Sick Day

I rarely take a sick day, but yesterday I called in sick. I have a bad cold with a very hoarse voice. It's the voice thing that really decided it for me, since I have to use my voice all day in my job. I thought a day of resting it would be helpful.

One of the reasons I rarely take a sick day is (well, for one I usually don't get sick!) but also because I have such a highly developed work ethic--almost too much because normally I am wracked with guilt if I don't go in to work. But yesterday is probably the first time that I was able to relax and not have such a guilt trip. It felt good and it felt appropriate.

The view from my sick couch.

So I puttered around a little, ran a few loads of laundry, enjoyed the rare feeling of having the house to myself, and made hot lemon and honey (sqeeze a lemon, stir in honey, and add boiling water to make a cup). The inspiration for that came from Laurel's Kitchen Caring, a fabulous little book I always forget about when someone in the family is sick, but hopefully now I will make the connection and use it more. It has such a great tone, so comforting and supportive. It's designed to help the caregiver support the sick person and has ideas for all kinds of fluids and soups as well as foods that might appeal to the sick one, plus foods to fortify the caregiver as well. It also has just charming illustrations throughout. I see it's out of print--I'm glad I have my copy (I have a bad track record of throwing things out, but I've always loved this little book--just haven't used it much).

I also had garlic soup, the recipe for which I got from someone's blog--I'm sorry, I can't remember whose. Fortunately, I'd made that the day before and just had to reheat. It's yummy! and oh so comforting. Here's the recipe.

Garlic Soup
--serves 4

"Stuffy head? Plugged nose? Turn to garlic soup for relief. Science shows that garlic can fight the strongest infections, even pneumonia. It has been used successfully to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial illnesses, and its expectorant properties help move infection out of the lungs and bronchial tubes."

1 Tbl. olive oil
12 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large, sweet yellow onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, or 1/4 tsp. dried
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable bouillon
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 Tbl. fresh basil, chopped
salt

Put the olive oil in an 8-cup saucepan. On low heat saute garlic and onions covered, for about 25 min. until cooked through--they'll appear to be nearly translucent. Transfer the garlic and onions to a food processor or blender and puree with the thyme and 1/2 c. of the broth. [I used my stick blender and had to add the full amount of liquid to get it to work. Also using a smaller pan would help. Still didn't get a really smooth puree, but I didn't mind it being "rustic".] Pour puree back into pan and add remaining broth. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cayenne, basil and salt to taste, heat 2 more min.

(The original recipe comes from Herbs for Health magazine. I apologize to whomever originally posted it for not linking back to you!)

So today I am going to work. I'm still not that much better, maybe a little worse, more congested, and my voice is still not back, but I'm just going to go in and see what happens. Hopefully I'll be fine.