Feeding a tender tummy

One of the many side effects of chemotherapy is nausea and a much heightened sensitivity to odours. For a couple of days after chemo I didn't cook anything. Wendy's appetite is is for small portions of a variety of foods that don't have strong tastes or odours. Of course, I'm also trying to get a balanced diet; low in fat, balance of protien and carbohydrates, and lots of nutrients and vitamins.

I have discovered that soup is a good thing to have around. It freezes easily, can be quickly thawed in the microwave, and nothing gets thrown out in the cooking process. I tried this borscht type soup and Wendy enjoyed it.

One medium onion, finely diced
250 grams cabbage, shredded (Savoy type cabbage has less of the sulphur compounds that gives cabbage it's awful odour(
15 ml butter (a tablespoon or more if needed)
500 ml chicken stock
1 - 27 oz can diced tomatoes
250 grams diced carrots
250 grams diced potatoes (red bliss or Yukon gold - they keep their shape when boiled)
200 grams beets, peeled and sliced, or diced, or even canned beets

vinegar, bayleaves, pepper (If you are using commercial stock or canned vegetables, remember thay have plenty of salt in them. )
Yoghurt or sour cream.

Sweat the onions and cabbage in the butter in a soup pot. Do not brown them, just cook until they are limp and you've extracted the liquid out of them. Add the stock, the rest of the vegetables, tomatoes with their liquid, pepper, and bay leaf and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Taste the soup and if you want add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to give it a bit of edge. Or serve the vinegar on the table.

To serve, ladle into a bowl, add a big dollop of yoghurt or sour cream if your tummy can take it. If you start with good ingredients and treat them gently, your soup will be tasty, with a hint of the earthiness of beets and the sweetness of the carrots and tomatoes.

As we go through this, I imagine there will be other recipes.

Harvey