A Gift for Someone Sick: Chicken Noodle Soup Two Ways

Is someone you know sick? Make them some chicken soup and they are bound to feel better.

I have 2 versions for you. In version number one I use vegetable broth as a base and add one chicken breast at the end. It is totally enough chicken, easy on the budget and the digestive tract. This is the easier and faster of the two recipes. In version two, I use a crock pot and an organic chicken carcass to create a chicken broth as the base for the soup. Homemade bone broth has extra nutritional benefit and if you have the time on a chilly weekend it's worth the effort.

You know how I love fresh herbs so pick up some fresh rosemary sprigs to toss into these soups. Rosemary contains several potent antioxidants and is known to reduce inflammatory responses, making it beneficial for those with rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, and atherosclerosis (the build up of plaque on the inside of blood vessels). Rosemary increases circulation, improves digestion, and stimulates the immune system making it a great addition to our Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.

You'll also notice a "secret" ingredient: fresh ginger. It adds a warming touch to the soup which feels really nice on a scratchy throat, and it helps with nausea and gastrointestinal distress, and has antioxidant properties.

Version I (using only a chicken breast)

Ingredients:
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 quart water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp organic butter
1 boneless skinless organic chicken breast, sliced thin
1 inch piece of ginger, quartered (no need to peel)
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 leek, light green and white parts, halved lengthwise, washed and sliced thin
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh green beans, chopped
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2-3 sprigs of Rosemary(about 6 inches, more will overpower the soup)
1/2 package of good quality egg noodles
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat olive oil and butter in your soup pot over medium flame. Saute onion, leek, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 8 minutes until the onion is clear (do not brown). Add the stock, water, and ginger and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 25 minutes.

Return to boil and drop in raw chicken slices and rosemary sprigs. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove ginger and rosemary. Add the green beans, egg noodles, and Italian parsley and cook for approximately 10 minutes until noodles are done. It the noodles absorb too much of the soup feel free to add more stock or water to get the consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Version 2 (using, dare I say, a whole chicken carcass...mmm, special!)
Ingredients:
1 whole organic chicken
1 crock pot or large soup pot
Water to fill
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp organic butter
1 inch piece of ginger, quartered
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 leek, light green and white parts, halved lengthwise, washed and sliced thin
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh green beans, chopped
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2-3 sprigs of Rosemary (about 6 inches)
1/2 package of good quality egg noodles
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
So you've purchased an organic chicken to the tune of about $16.00 and you're thinking this better be worth it! Not to worry, you're going to get two meals from this bird. The first thing I want you to do is cut off the breast, legs and thighs. Those can be used in another dish right away or frozen to use later. I used mine in a pan roasted chicken with white wine, kalamata olives, garlic, and lemon. I'll post the recipe for this separately. If you're not ready to do the soup you can throw the carcass in the freezer until you need it. It should still have a nice amount of meat left on the bones.

I put the carcass in my crock pot and add water to cover the bones about half way. Cook for about 6 hours on high or until the bones pull apart gently and cleanly. Remove the bones with a slotted spoon or tongs, place on a deep plate or pan, then let cool to the touch. Separate the bones from the meat. You will be surprised by just how much meat you get. Yes, it's a lot of work but remember, you're doing a great thing by using the whole bird and you get both dark and white meat, which adds a great flavor. In addition, bone broth has great nutritional value. It contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in a form that the body can easily absorb. To read more about bone broths check out Sally Fallon's site.

Set your bowl of chicken aside and let's work with the broth for a minute. The first thing I do is use a ladle to put it in one of those separator measuring cups that allows you to remove some of the fat. The second thing I do is line a mesh strainer with cheese cloth and slowly pour the broth through it to remove anything left floating around (skin, bones and god knows what else). Now you should have a beautiful broth to work with.

Next heat the olive oil and butter in your soup pot over a medium flame. Saute onion, leek, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 8 minutes until the onion is clear (do not brown). Add the stock and ginger and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 25 minutes.

Return to boil and add the cooked chicken and rosemary sprigs. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove ginger and rosemary. Add the green beans, egg noodles, and Italian parsley and cook for approximately 10 minutes until noodles are done. It the noodles absorb too much of the soup feel free to add more stock or water to get the consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste and you're good to go.

Veg Medley w/Chard & Poached Eggs-Something different for Bkfst or Brunch

I created this recipe one weekend morning when I was in an "I don't know what I want" mood. I wanted something different, and as the odds and ends in the fridge began to fill the counter top this tasty dish emerged.

I used rainbow chard because I am just enamored by its colors. You'll want to remove that colorful stem which you can do either with a knife or by using your thumb and forefinger to strip the leaves off. Then put them in your salad spinner and give them a nice washing. Spin them dry, then just give them a rough chop.

Why throw chard in the mix? Look at its nutritional profile and you'll have your answer: It has carotenes, vitamins C, E, and K, fiber and chlorophyll. It is also an excellent source of minerals -- including magnesium, potassium, iron and manganese -- and B6, calcium, protein, thiamine, zinc, niacin, folic acid and selenium! With this profile chard is a particularly powerful anti-cancer food, especially of those that affect the digestive tract, such as colon cancer. The vitamin K provided by chard (388.9% of the daily value in 1 cup of cooked chard) is important for maintaining bone health.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, cut top to root, then into long quarter-inch strips
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed well with the back of your knife
2 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup of a variety of tomatoes, chopped (you can substitute 15 oz can of chopped organic tomatoes with juice)
1/2 cup frozen corn (I froze mine this summer so I'd have it on hand, but when corn is in season I use 1 ear, kernels removed from cob)
4 cups rainbow chard (1 bunch), stems removed, cleaned, spun dry and roughly chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped
thyme, 3 sprigs
lemon zest, 1 tsp
sea salt and ground pepper
3-4 fresh farm eggs

Directions:

• Heat 3 quart sauce pan over medium heat and add olive oil. When hot, add onion slices and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute 2 more minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic.
• Add carrots and 1/4 cup of stock. Cover and simmer 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer uncovered for about 6 minutes, until tomatoes begin to break down. Add another 1/4-1/2 cup of stock and the oregano, parsley, thyme and lemon zest. Stir to blend. Add corn, simmer for 3 minutes. Add chard and simmer until it wilts. Add salt and pepper. Mixture should not be dry, nor should it be a soup. There should be a tasty sauce developing with thin enough liquid to poach the eggs. If it needs more stock add that now. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  
• When you have a nice simmer going crack in the eggs and cover. Check after 3 minutes. Cook the eggs until the yolks are set to the consistency you like. Remove lid and sprinkle eggs with freshly ground pepper. Using a slotted spoon, scoop up an egg with a good helping of the underlying vegetables. Serve with corn tortillas or sprouted whole grain toast.

You're Going To Love These Green Beans with Chipotle Butter

This is an easy recipe with a big taste. It's made with a compounded butter and once the butter is made there is enough that you can also use it on other things such as broccoli. The flavor is smokey with a little heat but not overly so. We adapted this recipe after finding it in an old Bon Appetit magazine (Dec. 2006). We steam the beans instead of boiling them so we can preserve the vitamins and flavor and we give them a quick saute instead of stirring them in a pot. You can add a sprinkle of toasted pinons or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) if you'd like.

Ingredients: 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chile (you can buy a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce in the Mexican Food section of your grocery store--use what you need and freeze the rest)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 lbs of green beans, trimmed (feel free to use however many green beans you'd like and simply adjust the amount of butter, using enough to coat them all)

Directions: Blend butter, chile, vinegar, and salt in mini processor until smooth. Transfer to small bowl or jar. You can make this ahead of time and stick it in the refrigerator.
Next steam the beans for 3 minutes. Drain. Melt chipotle butter in large frying pan over medium heat. Add the beans and saute in the butter for 3-5 minutes until they just start to blister. Stir frequently. Season with a pinch of salt if needed. Transfer to bowl, top with nuts if desired and enjoy.

Delicious Food at Ubuntu in Napa

This blog has been neglected but I think you will understand. We are new parents to a baby girl we named Remi Anise Sterling. Her middle name (pronounced like Denise) came to me when I was recipe testing with Catherine McConkie for Rebecca Katz new cookbook. We were using Star Anise, a spice, and it smells so wonderful...sort of like licorice only better. Dylan agreed that it went well with Remi and the name stuck. Rebecca has claimed her our little Spice Girl!

So, yesterday we drove to Napa and left her with Chris's parents for our first real outing. There was a tinge of seperation anxiety but hey, our caregivers were a retired surgeon and a retired baby nurse and lactation specialist! So knowing she was in great hands and having cell phones on the ready, off we went to Ubuntu. The restaurant was recommended to me by a fellow chef, Jason, who works on their biodynamic farm.

The weather that day was warm and sunny and the food was beyond expectations. That shouldn't surprise anyone, Chef Jeremy Fox has many accolades including Rising Star Chef. So, what did we have to eat? Chickpea fries with herbs and romesco sauce. The chickpeas had been mashed and shaped to look like french fries and then lightly fried with the romesco as a dipping sauce. Then there was the hickory smoked grits topped with BBQ brussel sprouts, crunchy green apple and bronze fennel sprouts. Now that should make your mouth water. Dessert was poached pear with fennel and white chocolate, citrus and horchata. It was served in a martini glass with the white chocolate on the bottom, sliced pear and orange with hazelnuts next, topped with half vanilla ice cream and half citrus ice. On the one hand the ice was cleansing and on the other hand the ice cream was rich...wonderful combination. Okay, next time I will remember to get the camera out of the glove compartment and take pictures of the food for you. But hey, I'm a tired new parent and I was lucky to have my shoes on the right feet!
Please spoil yourself by visiting a wonderful restaurant on occassion - it really is worth every bite.

What's in Season for June? Bonus: Bruschetta Recipe

Woohoo! Summer fruits and vegies are on their way to a market near you! So, here's my version of Frida Kahlo's watermelon in Viva la Vida. There is an exhibit of her work at the SFMOMA starting this month. We were lucky enough to go to her house in Mexico City last August and be wowed by the art, the torturous devices she wore for her polio, and the brilliant colors inside the house and out...reds, blues, greens, yellows...just gorgeous.

All those colors have me thinking about the shades of summer fruits and vegies. Maybe you've noticed the first of the yellow corn showing up in your grocery store. It's still not at its peak yet but I have to admit I couldn't resist getting a couple of ears and testing out my new toy. It's the Kuhn Rikon Corn Zipper from Sur la Table and it's very cool. The monster teeth on this kitchen tool make stripping the kernels off the cob a breeze.

You should also be seeing green beans start to show up as well as cucumbers, those beautiful purple eggplants, your summer squash and even juicy red tomatoes are making an appearance. Those tomatoes look pretty right now but by July you'll get that great flavor that goes with those good looks. Yes, we already bought some of those too. I like the ugly heirloom ones. Dylan chopped them up and made some bruschetta for a great after work before supper treat. I'll let you in on her recipe below.

We are in fruit heaven as we move from strawberries to blueberries, raspberries, apricots, early peaches and nectarines and the first of the melons. Now, maybe I'm old fashioned but I still like the watermelon with the black seeds. I just don't think "seedless" watermelons taste as good...and anyway they're not really seedless, the seeds are just white and a little softer/smaller than the black ones. Remember growing up and spitting those seeds as far as you could while the juice was running down your fingers? Are we going to deny a whole generation of kids this thrill by feeding them seedless watermelons? Pffft. Let's not forget the grapes are coming out as well as black mission figs and of course you've seen those delicious deep dark red cherries or even the yellow-red rainiers. Now are you seeing that summer color palette?

So, on with the Bruschetta recipe.

Dylan emailed this recipe and it's dated 08/09/2001. I taped it to my refrigerator and would make it every year when tomatoes came into season. She tells me she got the recipe from a book entitled Vegetarian Cooking of the Mediterranean.

Getting Ready for those Tasty Tomatoes Bruschetta
1 medium tomato, diced
6 sundried tomatoes, chopped (I used the ones in oil, you can also used dried ones that are soaked in water until soft)
1/2 bunch of basil, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained, optional (I'm not a fan of them so I leave them out)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 French Baguette, sliced on the diagonal about 1/4 inch thick

Mix together all ingredients except bread. Let the tomato mixture sit so the flavors will marry while you toast the bread. Set over to 350 degrees F. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake in over until golden, 3-5 minutes. Turn bread over and repeat. (Note: We have been known to slap slices of bead in the toaster and "cheat".)

Red Potato Slices Roasted with Lemon and Olives

I know this sounds really weird, in fact it sounded so weird I had to try it! And guess what, it was really good. You can eat the lemon slices, rind and all, which I liked but dylan did not so she picked them out. The flavor here is wonderful and refreshing and quite spring like.

Red Potato Slices Roasted with Lemon and Olives
from The Best of Fine Cooking Fresh Spring/Summer 2006

2 lb. medium or large red potatoes (about 5 medium), scrubbed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 Tbs. olive oil; more for the pan
1 lemon, very thinly sliced (discard the ends and seeds)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup pitted olives (Recipe called for oil-cured olives, didn't specify the type. I used water packed kalamatas because that is what I had on hand and it turned out fine).

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously oil a large baking dish (9x13, oval gratin, or you can use a cast iron skillet like I did).
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, the 3 Tbs. oil, lemon slices, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper; toss well. Spread the potato mixture in the baking dish so the potatoes are evenly layered (it can be rustic looking). Roast, turning the potatoes with a spatula every 20 minutes, until most of the potatoes are crisp and golden and the lemon skins are shriveled and caramelized, about 1 hour. Scatter the olives over the potatoes for the last 3 to 5 minutes of cooking.

I served this with sauteed chard. Enjoy!

Tips from Culinary School To Take Your Cooking from Good to Great

Wow, it's been a month and a half without so much as a single recipe from me. This is all because I severely underestimated how consuming culinary school would be. As my classmate Pamela said, "I used to think about food a lot but now I'm totally obsessed with it." It's true. When not in class cooking up a storm, I'm writing up recipes and analyzing their nutritional content (homework), going to the farmers market or trying out new recipes at home. Oh and don't forget that mess of cookbooks and cooking magazines I flip through looking for inspiration.

I thought you all might enjoy some tips from the culinary kitchen that you can start using right now to take your recipes from good to great.

1. Start using lots of fresh herbs and spices. Get rid of any old stale spices in your spice cabinet and replace them with fresh organic spices. Buy small quantities and put a date on the bottom of the jar. Don't be afraid to throw in a handful of fresh herbs to spark up the flavor of a dish. This time of year why not plant a couple of pots with basil and Italian parsley, rosemary and thyme? Then you can just go out and snip off what you need which is cheaper than buying fresh organic herbs in the market.

2. Upgrade your salt. Most chefs love salt and they love it because it brings out the flavor in their dishes. Unless you're on a restricted salt diet, go buy yourself some good sea salt. The one I'm using right now for everyday cooking is called Redmond Real Salt "ancient all natural sea salt " and boasts "unrefined sea salt mined from ancient sea bed contains 50+ trace minerals, including iodine. Okay, I'll tell you one of my salt secrets. I take some salt and put it in a little jar. I grab an herb, say rosemary or the lovely purple flower off of a lavender plant. I gentle crush it just a bit in a small mortar and pestle and toss it with the salt and then use that to season things like soup or roasted vegies. Delicious.

3. Invest in a good chef knife. This act alone will change your life. When dylan and i were just friends she would come over and we would cook dinner together. one time she was over and trying to cut the skin off a kabocha squash which is already difficult but with my dull knives it was ridiculous. Well, that put her over the edge and the next time she came over to cook she brought me a "real" knife. It was a Henckel 8" Chefs Knife and I've been using it every since. And well we've been together for years now so you see it really can change your life!

4. How to Balance Flavors. Have you ever cooked up something only to taste it and realize it's way too spicy or way too sweet? Here is the key to fixing those situations:

flavor to balance add

too sweet sour (acid)/heat... such as lemon jc, chili sauce, vinegar
too salty sour (acid)...lemon jc, vinegar
too hot, spicy sweet/fat...such as agave, honey, olive oil, butter
too sour(acidic) sweet/fat...agave, honey, olive oil, butter
too bland add salt/heat/herbs/spices
needs brightness acid/aromatics/heat...balsamic vinegar, wine, lemon/lime jc, zest, spices, herbs, chili sauce
needs depth herbs such as thyme and rosemary, maybe some salt to bring our flavors
too harsh/strong sweet such as agave, honey, molasses

5. Turn it up a notch with zest. A really nice microplane runs about $12 and will definitely take your cooking from good to great or is that grate! Start adding zest to things and see what happens. Wash your lemon, lime or orange first then zest the peel without getting the white pith as that part is bitter.

6. Make your life easier with natural parchment paper. If I'm going to roast or bake something I line that pan with parchment paper and let me tell you it beats the heck out of soaking and scrubbing those pans.

7. Make your own salad dressings. No, don't grumble, seriously you can do this. Your dressing will be fresh and taste better, you'll know exactly what ingredients are in it and it will cost you way less than buying bottled dressing. So here is the ratio: 1 part acid (usually vinegar) to 3 parts oil (usually olive oil). Use only 2 parts oil for a stronger more intense flavored dressing and 3 parts for a more subtle flavor. Okay, an example of one I throw together that has a slightly sweet taste: 1 part white wine vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, a little orange zest then a squeeze of orange juice, few drops of agave, salt and pepper.

I hope you will try some of these tips and do let me know how your dishes turn out.