Singing with a Cold: Chicken Soup and Zicam

I have a gig coming up this weekend, and wouldn't you know I've just picked up the cold my baby had. So I went and bought some Zicam, which my mom swears by. Now, it's homeopathic, which is a concept I don't think has any scientific merit, so if it's pure placebo effect and I don't believe in it how can it help? Nevertheless, it seems to be working and I am hoping this will be a mild virus I can sing through easily.

Step two in the battle against the virus was to make a huge pot of chicken soup from scratch. It turned out really good--I added chayote, potatoes, turnips, carrots, shallots, lots of garlic and jalapenos. My husband looked at it with suspicion last night and asked why the broth was so yellow. I told him it was because of the chicken fat, which I think is key in the battle against a cold. He ate it gingerly. Sheesh, just because my specialty is burned vegetables with blanched rice doesn't mean I can't whip up a delicious pot of chicken soup every 10-15 years! Although we do still talk about the time I burned the chicken by leaving the pot on high for 12 hours until the house was leaking black smoke out the windows. Years ago, many many years ago that happened, and with therapy I've learned to forgive myself for it and stop the nightmares about that poor chicken's soul. Just kidding, folks!

Anyway, as often occurs with my cooking, I was the only one who ate it, last night and today (but they did all eat the Betty Crocker carrot cake I made). It really hit the spot!