Food for Toothless People

Boyfriend had a root canal on Friday and has had trouble eating grown-up food since. So the challenge has been to make pureed food that is nutritious and filling. It's not easy! The Chinese have a rice porridge that is thick, hot, and pretty simple. Usually, people put some salted pork and thousand-year-old egg or seafood and peanuts or chicken or beef. After Thanksgiving, my Ai-Yee makes a porridge out of the leftover turkey. It's my favorite. However, since Boyfriend can't chew anything, the porridge, or jook as we call it, was simply chicken broth, some dried scallops and rice. It all gets simmered together for over an hour to yield a thick, hearty, savory porridge. Next on tap for the menu for toothless people: rice pudding and applesauce.

Jook

(Serves 2)

12 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup uncooked rice

2 dried scallops (optional)

1 scallion, finely sliced

Soak the uncooked rice for a couple of hours. You can also soak it overnight. Put the stock in tall stock pot with the 2 dried scallops and rice and bring to a high boil. When it boils, bring it down to a steady simmer. Let the rice and broth simmer for a couple of hours, uncovered. You can leave the lid on with a gap but you must stay close to the pot because the rice often boils over. Stir occasionally to ensure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot. The porridge is done when the rice has broken down and the porrdige is thick. Garnish with the sliced scallion.