Soup and Sleeping

Today I woke up with a cold and debated the merits of getting out of bed and coming to work, or staying at home in bed. My conscious won the day and here I am, 7 hours later, still feeling under the weather and wishing I had decided to stay at home in bed.

The two people I sit closest to at work are also sick. One had yesterday off and the other already left today. Does that make me tough for sticking it out, or stupid for passing up a perfectly good opportunity to be sleeping instead of working?

For the best bed outfits, you can’t go past Peter Alexander, and these pj’s are just sugary sweet for sleeping in. http://tr.im/oCED

And when you are sick, the best thing for it is traditional Chicken Soup.

CHICKEN SOUP









Stock
1.3kg whole chicken
1 brown onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
2 large celery stalks, chopped
10 whole black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves
5 flat-leaf parsley stalks


Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium leek, trimmed, halved, washed, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium carrot, peeled, diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
1 medium (300g) swede, peeled, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
crusty bread, to serve


Method
Make stock. Wash chicken under cold water. Pat dry with absorbent paper. Trim any excess fat from chicken. Place chicken in a large saucepan. Add onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley stalks. Pour enough cold water into pan to just cover chicken. Cover with lid. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through, skimming surface during cooking. Remove from heat.
Carefully lift chicken from broth. Transfer to a plate. Strain broth through a muslin-lined sieve over a large heatproof bowl. Discard vegetables. Cool stock. Cover, refrigerate overnight.
Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken. Shred chicken. Cover, refrigerate overnight.
Make soup. Remove stock from refrigerator. Skim any fat from surface. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until leek is soft. Add carrot, celery and swede. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until celery starts to soften.
Add stock and chicken. Cover saucepan. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Add zucchini. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve soup with crusty bread.

Hope you are all feeling well, and sleeping soundly!
Thanks to taste.com for recipe