Sickie Soup

The Cold is back. The weather is just gorgeous in Berlin right now, 20 degrees and sunny, but it still feels like winter because everyone is walking around sneezing their heads off. Pretty much everyone in my office has been off sick in the last couple of weeks. Including me. It always starts so innocently ... hm, I feel a bit of a sore throat. Fatigue. Is that a headache or did I stare too much at the computer today? Next day *BAM* I feel like crap and have a full-on cold that ends up taking weeks to fully go away.

I do have a secret weapon, though. Of course, it's important to sleep as much as possible, eat lots of fruit and drink lots of soil tea (what my British friends snobbishly call any tea that isn't black). But there's one more thing. It's a simple soup, very tasty, it makes me ingest even more liquid and it truly makes me feel better.

Now, I'm not saying I stand and chop vegetables for ages, but I do sort of stumble around the kitchen, haphazardly "peel" the garlic and ginger (oh. I lefvd somb peel ond. Oh well, ind id goes) then throw in the rest of the ingredients. Heck, if you lean over the stove and breathe in some of the steam you've got your inhalation done for the next few hours too! Not that I do that.

If you're one of those fancy schmancy types with homemade broth in your fridge/freezer then, yes, use it! If not, the amount of bouillon you put in really depends on its quality and on your tastebuds, so add a little bit at a time. Leftover rice, noodles, potatoes, veggies and meat are clearly *made* for this soup, and will reduce the cooking time. But if you don't have any of that, it'll still taste good.

Sickie Soup

• ca. 1 L water plus 3-5 tsp bouillon powder (veggie or chicken are best)
• two handfuls of uncooked rice or noodles
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• piece of ginger, about the size of your thumb, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 green onion, chopped
• pepper to taste (go easy on the salt, bouillon is already very salty)

Stumble to the pots and pull one out, then stumble over to the faucet and eyeball about one liter of water. Stumble back to the stove and try not to spill any water on your way there. Turn on a burner, stop to blow your nose (one nostril at a time, and gently, please!). Start adding bouillon, tasting until you like the strength. Throw in the rice, ginger, smoosh the garlic in a garlic press and add it too. Wait about ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot. Try the rice after about 10 minutes and once it's done, turn off the heat. Stir in the beaten egg - if you can stir really quickly while pouring, you'll have a smoother, creamier soup. If you stir more slowly, it'll be more like a egg drop soup ... which, by the way, is what Sickie Soup is blatantly ripping off ... Anyway, add the green onion and pepper to taste and serve with a pile of tissues, because you'll need them!