What's for Dinner?: Warm Ginger Ale, Saltines, and Do I have a Fever?

Some days I wish I could travel back in time, to a time when being sick meant snuggling up on the family couch, with the remote, saltines and warm ginger ale. There was no going to work, because I wasn't old enough to work and Mom called the school to say that I was going to be absent.

Ah yes, the perks of being sick. My mother and I used to watch "Price is Right", and later on "The Oprah Show", all the while chatting away, about the future, depending upon the severity of my sickness. Because, there were times that I was actually sick. My younger sister would come home, and tell me about her day, and the sun would settle in the sky.

Now, when I get sick. I roll over and pray that I can get through the day. Yeah, the days of no responsibility are over. So I had Bookie give me a flu shot later than everyone else, because I was smarter than the average bear! Hey, I wasn't sick yet, so in my small mind, I believed that I in fact, was being pro-active. As he spiked my arm, with small doses of influenza, I felt vindicated because I went against the grain. Here is what he said to me... "Well the flu season is over, not sure what good this is going to do"? Can you imagine the horror that went through my mind. The Doc has just injected me with a flu/swine flu shot that we had to wheel and deal from the third floor, and somehow I am feeling uneasy about my decision.

So I may have the flu, or what everyone says is the flu. Remember, I live in a small town. One says, "Oh yeah, I had the stomach cramps", or my coworker says, I had nausea and a sore neck. At the end of the day, I convinced myself I had everything. It is such a bummer, to be sick because the days of snuggling with the cat on the couch all day are long over. I am my mother now. You know what, I never remember seeing her sick, or if she was sick she hid it very well.

Yesterday, I came through the door, after limping through the entire day, Thank God for Advil, dropped my bags, kicked off my shoes and collapsed into the couch. I just wanted my Mom, and to sleep. Today, was better just the annoying remnants of feeling sick, hanging around trying to make a stink. It was Friday, you can't be sick on a Friday.

So, before the Crud decided that it was moving in, I was working on a really great rub. Great for chicken, pork, salmon and ham. It was the brain child of a chef I worked with years ago, Norman Levitz. So simple that simple would call it simple.

Maple Roasted Garlic

3 cups garlic cloves

1 cup maple syrup

5 ozs butter

In an oven safe dish combine all ingredients and roast in a 350F oven until the garlic is flaxen in color and soft. Drain and process in the food processor until smooth. Use as a rub on meat, or a spread on a bruschetta. The maple syrup softens the garlic, so the mash is not pungent at all. Roast it and you'll find out!