I love invalid cooking (and wrote a whole book about it "A Soothing Broth")! Three favorites--cure for a sore throat: cold vinegar, apple cider, pinch of cayenne pepper; saffron consommé for upset stomach and melancholy: homemade veal broth, carefully degreased, steeped in saffron; cocoa cordial for late afternoon pick-me-up (from Farmer): a good cocoa heated with a teaspoon of sugar, add a good portion of best quality port wine. Fixes you right up!
Before sharing my favorite recipe "under the weather", I'd like to share that it was pure joy to read this particular edition of yours. Happy to know that people for ages have considered comforting home cooked meals as a great medicine. Okay, so I've been brought up in the North part of India and what I have been eating and cooking for somebody calling sick is "Khichdi". I'd call it "Comfort Bowl of India". Indian food is so diverse that you'll find different comfort foods in others parts of India. Khichdi as a dish is also made with different methods in different Indian states.
She lived in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh when it was all Italian. She was actually my great aunt. She stood about 4’9” tall and was just as wide! (It was a testament to her phenomenal cooking)! 🥰
Dear Anne thank you for writing this article about feeding people who were ill and recipes from the old cookbooks. And "milk toast" brought back such memories, my mother served it often and I wasn't even sick! It was a good meal, tasty, and it was cheap and it filled the belly. Usually we had bread and milk in the house. . . but we had to be careful of the milk staying fresh in the old icebox . . . . Oh my, those were the days.
Jan 12, 2022·edited Jan 12, 2022Liked by Anne Byrn
When a cold was caught, my Grandma Bird would heat up water and pour it into a porcelain pan, have me stick my feet in while drinking a brew of whiskey, hot water, and lemon. I was a child. And I slept really good. The theory of the feet in hot water was that it would cause the blood to travel to the feet, thereby helping to clear up the nasal congestion. What a hoot.
What I really love--besides all the booze and wine they were adding to things--was the way invalid cooking taught that the most important ingredient was to cook with the freshest ingredients you could afford and serve in your prettiest bowls and cups to entice the patient to eat and feel better. We've forgotten this.....but thanks for writing this! It needs to be spread around
Your discussion of milk toast immediately put me in mind of this clip of Nigella Lawson making bread and milk in a silk robe, and then feeding it to her adorable child in bed. I remember watching this years ago and have never forgotten it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZHm3gTAuOw
My Grandmother used to bring something she called "float" to anyone who was sick. The recipe is long lost...but I remember it looked like beaten egg whites in a cream color liquid... Sounds a bit yucky to think of it
Funny when I read this I was looking at invalid all wrong. I saw it as not valid instead of sickly person.
I then remembered I had a cook book that was my granny’s that I took after she passed. She was born in the late 1880’s. I didn’t see any invalid recipes but it sure was interesting to look through. She also had lots of newspaper recipes too stuffed into the cookbook.
I love invalid cooking (and wrote a whole book about it "A Soothing Broth")! Three favorites--cure for a sore throat: cold vinegar, apple cider, pinch of cayenne pepper; saffron consommé for upset stomach and melancholy: homemade veal broth, carefully degreased, steeped in saffron; cocoa cordial for late afternoon pick-me-up (from Farmer): a good cocoa heated with a teaspoon of sugar, add a good portion of best quality port wine. Fixes you right up!
Before sharing my favorite recipe "under the weather", I'd like to share that it was pure joy to read this particular edition of yours. Happy to know that people for ages have considered comforting home cooked meals as a great medicine. Okay, so I've been brought up in the North part of India and what I have been eating and cooking for somebody calling sick is "Khichdi". I'd call it "Comfort Bowl of India". Indian food is so diverse that you'll find different comfort foods in others parts of India. Khichdi as a dish is also made with different methods in different Indian states.
She lived in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh when it was all Italian. She was actually my great aunt. She stood about 4’9” tall and was just as wide! (It was a testament to her phenomenal cooking)! 🥰
Hi Anne, I gave your post and newsletter a shout out in my story today. Hope you like it: https://patwillard.substack.com/p/a-reminder-to-lower-the-flame
Dear Anne thank you for writing this article about feeding people who were ill and recipes from the old cookbooks. And "milk toast" brought back such memories, my mother served it often and I wasn't even sick! It was a good meal, tasty, and it was cheap and it filled the belly. Usually we had bread and milk in the house. . . but we had to be careful of the milk staying fresh in the old icebox . . . . Oh my, those were the days.
I remember my Aunt Marie’s pastina curing whatever ailed you! Pastina (tiny pasta) cooked in chicken broth, topped with butter and Parmesan cheese.
When a cold was caught, my Grandma Bird would heat up water and pour it into a porcelain pan, have me stick my feet in while drinking a brew of whiskey, hot water, and lemon. I was a child. And I slept really good. The theory of the feet in hot water was that it would cause the blood to travel to the feet, thereby helping to clear up the nasal congestion. What a hoot.
What I really love--besides all the booze and wine they were adding to things--was the way invalid cooking taught that the most important ingredient was to cook with the freshest ingredients you could afford and serve in your prettiest bowls and cups to entice the patient to eat and feel better. We've forgotten this.....but thanks for writing this! It needs to be spread around
This sounds like pure comfort food!
Your discussion of milk toast immediately put me in mind of this clip of Nigella Lawson making bread and milk in a silk robe, and then feeding it to her adorable child in bed. I remember watching this years ago and have never forgotten it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZHm3gTAuOw
My Grandmother used to bring something she called "float" to anyone who was sick. The recipe is long lost...but I remember it looked like beaten egg whites in a cream color liquid... Sounds a bit yucky to think of it
Funny when I read this I was looking at invalid all wrong. I saw it as not valid instead of sickly person.
I then remembered I had a cook book that was my granny’s that I took after she passed. She was born in the late 1880’s. I didn’t see any invalid recipes but it sure was interesting to look through. She also had lots of newspaper recipes too stuffed into the cookbook.
Oh, Anne — This is such a wonderful piece! Growing up, baked custard was always a welcome remedy:)