The Dreaded Cold

For the past few weeks, I have had the dreaded winter cold. This cold lingered and lingered, congestion, cough, worse in the morning and at night. I was functional, still doing my daily list of duties. After 3 weeks, the fever kicked in, as well as a deepened chest cough, more congestion, stuffy head. Time for the Dr. and my antibiotics and cough medicine. Still got to be a mommy, still got to cook.

There is one thing and one thing ONLY that can make a cold go away quickly.



It can’t be purchased at any normal store, nor is it a quick fix… but I promise. It works.
It’s something that goes back generations, and I can guarantee you that most Jewish women have a pot that’s specifically designed to make their “penicillin”.
This, my friends, is Jewish Penicillin… a.k.a. chicken soup. A Childhood memory, comfort food with amazing healing powers.

1 whole chicken, skinned* (It is not necessary to skin the chicken, I prefer to skin the chicken to lower the fat content)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

8 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 parsnip, peeled cut into chunks

3 ribs of celery, cut into chunks

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

1 small bunch fresh dill weed, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place skinned chicken into a large pot with the breast side down. Fill with enough cold water to reach about 3 inches from the top of the pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Skim off any foam that comes to the top. Reduce heat to medium.
2. Add the onion, carrot, parsnip, sweet potato, celery and dill. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, partially covered for 2 hours. Do not let the soup boil. Partially cover, and simmer for another 2 hours for best flavor.
3. Remove chicken from the pot, using a large slotted spoon. Set aside to cool, until able to handle. Remove chicken from the bones and cut into bite sized pieces. Return to the pot.
4. May be served as is, or with your favorite noodles or rice, I like to use brown rice fussili.

Yummy.......







* To skin a chicken:

Place a whole raw chicken with the breasts facing down.

Slice through the skin along the backbone.

Cut off the wings at the first joint.

Cut around the end of each drumstick to loosen the skin from the legs.

Carefully peel the skin away from the chicken, starting with the cut you made at the backbone.

Cut or pull the skin from the breastbone.

Skin a single piece of raw chicken by grasping one end of the skin firmly and pulling.