The Plague.

First it was David.

Then it took Noah.

Now Emma's got it.

I -- like the last of the Mohicans -- stand alone as the one healthy uninfected individual in our home. But not for long. I do feel a slight tingling in the back of my throat.

David has been seeking out soup all week long. But because Noah is sick, I haven't been cooking; too busy tending to him. Last night David ate Cream of Mushroom soup and I had Taco Bell. Tonight David picked up some soup from Baja Fresh (which strangely smelled like the Korean Yuk Hae Jang soup) and I had MacDonalds. It is amazing how marriage suddenly causes you to feel so deeply responsible for your man. Especially when it comes to the food filling his stomach. I cannot even begin to express how guilty I felt watching David eat Cream of Mushroom soup. It just seemed so sad and wrong. There he sat with a bowl of canned soup, the glare of the computer screen reflecting off his eyeglasses. He said it was good...and he seemed to genuinely enjoy the stuff. He has to because he was the one that bought a whole box of it from Costco one day and every time I open my pantry I am tortured to find ways to use it. But once you've had a taste of homemade cream of mushroom soup...it's almost torture to have to eat the canned stuff.

I digress.

There comes a time when enough is enough. I felt badly for David to say the least. Enough is enough and it is time that I get some wholesome cooking into that man's stomach.

So after David and the kids (it still sounds weird to me to say this; 'the kids'. It's hard to believe that I am actually a mother of two) went to bed I began to make chicken soup...from scratch. You will never ever catch me eating chicken soup outside of the home or from a can. It's so easy to make and so much tastier when homemade, I vile (I don't care if that is improper use of an adjective...I find it rather effective as a verb) the thought of having it otherwise.

Given that it is flu season...I'm sharing my recipe with you, in the hopes that you will find reprieve from winter flu blues with a bowl of this tasty chicken soup.

For the most part I am a purist/minimalist when it comes to cooking. I prefer recipes that use the fewest ingredients necessary because it keeps the dish tasting clean, simple and fresh. Hence my love for simple vinagrettes and sorbets.

But I have a cupboard full of spices that I need to use and, unfortunately, tonight I thought I might make some good use of them and add 'layers of flavor' to the soup. Let me save you the misfortune of messing up a good batch of chicken soup. Less is more. I added bay leaves, rosemary, parsley and thyme to the soup and though it tastes good with the additions, it adds unecessary busyness to the soup. So here's the recipe sans the frills.

Guilty Wife Chicken Soup

2 Cornish Game Hens
5 cloves of garlic

2 Carrots
1 medium sized onion
3 stalks of celery
1 large potato
1/2 c Orzo Pasta

French Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Prep Work

Clean and rinse chickens.
Chop carrots, onion, celery and potatos into desired size. I like them in 1 centimeter cubes, the uniform size lends a more visually pleasing end product.

Phase 1

Place chickens & garlic in a large pot and fill with cold water. Bring to a roiling boil and turn down to a simmer. Skim the fat and oil as they surface (45 mins). Remove the chickens to a separate dish and strain the stock to remove the fatty funk and gunk from the poultry. I suppose you don't have to do this if you like dirty soup water, but I like having clean clear soup stock. It's purely aesthetic and only absolutely necessary for individuals with a minor psychosis. Dump the garlic if so desired.

Phase 2

Return the strained soup stock into the pot (I normally use a fresh pot or clean the pot to make sure that the funky chicken gunk is completely erradicated) and throw in the chicken, chopped veggies and orzo pasta. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer until the veggies and pasta are tender.

Veggies: I did add green beans to my soup because I had them in the fridge. Feel free to add whatever veggies that rock your world.

Phase 3

Salt and pepper to taste.

Now to address the French Sea Salt. I am not trying to be pompous or pretentious. Yes, it does make a difference. As a rule, never use table salt in your cooking. It will ruin the taste of your food. Kosher should be the standard and use French Sea Salt when salt is the dominant and primary ingredient of flavorization.

Easy. Simple. Wholesome. Homemade. And all for around $10 bucks.

If you're too lazy to skim and strain, you can just dump all of the ingredients into a pot all at once and boil until chicken is cooked and veggies are tender. Then eat and enjoy with fatty chicken scum and all.