Sucky Sick First Cold Of The Season ~ Comfort Foods!

Along with the first frost, I caught my first cold of the season! What started out as sniffles in the beginning of the week, has turned into a full blown cold. Woke up yesterday with a severe sore throat. Today sicker than a dog! The whole body hurts, and my head all stuffed up! My nephews were the first to get sick last week, and passed it down to my whole family! So now's the time for some comfort food!

Today I started off by making a minestrone soup. In the Spring I happened upon Lucy's Blog and she had a recipe for minestrone soup ~ Olive Garden style. I've been making it ever since, and I even make my own vegetable broth. I haven't been able to find the Swansons vegetable broth in my grocery store, so I made my own from scratch with all my fresh vegetables. I froze the extra broth to use as needed. Today was the day! I was also out of spinach, so I used cabbage from the garden. I do love the spinich version though! My soup is lighter because I used my cherry tomatoes, and only used white navy beans. I added parmasan cheese to garnish! Turned out very well, of course my husband asked where's the meat! No meat in this recipe! He had stuffed steak leftovers from yesterday to finish! :)

With the other half of cabbage from the soup, I decided to make Japanese tempura. My Japanese mother Kimiko used to make this for me. I made it for her before she passed away. I think of her everytime I make it! She was so very talented in her presentation, and all her dishes were fabulous. I miss her very much! Today I used cabbage and green pepper, mom always used cabbage and shredded carrot. Mine is just a simple flour recipe, you can find many versions online. I garnished with my sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes. I often call these fritters, because they resemble deep fried foods made all around the world. Fritters here are made with cornmeal too! You can fry just about anything into a fritter, from fruits, vegetables, and even bananas! I always use Canola oil, which has many good benefits, including heart health and low saturated fats. I'll be living on soups and light side dishes for the next few months! Just love them!

I enjoyed both of these dishes for dinner. I haven't lost my taste yet, but fear I will the way this cold progresses. Sucks to be me now! Off to take some meds, and try to get some shuteye! Stay healthy!!!