Warm Chicken Soup

It's a cold, rainy day in Chicago today.  I think it calls for some homemade chicken soup.  Totally healthy and good for getting over a cold or staying warm.  There are many chicken soup recipes out there, but mine is simple and it starts with Martha Stewart's chicken soup recipe.  I have added my modifications below to add more flavor.

Basic Chicken Soup

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into pieces (including back)
• 8 cups water
• Coarse salt
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced (4 cups)
• 2 celery stalks, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 medium carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Tina's ingredient additions: 2 bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, a little oregano.  Whole chicken should be de-skined

Directions

1. Bring chicken, water, and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large stockpot. Skim foam. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
2. Remove breast, and set aside. Add carrots. Simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
3. Remove remaining chicken; discard back and wings. Let cool slightly. Remove meat from bones, and cut into bite-size pieces.
4. Stir in desired amount of chicken; reserve the rest for another use. Skim fat. Season with salt.

Source: Martha Stewart's Basic Chicken Soup
My past posts: Cold Remedy II How to Stay Warm

Garden Bounty

Last night, I couldn't sleep because I realized that I am really happy.  I had a knee injury almost two years ago, and am still in recovery and all, but I sense a new place in life.  I feel so healthy these days, relish the food I eat, and learn from one of the greatest pleasures that God gives us from the earth, the garden.

An organic garden and healthy food are synonymous, as I see it, and I have such a great privilege of tasting the fruitful yield of hard labor (many times, not of my own.*boy am I spoiled*). 

For one, I really believe that most of us don't understand just how hard it is to grow food.  For instance, we'll take the tomato for our point of discussion.  This year, we tried growing more than 12 tomato plants.  Throughout the summer, the tomatoes got increasingly annoying.  We watered so much, took note to avoid watering the leaves (otherwise you can kill the plant), and tried all sorts of ways to 'save' the plants.  For most of the summer they looked like they were going to die, and many did.  All in all, thankfully, we had a few plants that survived (keep in mind that when you grow a plant, if it dies, you basically end up with nothing, this is why gardeners don't call it quits so easily).  Here's a picture of our prized possession.

And of course, with no delay, we took a few of those brightly ripened sweet tomatoes along with the basil and yellow squash that is also from our garden, and I made a delectable tomato based sauce with chicken.  The flavor in this dish totally surprised me.  The sweetness of organically grown tomatoes REALLY came out and the garlic and other herbs added so much body to the sauce.  [Isn't this what they eat in Italy on a daily basis?  Man, I need to go back.]  Spooned this sauce over a bed of noodles because we were out of pasta (obviously, I am not Italian). 

I wish I could give you a spoonful of this over the internet, the organic vegetables and ingredients were really so good.  Healthy and nutritious.  That's the way life should be.

"I look upon the pleasure we take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights in human life." –Cicero

Plum Sauce Chicken Recipe

A quick entry today on making some delicious chicken.  A friend posted this recipe some time ago, and is super easy if you are in the need for some good tasting chicken, and appreciate multitasking by having the stove cook for you in the background while you watch TV or hang out at home. 

In case you are wondering, I have decided to have a few postings here and there on recipes to change things up.  We all need some spice in life!  Hope you enjoy this recipe.


Plum Sauce Chicken Recipe

Mix 2/3 cup plum sauce + 1/3 cup chopped scallions + one tablespoon of soy sauce.
Pour over 3 pounds of chicken legs that have been sprinkled with salt and pepper.
Cook on low for about 4 hours.  Serve with rice for best results. :)

A Simple Asparagus Recipe

Asparagus is in season!  Delicious crunch and sweet flavor.  You might want to consider near future application of asparagus to your taste buds!  First things first, how to buy and how to eat.  I will save the nutritional information on asparagus for later postings.

Asparagus is at its peak from February through June.  What to look for?  I prefer thick stalks, although thin works too.  After eating, I have found that the thin asparagus was a bit old.  Tender stalks are a priority since they just taste better!  You want tightly closed tips, no flowering.  Stalks should be bright green and firm.  Flimsy means old produce. 

The vegetable doesn't sit for long in the refrigerator, so you should eat it within a few days. This recipe is from Martha Stewart's collection, with a few of my modifications on seasoning. 


Sauteed Chicken with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Minced garlic (4 cloves) with one minced green onion
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6), cut into 2-inch pieces, marinated with some sesame oil (1 tablespoon) and a little soy sauce
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 pounds asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 2-inch lengths (cut on an angle)
• Cooked noodles or rice (optional)

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Gently fry garlic and green onion (less than one minute).  Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in two batches, turning occasionally, until browned and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.

To skillet, add mushrooms, asparagus, and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing once and scraping up browned bits, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chicken; cook, tossing, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Serve on top of noodles or rice, if desired.

Source: Base of recipe came from Martha Stewart: www.marthastewart.com

Raising Chickens

I have written about my extraordinary experience of eating pasture-fed chicken (the post is here: Really Good Chicken), and since then, have been exploring this idea of raising my own little chickadees!  Btw, thanks to my friends who shared some information with me!  It has been fun learning about this. 

The first question that I looked into, and that every interested person needs to find out is, will the city or village allow me to raise chickens? 

But alas, my village hasn't passed such ordinance...  Guess I have to either start a chicken rally where I live or move to a city that allows me to have my own chicken coup!  Although I currently will not be able to raise chickens (legally), I did learn a few things in the process, which I will share in this posting.

One has to first answer the age old problem: is it the chicken or the egg? 

Well, haha, in a different sense but it is so funny that this all-time great analogy can be used in SO many situations.

Raising chickens for meat and raising chicken for eggs are two separate decisions.  For one, meat chickens and egg chickens need separate coups.  If you want to raise chickens for meat, the time is much shorter; you would raise them for about two months (8 weeks) before the slaughter.  Also, their feed (if you are doing feed or supplement feed) is different than that of egg-laying chickens.  Meat chickens are raised to become plump and fat, otherwise you will have skinny chickens with little meat on the bone.

The egg-laying chickens have a much longer life and don't start laying eggs until 18-20 weeks.  You also don't want them to be too plump because they need to run around and stay fit, which will mean better eggs.  Healthy chickens lay on average one egg a day.  At one a day for a couple of years; you can do the math.  Wow, that is a lot of ovulation! 

Chickens are in some ways like children.  They need discipline!  It is important to feed them on the same hour everyday, once early morning and once in the evening, which is one other reason why I could not commit this moment--the early morning thing doesn't register that well with me (right now).  This is tough if you are out of town at all.  No wonder farmers can't just take a vacation when they want to!  You have to make sure the chickens are well hydrated and fed on a consistent basis; otherwise, they will start to peck at each other (same goes for children).  It is really bad when they start to peck, these wounds are usually the start of disease.

There is a lot more info out there, but for now, no chickens for me.  Maybe the future will hold a few.

Source of picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%BCken_vor_dem_ersten_Ausflug.jpg
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken and Keeping Chickens, by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis

Really Good Chicken

I have had the incredible opportunity over the last few months to eat really fresh, pasture fed chicken.  Wow.  The difference between a pasture fed chicken and a corn-raised chicken (read: grocery bought) is so evident.  The pasture fed chicken meat is tighter and the flavor, especially when the carcass is slow cooked for a soup or broth, is just so aromatic.  Not bland, droopy meat with tons of fat (you would see this if you bought the whole bird), and almost tasteless broth.  If you haven’t tried it ever, you need to find yourself a farmer friend.

Now, this is not really comparing organic vs. conventional chicken.  Most organic chickens are still grain fed.  Chickens weren’t meant to eat only grains (i.e., corn), but most of the ones you find in the grocery do since it is the fastest way to fatten up chicken for market.  Pasture-fed chicken means it eats bugs, worms, other little critters in addition to corn, and usually these chickens run around outside, like really live the life of a chicken.  I have seen this in action.  And, I would guess that small farmers who raise chickens just for their family and friends rather than for industry let their chickens grow this way.

Here’s a crazy idea.  What does it take to raise chickens?  I want to raise chickens.

I was curious, so I went to the library.  I couldn’t find any chicken books in the system, so when I asked the librarian, the conversation went something like this… 

“Can we help you?”

“Yes, I am looking for some books on how to raise chickens.  Silence.  Like farming, um not really like children's books.  Yeah, I know, it’s kind of weird.”

Librarian heads both nod while trying not to smirk.  I couldn’t help laughing myself, what is an urban girl doing asking for books on how to raise chickens?  (sidenote: my mom wanted to know more about the chickens than I did.)

More to come on what I find out.