As it happens twice this past week I was literally called to help someone struggling with an agonizing physical problem. The first was a guy who hadn't been able for almost a week to leave the house because he couldn't go far from the toilet. Yes, it must have been something he ate and it did turn out, after I guided him, to be a bacteria traced to the oysters he'd consumed. But he had prolonged the problem by not fighting back sooner. I told him how to do that.
Yogurt also figured in the second problem of the week: seeming migraine headache. The woman was dosing herself with ibuprofen. That's fine BUT ibuprofen is known to be so acidic in the body, it eats away the stomach lining. So you have to get a protective coat on it. How? Alkaline foods like milk in all its forms: milk, ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream. If you don't do this you may cure the migraine and get stomach problems.
Other foods that can relieve diarrhea symptoms especially combined with pure yogurt are honey which is an antibiotic and turmeric which is antibacterial and supposedly anti-inflammatory, Other easily available probiotic foods that help restore that fighting good bacteria are miso, sauerkraut, beer, kombucha and pickles. Common foods that can help stop the flow but not get to its cause are bananas, chocolate and white rice. Do not use brown rice: its bran scrapes away the already denuded and inflamed gut. Nice spongy white rice or even white bread. And finally it may be safer to use these foods to block the flow than pills like Immodium which are dangerous because locking up the flow keeps whatever bad bacteria that caused it dammed in the stomach.
No one seems 100% certain that active cultures can stay active after being heated, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend cooked yogurt dishes. Here are a few ways to have it out of the box:
ALL PURPOSE YOGURT GARLIC MINT SAUCE
You can put this on top of cooked carrots puréed with caraway seeds, cooked shredded beets sprinkled with lemon juice, baked hummus, scrambled eggs or a baked potato. Or you can put it under a poached egg like Turks do.
To make the sauce:2 ½ c thick plain yogurt
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch salt
1/2 tsp dried mint leaves
Beat yogurt with garlic until the garlic is totally blended and absorbed into the yogurt. Stir in the salt and dried mint leaves. Optionally, you can also stir in ½ tsp ground Aleppo, Chipotle or mildly hot paprika pepper.
Now for the poached egg atop a bed of this garlic mint yogurt:
1 egg per person (this recipe is good for 2)
vinegar
1 tsp Aleppo, Chipotle, mildly hot paprika or some ground chili pepper to your taste.
2 tbsp butter or ghee
1 tsp dried sage leaves crumbled
Make sure the yogurt sauce is very thick so it will support the egg. Drain if not. Fill a small/medium plate with a 4” circle of yogurt about ¼” thick for every serving. For everyone being served poach one egg. (Do this in boiling water laced with vinegar to keep the egg white together.) Lift the eggs from the water with a slotted spatula so they drain well and carefully place one atop every yogurt “mattress.”
Quickly melt butter or ghee in a small skillet and chili pepper and sage leaves. Just warm, the remove from heat and pour over the eggs.
LABNI: YOGURT CHEESE WITH OLIVES (an appetizer or
party snack)
16 oz plain yogurt
1/8 tsp salt
1/3c pitted black olives, chopped
1/3 c scallions, chopped
¼ tsp Aleppo or Cayenne ground pepper (this is the call for hot stuff)
1 tsp dried crushed mint
Mix yogurt and salt. Line a colander with cheesecloth, muslin or a handiwipe and fill with yogurt. Put colander over a larger bowl to get the drips. Refrigerate uncovered 10 hours draining and stirring at least once. Put your new labni into a serving bowl with all the other ingredients. Blend everything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It will keep 3-4 days.
Tsatsiki (Greek/Turkish Yogurt sauce/dip)
1 pint very thick plain yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Persian or pickling cucumber, halve, seeded and sliced paper thin or grated and drained—they need to be as dry as possible
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Mix everything in a non-metal bowl and chill so flavors mingle.
Pakistani Yogurt Chutney
Normally you would avoid
fibrous nuts if your stomach is suffering. The trade-off with walnuts is that
they're known in Chinese medicine to strengthen the kidneys and the body's chi
(energy).
a condiment for 6-8
a condiment for 6-8
¾ c shelled walnuts, lightly
toasted
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 serrano chilies, seeded and
minced
½ tsp salt
2 c fresh mint leaves, clean
and dry
juice of 1 lemon
4 oz very thick plain yogurt
In a food processor, combine walnuts, garlic, chilies, salt, mint, lemon juice with 1 tbsp water and make a smooth paste, remembering to scrap down the sides. (If the mix is too dry to congeal into paste, add an extra tbsp. water.) Put the yogurt in your serving bowl and with a fork, stir in the walnut paste.
Garnish with chopped mint and a whole shelled walnut to serve.
In a food processor, combine walnuts, garlic, chilies, salt, mint, lemon juice with 1 tbsp water and make a smooth paste, remembering to scrap down the sides. (If the mix is too dry to congeal into paste, add an extra tbsp. water.) Put the yogurt in your serving bowl and with a fork, stir in the walnut paste.
Garnish with chopped mint and a whole shelled walnut to serve.
THE LAST WORD
If you suffer from any of these scary conditions, remember also you must drink lots of water. It's probably wiser to drink it boiled because boiling water is by itself a disinfectant and is considerably purer than tap water. Back to autumn cooking (e.g. braised cabbage, tomato sauce) next time.
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