I’m sick. One thing about the weather changing is the amount of colds that go around my household and the office. I wish I could have a bubble surrounding me during this time, but I keep thinking the more I am exposed to colds the better my immune system becomes. There’s always a bright side of getting colds! The other bright side of getting a cold is having my husband make me his delicious chicken soup. I’m used to the traditional chicken soup that my grandmother would make during the cold months- whole chicken, chicken broth, carrots, onions, celery, and a dash of salt. Then you would load a ton of egg noodles in your bowl of soup to which there was hardly any broth left as it would be soaked up by the noodles. This recipe was then passed down to me so I could make this soup for my children. Well a day has not yet come for me to use this recipe as typically we use my husband’s. No disrespect to my grandmother, but I think she would agree this is a delicious soup.

My husband is from Ecuador, thus a chicken soup to him means more than a few ingredients and hardly any spices or herbs. He does use a whole chicken as my grandmother did, but he removes most of the skin and marinates it for a little while to really release those flavors in the soup. I won’t share all of his spices, but let’s suffice it to say salt and a number of Ecuadorian spices (i.e. cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and some other ones). He simmers the chicken with chicken broth, corn, potatoes, yucca, carrots, and onions for about 1-2 hours. Even though my nose may be plugged, the aroma gets in there and my mouth begins to salivate. Also, instead of noodles he tends to use rice, so aside from all those wonderful starchy vegetables, we add more starches to the bowl of soup. He also tops it off with a few squirts of lime juice. Literally my head begins to feel better and my congestion is away for at least a few hours after I eat his soup. He swears it is the nutrients found in the spices and vitamin C from the lime juice that helps relieve the pressure from a cold. No matter what it is, the soup works wonders. So, if you are ever sick give me a shout and I can have my husband whip some soup up for you!