So someone ::cough:: Adam ::cough cough:: decided to go ahead and get sick this past week.  It was nothing serious but he had a sore throat, cough, and alternated between a runny and stuffy nose.  Not deathly ill, but still pretty miserable.  

Even though it’s still technically summer and still just a smidge too warm for soup that was what the man requested for dinner the other night.  Who am I to deny a sick husband his soup?

Here’s my big thing about soup.  Yes, it’s less time consuming to get a can of soup and plop it into your pot and heat it up.  Sure, you can find some pretty decent soups that aren’t full of questionable ingredients or loaded with sodium.  But homemade soup is just better.  It always will be.  And it really isn’t THAT difficult to make a simple soup.  So you spend a few extra minutes cutting up vegetables.  It won’t kill you. 

I literally made this soup with stuff I already had on hand because my patient decided to tell me a few hours before dinner that he wanted soup.  If he wasn’t sick….

I bet you have most of these things in your fridge/pantry and if you don’t you can substitute for what you do have.  Don’t have carrots?  Use celery.  Don’t have scallions or shallots?  Use an onion.  Want to use broth instead of water?  Be my guest.  No matter what you use, your sick friend/spouse/child will appreciate the homemade soup.

End-of-Summer Sickie Soup 

I made this in my slow cooker but you can easily make it on the stove too

• 2 cups zucchini, diced
• 1.5 cups carrots, sliced
• 1 bunch of scallions, sliced (separate the green and white sections)
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 3 tbsp garlic, minced and divided
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced and divided
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 5 cups water or broth
• salt
• pepper
• balsamic vinegar
• 2 to 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• rice noodles, optional

1. After you have cut up all of your vegetables, saute them in a little olive oil until they start to brown slightly.  Add 2 tbsp garlic and ginger and saute for another minute or so.  Sprinkle them with a little salt.
2. Add them to your soup pot or slow cooker and then add the can of tomatoes and broth.  Stir everything together and season with salt and pepper.
3. If you’re using your slow cooker, cook on high for 3 hours.  If you’re using your stove, bring the soup to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Cook for 20 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. About five minutes before the soup is done, add the last tablespoon of garlic and ginger and stir.  Once the soup is ready, remove from heat and add a splash or two of balsamic vinegar.  Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
5. If you’re using rice noodles, take a handful and break them up a bit and place them in the bottom of your bowl.  Pour the soup over the noodles and let it sit for 10 minutes.  By then the noodles will be cooked and the soup will be cool enough to eat.  Sprinkle with a little parsley and enjoy.

FYI:  Make a big batch of these and freeze half and you can pull some out whenever you need it!