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21 April 2004 - Hot & Sour...Vile & Cranky...Tired & Achy Yesterday I was feeling quite under-the-weather (even though the actual weather was lovely…still not sure what that saying actually means) – I called (well, emailed) in sick for work for the first time in a very long time. I had not slept much all night, had an awful pounding, intermittent headache that kept prodding at the side of my head (almost a migraine, but not quite) and I had a feeling my blood pressure was a bit on the high side…just a feeling mind you, I of course never got up the energy to actually take my blood pressure. Figures. Whine, whine, whine. So, after spending the day somewhere between sleep and consciousness, with the beautiful Jasmine-Cat snuggled up close to me, I decided dinner had better be some worth-while eating. When I got up the energy to make the trip to the kitchen, I looked in the refrigerator and then in the freezer, and then back in the fridge again, to see what might strike my fancy. There, forlorn on the shelf, I noticed that the expiry date on the package of tofu was April 24th, and decided to take matters into my own hands. I would eat that tofu before it went off and ALSO nurture my sickly body with some Hot and Sour Soup (heretofore known as "H&S"). I swear that this soup and Japanese Miso both have superior healing properties that I (even as a nurse) will never quite be able to comprehend. I recall having a bowl of Miso soup and some sushi when I was really quite ill (read: hospitalized) a few years ago and the next day I felt quite a lot better. My doctor couldn’t believe the improvement, either…so yes, soup does heal, some types probably a little more than others…oh, and chicken soup, in all of its many incarnations, I think does also heal both the body and the soul. This recipe is yet another I’ve nicked from Martha’s website – S. simply adores H&S Soup. One day last fall we were both in the mood for it, and since we do have all the Asian ingredients in our cupboard/fridge at all times (sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, fresh ginger and soy sauce) we thought Martha’s recipe would be a good place to start. S., the King of H&S proclaimed this recipe a winner; he even went so far as to say it was better than the H&S his favourite Chinese Resto makes. So, when Christmas Eve rolled around and we hosted my family’s traditional Chinese food dinner at our apartment we doled out the H&S to them as well…to raving reviews. So, although Martha is far from an Asian food vendor, she has a mean H&S soup recipe that I highly recommend!
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