Yesterday’s hospital visit was grueling and the one of the major good points was the picnic lunch packed by Our Jennifer and the hot oxtail soup we were able to enjoy. There is something so rich and nourishing about this dish and it has been forever a “soul food” in our world. Soul food meaning a dish that is made from an ingredient that is unpopular because it generally takes longer to prepare and therefore it falls to peoples who have more time than money, people with “soul” it’s said.

It seems that while we try to enjoy our lunch every nurse on duty has to come by to check out what’s on the menu with the Commandos. It’s nice, wouldn’t have it any other way. But I was suprised to hear how few of them knew what it was. Yea, how could something so good be so little known? So I decided to write about it today. Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

“Oxtail soup is made with beef tails. The use of the word “ox” in this context is a legacy of nomenclature; no specialized stock of beef animals are used. It is believed by some that oxtail soup was invented in Spitalfields in London in the seventeenth century by French Huguenot and Flemish immigrants, from the tails of animals.[1] Different versions of oxtail soup exist: Korean, Chinese, a fried/barbecued oxtail combined with soup variation which is a popular dish in Indonesia where it is called as sop buntut. An ethnic dish of the American South which traces its lineage back to the pre-revolutionary war era, and a thick, rich, gravy-like soup popular in the United Kingdom since the 18th century. Creole oxtail soup is made from a tomato base with oxtails, potatoes, green beans, corn, mirepoix, garlic, and herbs and spices.”

That’s nice but the food chemistry of it is on the unique side and noteworthy. The tail bones being an extension of the backbone are individual verebrae. These have cartilage between them and yeild a large amount of gelatin that is the secret ingredient. Also there is no shortage of fat most all of which needs to be drained off. Then maybe the stock includes some tomato as Our Jennifer’s did. Then there is the grain barley, carrots, celery and assorted herbs added. All this makes for a soup that as Our Gracie’s smile could change the weather so can this stuff! A thing of beauty.

I guess that I am raving here, which is better than ranting. But we need to make this stuff the offical soup of the Cancer Commandos. How’s that?
Good job Jennifer.

Have a few more emails to write and then will get ready for Thursday morning walk. Wonder who will show up? Yup, all good and more, love, Felipe.