Chapter Text
Kotetsu coughed weakly on the couch, the afghan pulled all the way up to his chin even as he shuddered.
"That was Saito-san that just called," Barnaby said, closing his cell phone with a sigh. "You've got influenza, type D."
"Which one's-" his question was cut off by a vicious round of hacking.
"The type that hits NEXTs even harder than it hits the community. You're not going to be in shape to work for about two weeks."
Kotetsu groaned just as the doorbell rang.
"And that should be Pao-Lin." Barnaby covered his mouth with a paper mask and walked briskly to open the door.
"Why?" He croaked when Barnaby walked back to the kitchen.
"Because she's the one who did the commercial, so she's the one with a life-time supply of alphabet pasta. "I'm going to make you beef-vegetable alphabet soup. It's healthy and nutritious, so hopefully it'll help speed up your recovery.
Kotetsu gave a whine of agreement.
"Can I put mayo on it?"
"Ugh, of course not!"
Alphabet -Soup Broth & Veggie Style
(by Oxmoor House via My Recipies)
~ 1 lb. of ground chuck
~ 2 cups low-sodium vegetable juice cocktail
~ 2 (16 oz.) packages of frozen vegetable soup mix with tomatoes
~ 2 (14.25 oz. cans of no-salt-added beef broth
~ 2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans of no-salt added diced tomatoes
~ 1/2 cup uncooked alphabet-shaped pasta
~ 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
~ 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
~ 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
Step 1
Cook ground chuck in a Dutch over over medium heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Wipe drippings from Dutch oven with a paper towel.
Step 2
Return beef to the Dutch oven. Add the vegetable juice cocktail, and then the vegetable soup mix, the beef broth, and the diced tomatoes; bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and any remaining ingredients to the Dutch over; bring to a boil again. Cover, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is done.