Just Bento

Oh no! I hope she recovers quickly. I find miso soup very comforting, especially in winter. I make mine very simple: I usually add wakame, sliced green onions, and either abura-age or small pieces of silken tofu to the basic water with dashi no moto (I do the easy granular stuff) and miso added at the end.

Update: Since I had to clean out my perishables anyways, I'm making a ghetto quiche. Making pie crust from scratch isn't hard, but it sucks when you don't have a rolling pin :-O Hopefully it will be tasty and my mom will like it... I should have added more salt though...

hana.yori.dango

My mother is very ill at the moment - she's been hospitalized as a matter of fact - and I am pretty sure that stress is responsible at least partly for her illness (she has very severe IBD - irritable bowel disease). I know pneumonia is not caused by stress, but I think that moms worry a lot more than well..not-moms. So the best thing you can do is anything that can help her relax. In my mother's case, I know it's things like doing the laundry and vacuuming! For your mom - you will know best what to do.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother's illness. I hope she will be recovered enough to enjoy the forthcoming holidays with you.

Can't say I know very much about macrobiotic foods, it's one of those topics that draws blank looks from my Japanese family. Even the aunt who sources all her food from organic co-operatives and communes in Japan knows nothing about Macrobiotics. It does exist there (I've seen macrobiotic cafes and bento boxes), but it's obviously nowhere near as well known as it is in 'the West'.

My husband swears by Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup whenever he feels under the weather. I have to admit, it seems to do wonders for him (like you, I eat fish but not meat so I've never tried it). And all throughout the Mediterranean, similar recipes for chicken broth soup are regarded almost as medicine - given to those affected by respiratory problems, invalids and anyone affected by illness. The feeding of this kind of soup to sick people is so widespread amongst the world's cultures, there must be something about chicken broth that makes it such a popular recovery food.
As my husband does eat meat, if he was unfortunate enough to get pneumonia, this is probably what I would be making for him:
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/samgyetang
I don't think it would be appropriate for me to impose my dietary restrictions on him at a time when his health is compromised.

My husband also drinks huge quantities of green tea when he feels as if he is getting a cold or has the beginnings of a sore throat. It has some antibacterial properties. He'll even gargle with some of it.
Ginger is also supposed to be very good for sore throats.

Please accept my best wishes for you both.

Soup is definitely the way to go! My mom likes miso soup so if I can find any of the ingredients I'll try that.

She ate one of my quiches with some frozen squash and she really likes squash so I think it made her feel better. I had to keep yelling at her though because she kept trying to wrap Christmas presents.

I definitely plan on taking care of the house for her, since I have to earn my keep :-O I'll probably be her slave all weekend doing Christmas stuff, which she'll love because I can't stand Christmas :X

Thanks for all the suggestions and I hope maki's mommy feels better too!

hana.yori.dango

I am sorry to hear about your mother, pneumonia is horrible. What I can remember from having it I hardly ate and was constantly sleeping, I even had to take a nap on the stairs to make it up to my bedroom on the second story of my parent's house.

And I agree with feeling better when you eat soup while you are sick. In medieval times broth was thought to be like medicine, there are different types for different ailments. And what is interesting is that modern scientists have found that this method of cooking retains more of the vitamins and minerals than so called dry cooking methods. Makes me think that they had something right.

Another thing that I really like when I am sick is fresh lemon juice and honey in hot water, it always feels good on the throat.

I know absolutely nothing about macrobiotic food, but I do know about being a sick mother! One of the things your Mum will be doing is worrying that her chores are not getting done while she's sick, and a great thing you can do for her is the chores. Ask her what needs doing, and do it.

I hope she is better soon, pneumonia is very draining. One of the lecturers in our department just came back to work after being hospitalised with it a month ago, and she's a pale shadow of her former self.

Brew strong green tea, then oversweeten it with lots of raw honey. Have her drink several cups. Those Emergen-C powder drinks seem to help a bit also.

Pneumonia can take quite a while to come back from, and with the holidays, your mom will try to do too much (e.g., her gift wrapping). But just having you home will be the best medicine. Even though there is a lot to do, try not to rush around. Your urgency might make her feel guilty that she isn't doing more. I know whereof I speak. My own mother is not well.

I agree with all the folks who have recommended soup; chicken and miso are the two I make the most for my mom. Yesterday I reduced some low-sodium chicken stock and added tiny dices of celery and cooked chicken for flavor. At the end I swirled in some beaten egg and nori pieces to make my quick version of Egg Flower Soup.

Egg custard also seemed to go down well and gave her some protein to boot. Here's a small portion recipe:

1 egg
1 C milk
3 T sugar (or less)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour into two ungreased 6-oz custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Set in a pan containing 1/2-1 inch of hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set. Yield: 2 servings.

Just an update that my mom is feeling a little better. The sad part is I had to move away to live with my boyfriend so I could have a job and I couldn't take care of her. But she wasn't letting me cook or do anything for her anyways...

I would say "Here let me make you-!" "NoNo, let's just order out. Here's what I want." I'd say "Ok time to drive you to the doctors!" "NoNo, I can do it myself. I want to drive myself."

She's still not feeling great, and now she has to deal with two extra pests (my sister and her boyfriend) and two extra pets (their cat and dog) in the house so I just hope she'll be ok. Thanks again for all your suggestions guys.
hana.yori.dango