A peeg in a cage on antibiotics...

Not only does it ward off bloodsucking vampires, garlic is also an excellent antibacterial agent. I'm down with a nasty cold this week which was probably a combination of my body battling high doses of social stress and a lowered immune system from being around myriad students and their weekly ailments. Ahhh gahhhlick. Tonight I try the old minced garlic in warm water throat gargle. (gag) Additionally, I've read that hydrogen peroxide works wonders for killing the cold virus. Just put a few drops in each ear (where supposedly the virus enters your body, not thru the eyes, nose, or mouth as was previously thought). Jeez, can't I just have some chicken soup?! Well, at least I'm umami'ing it up vit ze gahleek.

Grampa Giancini's Chicken Soup 

1 whole rotisserie chicken (not free range - I'll explain later)

sea salt 

black pepper corns

organic chopped celery

organic diced carrots

2 heads of garlic (yes, heads- not cloves) diced

extra virgin olive oil (known as liquid gold according to Homer)

2 big white onions (the big ones)

1 large box of chicken broth (College Inn is fine)

some kind of pasta or rice if you wish

After the chicken cools - shred it. Use a knife to dice, shred, chop, basically break up the chicken removing any chicken skin or bones. Set aside. 

Add olive oil to a stock pot. Sautee your diced onions and garlic... when soft add the carrots and celery. Add some chicken broth to the mixture to loosen it up. Add the chicken... add the rest of the broth. Let simmer for about 30 minutes or until veggies are soft. Drink. Eat. Get Well. Fitter. Healthier. More Productive. 

The importance of using a regular old chicken here is that this is where most of the 'healing properties' of this dish come in. A regular old chicken is hopped up on antibiotics. It's true. It is. Google it. Those antibiotics are still in the chicken meat. Normally this is not cool. But I have a cold, so I'm going for it. Combine those trace antibiotics with hot, steamy, garlic-y, antibacterial liquid and you've got one recipe for cold cure. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

And for all you Radiohead fans... "a pig in a cage on antibiotics"