The Cure for the Common Cold

I have a cold. 

In fact I have so much of a cold that if I were talking to you, this information would sound more like, "I hab a code." I am snotty. I am weak. I refuse to get out of my moth-eaten old sweater and socks. I can survive on nothing but tea and soup. The medicine in my system seems to have only worked insofar as I now find "Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team 3" to be riveting entertainment. 

Colds are common. Everyone gets them, and usually twice a year. They are an infection, caused by an ever-changing group of viruses, that take root in some back part of the nose or throat and migrate through all the happy warm parts of our respiratory tract. The progression of symptoms is pretty much the same for everyone, and sounds exactly like an advert for Nyquil: sore throat, stuffy head, runny nose, and sometimes chest congestion. 

But everyone reacts to the common cold as if their cold is unique. My roommate is a cold denier: he pretends he is not getting sick and continues with his routine, but with a few more vitamins, until he's so sick he can't do anything but lay in bed. One of my ex-boyfriends was the classic whiner: at the first sign of the faintest illness he canceled his plans, took to his bed, and really, really wanted me to take care of him. A good friend of mine is a cold-depressive: she tries to get rest, but remains an insomniac, all the while lamenting that 1) she is missing all the fun stuff and 2) no one is going out to buy her cold medicine and soup. My brother has stealth colds: he just gets strangely quiet, and less active, and you start to think he's just lazy, until he gets better and you realize you were kinda being a prick, but just in your head. I am a cold pragmatist: At the first twinge I check my supplies of Emergen-C, Wellness Formula, tea and Nyquil. I drive to Washington state, where you don't need a prescription and buy the real kind of Sudafed (Sudafed Classic!) and I make a big pot of chicken soup. I then rest and wait to see how bad it is going to be, knowing that, like my Boy Scout brothers, I am prepared.

And, I have to say, my methods work pretty well. There is no cure for the common cold, in that there is not anti-viral medication that works against it, and there are too many cold viruses to make immunization worthwhile. On the other hand, there are a number of remedies that shorten the duration and severity of a cold, particularly if taken at the very beginning of the illness. These remedies work in a few ways, but mostly they are like bed-rest in that they are simply good for your immune system. The stronger your immune system, the faster it will beat your cold. 

Herbal tea, a very simple thing, is ideal for colds. A lot of the common ingredients - orange peel, berries, hibiscus - are high in vitamin c, so is the lemon you might squeeze in. Honey, a common accessory, is a natural antibacterial and antiseptic, protecting against secondary throat infections. The steam also helps loosen up all that nose-clogging goo.

My favorite cold remedy, however, is chicken soup. Chicken soup is the definitive cold-comfort food, and has been prescribed as a cure since the 10th century at least. A study done at the University of Nebraska Medical center indicated that chicken soup encouraged beneficial white blood cell response. Other studies have shown that, for whatever reason, chicken stock (as opposed to chicken-flavored stock) reduces the duration and severity of a cold. What's more, as luck would have it, good chicken soup is delicious, incredibly cheap to make, and easily frozen for re-use when you are, like me, too snotty and sad to even make fresh soup. Furthermore, chicken soup can easily contain all sorts of other good-for-you treats: bright, vitamin c containing vegetables, immune boosting garlic, snot-busting spices, and lotsa lemon.

Here are my two variations on chicken soup. The first is more like a chicken minestrone, and I make it all winter long. The second is a more recent experiment in herbacious, chicken-y goodness. As always, your input is appreciated!

A note about chicken soups generally: Never, ever use chicken breast meat. It does not appreciate long cooking and lacks the connective tissue to become truly fall-apart tender. Your best bet for soup is chicken thighs, as they aren't too gristly, like chicken legs, but will remain actually get to that happy, tender stew place.

Chicken "Minestrone", Jessica Style.

1/2 lb. chicken thighs, boned, skins off.

1 lemon

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped.

2 large carrots, chopped

3-4 ribs celery, chopped

1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded, chopped

A few herbs: a bay leaf, some parsley stems and a few sprigs of thyme, tied together, plus one sprig thyme for the chicken.

A sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Chicken stock

2 cups cooked cannelini beans (1 can*)

3/4 cup soup pasta, such as 'riso' (or 2/3 c barley)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt, pepper

Marinate the chicken with the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, 1 sprig chopped thyme, 1 clove chopped garlic, and a little olive oil.

Warm a large stock pot with a little olive oil in it over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add onion and carrot. Salt lightly. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the carrots have brightened and started to turn the onion a little orange. Add the celery, and saute for a few minutes more. Add the red pepper. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, stir in the remaining garlic and saute until the edges of the red pepper just start to wilt. Don't be afraid to add a little more olive oil if things are looking dry. 

When vegetables are softened, add chicken stock, herbs, and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, sear the chicken on both sides until browned all over. It does not need to be cooked through.

When soup boils, lower heat to simmer and add the beans. There is a bit of division between my friends about bean-water - the stuff in the can with the beans - some say it adds body and thickness, others say it just adds farts. Make your own decision. However, do not add the bean water if it contains anything other than water and salt. No onion powder in your soup, please!

Chop the seared chicken into bite sized bits and toss into the soup. 

When the soup has returned to a simmer, finally, add your soup pasta or barley. Taste for salt. Simmer along for another 30-40 minutes, until the pasta/barley is tender and the chicken has cooked through. Serve with a little chopped italian parsley and a dollop of sour cream, if you are so inclined. 

Garlic, Lemon and [green/herb] Chicken Soup.

This soup is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" sort of soup. Start with a simple base, and at the last minute, stir in whatever wilt-able green your happen to have around. Escarole is very classy and pretty, spinach is bright and good for you, kale will give you more crunch, and, in a pinch, big handfuls of italian parsley will do the job. 

1/2 lb. chicken thighs, boneless, skin off.

3 lemons

1 large shallot, diced fine

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup white wine/vermouth

chicken stock

crushed red pepper

4 cups wilt-able greens of your choice (about 1 head of escarole, or 1 bunch of spinach)

Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper

Up to 4 hours before, or as little as a half an hour: trim the chicken thighs and chop into bight sized pieces. Marinate in the juice and zest of one lemon, 1 clove chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil.

Heat a heavy bottom stock pot with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear marinated chicken until golden-brown all over. Remove chicken, with tongs, reserving fat in the pot. Add garlic and shallot and crushed red pepper and cook until just poached - about 1 minute. Add white wine/vermouth and scrape up any browned bits of chicken on the bottom of the pot. When the liquid is almost all evaporated, add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

While chicken stock heats, zest remaining lemons into the soup. Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add chicken pieces. Cook until chicken is cooked through and tender. Add greens all at once, and stir until just wilted but still bright. Remove from heat, squeeze in lemon juice to taste, and salt as necessary. Serve with a swirl of good olive oil, a few grinds of fresh pepper, and crusty bread.