Cooking for show and caring for Sophie
The contemporary compilation of selected recipes by Helen Corbitt.
Thosetwo things have occupied my thoughts and much of my time the last two days.Sophie first.
Iknow very well that people do not go home from the hospital and instantly pickup the thread of their active lives. There’s an adjustment or recovery period.So why should it be any different for dogs? I’ve had one experience with thisjust over a year ago when Sophie came home too soon and had to return to theclinic for a few days. Monday night I thought we were in for something similar.She wasn’t much interested in eating, sort of moped around the house, notinterested in going out. I was tiptoeing around the cottage and watching herout of the side of my eye. I decided it was best to give her occasional bits ofaffection but pretty much leave her alone to gather herself. Tuesday morningwasn’t much better, although she did eat about half her breakfast. I was afailure at getting her medications into her—that dog can lick around a pilllike nothing you’ve ever seen. Hide it in cheese? Forget it. I wouldn’t havecalled her lethargic but perhaps passive.
Tuesdayafternoon I heard one sharp bark from her, which was the first sound, and by evening,when Mary D. came for supper, Soph was more interested in what was going on. Sheate her supper and asked for her dessert—canned green beans, which the vet saidto give her sparingly. And then demanded her little doggie treats. We were backon familiar ground.
TodayI feel we’ve really made progress—she’s eating, and by feeding her in smallbits, I managed to hide a half pill in each bit and got all three down her.Christian tried to hide one in cheese, which only made her suspicious of cheesewhen I tried to give her a piece mid-day. Same with pill pockets—I tried tohide her tiny noon pill in one and give it to her—she clamped her mouth shut,so I left it on the floor, and she ate it, pill and all. Am I winning this warby any chance? She still lies around the cottage a lot, but hey! She did thatbefore all this. She’s an elderly dog.
Iso appreciate the concern for her. Fun to be dining out tonight with a friendand have another friend stop by the table—her first question was, “How’sSophie?” and then a conversation about my Sophie and another dog named Sophie,belonging to a mutual friend, ensued. I had dinner with Carol Roark at Lucile’s,a restaurant both she and I like (and some of our friends don’t)—we find it’scomfort food. So tonight we split a chicken-fried steak, and we caught up onthings personal and political. Been too long since we visited. As on every oneof my ventures into the outside world, now that I’m home so much, I saw newbuildings, things I didn’t recognize. I’m always saying, “When did they buildthat?” But it was fun to get out.
Myother adventure today was to be on a Zoom program with Mary D. She teachescooking classes for the Silver Frogs, TCU’s flourishing senior noncreditprogram. She came up with the idea of a two-part class on Helen Corbitt—she wouldcook, and I would fill in with background on Corbitt, her career, and her yearsat Neiman Marcus. It was fun, though it would have been smoother if we’d done adry run before, and Mary had trouble with her power point program. I thought I’dused almost all my Corbitt stories, which left me worried about what I’d talkabout in the next session a week from today. But since then, I’ve had some goodthoughts.
Itoccurs to me that my Food of the Fifties interest could be such a program—I’dbegin by asking folks if they eat meatloaf? Salmon patties? Squash casserole? Andthen talk about what a dramatic decade of change the Fifties was in America’sfood history. Which would segue into recipes from that cookbook I’m working on,which is turning out to be a tribute to my mom. Lots of her good recipes. I’mnot sure where to go with that thought.
Soit’s been a satisfying, good day, and I’m sleepy. Night y’all!
