sick!

I have a cold, so I dug up a recipe I found years ago on the internet somewhere. The soup is a great twist on chicken soup for a cold, the spice clears me up pretty well (even when it’s the only thing I can taste!). I just use the ingredients for some ideas/guidelines, but usually just make it with whatever is around, though the snow peas and bean sprouts are nice when I get them.

Warming Chicken and Asian Vegetable Soup

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin slivers
8 cups (2 qts.) chicken broth
1 tablespoon chili paste (or as much cayenne as looks good…)
1 fresh gingeroot (about 4 inches wide, unpeeled, coarsley chopped
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 carrots, diced
1 cup snow peas, sliced
4 scallions or green onions, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

In a large soup pot or dutch-oven, place chicken broth, chili paste, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. Bring mixture to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes. Put carrots and chicken in another pot and strain broth over it. Simmer over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Stir in snow peas; simmer 1 minute. Stir in scallions, bean sprouts and mint; simmer an additional 2 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 8.

recycled soup

made a simple tomato soup this weekend from the cook’s illustrated testing list. It’s meant to be a pure pantry dish, and it is except that it calls for chives (which I skipped). Just onion, garlic, olive oil saute, add some red pepper flakes, bay, canned tomatoes – then puree and then add some chicken stock. Super easy and way better than out of a can. Today I reheated it and threw in some roasted halibut with red onions and red bell peppers – all came together well. If it were a bit chunkier it would be a good dip/bruschetta topping too I think. Simple!

My failed cheese fantasies have given way to chicken fantasies…

cheese

Tried making cheese for the first time yesterday… it ended up more like sour cream. I’m going to have to try it with raw milk and more precision next time. What I really want is goat cheese, but I only know how to find raw cow’s milk at present.

I used the whey in a butternut squash soup instead of stock. I don’t know if I imagined it, but it seemed a touch more custard-y…