Don't serve sick people sick food (and Stuffed Peppers)

When I was 12 my grandfather had a stroke. He spent eight weeks at a rehabilitation hospital 45 miles from our house. My mom was there every day, my dad on the weekends, and my brothers and I were there most days after school. We loved our Grandpa. He was gentle and kind, and we hated seeing him sick. My Dad called him "Pop." They were close. My Dad had lost both his parents when he was in his twenties. They logged many hours together working in our yard -- chopping wood, trimming hedges, clearing brush, planting trees and maintaining our expansive vegetable garden. My brothers and I would chip in too. Afterwards my Dad on occasion would take us to the local watering hole. My brothers and I would sip cherry cokes and play Pac-Man at the one video game in the corner of the bar, while my Dad and Grandpa grabbed a beer.

Visits to the hospital were rough. There were so many patients, like my Grandpa, in recovery but in terrible pain. Scott, the guy in the room next to my Grandpa, had spent the better part of a year in a coma after being hit by a truck and dragged for a mile. He was 18 years old. When we were not around he kept my Grandpa company. He was in a wheel chair and his body was shrunken from months in bed. His parents were there every day and like Scott they were warm and thoughtful. I can only imagine how they must have felt the day their son finally opened his eyes.

It was a long drive back home so we spent evenings having dinner in the hospital cafeteria. You would assume it would be bad. Institutional food can be disgusting, but not at this hospital -- it was delicious. They weren't breaking new ground but the food was flavorful, warm and familiar. They served typical American fare: stuffed peppers, roast chicken, meatloaf, pot pies, open-faced sandwiches, vegetable medleys and fruit pies and crisps. All of it fresh, not that Sysco nonsense. In "Carla Hall" speak, this food was made with love. Eating and talking about the roast chicken or strawberry rhubarb pie was a pleasant distraction and needed reprieve.

Fast-forward 20 years: When I had my son Simon, I was in the hospital for 5 days. On day 3 my husband told the nurses to stop bringing the food, not that I ate it the days before but the smell of it in our room was making us ill. It was a very nice hospital in a nice area, so why where they serving me such slop? Am I in prison? Did I do something wrong? I thought I just had a baby. Each morning they would bring in a tray of watery eggs served over a greasy slab of ham with a side of pale fruit and a half-frozen English muffin. I have a vivid memory of my husband lifting the cover off the tray and saying "Oh man," pause, "Yuck," as if he saw a squashed bug on the floor.

It's a terrible thing to serve patients bad food. Don't patients and their families have enough to deal with? Let's try not to make them more sad and sick with bad food. You think the road to recovery includes cups of green jell-o with chunks of canned fruit? I'm not a doctor, but I'm also not an idiot. Consuming godawful food can't be good for you. This needs to be national movement. Let's get Michelle Obama and Alice Waters on board. It's even more important than trying to get overweight but otherwise healthy Americans to eat less and seasonally.

As I discussed the topic with my husband we came up with a few catchy slogans for the movement:

"Don't make people more sick and sad with your disgusting food, assholes"

"Stop serving bad food because it's making everyone vomit"

"Stop making sick food for sick people"

I like the first one best. I'll be making t-shirts so if you want one, send me an email or post a comment.

I'm not going to attempt to solve this problem in this post. I am going to complain, call for a movement, and share a recipe that is great to make at home and would translate well if made and served at a hospital cafeteria.

Stuffed Peppers

3 cups cooked white rice
1 lb ground beef (chicken, turkey or lamb works too)
4 cups medium dice of onions, carrots, and red pepper. Use whatever combination you want, or whatever you've got in your refrigerator
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, strained
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
2/3 cup cubed (small) fontina cheese
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (either homemade or a quality one from the supermarket)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
5 or 6 medium-sized green bell peppers, tops cut off, seeds and white membranes removed. Pick peppers that are the same size, and ones that have a flat bottom. They need to sit upright. (If you are one of those people who thinks green bell peppers are evil, then don't use them. Use red, yellow, orange, purple or whatever is your favorite.)

You don't need to do this in a dutch oven, but I did because I love my 6-quart Mario Batali dutch oven. You could also do this in a Pyrex dish or any other oven-safe pot, pan, or roasting dish. You want the peppers to fill the space completely. The peppers should be nestled in next to each other so that they don't topple while they bake.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Coat bottom of dutch oven with a drizzle of olive oil and place peppers in dutch oven, cut side up. Season peppers with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.

While peppers cook, saute your vegetables in olive oil (1 tablespoon). Cook until soft and lightly brown. It'll take 15 minutes. As they cook add salt, fennel seeds, oregano, paprika and red pepper flake. Once vegetables are cooked add in the beef. Break meat up with wooden spoon and let cook until there is no more pink.

In a large bowl combine cooked rice, beef and vegetables mixture, diced tomatoes and parsley. Mix with large spoon until everything is incorporated. Taste to see if it needs additional seasoning.

When peppers are done, fill them with the rice and beef mixture. Don't be shy, really pack them. When each one is filled, sprinkle with cubes of fontina and top with a ladle of tomato sauce. Place them back in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.