Weather got you down? Soup!

Not feeling well? Want something so warm you up in these cold temps?

Make some soup!

Haven't been feeling  great the last week, with the drastic change of temperatures and my allergies I think it all finally caught up with me. All I wanted to eat the last few days was soup, but of course I didn't have any cans ready for this situation or any frozen ready to go. 

I was then reminded quickly that I was single and didn't have magical powers, so none was going to magically appear and no one was going to make any for me. So I decided to attempt some cabbage soup since I had bought a head of cabbage with no idea what to do with it. 

Where do I go for recipes usually? To one of my many addictions Pinterest and they did not disappoint. I soon found a recipe that looked simple and quick, and  included ingredients I already had. 

Healing Cabbage Soup Recipe 

Only after I started did I realize what a mistake I had made. why hadn't I just gone out and bought a can of soup? Instead I figured it would be easier to spend an hour plus making homemade soup I had never made, while still groggy off cold and sinus medicine...hmm

When I started I cannot even remember how many times I had to reread the recipe. After I got a grasp on the ingredients I needed, I decided to make a few adjusments suggested in the comments. I added celery and carrots for extra vegetables, plus cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes for a little kick. 

While cutting my veggies I was very surprised I did not loose a finger. I will blame being medicated and not my clumsiness, but the knife slipped way too many times! I put the carrots and celery into the first step of the recipe (before the water). No idea if this was the right time to add them but I was improvising that part, and it did not seem to affect the end result. 

 

 

 

The pot was my awesome gift from my parents, love it!

While waiting for the water to boil I had enough time to cut the head of cabbage. One thing I did notice while making the soup and when eating it, was that it was slightly oily. The recipe asks for 3 tablespoons of oil, if I made again I would cut that amount down. 

 

I realized while putting in the cabbage that I was going to have A LOT of soup and there was no way I could eat it all before it went bad. I was lucky that the week before I had gotten new portion size freezer containers, for situations just like this. 

I did end up adding another 1-1/2 cups of water after adding the cabbage

 Once the soup was ready to simmer, I retreated back to my couch and blanket to watch an episode of Empress Ki (another addiction, K-Drama) until the soup was ready. By adding the carrots I had to increase the time from the recipe; it took about an hour for the carrots to be soft. How long you let it cook will depend on how thick you cut the carrots, and how soft or firm you like them.

 

An hour passed and it was the moment of truth, at this point I would have been happy with just edible; and it was (and actually pretty good). Success! I might even experiment next time and add a meat, so any suggestions on what kind of meat please let me know. 

I do know that it was the perfect remedy for feeling cruddy, so I suggest it to anyone needing a pick me up. If you do try this recipe please share how it comes out or any additions and changes that you make!