Of course, that headline makes it seem like I'm no longer sick. That's not the case at all. I'm still under the weather, though not nearly as bad as I was a few days ago.

I've been sick for the past week. It really wiped me out (which you can probably tell from my lack of posts here). If you haven't been sick this season yet, just wait, I'm sure it's coming. I know some people who had the throw 'n go (I hope that's self-explanatory), but I was "lucky" enough just to have a fever, body aches, chills, coughing, a scratchy throat and complete and utter exhaustion. So I spent most of the week just sitting on the couch, wrapped in a comforter, watching TV. And also trying to decide what the hell to eat or drink for the week. Just about everything I tried to eat or drink tasted funny.

After the jump, the four items I ate the most while sick, and the four I didn't/couldn't eat.

To repeat an often used phrase, soup is good food. Especially this time of year, when soup warms the body, soul, and can be good if you're watching what you eat too.

January is National Soup Month, so that's a good opportunity to link to some great soup recipes, like this one for Chicken Noodle Soup over at Yahoo (though I never put onion in mine!). Food & Wine has this recipe for Sausage and Mushroom Soup, and Alton Brown has this one for Garden Vegetable Soup. Of course, there are so many soup recipes that there are usually entire sections devoted to soup, including this one over at AllRecipes.

And yes, Hobo Soup is real.

OK, I'm confused. I was fairly certain that I made the best chicken noodle soup, but according to this recipe over at AOL Food (via AllRecipes.com), I don't. It's The Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever.

There's nothing that warms my heart and other organs in the winter than a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup, with big chunks of chicken and carrots and celery in a seasoned broth. In fact, I'm going to make chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. Not sure if I'll make this one (don't have the whole chicken or some of the other ingredients), but it sounds like a really good basic recipe to keep in your collection.

Maybe the reason is that I love soup. Maybe the reason is that it's so befitting for a January evening.

Or maybe the reason is that I have been sick for five days and I am getting really tired of the same old chicken noodle soup!

Whatever the reason ( I just can't figure it out with the way this fever has scrambled my brain), Heidi Swanson's Ultimate Chickpea Noodle Soup featured on her blog 101 Cookbooks is looking mighty good right now. She took inspiration from her travels through Puglia, Italy, and created a wholly vegetarian version of this soup. The slightly opaque broth dotted with rich oil, the hearty ceci beans (chickpeas), and of course, the undulating ribbons of pasta are all beautiful together in the bowl.

I started to feel lousy the day after Thanksgiving (stuffy head, dry throat, tired), and I've been eating a lot of chicken soup (chicken noodle soup, specifically), and I was wondering why we are supposed to eat the stuff when we are sick and why I immediately craved it once I got sick. Does it really have the power to cure you, or is it just an old wive's tale passed down through the decades?

Yahoo! Answers has the, well, answer. Sort of. There is no conclusive proof that chicken soup helps when you're sick, but Dr. Stephen Rennard tested his grandma's recipe and came to the conclusion that the soup inhibits inflammation in the nasal cavity. Drkoop.com and others say it has amino acids that help. Another doc says that it creates mucus that soothes the throat. Mmmmm...think of that the next time you're eating chicken soup. I've also heard that the starch in the noodles helps in some way.

Me? I just think it tastes really good, and really makes me feel good when I'm sick, especially on a chilly, late fall day.

Last week, a tasting panel at the San Francisco Chronicle slurped their way through 15 different canned chicken noodle soups. Of the top five soups, four were condensed and three of the top five were from Campbell's. Their standard condensed chicken noodle soup took top honors among the panel of local chefs. Campbell's Homestyle took second and Safeway, Campbell's Select and Albertson's rounded out the top five in that order. Soups were scored on a 100-point scale, with the top one receiving 76 points. The lowest scorer, a soup in a pouch from Pacific Natural Foods, received four points. Wolfgang Puck's offering hovered near the middle of the rankings with 39.

Even though mercury dipping below 72 degrees might make some shiver around these parts, it's still not very cold and wintry in Janaury in southern California.

But still, the calendar and the short daylight hours indicate that its winter, and that makes me want to curl up in a blanket by the fireplace with something warm and comforting to eat - even if that means the fireplace isn't on and I have to wear shorts and a tank top inside my blanket, sweating with my bowl of chicken soup.

Chicken soup is awesome, and just about every culture, cuisine, country has a version of soup with broth based on a bird and brimming with meat, vegetables, and almost always, some sort of carbohydrate, whether it's a noodle, a dumpling, or a matzo ball.  

1. Sahm-gyae-tahng is a Korean soup made by cooking a small chicken stuffed with sweet rice, dates and ginger until it falls apart in the pot.
2. Tom yum kai is the spicy chicken and mushroom soup redolent with lemongrass from Thailand. I am not a huge fan of Thai food (because I actually don't like lemongrass), but can always get by when a group goes out to eat because of this soup. 
3. Matzo ball soup is also known as Jewish penicillin. I love the time and care that goes into making the little matzo balls, and of course, since many of the delis in this area are open into the wee hours of the morning, I associate matzo ball soup with "hangover cure."
4. Good ol' chicken noodle soup is where it all began. My first experiences have always been from that red and white can, and I'm certain I've had that neon yellow powdered crap on a ski trip once, so I think this means that some time very soon, I will be trying my hand at this classic.
5. Tortilla soup is one of my favorites, though I have to wonder how healthy this "chicken soup" ends up being for me after adding guacamole, sour cream, and deep fried tortilla strips on top as "garnishes."

That's all the chicken soups I can think of for now, but I am sure there are more from all over the planet. I just have to find them before Spring time.