Surprise ! Chicken Soup

I'm finally getting around to writing about that chicken soup I made the week before last. It's long gone (except for what's in my freezer waiting to go to my friend).

The joy of chicken soup is that you can pretty much put whatever you want into it and it tastes good. There are a couple of things that it must have: onion, carrots, and celery. And then there are the things that are important, although not absolutely necessary: beans, potatoes and barley.

This soup has all those things, and some green beans too. I didn't want to overdo it because sometimes I get carried away and there are too many things going on in the bowl. I used some fresh sage and a little bit of thyme; that with some salt and pepper is pretty much it.

It never looks like much right after it's finished, and it always tastes kind of watery to me. I was a little worried about whether or not I should even save some for my friend. But after the flavors have had a chance to blend and settle overnight, it always tastes delicious.

I don't really have a recipe for chicken soup. It's more of a process.

First, I put the stock in the pot with the longer-cooking vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and onions, bring it to a boil, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I don't want the carrots to get too tender at this point because I want them to hold up during the entire cooking process.

Next I add any other raw vegetables, in this case green beans and celery, and let them simmer for about 10 more minutes, until all of the vegetables are just tender. This is when I put in the barley. Half a cup of barley is more than enough for most soups and stews. Then I lower the heat even more and leave it on a low, slow simmer for around 45 minutes, long enough for the barley to cook.

Last, I add the beans, and anything else that doesn't really need to be cooked, just heated. If I were using frozen corn I would add that now, too. For some reason I decided this soup would be better without corn so I didn't add it. Oh, and I almost forgot--this is when I add the chicken too. It really just needs to be heated through at this point. If you cook it any more it starts to lose its flavor.

And that's it. Simple and delicious.

Whirlwind Trip

I had hoped to write at least one long lovely post from my brother's house in Austin, where I went for a quick visit this weekend. He had a free ticket and kindly offered it to me. I spent a couple of weeks agonizing over whether or not I should use it, what with the new job and all, and then I realized how silly I was being and we booked my flight.

It was a quick trip - I arrived at 5:00 Friday evening and left Sunday at 4:15 in the afternoon. Most of the trip was spent watching my niece and nephew ref soccer games (and I actually got to see my niece play) and visiting with my brother's family and with my sister.

Sunday my sister and I had a little time before she took me to the airport to go shopping. We went to a little food store called Farm to Market on South Congress (or "SoCo" as they call it now.) It was a nice little store, but there was no real indication of what was local and what was not, and I recognized a lot that was not. Still, it was a pretty little store and there were a lot of goodies there.

Saturday night we went for pizza at Salvation Pizza, a new restaurant my brother's neighbors own and run. That's the menu up there, but I don't know if you can read it even if you click to make it bigger. The ingredients are fresh and they use lots of vegetables and little cheese (my kind of pizza), but they have the usual suspects as well. The crust was thin and crispy and I ate way more than I should have. If you're in Austin, you should definitely check it out. They're in an old house near 35th and Guadalupe and it's a nice, relaxing comfortable place.

Then Sunday morning we were out near Pflugerville to watch my niece play soccer. After her game, while she and my nephew were reffing, my brother and sister and I went to a Mexican restaurant called El Rincon out there for breakfast. It was busy, always a good sign, and the decor was nice--bright cheerful colors, with pictures of Frida Kahlo on the walls. We all had the Migas and they were absolutely fabulous. There is nothing in the world like a big old plate of migas. If you haven't had them, you don't know what you're missing.

It wasn't exactly a stellar weekend from a Weight Watcher's perspective, but it wasn't a total wash. I actually managed to lose a teensy weensy little bit of weight. Not that I'm paying all that much attention, mind you.

Next up: I have some chicken soup to show you.

Chicken Stock for Cheaters, with a Little Extra

Now that the weather's changing and Fall seems to have arrived for good (although today it's supposed to be in the mid 70s), I've been in the mood for soup. I've made carrot and ginger soup, sweet and sour cabbage soup, and lentil soup. And I've been cooking chicken to make my cheater's chicken stock.

I have a friend who's been under the weather and some of the soups I've been making have been made with her in mind. And since it's soup weather, and I'm trying to come up with some healthy and nutritious (both for her and for me) ideas, this seemed like the perfect weekend to make chicken soup.

I started with the chicken. This is an all natural chicken that came from the butcher at The Big Apple on Clark Street, which is fast becoming the only place I'll buy my meat. It may not be the best in Chicago, but it's definitely the best in my neighborhood. I haven't tried their beef because I don't buy or eat much beef these days, but their pork and lamb have been consistently excellent, as have been the chicken breasts and the capon I previously bought there.

This was not a cheap chicken, but I've never bought a free-range chicken before so I decided to splurge and see if I could tell a difference between it and the regular chicken you get at the grocery store.

And not only could I see the difference right away, but I could feel it as well. You can see in the picture how pink this chicken looks, and how nicely proportioned the meat is to the bone. Now picture a chicken you get in the grocery store. The skin is yellow-white and puffy, and the meat is bulging against the skin. The skin is stronger on this chicken, too. With the last chicken quarters I've bought at the grocery store I've had trouble getting the skin off the end of the drumstick without it tearing first, making it impossible to get the rest off of the chicken. The skin on this bird was firm and tough and I was able to pull it off the way I remember I used to be able to do with any chicken.

I didn't pull off all the skin so there would be a little fat to add flavor, but I took most of it off before putting it into the stockpot.

Since I'm going to making chicken soup with this stock, I did add the aromatics while cooking the chicken. The celery has floated to the top, but there's an onion and some carrots in there too. Added to that are salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Once the chicken was in the stockpot I could see a difference there, too. I don't know if you can tell from the picture how pink the meat is compared to what we're used to seeing these days, but if looks are anything this chicken has already won the comparison contest hands down.

I was going to take a picture of the chicken as it came out of the pot, but I got distracted and forgot. I don't know if it shows in the picture, but it came out just right - tender but firm, and full of flavor. This chicken was worth every penny I spent on it.

The stock had surprisingly little fat in it, considering that I did leave some skin in there. It was easy to skim off.
Next stop: Chicken Soup.

Getting My Street Creds

Emily of Chocolate in Context sent me an email inviting me to participate in the next Food Destinations event: My Favorite Chocolate Shop.

Now I've participated in quite a few blogging events over the past few months, but they're events I stumbled across, or found on Is My Blog Burning. This is the first time that someone has actually contacted me because they wanted me to participate. I'm beginning to feel like a real blogger!

In Which I Finally Meet Quinoa

For years now I've been hearing about this quinoa, an ancient protein-rich seed that is actually related to spinach and swiss chard, rather than being a grain like most people (myself included until I just read about it on the world's healthiest foods website ) think.

One of the things that makes quinoa stand out is that it is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids, which makes it especially good for vegetarians. It is especially high in the amino acid lysine, which is necessary for tissue growth and repair.

Quinoa is one of those things I've always meant to try but never got around to. Something about the description of what it is like held me back - it sounds like one of those things where the texture can make it really really good, or really really bad. But I'm serious about trying to eat healthier foods more of the time, so I picked up a box at the grocery store and decided to give it a try.


I have several recipes that call for quinoa, so I'm not sure why I adapted a Southwestern Lentil and Couscous Salad to quinioa and black beans. If I had known it was a seed and not a grain, I don't think I would have used it in this recipe. The jury is out on this one. I know it's super good for me; I just don't know if I like it or not.

It sure looks pretty, though, doesn't it?

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Quinoa, prepared per package directions
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced
3-4 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients.

Adapted from Lean Bean Cuisine: Over 100 Tasty Meatless Recipes from around the World, by Jay Solomon (Prima, 1994)

More Goodies from the Green Market

Most of the summer fare is disappearing from the Green Market, but it is being replaced with all kinds of intriguing squash and root vegetables. This is everything I brought home with me yesterday. That's celery in the upper left corner, followed by two different kinds of sweet potatoes, jalapenos, carrots, green beans, shallots, onions, and red bell peppers.

I learned something new about jalapenos. See the lines on the one on the left? That's supposed to mean it's hotter. I used it in some pinto beans and I've gotta tell you, that's-a-some-a-spicy-a-jalapeno!

Some of this is going into chicken-vegetable-barley soup, of which more later, and the rest will be determined by my time and mood when it comes down to it.

I wasn't prepared for the squash so I didn't buy any of it. But I've never used butternut and there were some gorgeous specimens so I think I'll read up a little, decide what I want to do, and get some next time.

Now I'm off to the knitting shop. I haven't done enough of that lately.

Alterra Organic Fair Trade Guatemalan Coffee

I was putting the final touches on the post I was writing when the Fair Trade website crashed my computer and wiped out the whole thing. Stupid Fair Trade. Screw it. Buy any old coffee and exploit people.

OK. I feel better now. Don't exploit people. Buy Fair Trade when you can. You can find out about it at the website of my local coffee shop, The Coffee and Tea Exchange, here.

The reason I was writing about Fair Trade was because one of my knitting students (and friend), who spends a lot of time in Wisconsin over the summer, brought me a most generous gift of coffee from Alterra Coffee in Milwaukee when she came back to class this month. It was an organic fair trade Guatemalan blend that she liked and thought I would, too.

And I did. It's a medium roast and I usually prefer dark roast, but it has a full-bodied flavor that is rich and strong, with no hint of bitterness. I've been enjoying it every morning this week.


What I didn't tell her when I saw that she had given me whole beans was that I haven't used my coffee grinder for grinding coffee in years. I know it's better to buy whole beans and grind them as you use them, but a couple of years ago I started using my coffee grinder for my new obsession, spices. And once you've ground spices in your coffee grinder, you don't want to be putting any coffee in there, believe me.

So I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. I toyed with the idea of buying another grinder for coffee, but the last thing I need in my apartment is another appliance, especially a duplicate. Although there is a part of me that likes the idea of being able to say "Oh that's my spice grinder. I have another one for coffee."

I finally decided to try to clean it. Bouncing around in the back of my head was the idea of grinding up some salt, or maybe I was confusing that with the fact that you're supposed to use kosher salt to clean out an old cast-iron skillet before you can reseason it. But the idea wouldn't go away so I dragged out the grinder, poured in some kosher salt, put on the lid, and let her rip.

After a few seconds I stopped and looked. The lid was covered with a thick white film. Uh-oh. That didn't look so good. When I took the lid off, a white cloud billowed out. Big Uh-oh. I carefully wiped the lid off with a paper towel, and got out most of the white residue. When the cloud cleared, I poured out the salt powder and cautiously peered inside.

Into a crystal clear, brand spanking new coffee grinder. It was spotless. Shiny. Not a hint of spice to be found.

Now we've both learned something new. You've learned that kosher salt will clean your coffee grinder, and I've learned to save my drafts before I go to other sites.

Asparagus, Red Pepper, and Curried Tofu

I made this recipe as part of my series on the 12 Best Foods Cookbook over at Fitfare. I don't stir-fry very often and I usually just use the standard technique I wrote about here, which can get a little same-same if I have it too often. So when I saw how easy this stir-fry recipe looked, I decided to try it.

It didn't take long to prep the ingredients, and it took about ten minutes to cook. The sauce thickened perfectly, and there's just the right amount of it.

And those are Yam's soba noodles looking all tasty underneath.

Asparagus, Red Pepper, and Curried Tofu
Serves 4

1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp peanut oil
2 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
8 asparagus, cut in 1" pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 tofu steaks, cut in 1" cubes and pan-crisped, or 1 lb. firm, pressed and cubed.

In a measuring cup, combine the cornstarch, curry powder, and sugar. Mix in the sherry, soy sauce, and broth, leaving the spoon in the cup. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over the highest possible heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the onion, asparagus, and pepper, and stir-fry until they are brightly colored, 1 minute. Add the tofu.

Stir the seasoning sauce and pour it into the wok. Stir-fry until the sauce boils and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

Per serving: 151 calories, 8 g. fat, 1 g. saturated fat, 10 g protein, 12 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber.


from 12 Best Foods Cookbook, by Dana Jacobi (Rodale Press, 2005)

What Madness Is This?

Well, kids, it looks like I've gone and joined Weight Watchers.

Now it's not like I don't need to lose weight, and I have friends who have done really well on Weight Watchers. But I'm not really a joiner and I think to a certain extent it's a rip-off and I have much residual ill will towards it from the time my mother put me on it so she could get my father to do it back when I was twelve (twelve!) so I'm not the biggest fan.

Issues? What issues?

But one of the women where I work wanted to organize a company program, and you need a minimum of fifteen people before they'll come to your office. I knew I was in trouble the day she sent the email and I started counting the number of people in our office who were likely to join. So without letting myself think about it too much I told her that, even though I'm not really a joiner, if she needed me to make the fifteen I would be willing to do it.

Do I even need to finish this story? Of course they needed me and we were still one shy. But this is the kind of company I work for now--the owner said she would pay for the fifteenth place even if there wasn't a body there. And by the end of the week, she decided that the company would pay for all of us anyway.

So how could I not join, I ask you?

The good news is that the program has changed a lot over the years. You can choose between two plans. One plan is a point system, where you have a certain number of points you can have every day and you keep track of everything you eat. The other plan, called the "core" plan, is one where you don't have to keep track of what you eat, as long as you eat the core foods, and you get a certain amount of extra points each week to account for anything that isn't in the core group.

Well, the core group is mostly beans, fruit, vegetables, meat, tofu, and whole grains. Which is what I've been trying to eat for the past six years anyway. Admittedly, for the past year more processed foods have crept back into my diet, but I've been pretty consistent with the healthier eating.

So this is my plan. I'm going to do the core plan to the extent that I will continue the way I've been eating, except that I do plan to be more vigilant in eating whole, healthy foods. I do not plan to keep track of extra points and I do not plan to purchase any Weight Watchers products or books.

And we'll see what happens.

And while I did give some thought to eating anything and everything I've ever craved in the week before starting, I showed admirable restraint. I had some ice cream and my most favorite comfort food in the world.


I got this recipe over twenty years ago from a woman I worked with at the League of Women Voters in Texas. It's disgustingly easy to make, and it never lasts more than two days at my apartment. And I live alone.

Sausage and Corn Casserole
1 lb. Smoked Sausage, sliced in 1" rounds
1 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 lb. bag frozen corn

Brown sausage well on both sides. Add onions and saute until translucent and soft. Add tomatoes with juice, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add corn and cook until heated through, about ten more minutes.

Some of the more observant among you may have noticed some cabbage in that picture. I happened to have a bunch of sweet and sour cabbage soup on hand and used that instead of the canned tomatoes. And that's Trader Joe's roasted frozen corn in there as well. Lip smackin' good.