Thursday, January 6, 2011

Chicken Soup for the Noms

Oh, my poor blog, I truly had the best of intentions. I had plans for a family-oriented holiday entry last week, but it was just not to be. I've found myself in a bit of bad luck as far as food experiments are concerned. It seemed like there would be no end to the frustration of failure. Even cooking directly from diet-friendly recipes just wasn't working out.

But then there was hope! In Ann Boroch's book The Candida Cure: Yeast, Fungus & Your Health, there was a recipe for Homemade Chicken Soup. It looked easy enough and had kale in it, which is super good for you, but is a little unfriendly eating sometimes. I made my list and shopped, excited to try something that should be nutrient dense and easy to reheat into multiple meals. Unfortunately, when I got home, I found that some of the ingredients had been missed. No worries though! I had picked up ingredients for other recipes and well, so I just made a few substitutions. Her recipe calls for red potatoes and tomato sauce, which I was missing, so I added parsnips (my first go with them) and left over tomato paste from another experiment. All in all, it was a wonderful success (especially after so much failure). It's easy to store and makes a healthy (if less traditional) breakfast or quick dinner. My only complaint is the difficulty I had removing the bones. If anyone has a tip, I'm all ears. Here's my modded recipe, based on hers.




Chicken Soup

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts with bones and skin
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled (I added more than originally suggested)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
~3/4 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste (you could use the whole thing, or less if you prefer)
2 medium-large carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced (I used the tops as she recommended)
1 bunch of kale (I used black. Make sure to remove the stems and rip or shred.)
1 large parsnip, chopped
3 quarts water
salt and peeper to taste (I probably ended up using 1-1.5 tbsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper by the time it was done.)

Put everything in a 6-quart stock pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken bones and skin.

That's it! It took a while, but was easy and definitely worth it. Enjoy!


While on the topic of enjoyment, I just found an inspiring book by Kelly E. Keough called Sugar-free Gluten-free Baking and Desserts. Her recipes sound delicious! I can't have them until after my 90-day detox due to their use of dried fruit and agave nectar, but she's dedicated to using natural foods and sweeteners to make yummy treats, so I'll definitely be making some at the end of February. I just wanted to mention the book now, in case ya'll didn't want to wait.

She also has a website, so check it out. :)

3 comments:

  1. Boil the chicken alone first, remove the bones and then use the broth and chicken as directed? Or, and it will probably be less flavorful, buy boneless breasts?

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  2. Let's try this one in February.

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  3. I would love to do this in February. I think I would prefer to try removing the bones before adding the veggies, as I think the bones and skin really enrich the flavor.

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