I’b cobing dowd with sobthig. Specifically, I’m coming down with some sinus crud. It started a few days ago, and now it actually appears to be getting a little better. (Hooray for Mucinex and drinking gallons of water!) But I’m still feel like I’m teetering on the edge of a sinus infection, so I’m going to go for it and make my long-time favorite home remedy for all manner of sinus symptoms, Mexican Garlic Soup. (And it’s really, really good, too!)

I start by making Paul Prudhomme’s fabulous Just Veggies Broth:

• 1 gallon water
• 1 large unpeeled onion, quartered
• 1 large unpeeled carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 rib celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 5 cloves unpeeled garlic, cut in half
• 1 medium unpeeled Idaho potato, quartered
• 1 stalk bok choy*, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

*I don’t think I’ve ever used the bok choy, and I add lots of parsley because I  love the taste of cooked parsley. Use whatever veggies appeal to you, or what you have on hand.

That’s right, nothing is peeled. You do want to wash it, but don’t bother with anything else. Dump everything all together in a large pot over high heat and stir it to mix in the spices. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium. Simmer until the stock is reduced to 2 quarts, about two hours. Strain it, and discard the vegetables. Clean the pot and return the strained stock to it. Put it over high heat and bring it to a boil then, once again, reduce the heat and simmer. Cook until the stock is reduced to 1-1/2 quarts, about thirty more minutes.

You can use it immediately, or cool and refrigerate. Or freeze. That’s what I did the last time I made it, and I took it out of the freezer to make my soup today. All that may seem like a lot of trouble, and it is, but the broth it produces is startlingly good. Leaps and bounds over anything you’re likely to buy in a can — rich, full of flavor, fragrant (helpful when you’re starting out with beat-up sinuses) and spicy!

Now, when your broth is done (or defrosted), you’re ready to make the soup itself. I got this recipe on one of those little tear-off recipe pads in some Whole Foods produce department (about twenty years ago and — imagine! — it’s not on their website):

Mexican Garlic Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped (not put through a press)
• 1/2 baguette, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped**
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 7 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or homemade Just Veggies Broth)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

**The original recipe calls for ancho peppers, aka dried poblanos, which would probably be completely delicious, but I find the idea of stemming and seeding a crackly, crumbly dried pepper to be a little silly. Suit yourself. And let me know if you make it with the anchos! I’d like to know how it is.

Start with the garlic.

Peel it…

And chop it.

Why, yes, that IS a lot of garlic!

Heat the oil over high heat in a heavy, large skillet. Reduce the heat to medium high, add the garlic and stir for one minute. Transfer to a soup pot.

Place the bread rounds in the hot olive oil, until they’re golden on both sides. Set aside. N.B. — you can skip this part and just toast the bread, with or without brushing it with olive oil first, in the oven. (That’s what I do, myself. I find it faster and easier than doing it in the skillet. Again, though—whatever blows your skirt up.)

Take your lovely tomatoes and poblano (or ancho) peppers.

Chop them. (I use my Oskar.)

Now put the tomatoes and peppers in the skillet and stir, again over high heat, for one minute. Transfer to the soup pot. Move the soup pot onto the hot burner and add the broth and salt. Add the garlic back in. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is soft. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with toasted bread.

I part ways with the Whole Foods recipe just at that point. Personally, I use the bread and copious amounts of grated Monterrey Jack cheese…

…to fix this similar to the way French Onion soup is served:

Pile the bread rounds in your bowl,

No, those aren’t round pieces of a baguette. I didn’t have a baguette, but did have a loaf of French bread, so I sliced it thin and proceeded from there. You’re allowed to adjust things, you know!

sprinkle on as much cheese as you like or can fit in,

then ladle the soup over it. And maybe top with more cheese.

Delicious! If you skip the cheese, though, that keeps it vegan.

Eat early and often when you have any kind of sinus ailment, including garden variety colds.