Good for what ails you...

  It seems that Grandmother knew what she was talking about when she said a pot of chicken soup was "good for what ails you".  For that matter, most grandmothers and moms knew this.  Somehow, the idea was pushed to the wayside with the era of modern medicine and "miracle" pills.  The chicken soup remedy soon became a mockery and most folks depended on other methods.  The staple of soup soon became nothing more than a can on the shelf that could be used during an emergency or when a mom was too tired to cook.  THAT stuff (canned chicken soup) probably is not what our grandmothers had in mind anyway.  It, most likely, is not too good for you in the first place. Grandmother had the right idea when she made a big pot of homemade chicken soup for all the sick folks she knew. 

  Each recipe varied with each cook but the idea was the same.  In a large stockpot, boil down a chicken and reserve that wonderful broth.  Once the chicken was done, pull it out and start tossing veggies into the pot.  Usually, these were whatever was in the garden or on the pantry shelf filled with home-canned goodies.  Carrots, onions, beans, peas...take your choice!  Rarely was pasta or rice added...potatoes maybe but not the others.  That came with later cooks.  Herbs were tossed in at the last minute and the soup was served steaming hot.  That steam had a lot to do with the remedy. Now, the medical society has decided that there might be some validity to Grandma's idea.  Chicken soup can help you heal faster!  Way to go, Grandma!

  Since I am still feeling poorly, I decided that a pot of soup might at least make me feel some better.  It is not called "comfort food" without reason.  If nothing else, just being in the kitchen doing something would get my mind off of my ailments.  There is only one problem with this whole scheme.  Here lately, I am having difficulty eating meat so perhaps the soup shall be eaten without partaking of the chicken.  We shall see. At least, the kitchen smells divine!