Take Two Aspirin, a Cup of Soup and Rest in Bed

January of my freshman year in college I got the flu. Even though my parents have required me to get a flu shot every year since I can remember, somehow my immune system let me down. I now understand that dorms are breeding grounds for illness. All of the vents to the rooms are connected, and no one ever gets any sleep. It is sort of like a daycare; when one person comes down with something, everyone has it. I was a freshman in a new town and had no idea what to do. I just shivered in my bed for a few days between classes, trying to fight my fever and dehydration with sleep. 
After being sick for a couple of days, my physics professor, Dr. Robert Packard, asked me if I was feeling well. I told him I thought I had the flu. Before I knew it, I had promised to stay with Dr. Packard and his wife, Joyce, at their home until I got well. Besides sleeping in a soft bed in a quiet home, I got to eat home-cooked meals and have an interim grandmother check on me throughout the day. That was better than any medicine.
Mrs. Packard brought me hot tea and vegetable soup while I was lying in her guest room bed. That soup tasted so good. I still think of sweet Mrs. Packard bringing me a tray of delicious, medicinal broth every time I make it. Here is her recipe.

"Mexican Vegetable Soup"

Ingredients:
1 T. vegetable oil
1 small leek, white and pale green parts only, halved and thinly sliced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced (sometimes I like to use a whole jalapeno and leave the seed in it; it helps clear out the sinuses)
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated plum tomato (you can use Roma, vine-ripened, or any kind of tomato)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
salt to taste
1 bone-in chicken thigh (I recommend trimming off all fat before cooking)
1 small zucchini, diced
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup corn kernels

Directions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat; watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn. 
2. Add the leek, carrot, chile and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
3. Add the tomato and saute about 3 minutes. Add the broth and water. 
4. Bring to a simmer and season with salt. Add the chicken, cover partially and simmer gently about 20 minutes. (Cut into the chicken to make sure there is no pink.)
5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool. Add the zucchini and cilantro to the soup and simmer gently 5-10 minutes. Stir in the corn and simmer about 2 minutes.
6. Remove and discard skin from the chicken thigh and then remove the meat from the bone. Shred the meat, stir into the soup, and heat through. Serve.
When Mrs. Packard made me this soup, she ladled mostly broth into my bowl because I was sick. This recipe has so much flavor that I could taste all of the vegetables even though they weren't in the bowl.