Magic Soup

You know the old adage: feed a cold,starve a fever? This is a truth that most people do not understand. They think that it means feed someone if they have a cold, and starve them if they have a fever. They think wrong, based on an ignorance of English proverbs and medicine. It means 'if you have a cold, eat well to prevent a fever from taking hold'. Effectively, you starve off the fever from taking over from someone with a cold.

I do believe that natural cures are the best: fresh fruit and vegetables, hot lemon and honey, ginger, garlic and so forth. For any cold a powerful blend of herbs in a hot chicken broth is part of the solution. This is my own recipe for a herby soup that will help effect an 8-hour turnaround in the event of a cold.

It is also a lot cheaper than buying a host of ever-expensive medicines at high-street stores, and is a great way of using up leftovers. Healthy and on a budget!

Therefore I call it Magic Soup.

You will need:
5-6 small chicken breast strips
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
1 cup of peas
1 cup of sweetcorn
1-2 tablespoons of honey
1 small chilli pepper
2 chicken stock cubes
1 teaspoon of mint
1 teaspoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of saffron (optional)
Pinch salt
Pinch celery salt
Ground black pepper
Dash of paprika

Take a large saucepan and put in a little oil, the herbs, finely chopped garlic and a finely diced onion. Heat this up with the honey, stirring continually.

Add the diced chicken, the peas, the stock cubes and the sweetcorn. Stir until the chicken is part-cooked and covered with the seasoning.

Cover with 1.5 pints to 2 pints of water and leave to boil for 20 minutes.

Add salt, celery salt, pepper and paprika to taste.

It should look like a clearish, sparkling broth and have a good kick to the back of the throat with every spoonful.

Serve generously, it is a powerful, good, tasty soup with a chilli, garlicky hit that will get to work immediately.

It cured man-flu, it can cure any cold.

The No-Bread Budget Pizza

Chicken and Olive Budget Pizza. Credit: SimoneySunday

I am attempting to diet. Not successfully, I might add. But I have been experimenting with ways to cut down on the carbs, boost the protein and decrease the snacking. I have also endeavoured to avoid the temptation for a take-out after work, particularly my husband's favourite post-press day go-to culinary delight: the two-for-Tuesday.

Mostly this has been a success. I have not purchased or partaken of my darling treat, a bag of crisps, for a couple of weeks. I feel healthier, less bloated and more energetic despite the growing workload that is inevitable in the run-up to the end of the tax year. Sadly today an enormous chicken, bacon and brie baguette leapfrogged the canteen counter and forcibly entered my mouth. I did fight it off bravely but I was overcome. I lived to fight another day...

One of my favourite experiments so far has been the no-bread pizza which I believe I have invented although no doubt if I could be bothered to search online, I would discover had already been discovered. So I believe that if I do not search, I will not find, and therefore will not have to feel bitterly disappointed.

It is basically a thick egg omelette, so no gluten or starches at all. Usually my omelettes are light and fluffy affairs, folded gently like an eggy cocoon around sun-blush tomatoes and cheese. But to create a decent pizza-dough like base for two people, I used six medium eggs instead of the usual four.

Obviously apart from being gluten-free and lower-calorie than shop-bought or pizza delivery, it also costs far less, especially if you are using up leftovers.

Ingredients
6 medium eggs
Herbs and spices
Tube of tomato puree (or ketchup would also work although it tends not to have as good a texture)
Grated cheese
Ham
Chicken
Olives
Or any topping of your choice.

How To
Mix eggs well with herbs and spices of your choice. I used a pinch of salt, a crackle of pepper, a scattering of tarragon and a shaking of paprika.

When these are beaten, pour half the mix into a round pancake pan, which has already been heated up with a little olive or sunflower oil. Make sure it spreads evenly, and use a spatula to stop it sticking. When it has almost solidified on top, gently place it onto a pizza tray. Spread some tomato puree over for a base. This can get wonderfully gooey, so have fun and don't worry if it does.

Whack on your chosen ingredients in a roughly even pattern to cover up the bare bits, then grate a shed load of cheese over it. Put it into a warmed up oven and bake at about 160-170 degrees Celcius (gas mark 3-4) for 3-5 minutes or until cheese has melted. Timing will depending on your type of oven.

Ham and Chicken Budget Pizza. Credit: SimoneySunday

Hey, yeah I said lots of cheese. What? I said this was a no-bread pizza, not a no-fat pizza. What do you think I am, a monster?