Saturday, January 31, 2009

Snack-urday 101

It's the weekend and what better way to spend it than having a bit of quality time in the kitchen. If you can spare it.

And, in this cold weather, what better recipe could there be than good ol' chicken soup. I recently came across this one that is an interesting twist on the traditional.

Mama's Chicken Soup

Serves 4 but you can double the recipe -- great for cold and flu season!

3 pounds chicken
1 carrot, peeled and halved
1 medium onion, sliced and diced
1 cinnamon stick
1 3-inch knob of peeled ginger
zest of one orange
1 small red chili pepper, seeded and cut into rings for garnish
2 stalks celery, chopped for color

In a large sauce pan, combine chicken, carrot, onion, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Add 3 quarts of water, orange zest and juice from the orange. Place over a high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chicken flavor smells strong -- about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer into a bowl and discard the solids (although, this is where I would save out the cooked chicken and either add it back into the broth or save for another recipe -- your choice though). Allow the broth to cool, and then refrigerate over night. When ready to serve, warm the soup and ladle it into mugs or bowls.

Doesn't that just sound delicious, and warming. So give it a try and give a bit of feedback.

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