I was sick.  Again.  Just as I recovered from an upper respiratory infection, a sinus infection hit.  And it was so, so much nastier.

I was miserable.

I’d been near-comatose for over a week, binging on things like garlic-heavy chicken soup and garlic-infused Parmesan popcorn.  Plus all the echinacea, zinc, myriad vitamins, and thickly steamy showers… but life was still oppressively blurry.

Time to attack:  super garlic style.

Why garlic?  It has a lot to do with allicin, which is touted to be the fix-all for just about everything from boosting your immune system to preventing cancer.  Without getting into the specifics of its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal superpowers, the general message is this:  it’s great for you when you’re sick.

So I made a garlic soup based on various recipes that are floating around the internet, like this 52 Garlic Soup.  One of the things I like about their recipe was using coconut milk.  Most of the others I found called for half and half or cream.  But… I’m sick.  Sore throat and all, so dairy is a huge nope.  Coconut milk is non-dairy.  Problem solved.

Anyway, they also used lemon and ginger, but I left those out.  Feel free to add some to boost the health value of your soup.

But what about the taste?

Good question.  I have to admit, I was actually frightened of this soup.  I’ve made some awful recipes in the past and I was afraid this would be inedible.

Much to my relieved surprise – it was good.  I actually enjoyed eating it.  I ate it for two days, in fact.

The spices helped to clear out my sinuses, but even with all that garlic, it was also pretty easy on my poor, upset stomach.

In other words, I feel good recommending this soup to people.  Especially sick people.

Here you can see most of the ingredients.

I’d like to reiterate that I used coconut milk instead of dairy, even though many versions of this soup that I found called for half and half or even heavy cream.  You should note that the coconut milk won’t make the soup as thick as cream would, but still gives it a hint of that dairy flavor.

Garlic is easy to roast, and it can be baking while you get everything else prepared.

Above you can see that all you really need to do is cut off the top third of the garlic bulb and drizzle olive oil over it.  Then you loosely cover the pan with foil and bake until it’s soft and awesome.

When chopping up fresh thyme, be sure to remove the leaves from the stems first.

You don’t want the stems in your soup.  I pulled the leaves off with my fingers.

And I decided to shred the onion.  I think that’s easy, but not everyone may agree.  Plus, I like the extra juice you get from shredding it that you can add into the soup.

But, feel free to dice the onions with a knife or food processor if you prefer.

See:  onion juice.  :)

Anyway, here is the onion cooking down in the pot with a tablespoon of coconut oil and lots of pepper and just a small touch of salt.

Cook the onions until tender and translucent before adding the garlic.

And don’t be afraid of the spices.  I added more pepper again after the above photo was taken.  The pepper and cayenne (which I added with the garlic) really help to open up your sinuses, and they’re strong enough to compliment the garlic flavor without getting lost.

Look at that beautiful garlic!

Sqeeeeeeeeeze the garlic cloves right into the pot.

Onions, garlic, and lots of spice!

Then some chicken broth and a bit of fresh thyme.  Blend it a little.

And finally, add some coconut milk.

Plus, after I took the garlic out of the oven, I stuck in some homemade croutons.  I love croutons in soup.

So, here’s the recipe:

50 Garlic Soup
Or: 50-ish Feel-Much-Better Garlic Super Soup

Ingredients:

5 bulbs of garlic (about 50 cloves)
Olive oil
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 large Vidalia (sweet) onion, diced
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk
Croutons (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top third off of the garlic bulbs. Place on a pan and drizzle with olive oil. Gently cover pan with tented foil and roast until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.

In a large saucepot, melt coconut oil (or butter). Add in diced onions, salt, and pepper, and cook over medium until onions are soft and translucent, about 8 or 10 minutes.

Squeeze the garlic out of the bulbs into the pot with the onions. This is easier to do once they’ve cooled slightly (not right out of the oven). Add cayenne. And more pepper, if desired. Stir to combine.

Stir in the chicken broth and thyme and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and using a stick immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. (You can use a traditional blender, too, working in batches, but this step isn’t completely necessary is you don’t have a blender. Or are too sick to be bothered with it.)

Stir in coconut milk and bring back to a gentle simmer for a few minutes.

Serve warm, sprinkling crusty croutons on top just before eating.

*****

And for easy reference, here is the free printable PDF:  50 Garlic Soup

Check out the recipe for my Homemade Croutons, which I used with my soup:

Enjoy!

And if you found this post because you’re feeling lousy, then I hope you feel better very soon!