Cure Anything Chicken Noodle and Turmeric Soup

So yesterday I had planned something fun with my friend, The Supermodel, who was in from out of town.  (WAY out of town–Belgium, in fact.) The plan was to hang out on the beach listening to live music and enjoying cocktails.  We were taking our kids along who, thankfully, are old enough to scamper back and forth between us and the tiki bar as the need arises.

Around lunchtime, I was pretty tired.

Around 2 p.m. I had a sneezing fit.

By 3 o’clock I had a horrible sore throat and my head was so stuffed up I needed a translator.  And just like that, the only plans I had were with Alka-Seltzer Cold Medicine and Netflix.

I woke up this morning thoroughly offended to find myself still sick.  The Supermodel and The Supermodel’s Daughter fly back to The Land of No Tiki Bars today, and I actually have to do some work.  I don’t have time for this. (That sound you hear is Eric, The Website Guy, drumming his fingers as he waits for me to produce something–anything–he can put up on the site or, failing that, eat.)  I have a chicken in the oven right now and I’m making chicken soup. I expect to be well by tomorrow.

This is easily one of my very favorite soups.  As tasty as this simple soup is, you should know that it’s also a miracle.  If y’all ever find me half-dead on the floor, will someone please make this and pour it in me?  No matter what is wrong with you–even if it’s just a bad attitude–you will feel better after eating this soup.

Cure Anything Chicken Noodle and Turmeric Soup

• 3 T. butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 qt. of chicken stock
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1” of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
• 1 t. (or more) turmeric
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 c. cooked chicken in small pieces
• 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
• Sour cream for serving (optional)

In a soup pot melt butter over medium heat, and saute the onion, carrot, and celery until very tender.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or two. Pour in the chicken stock and add the bouillon cube, the ginger, the turmeric, and the parsley.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes add the chicken and the noodles and let cook a few minutes until the noodles are cooked–this won’t take long at all.  Check for seasoning and serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like. This freezes beautifully–without the sour cream, of course.