Natural Wonders, Flu Shot.

There is a programme running on public broadcasting right now showing the ways certain tribes, all over the world, live or earn their living. Absolutely horrifying. From collecting swiftlet nests in caves where the human has to climb over 300 ft. to get at the nests with very little security protection. Another group collecting honey in a mangrove swamp which is heavily populated with Bengal tigers. Another tribe, living in the Amazon forests and have to cope with the Bullet Ant so they put their kids through a painful ritual to enure them to these ants. The kids have to wear gloves laced with these ants, for 10 minutes. They do this several times in their lives. It has been proven that in fact, the venom from these ants has medical properties and this race of people are rarely ill and have long lives. The kid who put the gloves on for the first time was howling, but his best friend, who'd done it before, was more stoic. The boys were 9 yrs. old. The gloves contained hundreds of ants. The sting of one is like a bullet wound, hence their name. Interesting programme.

Talking of pain, I mentioned we had our flu shots yesterday. They are given to you in the top muscle

Deltoids in red.

of the arm/shoulder - the deltoid. We had to hang around a while particularly because we are on blood thinners. Then we had to be in the mall for a while, totalling about 15 minutes. Eventually we came home and carried on with our day. About mid evening I started to feel a throbbing pain in my arm, lower than where the shot was administered. I ended up taking some Tylenol 3 as it was so bad and, oddly, I was also getting throbbing pain in my nipple on that side. This effectively prevented me going to sleep for quite a while. I was feeling very sorry for myself. Matt felt nothing. The next day, the throbbing pain had gone but my arm is sore. Matt is still fine. According to the woman who runs our exercise class, she has heard of others who suffered the same problems. I have now found a blog talking about Christina's flu shot experience. Reading her experience I am wondering if some of what happened to her could have happened to me. Apart from soreness though, mine is not all that painful any more. I will keep an eye on it though.

I have never before heard of cooking radishes. I was fascinated by this recipe so obviously have to share it.

Roasted Radishes With Anchovies

Melissa Clark - New York Times

• Yield 8 servings

Crisp radishes turn sweet and juicy when briefly roasted at high heat. Here, the chef Bryan Hunt from Riverpark restaurant in Manhattan coats them in a pungent anchovy-rich bagna cauda sauce. This is best served warm rather than piping hot. You can make the anchovy mixture up to 3 days ahead. Store it in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before using.

Ingredients

• 1 (2.8-ounce) jar oil-packed anchovies, drained
• ⅓ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ garlic clove, grated
• 2 bunches radishes with fresh greens (1 1/2 pounds), preferably French breakfast radishes
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice, more to taste

Preparation

1. In a small saucepan over very low heat, combine anchovies and 1/3 cup olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until anchovies have melted into the oil, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in garlic.
2. Clean the radishes thoroughly under running water, leaving any nice greens attached if possible; drain and dry very well. Leave smaller radishes whole and halve any large ones lengthwise.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a very large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Add the radishes in a single layer. Cook, without moving, until undersides are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip radishes and transfer skillet to oven. Cook until radishes are tender enough to be easily pierced with a knife, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size of radishes.
4. Return skillet to stove top over medium-high heat. Toss with anchovy oil, butter, parsley and lemon juice. Serve warm.

Have a great day