Chicken Soup for the Cold

Who cares about the soul? I have a cold and all I care about is having enough tissues, enough fluids and enough chicken soup. I hate colds.

Luckily, I had some homemade chicken stock with chicken bits in the freezer when this particular bug bit me, so I added a handful each of chopped onion, celery and rice to that and simmered it until it was a comforting lunch. As you can see, I rather overdid the rice portion and while it was warming and tasty, it wasn't very pretty.

Until I had the idea to add orange zest, that is!

I figured that the Vitamin C in the zest would be good for me and the bright taste might actually penetrate my woefully stuffy nose. Guess what? It did! The flavor of the soup was immeasurably improved by the zest and, another time, I'd add bigger pieces while the soup simmered, just for that added kick.

I feel better already.

Zesty Bellybuttons

When Cookiecrumb slipped me a bag of navel oranges from her garden, she said, "Save the peels! The zest is the best part of these oranges."

She was correct, even though the fruit itself has been wonderfully sweet and juicy, too. We've been zesting everything in the past couple of weeks, adding a touch of orange to many different foods, enjoying all kinds of new ideas.

So far, the very best application I have found has been on broccoli. Not only does the bright orange zest enhance the color of the broccoli, the flavor of the zest, a little salt and a tiny dab of butter lifts a plain winter veg like broccoli into the heavenly category. Now that navels are in the stores in great profusion, don't forget to save the skins and add a little to your plain winter veggies.