Mom's chicken soup

Mom's chicken soup

Homemade chicken soup bears amazing healing properties. This recipe comes from my mother, Margaret Juzwik. Like her, I often make this soup with leftover turkey, often the day after Thanksgiving, but Mom's original recipe calls for chicken.

5 quarts turkey or chicken broth
4 C (or more) chopped chicken (cooked or uncooked)
1 C celery
1/2 C celery leaves
1/4 C onion, finely chopped
2 t salt (or more,
pepper to taste
bay leaf

1/2 C parsley
1 C peas
1 C carrots
2 C green beans
2 C egg noodles (I never put 'em in, but sometimes I use 3/4 C wild rice)

1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour (I usually use oat flour)


1. Add liquid and everything up to bay leaf. Also add rice, if using.

2. Simmer for an hour. Then add parsley and veggies. Simmer until tender. Add noodles, if using.

3. Melt butter in small frying pan. Slowly stir in flour, whisking constantly. Add small amounts of broth from pot and keep adding and stirring until smooth. When you have 1-1 1/2 C, then add to pot and stir.  Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Note: If I want a lighter soup, I leave out the butter and flour.

Mediterranean Chicken Soup

Mediterranean Chicken Soup

On a cold snowy January afternoon, a pot of broth had simmered away on the stove for nearly 24 hours.  I craved chicken soup, but something different from the usual fare. Some recently thawed roma tomatoes and 2 partially eaten rotisserie chickens -- the bones were used for broth -- also needed to be used. So here is what I developed. It passed the kitty sniff test, and Maudemarie said it tasted like chicken tacos...perhaps because of the oregano?  

4 quarts chicken broth (approximately) - homemade broth is ideal
4-5 cups chopped cooked chicken meat
2 cups roma tomatoes, pureed in blender (or a 32 oz can tomato puree would probably be equivalent)
1 large fennel bulb, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon (or more) oregano
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
3 medium russet potatoes (I used baked potatoes, but fresh potatoes would also work)
3 cups green beans (frozen work just fine)
parmesan (sprinkled on top)

Bring broth to boil. Combine all ingredients except green beans (unless the potatoes are already cooked, in which case wait on them also). Simmer for an hour or so. Add the green beans and simmer for another 15+ minutes, until cooked. Other vegetables can also be added, as desired, although I enjoyed the simplicity of this combination, sprinkled with parmesan and freshly ground pepper, served with a crusty slice of bread.

Chicken and Squash Roast

Chicken and squash roast

This wonderful comfort food comes from my sister, Sarah Glenn, who inspires me with her creativity in and out of the kitchen -- and she always cooks this roast up with a goodly dose of love!

4-5 lbs of chicken thighs and/or drumsticks

2 tablespoons (or more) chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp kosher salt

1-2 onions, sliced in rings (for lower acid, celery or possibly mushrooms might be substituted)

2-3 acorn squash, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch-ish slices 

8 garlic cloves, minced (cut for low acid)

olive oil

1/2 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)

apple rings from 3-4 apples

Mix in small bowl: brown sugar, rosemary and salt.

Brown chicken on all sides so it gets even more crispy in the oven.

Place sliced squash in a very large greased roasting pan in a single layer. Sprinkle garlic on top, then drizzle with olive oil

Put browned chicken on top. Then cover with rosemary/brown sugar mixture. Then on the very top put the sliced onions and apples, if using

Roast 1-1.5 hours in 375 degree oven. Baste if you like.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe is adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickentikkamasala_73305. My first effort was not brilliant, although it was edible, but I want to work with it further so am posting it here.   Note: Maudemarie likes just the chicken, without the sauce. I did not sauté the celery in the chile oil and I found it much too bland -- I believe this step is critical. The rice, developed from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking, is amazing. 

Ingredients

         4 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cubed

         2 in piece of fresh root ginger, finely chopped

         1 tsp chili powder

         sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

         2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus extra to garnish (optional: MM prefers none)
         juice of one lime

         2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

         3 stalks celery, finely chopped 

         1 red chili, seeds removed and finely chopped (optional)

         1 tsp ground turmeric

         200ml/7fl oz double cream (or yogurt, for lighter version)

         juice of ½ lemon

Serve with

basmati rice with cumin seeds (see below)
vegetables -- we served with sautéed spinach (which was lovely) and steamed broccoli (which was okay)

        

Preparation:

        

1. Place chicken in a large bowl. Mix ginger, chili, salt, pepper, coriander, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Marinate the chicken for several hours in this sauce. Heat a heavy-bottomed shallow pan and, when hot, add the chicken. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is browned on all sides.

        

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and flavor the oil with the chili. Cook celery for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Add the turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and cook gently for a couple of minutes.

        

3. Add the chicken to the creamy sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Check for seasoning, and add lemon juice to taste. 

                 

4.  Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately with rice.

Basmati rice with cumin seeds

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice

1.5 (or a bit less) cups water

2 tablespoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon (or more, to taste) olive or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)

chopped cilantro (optional)

Materials:

sauce pan

sieve

rack to go a couple inches over stovetop burner

Directions

1. Soak rice for at least 10 minutes in the water to be used for cooking. Then drain and reserve the water.

2. Heat oil in sauce pan. Add cumin until it becomes fragrant.

3. Add rice to the fragrant oil and sauté for a few minutes to coat.

4.  Then add the reserved water along with the salt.

5. Boil, then simmer for ten minutes.

6. Keeping burner on, elevate the pan over the heat and let the rice steam for another 10-15 minutes. We use a little stand over the burner that elevates the pan about 1.5 inches (and I am unable to locate what this wonderful tool is called). We have improvised with metal drying rack and pans, when we don’t have this tool at hand.

7. Garnish with cilantro, if you like.

Poached chicken breasts

Poached chicken breasts

This is gentle food for those with GI issues, although the leftover chicken always gets a bit stinky somehow.  I have no idea what to do about that problem.

Ingredients
Chicken breasts (as many as you like)
chicken broth or salt water

Instructions
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook the chicken on a low simmer (maybe one or two bubbles in the water). Drain in a colander.