My Thirty-second Latkes and beef brisket -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Thirty-second  recipe for the new cookbook - Latkes and beef Brisket

1 unit Latke (mix half potato and half veggie latke)

1/2 unit beef brisket

dash of sour cream

dash of apple sauce

HANUKKAH

Last night was the first night of Hanukkah,  I was working until 7PM; my wife was at Neiman Marcus working until 9PM; daughter was at a Relay for Life Committee meeting until 8PM; and son was at Brandeis University.  This was the first year that the whole family was not together for the first night of Hanukkah.  Thanks to modern technology,  I sent each of them a outlook invite for a conference call at 5PM.  Although my wife couldn't make the call, both of my children were able to make the call.  I brought the menorah to work and the three of us were able to sing together and start the holiday off right.

LATKES

Traditional latkes are made with root vegetables, over time, it has evolved into potatoes and onion.  I can tell you that my latkes are the worst - just not something I have perfected.  Lucky for me, I have a Whole Foods in my town.  Whole Foods now carries three different varieties of latkes - white potato, sweet potato, and root vegetable with zucchini.  This allows me to vary my latke meal over the next 8 nights.  If you don't feel you are getting enough vegetables, definitely go with the veggie latkes.

LATKE AND BEEF BRISKET

You don't need a lot of beef.  This meal is more about apple sauce and sour cream - the beef is just for protein.  To warm the meal up, I heat up a tea kettle and use the piping hot water in the blender.  I have discovered that I have been making my meals a little thicker than usual, because the thicker food is easier to swallow.  Thin meals have a habit of straying up my nose.  Latkes are better in the nose than tomato sauce.

If the meal is too thick, instead of re-blending the meal, I just add extra hot water to the bowl, and stir.

COMMENTS

Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK

I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Thirty-first - KFC -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Thirty-first  recipe for the new cookbook - KFC

1 unit 2-piece KFC extra crispy thigh meat with biscuit, mash potato w/ gravy, and corn


DECEMBER IMPROMPTU GATHERINGS
December is a popular time to throw impromptu gathering among family and friends.  Although, we have visited Chinese food, and Panera Bread dishes.  I thought I would visit an American favorite of KFC (formally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken).  Many of the side-dish choices at KFC are very puree friendly.  So if you are bringing enough for a large gathering - you are pretty safe to bring something the cancer survivor will enjoy.

NOT IN MY HOUSE
Between the pescetarian and the vegetarian in my house, it was up to me to order a meal for one person.  Originally, I thought of getting the "original recipe", but the thought of trying "crispy" was just too enticing.

Be careful when you peel the meat from the bone.  The chicken is so tender that there is a good chance that the bone will be stuck to the batter.  Double check.  That is particularly true for the small bones on breast meat.

MAKES ABOUT SIXCUPS
If you add the whole meal to the blender, one 2-piece chicken makes about 6 cups of meals (depending on how much water you need to had).  For many of my readers, this might be a couple of days of food. Meal includes chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and one biscuit.

 I'm wondering what a Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen version would be like.

COMMENTS
Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK
I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Thirtieth - Matzoh Ball Soup -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Thirtieth  recipe for the new cookbook - Matzoh Ball Soup

1 Unit soup

2 units Matzoh balls

1 unit Matzoh Ball diced (not pureed) for lip-sippers

add enough broth that the matzoh balls float in the blender before pureeing.

OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS HEINOUS

I've been eating so many cream based meals in the past couple of weeks, I needed a huge change of pace.  Having lost 85 pounds between the two bouts with cancer,  I have no insulation against the cold weather outside.  Between these two problems, I asked my wife in the morning if she could make me her world-awesome Matzoh Ball Soup for me for dinner that night.  Just what I needed when I trudged in the house that night.

HANDING DOWN TRADITIONS

(Update 28 Dec. 2016) - While I was down in Atlanta for Christmas, and my wife was working late on the third night of Hanukkah, we asked my children to make the vegetarian Matzoh ball soup on their own.  At 21 and 16, they are both accomplished at cutting and cooking.  However no one has ever dared to make Matzoh ball soup, because my wife makes the best . . . We were now treading into the land of heresy . . .

My son thought if he were going in this direction, so should consult an ancient tome - Grandma's 1952 edition of THE AMERICAN-JEWISH COOKBOOK.

I really wished I was there is witness this historic occasion.  Food came out great.  PS if you ever find a 1950's version of a cookbook, you should read it.  It is a fascinating view into history.

MATZOH BALL

I don't know how my wife does it but they are always nice a fluffy all the way through.   So when I can finally chew again, they will be the perfect dish to practice chewing again.  For now, they puree wonderfully in the blender.  The biggest issue is that it is traditional to bite the Matzoh Ball.  Pureeing the Matzoh Ball takes all the fun out of the soup.  For lip-sippers, the answer is to take a Matzoh Ball and dice it and add it to the bowl, and pour the pureed soup over top.

I only have 1 cm clearance between my top and bottom teeth,  I cannot even get a spoon in my mouth, so I drink all my meals.  The diced Matzoh Balls are soft enough that they can squish between the teeth.  Comfort - pure comfort.

CHICKEN?

To chicken, or not to chicken - that is the question.  Far be it for me to tell the experts of the world how it make Matzoh Ball Soup.  I'll just say that at my house- chicken is optional.

Make sure that you add equal parts chicken and vegetables.

COMMENTS

Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK

I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Twenty-ninth - Biscuits and gravy -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Twenty-ninth  recipe for the new cookbook - Biscuits and Gravy

The nice thing about this recipe ifs that there is plenty of fat and grease.  If you need to add on a lot of weight, or you are loosing weight rapidly this is a great put-the-meat-back-on-the-bone  recipe.

1 Unit biscuit and gravy
extra gravy

or

1 chicken thigh
1 Southern Biscuit
Gravy

optional
roasted cauliflower

NOT EVERYTHING IS SAUSAGE
Oh sure, traditionally you use sausage,  but since you are pureeing,  I will use  chicken thigh, with sausage spices.  The problem with creating all these recipes is that I eat such a small amount, that it is hard to have all the ingredients in the house.  Chicken thighs have become one of my mainstays, because I can buy them one at a time at my local Whole Foods market.  The are just the right size of any of my typical meals.

Usually I cook them plain, and then add spices to the blender.

CAULIFLOWER
I was craving Biscuits and gravy in the worse way.  But that little voice in my head said "YOU NEED VEGGIES".  What veggies would go with BnG without ruining the whole thing.  Most green veggies were thrown right out - except peas.  For some reason peas seemed OK.  I was over at the prepared food case looking for inspiration, when suddenly, I saw "roasted cauliflower and capers". BINGO!  Just the right color, the right roasted flavor.  They worked perfectly.


COMMENTS
Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK
I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Twenty-eighth - Baked Ham and Sweet Potatoes -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Twenty-eighth  recipe for the new cookbook - Baked Ham and Sweet Potatoes

1 Unit Baked spiral ham
1-2 units baked sweet potato with/without marshmallow


US Thanksgiving Dinner
Although my siblings gathers in Atlanta to share Thanksgiving Dinner, my family shares Thanksgiving Dinner with our neighbors.  Which is fabulous because many ethnicities are represented.  America the melting pot.  It was a great chance to bring the blender and try different combinations.   Most of the combinations I've tried before, so I was very comfortable with the options - turkey, stuffing, rice, shrimp, pulled pork, pumpkin pie . . .

Friday, is traditionally a night to share Friendsgiving.  This is a gathering at a friends' house to share leftovers.  This is where I discovered the spiral baked ham.

HAM AND SWEET POTATO
Truly a traditional combination.  The saltiness of the ham, blends with the sweetness of the potato casserole. The big question is "How pureed should the meal be?"  The potatoes mash pretty quickly, and it doesn't take long for them to purify.   The ham, however, takes quite a bit more time.

I recommend putting the ham in first and pureeing it with water. to get it down to a texture that is is acceptable.  Then add the sweet potato.


COMMENTS
Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK
I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Twenty-seventh - Chili Soft Taco (Nachos) -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Twenty-seventh  recipe for the new cookbook - Chili Soft Taco (Nachos)

1 Unit chili soft taco with cheese

or

1 chili (w/meat) and bean
1 unit shredded cheese
1/2 unit corn bread
1/2 unit blue corn chips

options

Sour Cream
Guacamole
mild salsa
mango salsa
green onions

thin with water or non-alcoholic sex in a canoe (Google it)


CHEESE NACHOS VS. CHILI SOFT TACO
Eureka!  Corn chips, cheese and salsa never seemed to work right.  OK, so I was never going to be able to get the crunch of a good nacho, but then I hit on the idea of a soft taco, and everything started to come together.  With a soft tortilla, I got the flavor combination and the thickness needed to keep the meat from sinking to the bottom.  I thought that enough corn chips would be able to compensate, but the chips always overwhelmed everything else. The chili soft taco was my first success, and I shared the meal with a good Friend, Bill Kenerson, while he enjoyed a traditional soft taco chili carne.

CHILI
How to fix the chili?  What I needed was one set of beans in the chili to help add thickener.  Doesn't matter whether it it black beans, kidney beans, white beans, etc. just a little bit of bean with the soft tortilla does the trick. I also add a lot of cumin to my chili recipe, and then cut way back on the chili powder and chipotle.  I serve them on the side for my "chewer" guests.

NACHOS
Overwhelming corn chip taste.  No one like nachos where it is all corn chip and no cheese.  At any nacho-serving restaurant, there is always to battle of who gets the nachos with the good stuff and who gets left with the plain chips.  So by swapping out a little bit of blue corn chip and add 50% corn bread.  The corn flavor does not overwhelm the dish.   You just need the taste of corn chips, and blue corn chips give you the most flavor for the least amount of chip  In my typical 3 cup version, I'm only adding about 6 chips.

The Second issue was that the corn chips were always to grainy, and made the dish a textural nightmare.  After eating so many softly pureed foods, the chucks of corn chip are very jarring to the mouth; and the little bits get stuck behind teeth and gums, making for a rather unpleasant experience.

The real question you need to ask - Which is the most important flavor - chips, chili, or cheese?  Cheat and add a little more of your favorite

6 December 2016 Update - I have discovered that you can buy "sandwich sliced" cheddar cheese, and I typically take one slice of cheese per 2 cups of water.

FISH
2 March 2017 Update - I have discovered that fish tacos pureed are awesome.  I first started with salmon, because I typically cook an entire side of salmon my wife loves it that much.  So there is almost always salmon in the refrigerator.  I then tested cod, then sole, then tilapia.  However, then best option is fish stick tacos when the kids are eating fish sticks for dinner.

OPTIONS
Certainly all the traditional extra topping are available - sour cream, green onions, guacamole, mild salsa, mango, etc.  Just remember that you are adding just a little bit for flavor.  Think about how little is added compared to the typical large platter of nachos supreme and any restaurant.

Glad I created this in time for tonight's New England Patriots Game.


COMMENTS
Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK
I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.

My Twenty-sixth - Toasted Ravioli and Meatballs -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Twenty-sixth  recipe for the new cookbook - Toasted Ravioli and Meatballs

Just before Halloween my boss came up to me and asked what she should order so I could be part of a team lunch on Halloween.  I told her about my success with Panera Bread.  She ordered sandwiches and cookies for everyone, and a container of cheddar broccoli soup for me.  ALL GOOD!  I started lunch early and ended late, and really felt part of the meal.

Yesterday, my company had it's annual charity auction over lunch time.  I always drop some change, because one of the recipients is THE CAM NEELY FOUNDATION.  For Lunch, there were meatballs, toasted ravioli, garlic bread, fresh veggies and salad.  I looked over the assortment, and thought "Well, maybe I'll wait until after lunch to puree up some food.  This is a standard issue with people who have to puree their food.  Here I am a champion of pureed food, and still to shy to puree up a meal and eat with the crowd.

1 Unit* toasted ravioli
1 Unit Meatball
2 units extra sauce

optional "inside" of Garlic Bread

thin with water


25 MEALS OF EXPERIENCE
So I have 25 meals under belt.  I can now look at a luncheon assortment and realize what is going to work.  I had chewed all this food back when I could eat, so I knew the consistency of each dish.  A couple of toasted raviolis (which require extra liquid because they are drier than you think); a couple of meatballs; extra meat sauce; and finally I scooped out the inside of a little garlic bread.  The ravioli would provide all the starch I needed, so I didn't need the bread - just the garlic and butter.

I added hot water from the water cooler to heat up the meal, and make blending easier.

Now the blender I keep at work, is a highly inferior model, when compared with a Vitamix.  I was given it as an emergency blender, and it travels with me.  You just need to remember that you need to blend it longer.  Vitamix usually takes 4 minutes or more.  Other blenders may take up to 10 minutes.  By the time I was done blending, there were still small chucks, but nothing that wasn't manageable.

TASTY
Besides my son, I never asked a "chewer" to try my meals.  Today was going to be different. My co-worker, Patrick, and I started about the same time.  OK, so he has a couple of months on me and won't let me forget it.  He is also about half my age.  We have a great working relationship, because he is at the beginning of his career, and I am at the end.   He has been keeping tabs on my progress, so if I can trust someone with my first sample - it would be him.

"Patrick, would you like a taste?"  Pause.  "Yea, I think I would"  He grabbed a small paper cup and poured himself a little bit.  " You know this is kind of like soup.  It has all the flavors that should be there."  SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEE.  I think that is the best response I could get.

After that I asked one more person, and again a positive response.  OK Jeff, you are on a roll,  how about attacking that pureed Nachos again . . .

My current favorite ravioli available at Costco

* A unit is whatever size you want.  Whatever you choose, use the same measurement for all ingredients.

COMMENTS
Please add your comments and suggestions to my blog.  Nice to see people from around the globe reading my blog.  Please follow you want the latest recipes.

FACEBOOK
I have created a companion page on Facebook called: 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.  Sometimes it is easier to share a FB page than send a blog address.