Day 2 About two minutes after I took my first job in an elementary school, I got knocked down by a nasty cold. And then another. And another. It was pointed out to me that if there is a bug out there, the place to find it was working around delightful, snotty-nosed children. I mean, working with children is about as joyful and rewarding as it gets, but sometimes the reward turns out to be a runny nose and a twelve hour sleep cycle. The first year you catch pretty much everything. The good news is, I was told, is that after that first year you build up a strong immunity and you won't have to worry about it too much. Seven years later, I'm still catching those colds and every year at least one on them turns into a sinus infection. Worth it, but good gravy. Nyquil is high on my solace list, but I am also a fan of the true classics. Hello, chicken noodle soup. But this is no ordinary chicken soup. The comfort and soothing properties of mom's standby is intact here, but that citrusy tang and spicy slap of this twist on your old favorite will have you back in the pink in no time. Now come on, kid. Blow your nose. I will definitely make this one again. Simple yet compelling flavors integrate really well here. Even the carrot plays a role. I have never used kaffir lime leaves before. Once I got a whiff of it I was sold. Don't skip it here if you can help it. RECIPE (Adapted from about.com) INGREDIENTS 8oz rice noodles 4 cups chicken broth 2 chicken breasts, cut into soup friendly pieces 1 carrot, sliced Generous handful bok choy, chopped 1 lime, juiced 1 chili pepper, minced 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1/3 c coconut milk 1 tsp coriander 1 tsp ginger Pepper to taste DIRECTIONS Cook rice noodles to direction and drain. Set aside. Bring chicken broth to boil. Add chicken and carrots and continue boil until chicken is cooked (about 5 minutes). Add all remaining ingredients and reduce to simmer 5 minutes. Place noodles in bowls top with soup.

i have a whole house full of sickies. I've been lucky enough to avoid the germs some how. I think my chicken noodle soup is helping, maybe just the home-made noodles, since that's all I end up eating! :))) This is my grandma's recipe, so like how she cooks I don't measure anything with this soup... I started with the base of the soup about 5-6 cups chicken stock and 1 can of tomato soup, (if you don't like tomato's in chicken soup, just add more stock instead), then I added 2 celery stacks chopped, about a quarter of an onion chopped, a couple of handfuls of chopped carrots, and 2 cooked chicken breasts shredded. I let the soup simmer until the celery and carrots are tender and then I drop in the noodles and cook until the noodles are done, about 4-5 minutes. (Next time to speed the process up, I'll add a little butter to the pot and cook the celery and onions until fragrant and then add the stock and rest of the ingredients.) To make the noodles, it's a simple dough recipe. I started with about 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 eggs, I filled two of the eggshells with water and poured that into the flour, and a 1/2 tsp. of salt. Mix until incorporated, you may have to add more flour if the dough is sticky. Roll dough out on a cutting board, make sure it's on the thinner side, the noodles will expand in the soup. Cut dough into strips and add to soup! I sprinkled some parsley over the top, and voila! homemade chicken noodle soup! hopefully this makes sense, I'll have to re-read when the kids are in bed! :))