Hospital Food

[Tri2Cook]

28 minutes ago, Anna N said:

And I quite enjoy egg noodles.

Me too...
 

29 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Cold egg noodles have very little to recommend them. Cold egg noodles that are glued together have even less to recommend them. Finally, cold egg noodles that have neither been salted nor buttered

…but that would definitely be the party-pooper for any chance of enjoying the noodles.

[Anna N]

Here.  I am learning more and more about the hospital I am in as I try to answer your questions.

 

As I surfed to try and discover where the food comes from,  I found this.   I suspect it is not up-to-date.

Click

 

 And ironically this!   No evidence that it actually came to pass if we are importing even our water from another province.

 

 I think this answers the question about kitchen facilities sounds more like assembly lines:

 

Here

 

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Anna N
Add another link And another link (log)

[munchymom]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Never trust a salad bar that uses kale in a Caesar Salad. 

 

I had a kitchen job for a while in the early 90s that included prepping the salad bar. We went through tons of kale - but nobody actually ate the stuff! We used it as the decorative greenery to surround the containers of things that were actually edible. The idea that kale could be used as a foodstuff was not even considered.

[Anna N]

34 minutes ago, munchymom said:

The idea that kale could be used as a foodstuff was not even considered.

 And that’s exactly where it should have stayed!

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 I do not believe there is anything more than minimal kitchen facilities but I don’t know that for sure. I think everything comes in and is simply assembled.

 

These carrots were remarkable in that they did not have that same texture that most frozen carrots do which is why I said I could eat them. 

 

I checked out the "careers" section of the hospital website.  They are looking for a cook and the description appears to involve cooking.

 

So there's that

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Staying positive, I remember a fabulous dinner in outback France by a young chef and his wife.    Returning the next year, we found his sweet little dining room closed.   Inquiries informed us that he had move "to the city" and a job as food director of a medical facility.

 

Wishing your hospital the best.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

36 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

I checked out the "careers" section of the hospital website.  They are looking for a cook and the description appears to involve cooking.

 

So there's that

 

Too bad they haven't filled the position.

 

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, munchymom said:

 

I had a kitchen job for a while in the early 90s that included prepping the salad bar. We went through tons of kale - but nobody actually ate the stuff! We used it as the decorative greenery to surround the containers of things that were actually edible. The idea that kale could be used as a foodstuff was not even considered.

 

Kale makes great stewed greens.  It loses its kaleness by long simmering with garlic, wine, red pepper and ham hock. Great sub for collards if they are scarce. And airfried with oil is nice. 

 

But That’s it. 

[Shelby]

Hoping @Anna N isn't so weak from hunger that she can't type.

[liuzhou]

10 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

Kale makes great stewed greens.  It loses its kaleness by long simmering with garlic, wine, red pepper and ham hock. Great sub for collards if they are scarce. And airfried with oil is nice. 

 

But That’s it. 

 

 

It is a worthwhile addition to any compost heap.

 

But That’s it. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[chromedome]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

It is a worthwhile addition to any compost heap.

 

 

I hear it makes corn grow really well...

(ducks, runs)

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

Hoping @Anna N isn't so weak from hunger that she can't type.

 A few blips in the system. Hang Tight. There is exciting news in your future. Eggs and toast have been discovered in Oakville! 

[Anna N]

 

Looks as though Tuesday is red letter day for breakfast at least.  

 

 

Still looking fairly promising. Cold toast is perhaps a bit of a turn off but one I can handle.

 

 

 Let’s just dress up the omelette with a little sriracha and one slice of toast with a little ketchup and see where we go from there.

 

 (Bear in mind that my daughter is almost on her way to bring me a sausage and egg McMuffin.)

 

 So we take a bite of the omelette. It  does not taste horrible. In fact it has no flavour whatsoever.   But with the hot sauce I could choke it down if I didn’t know there was something better coming.   Or could I? 

 

 

   Scratch that idea.  I think it’s alien. We are not eating eggs from the planet Vulcan.  I prefer the ones that come out of the backend of a chicken.  

 

 Toast with ketchup is one of my weird ideas dating back to my days in the R.C.A.F.

 

 

 Toast with Robertson’s thick cut marmalade was a very good idea. 

 

So I ate the toast and then had to miss out on my sausage and egg McMuffin so as not to be too full for a procedure that I was about to go through. Damn. Damn. Damn. At least I was able to cancel it in time.

 

 So there you go. There is toast in Oakville and apparently there are eggs on Vulcan. 

 

[Katie Meadow]

Just curious. Does the recent infatuation with kale represent perceived health benefits or the "discovery" of an underused green?

If you look at the vitamin and mineral content of kale versus other dark leafy greens it rates average. It doesn't have distinct advantages over spinach or chard. They are all good for you, with some variations.

 

To me kale is inedible when presented raw in a salad. I've never long-cooked it the way collards are often done, but then I prefer baby collards cooked in a saute pan and finished with a modest amount of ham stock rather than simmered for an hour in the more traditional way. I used to see baby Russian Kale at the farmers' markets but it seemed like a different plant from the thick curly stuff that is more common.   

 

I suspect that kale became popular on menus as a salad because you could call it "Kale Caesar," which was funny the first few times I saw it. Pickled mustard greens can be great, but you never hear about pickled kale. I assume someone tried it and decided it didn't measure up. And anyway, how did kale sneak into this hospital thread? You have to admit, it's hard to kill it. 

[IowaDee]

When I see a wedge of bleu cheese show up on your tray, I'll know you have the kitchen crew whipped into shape!

[Anna N]

No one can find the Special Visitor Menu which suggests that perhaps it’s not very popular item.

 

 But here you go on the room service one.

 

 

 

Now how exciting is that?  What I get for no cost I can have delivered within 45 minutes if I pay for the phone call to get it. Apart from the very few items which I have never seen on my tray, it is pretty much just duplication. 

 

But I have been largely untethered now.  They think I’m safe to release into the general population  so tomorrow @Kerry Beal and I are planning an expedition to the food court.

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

 So we take a bite of the omelette. It  does not taste horrible. In fact it has no flavour whatsoever.   But with the hot sauce I could choke it down if I didn’t know there was something better coming.   Or could I? 

 

 

 

That is some weird texture on that egg.  Vulcan indeed.  And I really don't understand tasteless eggs.  I buy cheap grocery store eggs.  I would like to buy the free range ones from the farmer's market, but I have to watch $$$.  And my cheap eggs, while not as great as the farmer's eggs, taste like...eggs.  Where the hell are they getting tasteless eggs??

 

And that menu???  That reminds me of some of those ersatz delis with the vast menus.  The places that order everything from Sysco and just heat it up.  Have fun at the food court.  Can't possibly be any worse!!!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Scary how it mirrors what we've seen on your trays.    I think I'd go with the vegetarian burger.    It has to be made off-site, and, really, how much worse can a hospital veggie burger be from a McDo or BurgerKing?     Certainly a better gamble than the beef burger or chicken breast, aka "seagull".

[blue_dolphin]

16 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Now how exciting is that?  What I get for no cost I can have delivered within 45 minutes if I pay for the phone call to get it. Apart from the very few items which I have never seen on my tray, it is pretty much just duplication.

 

Paying for an in-house phone call is an obnoxious policy.  Some of the menu items sound promising at first glance but viewing through the lens of your previous posts removes that optimism.  For example, I'm sure that baked herbed chicken thigh isn't the CSO perfection we've grown to expect and probably starts out boneless and skinless to boot.  

As long as it's not too cold in the room, I'd be tempted to order the orange sorbet and vanilla frozen yogurt to make myself a creamsicle dessert.  In my experience, hospital room temps seem to be set at Arctic levels, maybe for the comfort of staff who are racing about in an aerobic fitness zone.  When I spent a lot of time in the hospital with my cousin, I had to buy myself a fleece jacket in the gift shop....in mid-summer....in Houston!  

 

26 minutes ago, Anna N said:

But I have been largely untethered now.  They think I’m safe to release into the general population  so tomorrow @Kerry Beal and I are planning an expedition to the food court.

 

Yay!  @Anna N on the loose!  

[gfweb]

31 minutes ago, Anna N said:

No one can find the Special Visitor Menu which suggests that perhaps it’s not very popular item.

 

 But here you go on the room service one.

 

 

 

Now how exciting is that?  What I get for no cost I can have delivered within 45 minutes if I pay for the phone call to get it. Apart from the very few items which I have never seen on my tray, it is pretty much just duplication. 

 

But I have been largely untethered now.  They think I’m safe to release into the general population  so tomorrow @Kerry Beal and I are planning an expedition to the food court.

 

 

You will note that this menu offers Miracle Whip but not Mayo as a salad dressing.

That says something about something

 

[Anna N]

44 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

When I spent a lot of time in the hospital with my cousin, I had to buy myself a fleece jacket in the gift shop....in mid-summer....in Houston!  

😀

 

I actually checked myself (AMA) out of the emergency room here at one time. I told them I was cold, hungry and tired and home was a better place for me.  In retrospect it was an unwise move on my part. This time in emergency something must’ve clicked with them because I was given three heated blankets. Heaven!

 

 My room temperature and humidity are constantly monitored so I can tell you right now we are at 22.5°C and 41%  relative humidity. I do find it cold if I’m not moving at all but otherwise it’s quite comfortable.

[Anna N]

43 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

 

You will note that this menu offers Miracle Whip but not Mayo as a salad dressing.

That says something about something

 

 You are absolutely correct.  It is an indication to me that I am in the wrong hospital! I need a hospital that serves Hellmann’s. I wonder how you find one. Do you type into Google “hospitals serving Hellman’s”?  Hmmmmm. 

[rotuts]

with a tranche of SV Cap ?  nicely charred 

 

and a mid aged but nice Rouge ?

 

Id add that in.

 

sorry if you are still a bit peckish

 

congratulations on your

 

continued  tenacity 

 

and good humor.

[chromedome]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

 

   Scratch that idea.  I think it’s alien. We are not eating eggs from the planet Vulcan.  I prefer the ones that come out of the backend of a chicken. 

 

 

I think I've seen that same weird texture in eggs that have been frozen after cooking, but without the mediation of large quantities of cream.

[Anna N]

22 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I think I've seen that same weird texture in eggs that have been frozen after cooking, but without the mediation of large quantities of cream.

The really sad part is that the omelet this morning would probably have been something to write home about for some of the patients. They have never tasted a probably made omelette. Even worse, if they are served a properly made omelette they wouldn’t like it because they are accustomed to the dreck that was on my plate. 😧