Oh, that’s right. I don’t need a spoon to gag. It doesn’t take much for me to start hacking like a cat with a bad hairball.

Tomorrow marks my 16th week: 4 months! But alas, the 24/7 sickness and bionic nose still persist. I truly hope that I won’t be one of those poor souls that experience morning sickness until the day I deliver. That would just be cruel and unusual, if you ask me.

But, I digress. I prayed long and hard for this pregnancy, and by golly, if it takes 9 months of morning sickness to get this thing done, then so be it. It is one of the greatest blessings and miracles of my life and I don’t want to sound ungrateful now. But, it would be nice to be able to eat without fear of barfing. If not for me, at least for the baby. I’m sure the Snowflake would like a taste of okonomiyaki sometime soon, don’t you think?

Oddly enough, I have found one dish that I can eat in fairly large quantities: Chinese-style Cold Ginger Chicken. Since the chicken is boiled and served cold, it doesn’t emit an odor, and the ginger has a calming effect on my tummy without being overtly offensive to my taste buds. (I don’t care much for ginger, but they way they prepare it for the sauce is super yummy.) In fact, I’ve been eating this dish at least once or twice a week at work for lunch for the past few weeks with great results.

I found several recipes for Cold Ginger Chicken on the web and it looks so easy to make, I wonder if it’ll taste as good as the one I buy from my favorite Chinese restaurant? Maybe I’ll try making it over the weekend. Here’s the recipe from the HECO website:

Cold Ginger Chicken

Ingredients:
1 whole (3 to 5 lb) chicken fryer
Water
1 cup cubed ginger root
4 to 5 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
3/4 cup salad oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions

Clean and trim excess fat from chicken. Fill a large stockpot 1/2 full of water; bring water to a boil. Add chicken and additional water, if necessary, to completely cover the chicken. Cover and bring water to a boil again. Turn off heat and let stand for 1 hour. Remove chicken from pot and drain. Cover chicken and refrigerate until chilled. Cut chicken into 2 x 1-inch pieces; place in serving dish. Combine ginger and green onions in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add oil, salt, and pepper; chill. To serve, pour ginger mixture over chicken or serve ginger mixture in a separate bowl. Makes 4 to 6 servings.