Eat Drink Run Woman

I’m a total wuss when it comes to catching a cold. I dread the moment I feel the tell-tale scratch at the back of my throat, ‘cuz I know what’s coming: three days — at the very least — of achy muscles, pounding headache, sniffles and overall yuckiness. It came on hard and fast Thursday night, and even with two solid days of couch rest, I was still feeling peaked yesterday. I mustered up the strength to do my physical therapy exercises, but my 6-mile run was out of the question.

Normally I would have spent another day as a couch potato, but Easter festivities beckoned. You’d think given my diminished state I’d take good care of myself, but NOOOOOO. I languished too long over the cheese platter; quaffed far too many glasses of wine; gobbled up gads of cheesy potato casserole, brisket and ham; and devoured a large slice of Devil’s Food cake. Oy!

I had hoped to get home early and go straight to bed, but due to a carpooling snafu my darling and I had to take his grandmother home — a trip that took us an hour and a half out of our way. By the time I hit the sheets I was Ms. Grumpypants, and a sleepless night didn’t help matters. I awoke slightly hung-over and still suffering from my cold. But since I hadn’t worked out in days, I drug my sorry butt to the gym for my cardio class.

Wouldn’t you know it: when I’m feeling my worst my instructor is Perky Polly, hellbent on torture. I gave the class a half-assed go, although I skipped the half-hour ab-lab afterwards. I was still feeling pretty crappy when I got back home, and collapsed in my darling’s arms, breaking into a teary melt-down.

The cry actually did me good and I began getting ready for my client cook-date. I called my voice mail (my client always leaves me a shopping list on Sundays), and was pleasantly surprised to hear her say she was giving me a day off — with pay! My day suddenly got a lot brighter.

I was craving matzo ball soup, so I decided to clear out all the chicken parts in my freezer and prepare a mess of homemade chicken stock. I must have had about 10 pounds of parts, including more than a pound and a half of chicken feet (yes, I realize that may sound gross. But they help make the stock very rich and gelatinous). I threw it all into my big-ass stockpot and let it simmer for about five hours. After straining it off I tossed in some matzo balls, then added some chopped leeks and carrots. It was chicken soup for the soul! (Hey — that would be a good title for a book).