Vaccination-Recovery Soup: An Easy, Aesthetically Pleasing Recipe

I expected my second BioNtech shot to be worse than the first--but the problem may have been the doctor who treated my shoulder like a dartboard. The first time around, a terrifically conscientious medical student, a young man with a concerned look and a professional manner, gently pinched the skin beneath the shoulder and slid in the needle. I felt almost nothing and experienced no side effects.

The second time around, a disheveled older man--gray hair looking as though someone had just rumpled it during foreplay, medical gown untied, face jolly and red (could he have been drunk?) thrust the needle into my shoulder, possibly hitting bone. Slap-happy friendly, he tossed the thing in a fashion I can only describe as unguided. It did go through muscle, and that's all that matters in the end.

Within the next hours, my arm started feeling as though it had been hit by a bowling ball. Hard. A strike. Using a pepper grinder proved agonizing. I woke up at night whenever my shoulder hit my pillow. 

In such situations, a soothing soup is most helpful. Dizzy with fatigue, shaking with body aches, I came up with the following, and it helped, gentle reader--it really did:

Ingredients (assemble beforehand)

Olive oil

A couple of onions--red or white

Red cabbage--at least one large globe

About a cup of dry red wine

A clove or two of garlic. You could add a little fresh ginger--I wish I had done so.

Vegetable broth

An apple or two, cored and cut into small pieces--you need not peel it. 

Put a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a large pot. Dice the onions and add to the sizzling olive oil; turn down heat and allow the onions to become transparent. Wash and slice the red cabbage into smallish pieces and add. Stir. Add the red wine and turn the heat up a bit. Slice the garlic, add it and stir. Add the apples. Add vegetable broth--about a cup, but it depends on how big the cabbage is. If you like a nice, thick soup, the cabbage mix should not be submerged in broth.

Let boil, turn down heat, and let cook on low heat until the ingredients are soft. Turn off heat. Using an electric wand, pulverize the ingredients. You may wish to add a little pepper. 

VOILA! Delicious--and soothing:

Plenty of vitamins, too!