I recently had some dental work done — after I lost my job a couple of years ago it didn’t seem too important to keep up visits to the dentist. I went last week. And I paid for it because Dr. Liu found a cracked tooth, a broken tooth and a cracked filling (but no tooth decay!). Last week he set to fixing all that. He adjusted a crown while he was at it. I have to go back to have the cracked tooth fixed after I get through with jury duty, which starts today. So, following on my anniversary post about The Lauren Project, I share with you some of the things I ate — um, drank, since I could neither bite nor chew. It does give me empathy with those on restricted diets.
The first night following surgery I had a coffee milkshake, coffee ice cream whirled up in the blender with a little one percent milk. I was feeling pretty happy that I had an excuse to have one for dinner and even forbore to put Kahlua in it. By 9 PM I was hungry, however, and had to resort to a serving of coconut yogurt.
The next morning I was determined to eat something normal, so I cooked my usual breakfast of rolled oats in milk with a pinch of kosher salt, four walnuts and two teaspoonfuls of rhubarb compote (remember the rhubarb experiments?). I found even the amount of chewing required for oatmeal and walnuts to be unpleasant so I resolved to have liquid lunches and dinners for another day.
I got hungry again before 11:00 AM — I was up at 5:30 AM and had eaten at around 7:30 and had taken a little walk at 10:00. This time I set to work on a smoothie, consisting of a fresh mango and a container of strawberry yogurt with a pinch of crushed cardamom. Delicious, but after I had had a few sips I realized I was going to get tired of sweets fast.
What to do? I put aside the mango smoothie, rinsed the blender and decided it was time to try gazpacho.
This was kind of a big deal to me because have never liked tomato juice, Snappy-Tom, bloody Mary’s, or V-8 — can you say yuck? So I didn’t look up anybody’s recipe for gazpacho. We had cold soups when I was in France: my favorite one there incorporated melon, bacon and cream: it sounds gross, but it was really good.
Anyway, then I thought of the delicious liquid that hangs out at the bottom of a bowl of Greek Salad. I decided my best shot at gazpacho was to make a Greek salad and liquify it. I proceeded to chop 2 heirloom tomatoes, 2/3 of a large, peeled Armenian cucumber, 2 Gypsy peppers (ranging from yellow through orange to red). I added 1 large pressed clove of garlic and a small handful of chopped, pitted Greek olives. Then I went out to front yard and picked the ripest Meyer lemon I could find on the tree.
I blended all that up. I tasted it cautiously, with the intention of adding feta cheese. But you know what? It didn’t need the cheese. It didn’t need oil or black pepper or salt or red pepper flakes or red wine vinegar. It didn’t need a single blessed thing. I encourage you to try it, even if you are afraid of all of those red, cold, tomato-based drinks, especially if you like Greek salad.
I had a glass of Greek gazpacho for lunch, followed by the rest of my strawberry-mango smoothie. I have another glass of gazpacho left for later, waiting for me in the refrigerator. And tonight I’ll probably indulge in another coffee shake — the only thing that would make it better would be if I had a stash of malted milk powder, but we haven’t seen it lately at Grocery Outlet.
What are your favorite things to eat when you have dental work? C’mon. ‘Fess up.
Hard to beat smoothies, but when you have to eat them all day, it does get tiresome. You have some creative solutions. Try experimenting with what I call Luna Soup (green) like the moth. Blend seeded cucumbers with mint and yogurt. Wonderful on hot days.
Great suggestion, Alice! Thanks!
When we were 15 and 16, my sister and I had our wisdom teeth taken out ON THE SAME DAY. Yup. Some dentist had the brilliant idea. I guess he thought it would be efficient. It was… not good. I recall my mother trying to carry us out of the dental office – high as kites – and then dealing with us for the 45 minute drive home. Now, whenever I think of dental work, I think of the chocolate milk that my mother gave us when we arrived home. The chocolate milk that was poured down the front of me and all over the kitchen floor. Because I couldn’t feel my face. Or the glass that I thought was up against my mouth.
I had a wisdom tooth get infected once — it took weeks to clear the infection and then I had to have it out anyway. I had them do all of the ones on that side so that I didn’t have to come back later. Did they take all of yours out at once? I don’t think they do that anymore, even if you want them to (I am big on getting things over with once I decide to do them).
Love your twist on the gazpacho! I recall your not liking the traditional type, but as you’ve done there are so many ways – however you like – to blend up a nice bowl full! I’ve not had any dental work that would require a liquid type diet, so no comment !
Lucky you, Linda!
Last week, when you mentioned your dental appointment, you certainly weren’t kidding. Unable to eat solid food for days, I think you were in more pain than you are letting on. So sorry you had that to endure. Your solution, however, of making this gazpacho, is terrific! What a great idea and dish, Sharyn!
Hi John. No, really, the dental work was last week and I couldn’t chew for two days — not much pain, just a very sore jaw that resisted chewing. The gazpacho was delicious and a nice change from sweet drinks.
Oh how I loathe dental work! I don’t mind the actual process/procedure- I just hate the expense! Not very satisfying to me… Ha! Anyhow the gazpacho sounds wonderful!
I want to take good care of my teeth, Jen, especially now that I am older and they can’t take much abuse, but I agree with you that the expense can be horrendous and the gazpacho is worth eating even if you can chew!
I had a fair bit of dental work as a teenager, wisdom teeth removed and others worked on so my eye teeth could come down – several operations in all, and all under full anesthetic. My vivid memory is that when I came out of hospital, got home and my mum had made soup (and I was allowed to have tea on a tray in the sitting room!!). She had bought straws for me so I could suck it up as she knew I wouldn’t be able to chew. Well I couldn’t use the straws as I couldn’t suck with a puffed up mouth, so it was a matter of raising the spoon to my mouth and aiming in the right direction. Needless to say a napkin was needed 🙂 Hope you are feeling better soon Sharyn, dental work is plain horrid !
Thanks, Claire. I’m just fine — I wrote this post last week when I had the dental work. I do have to go in for one more round (cracked tooth), but jury duty interfered this week.
Ugh dental work just sucks – no eating for half and hour just if it is for a check up! Anyhow, moving onto better things, your gazpacho sounds incredible 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks, CCU. I liked it — I would make it again.
Congrats on the no tooth decay!
Thank you — always good news.
I’m going to have to have some dental work done in a few months…so am taking notes. But, I just posted two soups that would be great and filling for you. The cucumber soup (minus avocado) and Vichyssoise, which is so lovely and filling. Good luck with all this…not fun to have dental work done, that’s for sure.
Thanks, Betsy. I did see your soups. The weather will be different in a few months though — I can imagine you eating butternut squash, carrot and sweet potato soups then.
Sorry about your dental work! Hope you heal quickly. I have a fabulous recipe for
Gazpacho, and another for fresh puréed tomato soup, both of which I will share with you when I come back (I am on the East Coast till Labor Day). My gazpacho is fairly traditional but is also spicy and tart. And it has chunks in it so would not be ideal for people who can’t chew well – but you will be chewing soon, I hope. My tomato soup is easy because you don’t have to peel or seed anything – you strain out those items later. I advise you to take painkillers as needed – mouths have lots of nerves so dental work can be excruciating and if you stress your body too much with unnecessary pain you heal slower. I was told that by a doctor after I had surgery and tried to take less Meds than I needed for pain. If you are still having problems, try Advil or other anti-inflammatory – they sometimes are better than Vicodin or other narcotics for dental pain.
I have no pain now, Deborah — it wasn’t really that big of a deal (and it was last week) — mostly my jaws were sore because Dr. Liu kept manipulating my jaw to get to back teeth and to pop a cap on and off, on and off, as he worked on the fittting. I didn’t need anything other than Novocain and a day and a half of liquid food.
Oh the dentist! Oh the memory of a cracked tooth! I am so sorry, but very glad you saw the dentist and had it all attended to before more problems erupted! I love just a simple tasty gazpacho, so I can imagine this would be very special. We love Greek salad in this household, so I will definitely give this a try! The addition of the olives would be a taste surprise, I’m sure. And the milkshakes sound particularly good to me, too! 🙂 Debra
It’s true, Debra — how often do we get to have milkshakes with no guilt?
What is worse – dental work or jury duty?…
I’ll tell you later, John — I recused myself from the trial they wanted me on, so I have to go back again on Monday and start the process all over again! Dental work wastes less time and is shorter, but far more expensive.
Love any kind of smoothie. Once in awhile I choose a day to eat only smoothies, green, yogurt & fruit, etc. It always feel like a treat…but not when your mouth is throbing. Yea – no decay. We need more free dental clinics – people often skip dental appointments first when money gets tight.
I’ve had a cracked tooth before and it is not pleasant at all. I can’t imagine having all those things to contend with, Sharyn, I do wish you a speedy recovery. Fortunately, issues with the mouth heal very quickly; I burned the inside of my mouth this past Sunday with some barley risotto resulting in swollen gums and blisters (burn was really bad), but today I hardly notice it, in just three days!
The soup sounds lovely, I would serve this in a small shooter as an intermisso with crumbled feta on top. How lovely!
What a nice idea to serve it as a shooter with the feta, Eva. Mine was a vibrant red. That is just how they would have served it in France, or as a first course. I’m fine — I just have to schedule one more dentist appointment when I am done with jury duty (I have to go back to court next week).
Loved your instant gazpacho soup and will try it right away. The Luna Soup sounds good too, and I have fresh choco-mint plants in the garden!
This soup is so good and so easy, Suzanne. What is Luna Soup?
Great post. I love a good variation on the theme recipe. Quick story about dental/facial work and liquid diets. Years ago, a friend had his face reconstructed after a bad car accident. His jaw was wired shut for several months, during which time he ate through a straw. When he was finally allowed his first solid meal, my mom and I took him to a restaurant where he ordered his favorite Swiss steak. Did he chew it? No. He had had this many times before, but this time was so special, and the flavor so exquisite to him that he literally sucked on every bite to let it melt away slowly… I think he even purred. That’s how good it was!
I like to see a man purr…
I was JUST talking to my best friend about gazpacho! How crazy… and my favorite thing to eat after dental work–chocolate pudding of course! 😀
I feel your pain about the dentist.. I always dread going for fear of what they are going to find!
That said, at least a side effect is developing this intriguing gazpacho! Sounds delicious. Ever since I got my lovely vitamix I’ve been drinking smoothies, milkshakes and eating soups. Yours sounds wonderful!
Good luck with your healing….hope it doesn’t last too long!
Thanks, Melissa — I’m fine: one more appointment after I finish with jury duty.
Completely off the topic I’m writing a post on wild strawberries and wanting to add a recipe – ah, I thought, Sharyn has probably posted about this. So I came here but can see no way to search your past posts for a specific recipe. Is this possible? This time I will resort to the web but future posts will deal with blackberries and gooseberries – have you ever posted about these?
This sounds great. I have to say I turn to smoothies and mashed potato!
Well, you could think of this as a savory smoothie…
Dental work sure is no fun, I hate going to the dentist, but realizing if I skip my bi-annual appointments I will pay for it dearly down the road so I force myself to go. Your Greek gazpacho sounds delicious, you are so creative.
Thank you, Norma.
I hope you are feeling better! Take care, BAM
I’m fine now, thanks, BAM.
Afraid of red, cold tomato-based drinks? Not this guy! Absolutely love gazpacho so I know I’d love this Sharyn. Beautiful thing to fill up on after a trip to the dentist :D. My teeth used to be in fine shape until my friend knocked my front one in half with the barrel of a laser gun in some laser-tag place 14 years ago 😦 These days I have a nice little metal rod going down the middle of it!
We all had good teeth, once, Charles, when we were young. I hope that mine are healthy and will be around for a long time and I do not mind a few small repairs.