for the soul
11/28/13
Today's weather was a semi-drastic change from yesterday's sunshine and warmth; of course, not unexpected. What was unexpected was a supposed case of food poisoning brought upon one of my housemates. Most of us can relate to the loss of food and sleep that accompany stomach illnesses. Is it only Americans who gravitate toward the herbaceous and subtly savory warmth of chicken (noodle) soup during these times of fatigue and discomfort? It wasn't until late afternoon that I adhered my calling to make a chicken (noodle) soup. The reason for the parentheses around the noodle are attributed to the way my mom started making it after I abandoned gluten. Who would have thought that the noodles do little justice to the charming satisfaction of this simple liquid casserole...
I had the base recipe filed in the "home" drawer of my mind, but with a package of rice noodles aging in the pantry, I traveled through the endless Google images for "chicken soup with rice noodles". I realized the folly in my attempt to find a unique, yet traditional recipe. What is chicken soup? It's a combination of whatever you have in your fridge at that moment. Unfortunately, all my veggies in the fridge are for raw consumption. Fortunately, the veggies I decided I needed were relatively inexpensive and easy to find.
So, as I walked back into town, I rehearsed my recipe over and over, listing with my fingers. To make a short story short, this is what I eventually concocted... forgetting to use the rice noodles that are now sighing behind the lentils and quinoa.
Most of the measurements are estimates since I failed to use measuring utensils...
Ingredients
1 whole 2+ kg chicken
olive oil
1 brown (yellow) onion
4-5 celery stalks
1+ tablespoon minced or crushed garlic
celery salt
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
4 large carrots
vegetable and chicken stock powder
1 package frozen spinach
1 small bag of frozen peas
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
a heaping spoonful of basil pesto
The way I proceeded to complete the soup is probably a bit inefficient, but it got the job done.
1) I put the whole chicken in a kettle and filled it (to just cover the chicken) with water. I put a couple of spoonfuls of chicken stock powder in, put the cap on, and boiled it.
2) Meanwhile, I took another kettle and drizzled some olive oil on the bottom. I proceeded to chop up the celery, onion, and carrots, and tossed them in the kettle with the garlic and ginger. I spontaneously grabbed some celery salt and sprinkled a bit of that in there too. I probably sauteed that for five to ten minutes.
3) Seeing that the chicken was white (on the outside) I took it out of the boiling water and began to cut off the meat with a sharp knife. Only the outside was cooked, but I continued to cut as much as I could off the bone. Although there wasn't much fat floating in the chicken water, I skimmed what I could off the top and threw the chicken pieces back in and continued to boil.
4) I added the stuff from the other kettle into the chicken water and stirred it a bit.
5) I continued to work on the partially cooked chicken, throwing partially cooked pieces into the evolving soup.
6) When I felt I had added enough chicken, I added the peas and spinach and reduced to a simmer.
7) I threw the herbs (don't forget to pronounce the 'h' in Australia) stirred, and cooked it until the chicken was cooked through.
I still had a lot of chicken left over, so I threw the whole thing into a pot of water and boiled it. I then added some more of it to the soup and contained the leftovers to throw on salads.
Today's weather was a semi-drastic change from yesterday's sunshine and warmth; of course, not unexpected. What was unexpected was a supposed case of food poisoning brought upon one of my housemates. Most of us can relate to the loss of food and sleep that accompany stomach illnesses. Is it only Americans who gravitate toward the herbaceous and subtly savory warmth of chicken (noodle) soup during these times of fatigue and discomfort? It wasn't until late afternoon that I adhered my calling to make a chicken (noodle) soup. The reason for the parentheses around the noodle are attributed to the way my mom started making it after I abandoned gluten. Who would have thought that the noodles do little justice to the charming satisfaction of this simple liquid casserole...
I had the base recipe filed in the "home" drawer of my mind, but with a package of rice noodles aging in the pantry, I traveled through the endless Google images for "chicken soup with rice noodles". I realized the folly in my attempt to find a unique, yet traditional recipe. What is chicken soup? It's a combination of whatever you have in your fridge at that moment. Unfortunately, all my veggies in the fridge are for raw consumption. Fortunately, the veggies I decided I needed were relatively inexpensive and easy to find.
So, as I walked back into town, I rehearsed my recipe over and over, listing with my fingers. To make a short story short, this is what I eventually concocted... forgetting to use the rice noodles that are now sighing behind the lentils and quinoa.
Most of the measurements are estimates since I failed to use measuring utensils...
Ingredients
1 whole 2+ kg chicken
olive oil
1 brown (yellow) onion
4-5 celery stalks
1+ tablespoon minced or crushed garlic
celery salt
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
4 large carrots
vegetable and chicken stock powder
1 package frozen spinach
1 small bag of frozen peas
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
a heaping spoonful of basil pesto
The way I proceeded to complete the soup is probably a bit inefficient, but it got the job done.
1) I put the whole chicken in a kettle and filled it (to just cover the chicken) with water. I put a couple of spoonfuls of chicken stock powder in, put the cap on, and boiled it.
2) Meanwhile, I took another kettle and drizzled some olive oil on the bottom. I proceeded to chop up the celery, onion, and carrots, and tossed them in the kettle with the garlic and ginger. I spontaneously grabbed some celery salt and sprinkled a bit of that in there too. I probably sauteed that for five to ten minutes.
3) Seeing that the chicken was white (on the outside) I took it out of the boiling water and began to cut off the meat with a sharp knife. Only the outside was cooked, but I continued to cut as much as I could off the bone. Although there wasn't much fat floating in the chicken water, I skimmed what I could off the top and threw the chicken pieces back in and continued to boil.
4) I added the stuff from the other kettle into the chicken water and stirred it a bit.
5) I continued to work on the partially cooked chicken, throwing partially cooked pieces into the evolving soup.
6) When I felt I had added enough chicken, I added the peas and spinach and reduced to a simmer.
7) I threw the herbs (don't forget to pronounce the 'h' in Australia) stirred, and cooked it until the chicken was cooked through.
I still had a lot of chicken left over, so I threw the whole thing into a pot of water and boiled it. I then added some more of it to the soup and contained the leftovers to throw on salads.
For health diet , exercise and proper sleep are very important. While you are interested in weight loss you should add more exercise in your daily routine.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Mangosteen Juice
Although I do run an hour outside every morning, it's important to supplement regular workouts with a suitable diet. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, along with sources of lean protein and healthy fats: avocados (yum!), healthy oils, nuts, fish, beans, lentils, etc. Losing weight is not a priority for me, as I am 5'7" and most likely between 125 and 130 lbs. I believe, in many cases, establishing an appropriate active lifestyle complimented by real, whole foods is more beneficial than putting time and energy into the concern for weight loss.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts Lucas! :D