27 August 2006

Summer cold

It was bound to happen.

It still doesn't mean that I like it.

With all the running around I do, combined with the sort-of sudden temperature drop, pollen (aka plant sex) and pressures from this, that and the other...I caught...something.

Bah.

My nose is stuffy, my throat hurts, my ear aches, my body is stiff.

SOME people think it's my body's attempt to tell me to slow down and do nothing and just recharge. DO NOTHING? I don't "do nothing"...okay...I do...but when I say I'm doing nothing, that means I'm reading, writing, doing laundry, baking a cake, cleaning...homebody stuff. Apparently, this definition of "do nothing" is erroneous and what do nothing really means is sleep and/or watch TV/DVDs.

Bah.

There a number of non-pharma things I do to make life more bearable when I've caught a cold or something...one of them is drastically increase my intake of capsaicine, garlic and onions. Yes, that means copious amounts of spicey-hot foods that could be classified as a dangerous weapon in some jurisdictions.

The night that I finally admitted that things weren't right, I went to a local wing and rib place and ordered double-sauced wings: suicide and something they called "hotter than Hell"...well, they didn't do much for me--a slight tingle at best...nowhere near the eye-watering, nose-dripping lip numbness I needed.

TFE, on the other hand, tried the felt all warm and tingly.

I don't know what I was expecting...okay, I was hoping for a pseudo-surreal experience like Homer and the Guatemalan Insanity Pepper, but this definitely wasn't it...

When I was in secondary school there used to be this amazing "create your own" sandwich shop--lots of different meats, toppings, sauces and breads. I perfected my own "hotter than Hell" sandwich, when combined with a purely medicinal Nanaimo bar, always made me feel better. That sandwich was HUGE--a combination of chicken, beef, cheddar, lettuce, onions, pickles, jalepenos peppers, hot peppers, horseradish, dijon mustard, barbecue sauce and chilli sauce on an onion bun--I could only eat a quarter of it at a time, but it always made the nasty effects of any cold or flu go away.

Unfortunately that shop no longer exists (the owners sold it and the new owners had a string of bad luck and then ran it into the ground).

One of our gourmet shops also has a build-your-own-sandwich counter. It's nowhere as wondrous as the old shop, but you do the best with what you have, right? What you see is an attempt at recreating my medicinal sandwich...nowhere near as potent, but there were some redeeming factors: fresh brown bread, rare roast beef, cheddar, lettuce, onions, pickles, horseradish, grain mustard, sundried tomatoes and a proprietary secret mix called "the bomb." If my old sandwich was a "10" in spicey heat, this one was a "five"...a tasty five, but still a five. I knew this in advance, so I picked up some Death Rain Habanero potato chips...which brought the meal up to a seven.

Unfortunately, one important ingredient to this feel better with food journey was missing.

No Nanaimo bar.

I think that's why I still feel yucchy.

Bah.

cheers
!
jasmine

8 comments:

HoolaHoops said...

Jasmine, I came across your blog by accident and wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed it. You have a really engaging writing style.

I hope you are feeling better soon. I have no idea what a Nanaimo Bar is but it sounds like the trick for when you are feeling ill! I will try your tips for getting over a cold next time I have one!

Thanks and all the best

Leigh

Alice Q. Foodie said...

That sandwich sounds so good! One of my favorite things - a big rare roast beef sandwich with cheddar, pickles, pepperoncinis, horseradish etc. Mmmmm... I used to get them at the deli at Draegers in San Mateo when I lived in the Bay Area. Feel better!!

K and S said...

I hope you feel better soon. There are always colds going around when the seasons change.
Take care!
Kat

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling too well! If you're after chilli goodness, try this - go to a Korean grocery store and ask for some "gochu jjang" (Korean chilli paste), get some fresh green peppers, and dip the peppers into the chilli paste and eat ;) It's a much loved side-dish in Korean cuisine, especially with some fried pork belly!

Hope you feel much better soon!

Lis said...

Awww I hope you feel better soon, Jasmine!!

jasmine said...

Hello all

Leigh - Welcome! Thanks so much for visiting me and for your kind words. A Nanaimo bar is a little, heavenly sugar rush: a base of brownie-wafery-ish base of chocolate and coconut (and sometimes nuts)that sits under a buttercream layer that is topped with chocolate--everything I need to feel better :)

Alice Q - Sounds like a wonderful sandwich.

Kat - Thanks so much...the outside thermometer tells me it's warm, but I'm still wearing cardigans and jumpers!

Ellie - Wow...that sounds like something I'd love. Now I need to find a Korean grocers ;)

Lis - Thanks so much :)

((sneeze))

'scuze me.

j

Anonymous said...

Your description of the sandwich is making me drool!

I'm sorry you're not feeling so well and I hope you're doing better.

On the spicy front, I agree with you. What most places consider "hot" barely even tingles when you eat it!

It's enough to leave we spicy girls so disappointed!

jasmine said...

Ivonne -- Thanks -- I'm still not 100%...need a few days to sleep, methinks.

Re: spicy girls -- I think you, I and a few other gals could really show those self-professed "Spice Girls" what girl power is about...you know what they say...if you can't stand the heat....

;)

j