all this? Yes and no. I suspect that there are some curative powers to it. But if push came to shove, I'd take a prescribed anitbiotic.

Obviously it's not going to be something vegetarians will want. And I don't like chicken either, but I do like the soup.

In my family it was considered beneficial for a cold. Nothing more. I don't know if it ever helped with a cold. But it didn't hurt either.

Oh I'm sure it helps. Just wondering. Do you think a turkey soup would do the same, or is it particularly chicken that has that special whatsit that heals?
Anyway, onion or garlic soup cannot be bad either. When we make garlic soup (we=Slovaks), we make sure to press some raw garlic in at the end. Granted, you cannot mingle with humans who don't have a cold and actually possess a sense of smell for days, but it works, too. And is soooo gooood.
(And cheese, we add our special sheep cheese called bryndza... which is unpasteurized, soft farmer's cheese.....). Oy, gotta go sleep. Can you tell I'm dieting?

Up until people started coming up with evidence to suggest that there might be some curative power in chicken soup, my personal theory was that it was beneficial for three reasons: First, inhaling the steam from the hot soup acted like a vaporizor, like a decongestant. Second, the heat from ingesting the soup warmed the body. Third, somebody who cared about how you were feeling made the soup in the hope of making you feel better.

These three reasons apply equally to any good, hot, homemade soup.

I'd like to try the garlic soup you describe even if I wasn't sick--and if I was planning on being alone for a while.


littlek, How you feeling today? Did you get plenty of sleep? I hope so.

Yup - chicken soup's the one.

I wish I could remember why the good results were specific to chicken soup - and how so many cultures had come up with their own variant of chicken soup. I suppose I should follow Roberta's link (and then I'll be mad that I forgot, since I actually watched that TV program when it was on).

I sometimes order a big tub of wonton soup when I need chicken soup - only a coupla bucks and I'm tired of making chicken broth (we make a vat of it for the dogs almost every week).

a lil somethin' for lil k ... shake yer maraccas