I assumed that any cooking experiment undertaken while in the throes of this damnably stubborn sinus cold would have ended in an unpleasant mess. I was wrong: it was a delicious mess. And, the boy loved it, so it passes the most important test. So here, I give you, uh, a thing? Didn’t get around to a good dish name. Let’s pretend it’s a dish from exotic climes and call it “Moroccan spiced pork”. Would you ever find such a dish in Morocco, where most of the population is Muslim? Not likely.

Ingredients:

1 pork loin roast, about 3 pounds

5 ripe field tomatoes (use canned  tomatoes if you’re pressed for time, I won’t tell).

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon of green cardamom pods

1 teaspoon of salt

Start by marinating the roast for 30 minutes  to an hour, in just enough water to cover, and with the cloves, salt and cardamom added. A freezer bag is great for this.

Next, boil some water and drop the tomatoes in for just under a minute. Take them out of the boiling water and  into some cold water. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and remove the cores.

After marinating, put the roast and the marinade into a roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 200° F. Take your tomatoes and pack them around the pork roast. Cover and put into the oven.

One million years later (okay fine, 5 hours later) take the roast out of the pan. The pan will be chock full of liquid now, so back into the oven it goes to reduce. Turn the oven temperature up to 425°F and put the pan back in. This is a good opportunity to bake an accompanying side dish, like butternut squash. Seize the opportunity! Leave the roasting pan in the oven until you have about half  of the original volume of liquid. Skim out the cloves and cardamom, if you like, then stir the mixture to break up the tomatoes.

When the pork is cool enough to handle, pull it into shreds with your mighty hands. Put the pork into the roasting pan and mix. Add some salt to taste. Ladle on top of couscous and enjoy.

What an unsatisfying recovery. Each of the last two days have seen a lessening of my symptoms, but no accompanying sense of feeling better. Usually, the return to health has a feeling of energy and wellbeing, but this time it feels more like the illness is sputtering out and will be replaced by mundane weariness and malaise. sure would be nice to look forward to something.

Another unique experience  came along with this messy cold, and it was novel enough (without being dire) that I appreciate it happening. My whole head was packed with thick mucus. I know, that’s gross. But trust me, viscosity is central to the anecdote. I engaged in a vigorous nose blowing, and I felt my left ear plug up. The troubling part was that the goop in my middle ear and eustachian tube was stubbornly staying put, which meant my balance went out the window. This took place very slowly, and I caught on to what was happening pretty quickly, so I was able to steady myself by holding on to the kitchen counter and waiting until I regained my ability to walk.  I am very glad that I wasn’t in the middle of running up the stairs at the time.

On another topic: I will start up a second blog in the near future, and it will be full of creative nonsense. prepare yourself, people!