Chicken Soup

It's the end of fall. As the array of colorful leaves ebb, this season brings shorter days and colder nights. Walking Tig, my dog, has become a challenge. We live in Oregon, so it rains a lot. Wet hair and soggy feet are just one attack on my immune system. I also know danger is looming while I'm at class or studying in the library. It's like a host of contagious frogs are in full-blown mating season as I'm surrounded by a chorus of coughing, sniffling and sneezing. You may laugh, but I came down with three sinus infections last year, so this is a valid concern. In response, I have invested in a neti pot, echinacea teas, vitamins, and emergen-C.

I also have a theory, completely unfounded, that eating local meats and vegetables helps my body fight disease and allergies. Even if it serves as nothing but a placebo effect, I feel better when I'm eating good food. As I come stumbling home, hair drenched, feet sopping wet, with a tickle feigning at the back of my throat, I engage my best line of defense. I make chicken soup from scratch. I try to use locally grown vegetables and organic chicken (when available). I also planted a little herb garden on my stoop a few months ago, so I have the added benefit of fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme. In the summer, I have fresh parsley, oregano and basil as well. These more delicate herbs don't survive cooler climates.

The ingredients come to less than $20 total, and it makes at least 20 servings. I usually end up giving away most of the leftovers, but it can also be frozen and reheats well. You can find the recipe under the "Recipes" tab. 

Life without Cheetos

For years, someone in my family whom I love dearly has been fighting an addiction to food. She is one of my favorite people in the world, so it's been devastating to witness.  Food addiction is particularly cruel. Most of us have demons, but those who struggle with weight loss carry their demons for the whole world to see. So after years of watching what the weight did to her emotionally, physically and psychologically, I made a decision - I learned how to cook. With vegetables.

Five days ago, I made another decision - life without cheetos. I was sitting in my future father-in-law's living room, watching a family gather around their figurehead after he had suffered a heart attack. I wasn't the only one that felt helpless. In times like these, when lacking control, I often seek out some action by which I can gain control. I'm not a cardiac surgeon, so I can't personally see to it that the occlusions are removed from his arteries, just like I can't force my loved one to eat more vegetables, but I can stop eating cheetos.

Through this blog, I hope to take these two decisions and put them towards better use. I'll write about recipes that are heart-healthy. Sometimes I like a complicated, challenging recipe using fun ingredients that I can tinker with for days, weeks or years. But as a law student, I've come to appreciate the quick and easy recipes. With little income and soaring student debt, I've come to really appreciate recipes that are inexpensive. So this is a blog about transitioning to affordable, heart-healthy meals. A life without cheetos.