Friends, I have had the flu. Or something like it. For the past week, I have felt little better than death warmed over. I have been tired and cold and my throat has hurt and sitting upright for more than twenty minutes has made me want to weep quietly into my mug of hot water and lemon. Forgive my absence, is what I'm trying to say.
My appetite was on the fritz as well, so even though I baked a cake for a friend's birthday just before the germs engulfed me entirely (this cake and, lo, it was good), and made myself a few invalid lunches (Better Than Bouillon, you complete me), I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to tell you about any of it. Woe!
But enough bellyaching. You don't want to hear about how a little flu can crush one woman's spirit to live or at least shower, do you? Instead let's talk about what other people have been up to. Why, some of them even make me want to get out of bed again:
Intellectualizing the salad: Nancy Silverton writes a manifesto on salad-making, most of which makes me want to cheer out loud (except the part about eating with your fingers). Now to track down some Little Gems.
Speaking of salad, Amanda Hesser likes hers "bruising" and "feisty". A woman, and a salad, after my own heart.
Have you ever heard of a chutney sandwich?
Desperately seeking heartburn: Brandi and Brandon make homemade hot sauce that sounds pretty fierce. Now what are the chances I'll find Fresno chiles anywhere in the Federal Republic of Germany?
Jenny and Andy's brilliant blog is about the cooking life when you have small people living in your house and eating at your dinner table, but their recipes (and wit) work for the childless, too. Case in point: this post on Truly Truly Divine Peanut Butter Sauce which turns out to be the only thing I'd like to eat right this very moment.
Canned creamed corn in a stir-fry - really? I admit, I am totally intrigued.
Oh, to live in Los Angeles with a yard and a farmer's market around the corner and a husband to make you an after-work snack consisting of homemade tortilla chips, quacamole and margaritas... Warning: Heather Taylor's webisodes might possibly make you green with envy.
It's Friday, which means Max comes home tonight for the weekend. Ever wonder what our Friday nights look like? The lovely Sarah Copeland of Edible Living dug a little deeper, here and here (bonus wedding photo!).
And with that, lovely folks, I hope you have a great weekend. Here's to Friday nights, showering and good health!
I agree, particular kinds of chili are hard to get by in Germany but there is hope: Do you know Pfefferhaus at Alexanderplatz in the S-Bahn arcades? They do sell a few different kinds of chili (fresh as well as canned) which is a nice change from having to buy one of those chili mixes from the supermarket that unfailingly include several varieties you don't want. Also, they seem to be quite eager to find out what their customers want, so that when I asked for achiote paste (to recreate the pork pibil I had at Dolores - thank you so much for the recommendation, it was awesome) they wrote it down and asked if there were some other products I was missing (yes, corn tortillas). So that might be a place worth trying.
Posted by: Anja | October 21, 2011 at 06:55 AM
Anja - be still my beating heart: CORN TORTILLAS are in our future?? Thank you for this tip! Pfefferhaus is on my list. :)
Posted by: Luisa | October 21, 2011 at 07:29 AM
beautiful wedding photo!
Posted by: brooklynite | October 21, 2011 at 08:46 AM
oh, you poor dear :( do you ever add ginger, the fresh stuff, coins and coins of it, to your lemon tea? sometimes i swear it's the only thing that gets me through. 'bruising' and 'feisty', but in a cup.
(here: http://www.remedialeating.com/2010/02/short-sweet-and-spicy.html#tp)
feel better soon, sweet thing!
Posted by: Molly | October 21, 2011 at 09:03 AM
I hope you feel better! Thanks for all the great links. Can't wait to try the hot sauce. I will pass on the creamed corn, though.
Posted by: Dawn | October 21, 2011 at 09:22 AM
Thank you for the great links. I just can't resist intellectualizing everything and the salad bit really got me (although my personal preferences for salad are a bit different, since I don't really like dressing - but this is a shock caused by years and years of eating overdressed salad, so I'm excused).
I hope you feel really great soon and have a fantastic week end :)
Posted by: Caffettiera | October 21, 2011 at 09:25 AM
Gorgeous wedding pic on Sarah's blog!!! Hope you're feeling better soon.
Posted by: JackieRD | October 21, 2011 at 09:55 AM
Feel better soon, Luisa. (And yes, corn tortillas are in your future.)
Posted by: Liana | October 21, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Get well soon! Coconut oatmeal cookies might help...take two a day :)
Posted by: Tracy | October 21, 2011 at 11:30 AM
The chutney sandwich sounds good, though can I suggest that the bread isn't necessary? In Gujarati spots in London, the ingredients are basically piled on a plate and doused with chutneys (mint/coriander and tamarind) and yogurt, or spooned into these crispy crackers which aren't the same as, but also aren't completely different from, poppadums.
Posted by: Shira | October 21, 2011 at 11:32 AM
Oh dear, feel better Luisa! And as tempting as LA sounds... I'd say you're pretty enviable as well living in that beautiful city Berlin of yours. (enviable, besides the part about the flu, of course!)
Posted by: Amy | October 21, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Brooklynite - thank you! :)
Molly - I had been drinking ginger tea before and then I switched over to the pure lemon stuff, to kick the cold...
Dawn - I know, I want someone else to make it for me and give me just one bite.
Caffettiera - thank you. I know how you feel about over-dressed salads; they give me the heebie-jeebies.
JackieRD - thank you!
Liana - O. M. G. I think I just figured out your comment. Wheee!!
Tracy - sounds like good medicine.
Shira - isn't that aloo chat or something like that? Bombay Talkie, an Indian restaurant in Chelsea (NYC) serves something very similar to what you described and holy chutney, it was delicious. Cool and crispy and sour and yogurty and wonderful. Hungry now.
Amy - yeah, I've got it good over here, it's true. :) However. I have got it BAD for L.A. One day...
Posted by: Luisa | October 21, 2011 at 01:49 PM
I was wondering where you've been! Hope you feel 100% soon--and enjoy your weekend with your husband.
Posted by: Katie | October 21, 2011 at 04:40 PM
I enjoy your blog(s) very much and was wondering where you went off to. There's been many a day that stopping by your blog for a visit, brightened my day or made me hungry, or both :) . Take good care of you and here's hoping that you return to full glowing health soon. junemoon
Posted by: junemoon | October 21, 2011 at 05:59 PM
Yum, yum, yum, could have one of Nancy Silverton's salads every day, lunch and dinner.
And whoop whoop, Friday Link Love is back.
Posted by: Suzy | October 21, 2011 at 06:58 PM
Thank you for the mention, Luisa! I greatly appreciate it and am thrilled that you're enjoying the webisodes!
Posted by: Heather Taylor | October 21, 2011 at 07:20 PM
Keep on the road to recovery -- and yes, ginger works! So does loading up food with turmeric, if you can stomach the stuff on a flu-ish belly.
I love your collection of links...I'm always learning something new from them!
Posted by: lauren@spiced plate | October 22, 2011 at 06:54 AM
I just noticed the link to my own blog post for the chutney sandwich - I was wondering what was causing the traffic spike! Appreciate the shout-out. :)
Posted by: brooklynite | October 24, 2011 at 04:20 PM