The Heart of the Table | Generations & Legacy

Flu Fightin' Magic

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It's that time again. Leaves fall, winter knocks, kids return home after school with a backpack full of tissues, and your attention is drawn toward that first sneeze. Ah, it’s flu season! Red, ragged noses, breathing that comes in wheezes, achy breaking bones, and miserable dispositions.

I learned to make chicken soup from my Polish grandmother. She kept it on hand for every sort of ailment. I learned to stretch that soup from my Irish grandmother, who was always feeding an unexpected cousin or two.

But I remember the first day I realized that I could actually change a soup recipe. One of my young sons was watching Sesame Street. A short segment portrayed a Hispanic mom shopping for the ingredients to make chicken soup. She purchased garlic and cilantro in addition to the ingredients I put in my grandmother’s soup.

"Whaaaat? There’s no garlic or fresh herb in chicken soup! Well, my mind was blown. Since then, I’ve mixed and matched ingredients in all types of dishes, but especially in soups. Thank you, Big Bird."

My latest and greatest chicken soup adds potato to give it a rich, creamy texture and fresh turmeric to boost up the good-for-you aspect of the dish. I also added heat from jalapeño peppers to help with the stuffiness.

You don’t have to save this soup for flu season; it’s great on a chilly day when you’re feeling healthy as a horse! The lesson here is that soup is a terrific dish to make whenever you feel like it. Your efforts will be rewarded when you feed soup to the ones you love... and a few of their friends, too!

Chicken soup has mystical properties when it comes to fighting the sniffles. Some say sticking a chicken in boiling water, and using that broth as the basis for the soup, works on body and mind! Oh... and it tastes good too!

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