In Good Taste Vol. 4

In Good Taste Vol. 4

If your friend group is sharing one brain cell, one will to live, and one virus, then congratulations - you have officially made it to October. This month carries all the burning hell of midterms, the end of good weather and an absolute chance of catching a cold. Especially for those of us living in cities, it's practically unavoidable. I accepted my fate earlier this month; I think it is always better to succumb early than to be sick for Halloween (God forbid). 

There are lots of ways to get over a cold. If you are normal, you go to the pharmacy and take as many pills as humanly possible in as short of a time frame as you can. You get over your illness, complain about a stuffy nose for a few days, and move on with your life. You are not me. 

I make a point to suffer for as long as possible. It isn't because I am a masochist, quite the opposite - nobody enjoys being sick, especially with a cold. A cold normally means that you are well enough to go to work and carry on with classes, but you nearly suffocate trying not to cough or sniff in the library, and you also feel as though you are a slimy bowl of death that has been put in the microwave. A cold is one of the worst kinds of sickness, yet inexplicably, I shackle myself to it each autumn. 

Every time I feel a cold creeping up on me, I do the stupidest thing a person can do: I believe I am stronger than sickness. Spoiler alert - I am not. 

I am not stronger than a sneeze, let alone a cold in all of its snotty glory. I reach a state of fevered delusion so strong that when a cold does come around, I genuinely believe that I will survive with some eucalyptus essential oil, cups of tea and onion syrup. As any sensible person could predict, this approach lasts about four days until I am on my knees, surrounded by tissues and Strepsils, begging for forgiveness from whatever God is listening. Obviously, there is no mercy for me - I have made my own bed, and I must sniffle in it until I eventually gather the strength to get up, go to the doctor’s, wash my sheets, and, finally, make this soup.

PANACEA SOUP 

Ingredients: 

1 metric tonne of garlic (at least a whole bulb, yes, seriously) 

1 potato 

1 leek 

2 white onions 

Around 3 tsp of ground turmeric 

Chicken stock (or chicken stock cubes) 

Method: 

1- Chop up your onion and sautée in a little bit of butter and olive oil. Your aim here is to soften the onion, so you don’t have to do a lot - just stir occasionally, and if you notice the onion catching you can add a splash of water. 

2- Dice your potato and slice the leek. Add these in with the onion and season with salt and pepper. 

3- Slice your garlic cloves thinly on their horizontal edge. Add them all into the pot with another splash of water and stir. Season with salt, pepper and turmeric. 

4- Let your veggies cook together until the garlic becomes aromatic. Then, add your stock until the vegetables are submerged and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for about five minutes, and then cover the pot. This is an important step - if you don’t cover the pot then the potatoes will not cook and you will have a weird crunchy soup. 

5- Leave your soup alone for at least half an hour, or until the potatoes and leeks have cooked through. You can grate some parmesan on top if you are feeling fancy, or blend the soup if you want, but I prefer to keep it as a chunky broth. For added protein you can shred some chicken in too!