Soup for the sick... and the soul

cream of chicken soup

I agree with the mantra "you are what you eat" and the notion attributed to Hippocrates of "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" (whether he happened to say it or not). It's a philosophy adopted by my mother, and one I have tried to emulate when feeding my own family: serving good food leads to good health. Well. It certainly can't hurt!

Having a family member who is recovering from surgery, made me think of serving chicken soup. Jewish grandmothers foisting homemade chicken soup upon sickly family members is a common stereotype - and for good reason. Known as Jewish Penicillin, the benefits of feeding chicken soup to treat respiratory illness are not only anecdotal but have been medically and scientifically proven. The effectiveness of chicken soup as a restorative has seen it enter the lexicon, as a "shorthand for a cure-all, a mysterious-but-effective way to solve problems". Indeed, soup-as-medicine is common amongst many cultures. 

A science experiment was conducted by primary school children in conjunction with Imperial College London. The study sought to identify the anti-malarial effects of homemade broths. The study succeeded in finding broths that actually did inhibit the growth of the malaria parasite. As a bonus, the children were listed as authors of the scientific paper. 😁

we demolished this roast chicken before making soup stock

My chicken soup started as a broth created from our leftovers from a roast chicken. I boiled the bones with carrot, onion, celery, parsley, black peppercorns and bay leaves. Using the strained broth, I made two soups. 

making stock

congee

The first soup was a congee. I had my first taste of congee in China, where it was served as a breakfast food. Considered as a comfort food throughout Asia, congee is known by many different names and is served with a variety of flavorings. It is commonly served to the elderly, infirm, babies, and the ill. I made mine by simmering sushi rice in the chicken broth for at least 90 minutes, with a few thick slices of green ginger and some finely chopped onion. I needed to keep adding water to keep the congee from drying out. It is a bland dish that benefits from additional flavoring. We experimented with soy sauce and then with some toasted sesame oil. Luc liked it with a splash of mirin and grated fresh ginger. Sliced green onions would be a good addition - or Kimchi for more robust tummies. 

mirepoix

The second soup was a cream of chicken. I fried a mirepoix (diced onion, carrots and celery) in a small amount of olive oil, then added the broth with leftover chicken meat and any meat I was able to scavenge from the carcass. I blended this all together. The texture was a little 'gritty' but benefitted with the addition of some cream. This was good for our recovering patient who needed a restorative but liquid diet. I'd be inclined to serve the soup as a strained clear broth (not blended and omit the cream) for wobbly tummies or for anyone with respiratory problems. 

I loved the story I heard of recent medical school graduates taking hands-on nutrition training. The aim is for physicians to provide valuable advice to their patients suffering from chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol) and prescribe food changes instead of medicine as the first line of defense.

Fun

Fun for me is learning.

I like to keep myself informed and educated. I end up accumulating endless tidbits of information. I'd be a wiz at trivia quizzes—as long as subjects such as sport, current music, TV shows, and late 20th-century American history are not included. Oh... and if my recall of said tidbits were only a whole lot faster! 

I love to learn new skills. 

I set myself a challenge to learn how to animate this weekend. Well—make a start at least. I'm a bit of an Adobe nerd, so had a go using the Animate software. The process was fairly intuitive for a long-term Adobe user. My problems arose with the terminology and commands that would be part of the basic vocabulary for filmmakers or animators. Anyway, I became transfixed and had much fun in the process. See the gif above for an idea of what the Animate software is capable of producing. 

LIFE!

Life.
Life has a way of happening. 
It comes at you, hitting you like a huge truck. Perhaps more like a hurricane. Without adequate warning. With an unprecedented and relentless force. Without care or sympathy or subtlety. One doesn't notice life's ability to topple or maim unless one has, themself, been assaulted by its full fury or callous fervor. 

I have always felt I lived a rather charmed life. I have had to work for it, but have largely been left unscathed by life, riding its waves, but remaining afloat and with enough control and momentum to continue forth. I know this now. I know this as I have had life flung at me for the last four years. It hasn't been nice. I have shed more tears than I ever thought were possible. I have had losses that have been torturous and heartbreaking and totally unexpected. Before the pain from one affliction abated, another pain would assail itself. I have felt as I have been drowning. Carried along by a racing current, without relief or respite. Without support or succor. Every time I thought I might be able to catch a break, life 'happened' again.

Amongst everything else that has happened, I lost both my parents. Unexpectedly. Painfully. Too close together. This has been a huge wake-up call to my own mortality. I had started this blog for my parents. As a means of communication and updates from afar—before the advent of social media as we now know it. Mum longed for my updates and snippets of news. Then with everything that ensued, it all ground to a halt. I won't go into all that now... perhaps another day. But, I had always intended to return to writing.

I know my pains are largely first-world. There are so very many in the world living in conditions and situations that are merciless and incessant and without any hope of opportunity or amnesty. I will never feel that level of pain. 

I have the opportunity to make a fresh start. So here goes! 

A long hiatus....

Well this has been the longest break on my blog. Apologies.
Life has a way of getting in the way at times. *sigh*
OK... I will make an attempt to catch up a little - so much has been going on. I don't think I will have any chance of filling in all details... but I can say that

rum
sum
sum

is now on Etsy!

Please check out the storefront here. Please 'favorite' the shop, and let everyone know about it!

photographing babes

photograph of newborn taken by my very talented cousin-in-law Camilla! 

Digital photography has opened up endless possibilities for capturing moments in a child's life. The medium means that no flash is needed, there are multiple chances at getting the 'right' shot, images are easily manipulated, and sharing can be instant. 

photographs by Anne Geddes

I can only imagine the trials Anne Geddes needed to go through to create her brilliant images. Shooting long before digital photography was available, Geddes was a trailblazer of baby photography and completely changed the way people looked at portraiture. The setup time required, the creation of props, the unlikeliness of having cooperative subjects... then the angst prior to developing the film must have been considerable. Geddes greeting cards, calendars and books have been sought after since the early 1990's. Geddes still shoots and devotes much time and effort to philanthropic causes. 

Small babies are ideal still life subjects - when they are asleep: posable, not likely to move, and asleep for extended periods! This has negated all the problems associated trying to get a newborn to smile for a camera - or at least to look a little bit awake. Some people have been having a lot of fun and results are very creative. I love the simplicity of the Blackboard Adventures shot by Anna of Cute Moments Photography.

photo from cutemomentsphotography.com

A couple of mothers have turned their passions into lucrative careers, popular blogs, collections and even book contracts. Queenie Liao created Wengenn in Wonderland using her son as the subject in elaborate scenarios.

photo from facebook.com/Wengenn.wonderland

Adele Enersen started a blog posing her sleeping daughter in various poses entitled Mila's Daydreams. The collection later published in the book When My Baby Dreams.

photo by adele enersen, found at fashionisintheair.com/2011/01/milas-daydreams-adele-enersen

photo from: harpercollinschildrens.com/books

Action Movie Kid is taking all of this digital fun to an extreme. With a dad employed by Dreamworks, this toddler has the most awesomely documented (!) life. My children couldn't stop laughing at the short (mostly around 10 second) movies made by James' father Daniel Hashimoto.

video still from youtube.com/user/theActionMovieKid

playground without rules…

I think back to my childhood with very fond memories. School days seemed to be spent in the playground with occasional breaks to learn the basic skills of reading writing and math. At primary school we would wolf down our packed lunch or snack (outdoors) before racing off to dig in the sandpit, jump on the trampoline, play amongst the gnarled roots of the cyprus trees, swing on the monkey bars, hang from branches, kick a ball, tumble on the horizontal bars, play tag, roller skate, play mini tennis or four-square, throw quoits, jump rope, play elastics/stockings, leapfrog the bollards, climb knotted ropes… basically act like kids. Less energetic pursuits involved cats cradle, jacks/knuckles or marbles. The whole school population took breaks together. The playground was alive and full of energy. This energy was contagious. All were engaged somehow.

I look at my kids today and feel sad. They eat lunch indoors, in the cafeteria. There is no play time after lunch. One 20 minute recess is provided per day. This is spent at the teacher's discretion and does not necessarily occur at the same time other classes have their break. Recess is spent outside, dependent upon weather conditions. Recess activities are regulated and there are restrictions on more boisterous activities. At least one child spends the major part of recess in time out. My oldest child tells me they are about to ban kids from playing football as they don't want children to tackle one another. It all seems very static and boring to me. 

Paul showed me this video of a stance taken in New Zealand (originally part of a university study) to remove onerous and stifling rules from the playground. The Principal who adopted this approach speaks about benefits here. The resulting impacts are brilliant. Not only are the children becoming more engaged and creative, there have been the added effects of increased camaraderie, less vandalism, no need for time outs, and reduced bullying. The children are also better equipped to learn as they burn up their excess energy through play. Love it! 

It reminded me of the playground scene in the first episode of the Seven Up series. Apparently, post-war Europe was well aware of the benefits of Adventure Play. See this documentary for a totally convincing case for free play and its benefits (from the 1960s perhaps?). 

For the sake of comparison, here is the American 'take' on removing rules in the  playground.

first visitors for the year

We have just said goodbye to our first visitors for the year. Paul's brother Arthur, his wife Nikki and their daughter Milena.

It was wonderful to finally meet our niece. The kids loved having a little one to entertain and it was great to see them trying to find activities for Milena. It would seem Mietta is totally over her 'stinky baby' reluctance to deal with anyone younger than she. 

It was SO very cold during their visit. So much so that the kids were at home during the entire visit - with snow and 'too cold to go to school' days. This curtailed sightseeing, but allowed for some lovely bonding. 

During a bout of sunshine and less-cold, we attempted a sledding expedition. This was great fun and enjoyed by all until we couldn't stand the cold any longer!