Arrgh! Sickness kills travel (plus chicken soup recipe)

I was going to go away for the weekend but I came down with a nasty cold, so I made myself a heaping pot of chicken soup. It should last me through the weekend as I try to replenish fluids. I thought I would share my recipe with you:

Yummy chicken soup:

1 whole chicken, quartered (2 lbs or more of chicken legs work too)
2 cups of chopped carrots (baby are fine)
1 large onion
2 medium-large potatoes
whole head of garlic
olive oil
2 pats of butter
2-4 boullion chicken cubes
To taste:
Parsley
Oregano
Thyme
Salt
pepper (freshly ground is best)
sprinkling of Paprika

Optional (these are items I've added to variants of the soup before and enjoyed):
chopped Celery
Sliced Mushrooms
Sliced Broccoli stems
white wine
pasta (penne, shells, rotini are good)


1) Roast the garlic in the oven at 350-400 degrees. Put 2 pats of butter into the stockpot and drizzle olive oil into the stockpot, just covering the bottom. Add liberal dashes of salt and pepper, and a little of the herbs.

2) While the garlic is roasting, dice the onion and potatoes. Onions should be no more than an inch square, and the potatoes should be in between a half inch and an inch cubed. When the garlic is done roasting (you can tell because you will smell it and a knife will run through it like butter), carefully squeeze out the garlic into the pot (use an oven mitt) and let it swirl around the oil and butter, set the flame on very low. After 2 minutes, add the onions and potatoes and saute in the pot (turn heat to medium high.)

3) When the onions have turned translucent, add water a third of the way up the pot and add 1 boullion cube, more salt, pepper and herbs. Put the lid on and wait for the water to boil.

4) When the water has come to a boil, add the chicken and reduce heat to a very low flame. Add a sprinkling of paprika and cover for 2 hours. The challenge is to let it simmer for 2 hours without peeking and inhaling every 5 minutes! You should stir about every half hour, and after an hour has passed, taste the broth and see if it needs more salt, pepper or herbs. Add the carrots at the hour mark.

5) At the half hour mark, taste again. (yums!) This is where you can add the mushrooms, celery, broccoli or wine if you so choose. Keep in mind, if you add more vegetables, you need to add more water. And for about every four cups of water, I like to add a boullion cube which enhances the flavor of the broth.

6) After two hours (or longer if you can stand it - the longer it simmers the tastier it is), your broth is done - enjoy! If you really can't stand waiting, you can start eating at about the 1.5 houor mark but the flavors will fully develop at 2 hours.

Notes: you can also substitute the chicken with 2 lbs of a white fish.