Dear Reader, my bedside table looks like a drugstore, with an arsenal of cough and cold products lined up. To one side, my Vicks vaporizer puffs out clouds of mentholated steam. How could I get so sick in the middle of a heat wave?
Indeed, so seldom am I this sick that it took a couple days to give into it and realize I wasn’t going anywhere. My friend and neighbor Joan has called daily offering to go to the store for me, but being a Bahadurian, my larder is always embarrassingly full, so I croaked out a “thanks-but-no-thanks” each time.So what do I eat when I’m this sick? Eggs for sure. And yogurt, plain or flavored, is another favorite, maybe poured over some cut-up fruit. I like whey protein powder smoothies, too, again with fruit; my favorite flavor being Caramel Swirl which goes well with banana or peach. I used dairy milk instead of soy, although I have heard that dairy makes you more congested. More? I think I was at the limit, anyway! Cut-up watermelon was also balm to my scratchy throat.
When I felt up to solid food, I peered longingly at a tub of Maya Kaimal Indian simmer sauce waiting in my refrigerator, thinking it might clear my congestion, but decided I wasn’t up to that. Instead I picked at some leftover Chinese dumplings when I needed something solid, with slightly spicy dipping sauce.
Last night I cooked the little bag of shelf-stable Barilla Tortellini that had been languishing in my pantry. I don’t know how they do it, but the little cheese-filled pockets cook up as delicate as any fresh pasta I’ve had. I also had a tub of shelf-stable Scarpetta tomato-vodka sauce I’d been meaning to try, since it is made by the folks who make the good refrigerated Sauces ‘n Love sauces. It was creamy and delicious on the pasta. So, laugh at me if you will, my friends, but it sure can come in handy to keep some frozen or shelf-stable foods on hand. As Dad always says, it’s like “money in the bank.”
by Faith Bahadurian
NJ SPICE 