sore throat.
Nothing wraps your throat in a warm blanket like the soothing comfort chicken noodle soup.
Sick days from my childhood taste of buttered wheat toast dipped in Campbell’s Homestyle Chicken Noodle and apple juice. To this day if I drink apple juice with chicken noodle soup I feel like I have just received a warm hug from my mom.
It is hard to know if the soup’s comfort comes from its famed curing potency or the warm fuzzy memories infused in its broth. Either way, when my sweet girl has a “scratchy frog” in her throat, I’m piling carrots, celery, and chicken broth on the counter before she can sneeze.
In my experience, most of life’s pains, troubles, and “worries go down better with soup” (Yiddesh proverb). And of course, this includes “my throat is all burning in here” troubles.
Today I serve up my warm hug with zucchini and rice. Here’s our family’s favorite recipe adapted from the Williams Sonoma soup cookbook.
8 cups of chicken broth (Pacific Natural’s chicken broth is delicious)
1/2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
1 celery stick, sliced thinly
1 onion chopped
1 cup of white rice
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
ground salt and pepper to taste
In a stockpot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add chicken pieces and simmer for two minutes or until cooked through. Add carrots, celery, onion, and white rice; simmer for fifteen minutes or until vegetables and rice are soft. Add zucchini and simmer for two more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warm bowls with a hot ciabatta roll!
Last night after being warmed through with soup and tucked under her down comforter, Ava made a little appeal to Heaven. “Dear Jesus, please help my throat to feel better so that I can go to the pumpkin patch. I love you, God. Amen.”
Thanks to prayer, zinc tablets, and her mama’s soup, Ava is on the road to recovery and the preschool bus to the pumpkin patch.
I’m curious: Is chicken noodle soup the universal comfort for colds or are your childhood memories shaded another way? What are you using or planning to use to comfort your children’s sniffles?
Hi Rachel,
No wonder there was no Ava at church last night. She was missed.
As for what we do, Joshua is always soothed simply by warm milk, but only as long as it’s served in a special mug. If we don’t have milk on hand, or if we need something extra extra special, it’s warm water with honey, again, in a special mug.
Now I think I’m going to look to see if we have the ingredients for that chicken soup…
elisa
Oh, that’s sounds delicious! Only if I could’ve had that recipe a few days ago to soothe my sore throat!
Well, I heard on the news today that all of those cold medicines do no better than placebos for kids…..hmmmm. I will go for the chicken soup and Vicks Vapo Rub….
Gramma Penny
yes, chicken noodle soup used to make me feel better, but definitely not the fancy soup you have pictured here! Just a can of soup heated up with water at my house! And since I have no children, no idea what I would feed them if they were sick! shanel
You are a better mother than I…when Alexander get’s sick I just sneak some Airborne vitamins into his sippy cup and do my best to keep him resting on the couch. My mother must have done the same thing, since I am sad to say that I can’t think of anything that she would feed us when we were sick.
For sore throats & bad colds, we got cherry-flavored lozenges and chicken-noodle soup (from a can) for lunch. When we were throwing-up, it was buttered toast & 7-Up. I really didn’t like 7-Up growing up because I always felt like I was sick when I tried to drink it.
When Henri is sick, he wants to cuddle on the couch with his blanket. I haven’t made him any special food yet, but I can’t think of him having any illnesses that he’s complained about recently except fever which drives him to the couch with his blanket. A sore throat would call for delicious chicken soup. Thank you for the recipe.