How I shook Swine Flu (I think)

Let me not speak too soon, but last Friday, I was feeling--how you say--like shit. Achy, shaky, swollen glands and weak. Here's what worked for me.

First, I drank water. Then a lot of hot tea (green in the morning, something herbal at night).

Then I took this:
My friend Vani told me this is from France and the French have the best medicine in the world. She was right, it's the #1 flu medicine of Francs. I told her that Larry Gordon has been trying to make me take this for years, at the first sign of a throat tickle. This time, I spent $15.99 on the stuff because I was really scared I got the swine.

I took 2 doses. After the first, I felt no change. After the second, I felt considerably better.

Then I got sleep, no less than 8.5 hours every night for at least four nights. And finally, I took this echinacea with golden seal for three days, twice a day:

Some things I avoided:
dairy
sugar
Alcohol (in excess)*
Fried food**

*i had to drink two beers on Saturday for the Gator game because I'd made a $25 donation to the all-you-can-drink Gator club, and it was, ahem, all-you-can-drink. Also, Wolison and I made hot apple cider with rum one day.

**except for that basket of free french fries I ate half of, and the fish taco the next day at the Brooklyn Flea, where I saw Martha Stewart in the flesh.

But I digress. Warm liquids, lots of sleep, some oscillo and echinacea with golden seal, and knock on wood one more time, I feel completely fine.

Oven Quickie: Baked Sweet Potato Spears

Peel two sweet potatoes, cut them length-wise and arrange on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Drizzle olive oil, salt to taste. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes. Halfway through baking, flip them and rearrange.

Bring it to the next level with a dipping sauce of plain yogurt, dried dill and black pepper.

Bad news for soda drinkers

I heard this news story in a drowsy haze at 5:30 am this morning on NPR:

"This study that we did with UCLA showed that regardless of income or ethnicity, adults who drink one or more soda a day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese," Goldstein says.

One or more. That means one. So you can bet I jumped out of my skivvies and into a mad rage at soda manufacturers for making this country obese. Now--this article does not address diet soda, but I think we all know how I feel about sugar substitutes (hint: I loathe them).

As alternative, I LOVE Fizzy Izze. They are refreshing, bubbly and have no artificial sweeteners (only sweetened with fruit juice). I think the grapefruit is my favorite.


And if there's no Izze in the house and I'm feeling really zany, I'll mix three parts club soda to one part grape, apple or (Esther's creation) grape+orange juices.

Add vodka for a real treat. But not at work. Unless you work where I work.

Sardiney Pasta

Here's something you can make when you have almost nothing in the fridge, AND when you're watching the Gator Game at home alone on a Saturday night.

Sardiny pasta:



Don't give me that face, Sardines are so good for you. To quote this article, which quotes a different article: "In a 1984 issue of the Town & Country magazine, James Villas wrote an article entitled 'The Unsung Sardine' in which he said that 'ounce for ounce, sardines provide more calcium and phosphorus than milk, more protein than steak, more potassium than bananas, and more iron than cooked spinach.'"

I'll often toast a piece of rye bread, open a can of sardines and put them together with tons of lemon juice and thinly sliced onions. But this pasta is my newest creation. Here's what's in it:

1 can of bonesless, skinless sardines in olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large tomatoes diced
1-2 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 cup of red wine (optional)
the juice of half a lemon
black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup of bread crumbs (eyeball it)
8-10 Kalamata olives chopped
Parmesan cheese
Half a box of angel hair or linguini*

*For optimum health, make it whole wheat or quinoa. But as I mentioned above, I was home alone on a Saturday night watching a Gator game. Alone. So I went for the full-on, enriched, WHITE pasta. I'm not proud.

First, boil the pasta in a large pot. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Throw in the garlic, let it sizzle, but not burn for about 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the red wine (aw yeah). Let it cook about 4-5 more minutes. If the tomatoes start to stick to the bottom, add the water. Let it all simmer until you get something resembling a sauce. It doesn't have to be super liquidy, just so that the tomatoes are stewed. Add salt and pepper.

Next, open the can of sardines and break them up into the sauce. If some of the oil gets in, that's fine. Fold the sauce to heat the fish. Throw in the olives, bread crumbs and about a palmful of Parmesan. Toss everything until its heated.

By now, your pasta should be cooked. Drain, rinse it, add a little olive oil and toss it with the sauce. Put lemon juice on top and make sure the sauce gets all through the pasta. Plate it, add some more Parmesan to the top, and Voila! A pasta dish packed with protein.

Have something minty for dessert.