Flu Fightin' Salmon Soup

Ron and I have started the New Year with some kind of nasty cold or bug.  Too many hugs and kisses from two sick little grandsons, and less than stellar sleep while away from home are the primary contributors.  Everyone that came in contact with the boys caught whatever they have, but we have a milder version...or maybe it just seems that way because of this soup:

It started out as a spicy chicken broth that we sipped on New Year's Eve trying to nip this thing in the bud.  (That's the way to ring in the New Year, eh?  "Woohoo....more spicy chicken broth for everyone!! Party, party!" ) But then, it was New Year's Day and we needed to have greens...tradition, ya know.  We had a giant bunch of collard greens, so I planned to add that to the remaining broth, along with some chicken, but the one bird I had was frozen solid.  Somebody forgot to take it out of the freezer.  Let's blame it on the brain fog.  So the only available protein addition was fish.  I was a little worried that it would get a thumb's down from Ron, but it got a giant thumb's up!  We both enjoyed it so much, that I ended up making a second batch a day later, with even more healing ingredients, especially ginger and garlic. So if you happen to be a little under the weather too, whip up a batch of this to help speed up your return to health.  And if you are not sick, this soup is so delicious, you should just fake a couple of coughs and make it anyways.

Ingredients (all quantities are estimates and can be adjusted to your taste or what you have on hand):

4 cups homemade chicken broth

2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger

4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 wild caught salmon fillets, chopped in bite size chunks
1 large bunch collard greens, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (or black)
1 can coconut milk (14 ounces)
Juice of 1 lime or lemon

Heat broth, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper and onion.  Just get it hot, and let it simmer to blend the flavors.  (Maybe you should have a cup to sip on while you chop and prepare the other ingredients.)  Add everything else, except the lime juice.  Seriously, you are sick so there's no need for making this any more complicated.  Let it simmer until the salmon is done....10 minutes at the most.  Right before serving, stir in the lime juice.

Eat up and be well!

This recipe is part of the Sunday Night Soup Night Blog Carnival, a great resource for healthy, whole food soups!