Monday, August 2, 2010

When Strep Attacks, He Brews a Cure - Matzo Ball Soup

So much for my earlier statements regarding how little I have been sick since moving back to Oregon. Evidently the microbial world decided I was being a little to self-assured and decided to send over the "Zsa Zsa Gabore" flu to smack me around a little. It backhanded me so hard that somewhere in the midst of my 103.7 temperature, I even contracted strep throat on top of it. Oye!

When I contract strep it NEVER pretty; my tonsils swell so bad that the infection moves into the muscles in my jaw and it locks shut. Yeah, it's a lovely place to be in. Not only can I not swallow, but I can't even get my teeth open far enough to drink without dribbling down your chin. Thank God for straws.

Even after the strep is gone, the jaw muscle problem lingers on for another 3 - 4 days. I have a regime that I usually follow, cause the doctors are worthless in this case. They always give me horse pill sized antibiotics, at which point I want to go a little Zsa Zsa on them myself.

Which part of "I cannot swallow OR open my jaw" are they not getting?

Now I am not going to go into the Echinacea blend tincture or any of that, cause I am not a Naturopath. I cannot ethically recommend that someone not see their doctor nor can I prescribe something of this nature. It just seems to work for me, and it's liquid... so it's awesome. I CAN however recommend a dietary "supplement" that will help keep you hydrated, be easy on your stomach and, more importantly, you'll be able to swallow it. LOL

Matzo Ball Soup!

Soft and fluffy matzo dumplings floating in a sea of chicken stock. Yep, that it the ticket. I don't recommend chicken noodle for strep, simply because the starchy pasta can actually cause swallowing issues, and lets face it, you don't want to have to swallow chunks of chicken... Very painful. Save the chicken noodle for flues and colds. Strep requires all things soft.

Yes, I know there are boxed mixes available, but I am gonna give you the proportions for making it from scratch. OK, not totally from scratch, cause I don't have a setup for making my own matzo. And if I am sick I am not going to be able to keep pace with the 18 minute rule. So I just buy the Matzo sheets and keep them on hand just in case; and Lord knows as much as I make risotto, I always have chicken or vegetable stock on hand, so it's always a "no trip to the grocery store" type of dish. In case you are curious as to what else I might use matzo for - I also use it as breading on fish, it crisp and light, with a fine smooth texture.

Matzo Ball Soup

2 sheets of Matzo (about 65 g)
2 large Eggs
2 TB Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Granulated garlic
Pinch of White Pepper
Pinch of Kosher salt (Could you really use anything else?)

Fit your food processor with the blade and add the Onion Powder, Granulated Garlic, White Pepper and Kosher Salt.
Break up the Matzo Sheets and add them to the work bowl.

Whirl it all up until you have a fine crumb and the ingredients are well mixed.

Pour this into a bowl and add the Eggs and Olive oil.

Stir with a fork until a "paste" is formed, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the chicken stock in a 2 quart saucepan (with a lid) and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove the Matzo paste from the refrigerator and wet your hands, then simply form the matzo paste into walnut sized balls.... Keep you hands wet helps to prevent matzo finger stickage.

Place the matzo balls in the boiling stock, then cover and reduce the flame to low.

Simmer for 30 minutes. (They will have expanded to about twice their original size)

Spoon the broth into a bowl with about 3 Matzo balls, and enjoy!

MMMMMM Moist, Soft and Fluffy... Not to mention filled with "chicken soup" type goodness. Which is a good thing, since I have been living on this for about a week. LOL

khap a nash!!
~~

3 comments:

Patti T. said...

Oh you poor dear, you sound like you are having a miserable time. I hope you are on the mend and fully recovered very soon.

Bob said...

Oh man do I love matzo ball soup. In grade school I had a Jewish friend and I would always try to get to his house when someone was sick because his grandmother always made this. And that meant I always got some! Heh.

Good luck with your strep, hope you feel better.

Cookiebaker said...

This soup looks wonderful! I've never had matzo ball soup before but now, after seeing this, may have to change my ways. I love a good soup!