I would advise making part of this soup in advance and storing it in the fridge until you need it. Or perhaps you can get a loving spouse to make it for you. A few well-placed sighs might be of help. I can tell you from experience that you will not feel like chopping and sautéing vegetables while you're sick. Instead of freezing the finished soup (which could cause the vegetables to disintegrate upon thawing), try pre-chopping all of the vegetables and storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Then, just add them to hot broth when needed.
On a related note, I don't believe that any recipe should be strictly adhered to, so feel free to adapt this soup to your own needs. If you like more or less of one ingredient, don't feel pressured to stick to what's written. My family loves garlic so we add several crushed cloves to the broth. Here is the shopping list of ingredients you will need for the basic version:
- Two large onions
- Two garlic cloves, crushed
- Olive oil
- Two leeks
- Three to four celery stalks
- Two turnips [Don't be afraid if you've never used (or even seen) a turnip before. They are easily domesticated. Just peel before using.]
- Two parsnips [If you don't know what a parsnip looks like, just read the signs over the produce aisle.]
- Three to four carrots.
- One large can of vegetable broth, most likely quart sized. [However, I recommend having extra broth on hand; it always seems to shrink in the pot.]
- ½ to one pound of pasta [Cheese tortellini makes a hearty soup and stars are fun for children, but just about anything will work. I have even used broken lasagna noodles in a pinch!]
- Fresh herbs [Try dill, parsley and/or basil. Again, there's lots of room for experimentation.]
Chop all of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. At this point you can put the vegetables into containers and store or continue to cook. Begin by sautéing the onion and garlic in olive oil. When those two ingredients are browned, add the other vegetables. While you sauté the vegetables, start heating the broth in a large soup pot. Put a ½ cup of broth off to the side for use later. Bring the large pot of broth to a gentle simmer.
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