newyorkette

^{Almost home-made. Maybe better.}

Tables for One isn’t just about eating out alone for one’s pleasure. It’s also about necessity. This week, we’re dealing with The Summer Cold. But winter or summer, if you come down with a debilitating cold, there are many reasons you may find yourself stranded alone and foodless (or with nothing but junk) at home. For one reason or another there may be no one to bring you some chicken soup, or you’ve run out of cash to tip the delivery boys. Below you’ll find a list of ingredients to keep on hand for such emergencies, as well as a list of easy to find ingredients you can buy on your way home from work to make your own very deliciously nourishing and easy to make cold/flu soup treatment. And you can make it in about the same amount of time—or less—as it would take to wonder what you want to eat, order it, and wait for it to be delivered.

Pictured below are the ingredients from left to right and down. The first two are actually just for snacking on while you get organized, so that hunger won’t adversely effect your already impaired motor skills:

^{For a complete guide to each of these ingredients, see them on my flikr page here.}

On the top left we are talking basically about Korean self-medication, very spicy, very tasty: kim chi. Very smelly, too, so be glad you’re alone for the evening. It will also serve as a digestive aid. You’ll notice this in the morning. I’ve heard that the enzymes present in it actually combat cancer! I bought mine at Jas Mart, but it can also be found at Fairway and various Japanese markets such as Sunrise Mart on Astor Place above the Astor Book Shop (entrance and elevator around the corner). Wherever you find yours, check the ingredients to make sure there’s no monosodium glutemate (MSG) in it, if you’re sensitive to it.

Next to it on the right is a healthy snack. Dried anchovies. Very yummy. Good source of protein and calcium. Again, watch the ingredients.

Now, the recipe:
Start with a small onion (or half a big one), sliced thinly as in the picture and simmering in some olive oil in a medium saucepan over a low heat. While they’re simmering, you can cut up a small tomato or half a big tomato as shown. Once the onions have softened, add the tomatoes and and grate some ginger (as desired) right over them into the saucepan. If you weren’t lucky enough to find any, don’t worry, it’s extra. A dash of turmeric (anti-inflammatory) and oregano (tasty and digestive) are both therapeutic and tasty, but also not crucial to the final taste. A jalopeno pepper (just a quarter inch of one, finely sliced and chopped to bits) can be delightful to a stuffy nose and numbed taste buds too. Let simmer, then add water, enough to cover, plus about half an inch. (We’re going to be adding the noodles and spinach later, just keep that in mind for the amount of water). Turn the heat up to medium now.

While this is simmering, we proceed to row three of the list above. The instant soup you see, “Thai Lemongrass & Chili,” is from the organic section at Fairway and cost 79 cents. I keep a stock of them in my cupboard for emergencies. You want to snip a tiny hole in the plastic, and then crush the rice noodles into smaller bits for your soup-slurping convenience. Once you’ve done this, open the bag and put the soup stock and chili oil you find inside into the soup base you’ve just prepared. Turn the flame up so that the soup begins to boil a little.

Once it’s boiling, turn it down to medium or low (whatever it takes so it doesn’t boil over), and add the rice noodles. Then, add about two big handfuls of spinach which you can break into smaller pieces with your hands as you add them to your soup. Turn the heat down low now and wait till the noodles are soft, which means your soup is ready! Add one or two shakes of cayenne pepper as desired, and you’ve got newyorkette’s cold/flu treatment soup for one! (It’s also a good snack for days when the heat’s not working in your building, or you just feel a little yucky and need a pick-me-up).

You’ll know you did it right if you need a lot of kleenex to blow your nose and to wipe the sweat from your brow.
Next? Under the covers for some z’s, you silly workaholic!

Helpful link:
Japanese markets in NYC.

Posted Monday, July 31st, 2006 at 6:00 am under tables for one: when you vant to/must eat alone. Feel free to trackback from your own site. All images on newyorkette.com are the intellectual property of Carolita Johnson, and you must ask (and receive) express permission to use them or reproduce them in any way whatsoever.